With half a century of experience in the display industry, Hisense has already made a name for itself in the world of home entertainment. Always innovating, Hisense has brought new features to the game in their line of 4K ULED TVs, which offer an expansive viewing experience with sizes reaching up to an impressive 85”. The newest batch of Hisense ULED TVs are the U6H, U7H, and U8H, each geared toward a particular type of entertainment experience.
But Wait – What is ULED?
OLED, QLED, ULED – with so many of these terms on the market, it can be difficult to sus out which you should choose from your next TV. To make this simple, know this: ULED is brand-specific terminology from Hisense. OLED and QLED technologies are standards that are widespread throughout the display industry.
ULED is essentially marketing speak for a group of technologies available to almost any manufacturer meant to enhance performance, rather than a specific protocol. The way they use these technologies and group them together is likely why they chose to patent it all and call it ULED. In the Hisense keynote from CES 2023, it is clear the folks there are highly passionate about innovation, so you can expect them to strive for something new and different from anything they last put out. It’s important to distinguish that Hisense does have 4K UHD TVs that do not have this ULED tech (but still look good nonetheless).
These ULED TVs have an extremely wide color gamut, 4K resolution and a lot of technologies to enhance color and performance, like full local array dimming, and even Dolby Vision. So, marketing speak or earned proprietary title – that all goes out the window if you like what Hisense has to offer.
The Models
ULED U6H
$799.99
ULED U7H
$1,099.99
ULED U8H
$1,499.99
The Hisense ULED U6H – Enjoy Your Entertainment
The $799.99 Hisense ULED U6H is a 4K smart TV that is made with entertainment in mind. It produces colorfully vivid images with deep blacks thanks to its extremely wide color gamut, full array of local diming, and multiple types of HDR, including Dolby Vision. Its smart TV platform has Google TV and Google Assistant fully integrated.
The U6H sees the introduction of the Filmmaker Mode, “a collaboration between filmmakers, Hollywood studios, consumer electronics companies and the UHD Alliance.” Its function is to preserve the intention of the filmmakers by turning off all processing that’s done by TVs – basically, everything that ruins good films when viewed on a TV! That’s post-processing, frame interpolation meant to smooth motion (that only looks good on sports, always, always turn this off for film and cinematic TV shows), and any changes to aspect ratios. Many TVs have Cinema Modes that do something similar, but as a cinema lover, it warms my heart to know filmmakers, studios, and consumer electronics are working together to create a more picture-perfect experience.
The Hisense ULED U6H has four sizes, with each size having its own model number: the 50” 50U6H, the 55” 55U6H, the 65” 65U6H, and the 75” 75U6H. Check out the U6H’s features below.
U6H Features
- 4K LCD Display
- ULED Technology: Boosts color, contrast, brightness and motion
- Quantum Dot Color
- Full Array of Local Dimming
- Peak Brightness: 600 Nits
- Filmmaker Mode
- Google TV with Google Assistant
- Voice Remote
- Works with Alexa via Alexa Enabled Devices – Change channels, TV On/Off, etc.
- HDR: HD10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision
- Two 12-Watt Speakers
- Bluetooth
- Built-in Wi-Fi – 1×2 Dual Band 802.11ac
- Inputs: 4 HDMI (2.1), 2 USB (2.0), 1 LAN, 1 RCA Composite Video Input, 1 L/R Audio Input for Composite, 1 Digital Optical Audio Out, 1 Earphone/Audio Out
- Other Features: Sleep Timer, Noise Reduction, MEMC, Parental Control, Closed Caption, HDMI ARC, HDMI CEC, Languages: English, French, Spanish
- 2-Year Warranty
One point to make on the Voice Remote. How many times do you lose your remote control? With the pairing of this Voice Remote and these ULED TVs, there are buttons on the TV to “Find My Remote” when the dang thing inevitably goes missing. That is something I’ve always said remote controls need to have, all my life. I am pleased to report this technology has arrived in living rooms today.
The Hisense ULED U7H – Game On
Here’s a smart TV that was made for gamers, also knowing those same gamers want a gorgeous picture and big sound for the cinematic scenes and immersive worlds of their video games. The $1,099.99 Hisense ULED U7H is a 4K smart TV with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Its dual 15-watt speakers, combined with the power of Dolby Atmos, produce a wide soundscape that captures the world of the game and makes players feel like they’re really there.
So, what makes it so great for gamers, specifically? It has a 120Hz Native Refresh Rate, for one. 120Hz is a good refresh rate for TV gaming – it provides 120 different images per second, as opposed to a 60Hz monitor or TV that would display 60 different images per second. This doesn’t improve the image quality, but it does improve the motion of gameplay, and gives players the opportunity for faster reaction times when gaming. That can make all the difference in competitive online gaming, where many gamers are using monitors that are 120Hz or 144Hz minimum these days – or higher. In short, a 60Hz monitor or TV means death. The U7H also has Smooth Motion, further enhancing the smoothness of the image.
The U7H has a Game Mode Pro, which has Auto Low Latency (a must) and VRR. VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate, allows a TV to continually adapt the refresh rate to match the console without user input for a seamless experience. The frame rate of your game will depend on how hard your graphics card is working, whether the scene is cinematic or if you’re running across a highly active battle. VRR is a good thing. As a gamer, this is a TV I would consider for myself.
Filmmaker Mode is also present on the U7H, and the TV has that wide color gamut and all the bells and whistles that make it ULED. Its smart TV platform has Google TV fully integrated with Google Assistant as well. The Hisense ULED U7H comes in four sizes: the 55” 55U7H, the 65” 65U7H, the 75” 75U7H, and the 85” 85U7H. Check out the U7H’s features below.
U7H Features
- 4K LCD Display
- ULED Technology: Boosts color, contrast, brightness and motion
- Bezel-less Design
- Quantum Dot Color
- Full Array of Local Dimming
- Peak Brightness: 1,000 Nits
- Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- Game Mode Pro with Low Latency
- Filmmaker Mode
- Google TV with Google Assistant
- Voice Remote
- Works with Alexa via Alexa Enabled Devices – Change channels, TV On/Off, etc.
- HDR: HD10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision
- Two 15-Watt Speakers
- Dolby Atmos
- Bluetooth
- Built-in Wi-Fi – 802.11ac Dual Band 2.5/5 GHz
- Inputs: 4 HDMI (2 Up to 4K @ 120Hz, 2 Up to 4K at 60Hz), 2 USB (USB 2.0 and USB 3.0), 1 LAN, 1 RCA Composite Video Input (3.5mm with Adapter), 1 L/R Audio Input for Composite (3.5mm with Adapter), 1 Digital Optical Audio Out, 1 Earphone/Audio Out
- Other Features: Sleep Timer, Noise Reduction, MEMC, Parental Control, Closed Caption, HDMI ARC, HDMI CEC, Languages: English, French, Spanish
- 2-Year Warranty
The Hisense ULED U8H – Everything Entertainment
The $1,499.99 Hisense ULED U8H is an upgrade to the 2021 award-winning U8 series, bringing in mini-LED and ULED tech. It’s got everything the previous models have in terms of the wide color gamut, full array of local dimming, Quantum Dot color, and all the other ULED technology, and gets an extra bump in brightness. While the U6H was 600 nits, and the U7H was 1,000 nits, the U8H is a whopping 1,500 nits. That blows the average TV out of the water by well over 1,000 nits, the average being 250-350 nits. Where does this matter? HDR. HDR requires quite a bit of brightness to look truly good, so many displays, quite frankly, miss the mark (a problem many projector manufacturers tango with when it comes to handling HDR).
It’s got Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as that Filmmaker Mode we’re fond of. This TV also has the gaming features of the U7H! 120Hz refresh rate with Smooth Motion and Game Mode Pro. That’s why they call it the TV that’s good for everything. Like the others, it has Google TV and Google Assistant built in. The ULED U8H sees the addition of a 20-watt subwoofer to its sound system, along with the two 10-watt speakers, for more robust sound.
At $1,499.99, it’s just about $500 more than the U7H. For that extra subwoofer and brightness, you might want to go for this. If you have a good soundbar or an external audio system already, then the features are pretty much the same as the U7H and you can save your cash for something like the new PlayStation VR2, or a PS5 if you don’t have it already.
The Hisense ULED U8H comes in three sizes: the 55” 55U8H, the 65” 65U8H, and the 75” 75U8H. Check out the U7H’s features below.
U8H Features
- 4K LCD Display
- ULED Technology: Boosts color, contrast, brightness and motion
- Bezel-less Design
- Quantum Dot Color
- Full Array of Local Dimming
- Peak Brightness: 1,500 Nits
- Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- Game Mode Pro with Low Latency
- Filmmaker Mode
- Google TV with Google Assistant
- Voice Remote
- Works with Alexa via Alexa Enabled Devices – Change channels, TV On/Off, etc.
- HDR: HD10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision
- Two 15-Watt Speakers
- Dolby Atmos
- Bluetooth
- Built-in Wi-Fi – 802.11ac Dual Band 2.5/5 GHz
- Inputs: 4 HDMI (2 Up to 4K @ 120Hz, 2 Up to 4K at 60Hz), 2 USB (USB 2.0 and USB 3.0), 1 LAN, 1 RCA Composite Video Input, 1 L/R Audio Input for Composite, 1 Digital Optical Audio Out, 1 Earphone/Audio Out
- Other Features: Sleep Timer, Noise Reduction, MEMC, Parental Control, Closed Caption, HDMI ARC, HDMI CEC, Languages: English, French, Spanish
- 2-Year Warranty
Hisense ULEDs for Entertainment, Gaming, and Everything in Between
Hisense’s line of ULED TVs offers brilliant colors, performance and versatility for a decent price. In the case of the high-end Mini-LED ULED U8H, the addition of the subwoofer on the back is quite nice. The little siblings, the U7H and U6H, still offer a lot of bang for your buck, and all models have the Google TV platform that gives access plenty of streaming services, apps, and games for all your entertainment needs. For you gamers out there, the U7H and the U8H are worth a look to see if they fit your needs. With sizes ranging up to 85” and plenty of HDR options, such as Dolby Vision, the Hisense ULED series offers an immersive entertainment experience.
