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Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Next best thing to OLED!
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I want to start this review out by saying that takes a LOT for a TV to wow me, because I am simply spoiled by OLED's. Hisense has officially WOW'd me with this Micro-LED TV. There are so many positives to this U8 TV than there are negatives and really, those are just nit-picks. Okay, so with that being said - let's break this thing down! Note: I had so much more to say in this review, but the 1,000 word limit really had me shaving this down to fit, lol.
Packaging and unboxing:
Overall, it was pretty easy and I wanted to note that I LOVE how you can set the TV height depending on which screw set you assemble the stand on the back of the TV. The higher "H1" assembly is great if you plan on putting a Soundbar or something else in front of the TV, whereas the lower "H2" assembly is awesome if nothing at all is going in front or you have it on a bit higher of an entertainment center.
Once you have the TV set up where you want it, there's the usual bezel/edge peel-off film. The only issue we had with this was around each corner of the bezel, there are blue segments that go INTO the bezel itself, that do not pull out/off with the film. We had to take something thin and run in-between to pull it out enough to grab it and remove. This was really the only annoyance we had. Oh! And I loved the screen-protector like film over the TV! We peeled it off, but it was very thick and very satisfying. I wish more TV's, Monitors and such would use a thicker film like this. Overall, the packaging, unboxing and assembly was a great experience!
Build Quality:
This thing is a TANK! I have ZERO concerns with stability and I can confirm that there is very little "wobble" with the TV, after setup. I also love how the stand sits square in the middle of the TV, and not near the ends. This makes it great for a wide variety of TV stands.
The TV is a bit thick - it's about 1 and 3/4" thick, front to back. But overall, it's not too bad. It's very uniform and I love how it has a huge "heatsink" like module on the back of the TV. It looks super sharp and does a great job of keeping everything cool. There's only the usual bit of heat from the front-side of the TV, if you're standing right in front of it. The back is pretty cool, with very little feeling of heat.
Both the TV bezel and Remote have a brushed metal look. The side and top bezels are super thin and if I had to compare, I'd say this TV has the appearance of more like a PC monitor than an actual TV, which I loved. Hisense spared no expense and making this a premium looking AND feeling TV, all the way around.
Setup:
For ports, we have 3 HDMI's, along with the usual ones: LAN, Digital Audio Out (Optical), ANT/CABLE, AV IN and headphones. I was bummed after seeing there were only 3 ports...but ALL of them are 4k@165hz. Additionally, the HDMI 3 port includes the eARC functionality.
I'm using a Samsung Soundbar HW-Q950T with Dolby Atmos, which is connected to the eARC HDMI 3 port (it plays nicely with the TV, too!). Then, I've got the PS5 going into the HDMI 1 port. After plugging everything in, connecting all the things to HDMI and powering it up, we are greeted with the initial setup screen. It's all the usual Terms and Privacy agreements, sharing of info, etc. I also wound up downloading the Google TV app and I just used my Google account to sign-in and continue with the setup - this also included transferring Wi-Fi information over and such, which I thought was pretty neat. Overall, the initial setup, menu prompts, sign-ins, etc, took around 10-15 minutes. Nothing too terrible.
After the initial setup and at the Home screen, I noticed something unusual..I was never prompted for a Software/Firmware update! So, I dug around and manually checked. Sure enough, there was an update available. There's a bit of initial feedback - Hisense...can we get the TV to automatically check for an update as part of the setup process? One cool thing I did notice was that, after the TV updated...the remote updated! I've...never had this happen with a TV before, haha.
Picture Quality and Features:
The first thing I did after immediately disabling any "Energy Saving" features, was to go over the HDMI for the PS5. The PS5 had already changed all of it's settings to accommodate the new Features of the TV! ALLM? Check. VRR? Yup. All the things. Every option was already enabled and/or set to Automatic. All I really had left to do, on the PS5 side was to calibrate HDR. But, before doing so, I popped into the TV Picture settings and changed it over to Game Mode. After doing this, I went in to set the Dynamic Tone Mapping to "HGiG"....only to discover there was no HGiG option? It was only On/Off for Dynamic Tone Mapping. On my OLED TV, I have HGiG enabled and while not AS bright as Dynamic Tone Mapping "On" would be, it's way more accurate for Game HDR content. For the Hisense U8, I'm not sure if "Off" is equivalent to HGiG, as the TV info popup for this setting says "Adjust the brightness (On) and gradation balance (Off) in real time by analyzing the luminance levels of HDR content". So, a little clarification on if "Off" is equivalent to HGiG or not would be helpful.
As far as overall picture settings (for HDR Game Mode, PS5), really the only other thing I needed to change was to set the "Local Dimming" option from Medium to High, which really improved the brightness, as Game Mode did seem to have a bit of a loss of Brightness (as it does in most TV's). For non-Game Mode, I set SDR on the Home Screen and TV apps to "Theater Night" mode. For HDR 10+, I set that one to Theater and I left Dolby Vision the as-is. One thing I did notice was that when changing Picture Modes on the TV's Home Screen and Apps, it would fudge-up my setting for the PS5, over on HDR one and I'd have to go back and change it to HDR Game Mode (it'd be set for Theater or something...). I found out thru Trial and Error, when changing Picture Modes to also change the "Apply Pictures Settings" option to "Current Source", instead of "All Sources" (or inputs).
I do love that it supports 165hz, as well! Even my OLED only does 120hz, which is fine. The PS5 only supports 120hz, anyway. BUT...having 165hz is a nice future-proof option, in case next-gen consoles support higher than 120hz OR if you plan on connecting a PC to the TV! Also, of all the games I've tested (Black Ops 6, Khazan, Elden Ring, Demon's Souls, Expedition 33, Blue Prince and Vampire Survivors), I noticed zero input lag and all screen scrolling and camera rotations were 100% smooth at 60+ FPS. Amazing Game Mode and gaming features!
Overall, the picture quality of the TV is excellent and true-to-life colors, needing very little out-of-box calibration. I did look a few things up when setting the picture settings, but most things I found were for the 2024 model, as this one is so new, there's not a lot out there on it, just yet. But, I imagine most of what works for the 2024 model applies here, as well, since this seems to just be a 2025 "refresh" of that model. The TV gets very bright, without losing color accuracy.
I also want to note here: As an OLED-snob, the black levels on the TV are EXCELLENT! I've found no indications of hues around any text on the screen while on a black screen and I've even launched several games that I know are bad for this - the Demon's Souls remake and Elden Ring are quick tests for this on PS5. Both providing great black levels with no light fringing at all. Very, very impressive.
Remote and Quality of Life:
I did want to talk about the Remote, as this is something I usually don't touch on in TV reviews. As I said before, the Remote has the brushed metal look and goes in line with the build quality of the TV. I also like how it automatically lights up when you pick it up to use it, as well as the ability for the firmware to be updated. My only major gripe with the remote is...it seems like a lot of "wasted space? The entire bottom 1/3 of the remote is empty.
When tapping the Menu button while on HDMI 1 with PS5, it pulls up a quick menu at the bottom of the screen. Within this menu, several icons over, there is a "Game Bar" feature. I love this! It shows if VRR is enabled or not, what the current refresh rate is (60, 120, etc), as well as other Game-related features and quick settings. You can even change the Theme or set it to "Auto", so it's green for Xbox, blue for PlayStation, etc. So cool! However, what's NOT cool is...you have to hit Menu, scroll over to it and click it. Every. Single. Time.
That said, the remote really needs to have a few extra buttons. One for the Game Bar (or even perhaps maybe HOLDING the menu button for a few seconds would enable it, something like that?) and an "Info" button. There is no quick way to view the current Picture information. We need an "info" or "display" button that pops up a quick window that shows all of this information - Picture Mode, VRR, FPS/Refresh Rate, HDR or SDR, etc, etc.
Thus, a small overhaul to the UI and/or a Remote Firmware update with some "quick" functionality would be fantastic!
Conclusion:
Overall, minor Remote/Quality of Life nit-picks aside, I give this TV a solid 5 Stars. It's earned every single one of them. It's the first Hisense branded TV I've ever owned and certainly won't be my last! The build quality, brightness that the Mini-LED offers and picture quality, along with all the other features and functions it packs makes it a worthy contender against even OLED TV's! While this will be used primarily as a Gaming TV about 80% of the time (and the primary focus of my review, here), it is also an EXCELLENT Media and Movie TV. It's great for Mixed Usage, but it really shines for Gaming!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Holy moly. I didn’t know I needed this TV.
Mini LED is a technology that I’ve been familiar with for a little while now, my MacBook Pro has a Mini LED display that is bright and crisp and is almost as good as my OLED iPad Pro display. While OLED displays can individually light pixels for perfect blacks and contrast, mini LED is slightly different. The mini LED’s allow for exceptional local dimming as they can accommodate way more local dimming zones than other LED displays, which contributes to this TV’s near perfect (and dare I say perfect to my eye) black levels. While OLED is generally considered top of the display pyramid, mini LED can also provide a brighter display than what’s generally available in OLED displays (thought OLED displays are improving every year). The brightness aspect had me excited as I waited for this TV to arrive.
My living room is very bright with two-story windows that made it hard to watch some content on my previous 4K TV (a TV that was beginning to show its age at 8-years old). I looked it up, that TV had a peak brightness of under 1,000 nits of brightness, which made for some very dim HDR content.
After unboxing and setting up this new Hisense U8, Hisense’s flagship model behind their even more top of the line U9 (also a QLED mini LED TV), I was IMMEDIATELY blown away by how bright this TV is. I knew 5,000 nits of brightness was going to be noticeable right away, but I had no idea how much it would blow my mind. In the middle of a sunny day, I can watch this TV without any eye strain. And HDR content, which I used to have to wait until it was dark enough outside, I can now watch in the middle of the day.
Setup of the TV was pretty easy, but you’ll want to make sure you have an extra set of hands to help you set it up without damaging the display. The TV’s included stands has two height presets, that way you can set it up higher if you have a soundbar in front of your TV. This is the option I went with and it’s perfect.
As for picture settings, I generally turn off all motion settings (Hisense calls them Clarity settings). I kept AI super Resolution at low because quite honestly I couldn’t tell the difference between off and low, but it’s not a setting that’s going to give you any stutter or soap opera effect/motion smoothing. I like the way the Theater Day setting looks for my SDR content, and then I have my Apple TV set to “Match Content” for dynamic range, and Dolby Vision and HDR content looks phenomenal, though you may want to make some adjustments to your preference.
While I generally like Google TV, and this TV seems to be relatively peppy, I personally use an Apple TV streaming box. Apple TV also has a calibration feature, using your iPhone’s camera to detect your TV’s white balance. I ran this on this TV with only motion settings changed, and no change to color or brightness, and the Apple TV calibration results came back saying “No Calibration Needed at This Time”. That is quite a testament to this TV’s color accuracy.
As for gaming, my Xbox games look amazing. I’ll need to upgrade to a higher speed HDMI cable as my current one doesn’t support above 60hz refresh rate (and this TV can handle up to 165hz). But the picture still popped.
All in all, I think this TV can compete with OLED TV’s especially if you have a bright room. The picture quality out of the box is incredible, and you won’t be disappointed. You will have to play with the picture settings on all inputs, but luckily there’s an “apply settings to all inputs” option that can save you some time once you have your settings dialed in. This is an incredibly impressive TV that I don’t think anyone would be disappointed owning.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Intro
This is a very good TV, with excellent O/S and apps, but unfortunately it has very hit or miss picture quality, which is unfortunate because there is a lot about this TV to like.
Setup
Attaching the stand was a little challenging, probably because the TV is so big. Rather than having a stand that slides into place, the stand comes in two pieces that must be screwed together, and then the stand has to be screwed to the back of the TV. The good news about the stand is that it is in the center as opposed to being on the ends so placing this large TV on a smaller stand is possible. Connecting it is easy as it has three 4K 120Hz HDMI ports so connecting your Blu-ray player, game consoles, and sound bar are as easy as connecting an HDMI cable between them, and it just works. And all of the HDMI ports support 4K at 120 Hz. When first powered on, it is your typical Google O/S setup. Then you pair the remove (which took a few times to work) and select your apps. Of course you need to log into all your subscription apps. One other thing worth noting is this has HDMI control which means it will turn the soundbar on and off with it and control the volume from the TV remote. Works flawlessly. This is a very slim TV that is very stable on the stand.
Picture Quality
The dynamic range is amazing and absolutely perfect, probably because of the mini-LED. This is definitely on par with OLED, even better technology. It is also as bright as can be. Unfortunately, there are other problems with the picture quality. The edges between objects in the picture are rather noisy and have ghosting during motion. It is distracting. There is also general noise on areas with a single color. I tried a 4K Blu-ray player, and while better than the apps, still suffered from the same problems. I tried a bunch of various video settings with some improvement but was not able to solve the picture problems completely. And when changing settings, it improved some areas but created new problems.
The following picture settings are available:
Picture mode
Brightness
Color
Clarity
Sharpness
Smooth Gradient
AI Super Resolution
Noise Reduction
Motion Enhancement
Motion Clearness
Color
Hue
Color Temperature
Low Blue Light
Color Space
Dynamic Color Enhancement
Local Dimming
Peak Brightness
Brightness
Contrast
Black Level
Dark Detail
Gamma
AI Contrast
HDR Enhancer
Sound Quality
The sound quality is what you would expect from a TV, extremely loud, noisy, and tinny. You really need a soundbar for sure. I was not able to change any of the sound settings to improve it, but that is likely because of the speakers being used.
The sound settings, if you are not using a soundbar or external speakers are:
TV Sound Effect
eArc
Digital Audio Output
Passthrough
Digital Audio Format
Digital Audio Delay
Dolby Audio Dialogue
Audio only (screen off)
Remote
While the remote is made of plastic, it has a nice, brushed feel to it which almost feels like aluminum. When you pick up the remote, about half of the lights light up. While they are the most important ones, it would be nice if all the buttons lit up. The lights do turn off after a few seconds but stay on long enough to press what you need to. There is a play/pause button, but fast forward/rewind are missing making it more difficult to do this in the apps, a definite oversight to make life easier. Finally, there is a voice assist button that picks up your voice very accurately when you hold the voice button down. This is great for doing content searches.
Google TV
Google TV O/S has everything you could want in a well laid out grid. It gives you a ton of recommendations based on the apps installed and what you have historically watched, and shortcuts to the apps you have installed. As mentioned above, there is voice command from the remote that allows the TV to find the media that you are looking for without typing it in, and this works flawlessly. Then there are the usual Google settings. The reaction time after you press a button on the remote is almost instant.
Apps
This has all your typical streaming apps available. You just select which ones you want to load when setting up the TV, log into them and you are good to go. All my streaming service apps that I use were available.
Conclusion
There is a lot to like about this TV. The build quality, remote, and user interface are excellent. You will need a soundbar or external speakers for sure. The picture quality, while having a great dynamic range from the mini-LEDs and is very bright, is too noisy and too much ghosting with scenes in motion compared to other similar TVs. Overall, I would get it, but only after looking at real source material in the store to see if you like the picture quality.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I haven't explored all the possibilities of this impressive TV, but what I see, I like. Sharp, vivid colors, deep blacks, detail in shadows, etc. I will be hooking up my grandson's X-Box the next time he visits. I also am assembling a high quality sound system that should annoy the neighbors in the next few blocks. The in-chassis speakers are better than any previous tv I've owned. I have also used my seldom-worn expensive hearing aids via Bluetooth to provide custom equalization while listening .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Great TV for the money. Super bright, sharp picture, and awesome for movies, sports, and gaming. Colors pop, HDR looks amazing, and it handles 120Hz gaming really well. Google TV is smooth and easy to use. Sound is great, but a soundbar helps if you have installed in a large living room. Overall, one of the best bang-for-your-buck TVs out there.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I went to Best Buy to purchase a different brand. I wasn't aware that research was for last years models. The tech was able to explain the upgrades of the Hisense TV and then demonstrated it. Now that we have had it operating for a few weeks, it is even better that I thought. My wife can talk to it and it listens. Pic shows cords hanging out as we are still moving in. LOL
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This TV is something I’ve eyed for the longest and the day I finally attained it I was in love. Never had I ever felt a certain way towards a device like I did with this one. Colors and frame rate are amazing, the UI is simple and easy, the customization options are super convenient to achieve your preferred viewing qualities, the sound system on the TV shakes my wall. Nothing but a perfect TV for the price point.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my second Hisense TV. This one by far blows away my previous U8 from 2021. The TV brightness is perfect for my living room which gets plenty of sun. The picture quality is excellent. Watch out Sony. Hisense is coming for you.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is superior to the 2024 U8N in every way imaginable. Picture quality and sound have been improved immensely. Viewing angles remain about the same but that is expected of a VA panel. The added brightness is definitely noticeable. I have no interest in plugging in my MacBook to the newly added USB-C port, and the fact that this is the 4th video port (only 3 HDMI ports available on this set) is my only gripe.
I don't know if it was my mistake, but I've noticed on both the 2024 U8N and this one, that when using the included stand, the TV tends to sit at a slight horizontal tilt. Perhaps this could be adjusted, but found it to be a strange coincidence.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I bought this to replace a Panasonic Plasma TV on our covered back porch that was perfect until it was subjected to a power surge from a lightning strike. Hate to see the Panasonic go but I must say that this TV is VERY bright with good color accuracy. Some reflection which I expected but off angle viewing has not been a problem. So far I have been very pleased.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Best buy colleague discouraged us from this TV. Im glad we ignored his warnings. I did my own research and trusted that more than salesman trying to talk me out of buying. This TV has exceeded all of our expectations in terms of brightness, resolution, and ease of use. Way better than our previous Vizio. Weve had three weeks and it's been an awesome investment.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is the 4th Hisense TV I have purchased. The picture clarity on this one is best so far. Only a small amout of tweaking needed to get the best picture. Software is very responsive. This TV is a bit heavier and thicker than most, but nothing I couldnt lift by myself.
Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Stunning picture. I spend more than a year researching TV's. I wanted to get an OLED but when I went to best buy to see the TVs in person, the U7 caughty eye. Then I saw the price on the U8 and it was game over. Great TV, easy to setup and use. It has all the bells and whistles you could ask for.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is by far the best TV I have ever bought. Granted, I was upgrading from a 4-year-old cheap Vizio, but still. Gaming is phenomenal, the picture is sharp and fights glare (big reason for upgrade). And google TV just beat out my love of all things Roku.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I purchased this tv to put on a covered porch. The installation process was simple. There were a couple of glitches in setting everything up but that could have been user error. Loading all the apps was easy. Overall the picture quality is excellent. One reason for purchasing this tv was the reduced glare. So far, I agree that the glare is reduced and the picture quality from all angles is excellent.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I paid 999 on sale at BestBuy which is an excellent price for this 65" TV. Any more and it's diminishing value for sure. Picture is very bright and colorful most of the time, but HDR and Dolby Vision much less so. Image processing, clarity and motion handling are just OK. I have a 2 yr old Samsung 55QN85 that was similar price and better at everything except brightness, sound and the OS. Google TV on Hisense is much better and more responsive than Tizen on Samsung. Sound is better than Samsung but not near a soundbar or AVR quality. Overall its a good TV. If you can pay the premium for an equivalent Samsung or Sony you will likely get a better picture, but pay a lot more to do so.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Overall, the Hisense U8 (2025) is an excellent TV, especially given the price and all the features you’re getting. It has good build quality and a clean aesthetic. It delivers tremendous value in picture quality, brightness, and contrast. There is a little compromise in audio and viewing angle, but they're tolerable, especially if connected to a soundbar or surround sound system. Overall, it is a worthy purchase.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This TV is great! I'm really enjoying it so far. Super bright when I need it to be, and I can always adjust it if it's a little too much. Gaming also looks great. Great size and price! No complaints
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This TV is perfect in a brightly lit room, it outputs an insane amount of light and is very easy to see. The picture is clear, colors vibrant. It's not as perfect as an OLED in terms of blacks, but it's very close and in my environment an OLED would be way too dim at this price point.