Hisense 65U7NQTUK

With its ‘one step down from flagship’ U7N range, Hisense intends to combine big specification with high performance and then slap on one of those predictably aggressive price-tags it’s so well known for.

And right here and now I’m able to say it’s covered the first and last of those intentions in quite some style. £1599 (maximum) for a 65in 4K HDR TV is an attention-grabbing asking price - and when you combine it with the nuts and bolts of the way Hisense has specified the 65U7NQTUK it starts to look like it might conceivably be a misprint.

The 65U7NQTUK is, as I mentioned, a MiniLED TV. This means it uses a staggering number of tiny LEDs to backlight its images - so many, in fact, that this 65in version of the U7N (55in and 77in alternatives are available) has 384 dimming zones, each of which can be controlled on an individual basis. In theory, this offers very fine, precisely targeted backlighting control - which in turn bodes well for both contrasts and black levels. 

It’s a 4K television, naturally, and is compatible with HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ HDR standards. The divisive ‘Filmmaker Mode’ is thrown in for good measure, and where audio is concerned there’s compatibility with both Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X - although the Hisense’s 2.1-channel audio system is obviously not about to wow you with an impression of spatial audio.

Connectivity is well up to standard, too. There are four HDMI inputs, every one of which is at 2.1 standard and features gamer-friendly ALLM, VRR and FreeSync Premium Pro support (although ‘only’ two have the super-desirable 144Hz refresh rate, and just one is eARC-enabled). In addition, there is a pair of USB-A slots (one 3.0, one 2.0), a CI slot, a composite video input and an Ethernet socket. Outputs run to a digital optical socket, headphone output and subwoofer pre-out. Wireless connectivity is taken care of by dual-band wi-fi and Bluetooth.  

The entire show is run by Hisense’s ‘Hi-View Engine Pro’ processing suite - and it’s packing scene-by-scene AI processing too. As well as making native 4K content look its best, a big part of its big brain is devoted to the upscaling of the sub-4K content we all watch on a regular basis, by ensuring colour, contrast and brightness are optimised on a frame-by-frame, real-time basis. 

So yes, on paper it seems Hisense has made a pretty compelling argument for the £1599 it’s charging for the 65U7NNQTUK. But these things are never decided on paper, are they?

Picture quality

There’s one immediately obvious advantage of the 65U7NQTUK’s MiniLED backlighting, and that’s brightness. Where some less capable OLED designs will have you dimming the lights or closing the curtains in order to enjoy your viewing experience, the U7N makes no such demands. Its images are bright and vibrant, even if you switch on every light in the room.

And with native 4K content (ideally with an HDR element to it) there’s plenty to enjoy about the Hisense’s picture-making. Its colour palette is broadly convincing, although it’s on the warm side of neutral. It controls challenging on-screen motion well, keeping movement smooth and believable. There’s good edge-definition, decent depth of field and great levels of detail in every circumstance - the U7N does particularly good work describing textures, and it can do so at the same time as controlling complex patterns too. Its ability to differentiate between the textures of complexions is impressive, and even a tight pattern on clothing stays composed. 

White tones are bright and clean, and the Hisense is able to tease out even the most minor variations in tone or temperature of the brightest scenes with assurance. Big areas of what might otherwise be uniform colour get the same treatment: the U7N can identify and contextualise differences in tone with no apparent effort.

Stepping down to some 1080p Full HD content can cause a mild drop-off in detail levels and a slight softening of what was previously a rigorously sharp picture, but in broad terms the Hisense is a very capable up-scaler of this kind of resolution. It doesn’t alter its overall characteristics, and consequently remains very easy indeed to watch. Certainly, it’s an easier watch than when you ask it to upscale anything of a less substantial resolution - 720p stuff can look a bit vague and indistinct, and what was previously quite competent motion control becomes more tentative. Edge-definition becomes ragged, and motion is accompanied by a degree of shimmer that makes it all too obvious how hard you’re asking the Hisense to work.

And despite the numerous dimming zones, the Hisense doesn’t have what you’d call complete control over its backlighting - haloing and blooming are not unheard-of. And (perhaps because of this, though more likely because of the intensity of its backlighting array) the U7N isn’t capable of generating the sort of black tones that the best backlit LCD panels can summon. ‘Very deep grey’ isn’t a bad effort, but at no point are you likely to confuse it with ‘black’.

The Hisense is a very worthwhile gaming monitor for those with a current-gen console, though. All the picture-quality positives I’ve discussed hold true for gaming content, and the screen’s brightness makes lighting effects really pop. Input lag is down at a super-fast 10ms when in ‘Game’ mode, and the pop-up ‘Game Bar’ offers information and settings adjustment on the fly, rather than having to explore the main set-up menus.    

Sound quality

It’s hardly headline news that a TV that’s capable of generating very impressive images doesn’t really have what it takes when it comes to the sound that accompanies them - but nevertheless it’s worth reporting on. So yes: the Hisense 65U7NQTUK has a 2.1-channel audio system that most definitely makes a sound - but it doesn’t really complement the images as well as it might.

There is, however, decent tonal balance, if a shortage of meaningful low-frequency presence, and the midrange (which is, of course, the most important part of any movie soundtrack) projects quite well. But the overall presentation is flat and undemonstrative, and if you decide to nudge the volume up in an effort to animate the sound, the Hisense begins to sound quite stressed and edgy. So, the advice here is as it is for so many otherwise-great televisions: budget for a soundbar. You won’t have to spend much to achieve far more agreeable sound.  

Living with

‘Simplicity’ is the key to the Hisense 65U7NQTUK when it comes to living with it. It’s VESA-ready if you want to wall-mount it, is a fairly trim 77mm deep and an untaxing 19kg. If you prefer to use a shelf, its metal feet need just two screws each to hold them, they are close enough together that a fairly small surface will do to stand it on, and a clip-on plastic shroud joins them together to create a reasonably harmonious look.

No matter where you position the Hisense, it’s a fairly discreet looker. From dead ahead, it’s basically all screen, which is just how we like it - three of the bezels are just 3.5mm wide and the one along the bottom is a mere 13mm. There is a little rudimentary cable-management integrated into the feet too, so if it’s standing on a surface, things can be kept reasonably neat and tidy.

Set-up and operation falls under the ‘simplicity’ heading, too. The menus are thorough enough for those who take an interest in the minutiae of picture performance to be satisfied, but brief enough for the rest of us not to have to put too much leg-work in to get a very workable picture. And navigating the set-up menus, VIDAA 7.6 smart TV interface and what-have-you can be done in one of a few different ways.

The television is supplied with a big, coherently laid-out remote handset that covers every function and has a useful number of shortcut keys. There’s a USB-C slot for charging its battery, but some of its bulk is explained by the solar cell towards the base of its top surface - so if you live somewhere sunny enough it should never need additional power.

You may prefer the VIDAA control app, of course. It’s free for iOS and Android, is clean in its layout and stable in its operation - it basically duplicates all of the functions of the remote control handset, and adds some smart TV interface functionality too. Or if you’re fond of the sound of your own voice, the U7N is compatible with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Hisense’s own VIDAA voice-assistant too. 

The smart TV interface itself is tidily laid out and simple to navigate - and if you use the app to rearrange the sequence of the tiles it’s simpler still. Every major streaming service is available, as are each and every one of the UK’s catch-up and on-demand TV services. There is some worthwhile content included in the VIDAA channels, too. It’s absolutely fair to say that several higher-profile alternatives could learn a thing or two from Hisense’s bespoke interface.  

Conclusion

If you want a great big picture - impressively composed and convincing images where native 4K content is concerned - without ending up with a great big bill, you need to see the Hisense 65U7NQTUK is action. It’s a Hisense in the most positive way imaginable. 

Sample scenes

Gran Turismo 7 (Eiger Nordwand) Playstation 5

The Hisense absolutely maximises the depth of field and superb lighting effects available in GT7 in general, and in this mountainous course in particular. It’s no slouch when it comes to differentiating the tones and textures in the scenery, too.

Kleo Netflix

A festival of synthetic fibres and ill-advised patterns on fabrics elevate this German drama to ‘must-watch’ status - and that’s especially true when the U7N is doing its thing. The change in overall tone and palette as 80s Berlin becomes full-on rave-rastic 90s Berlin is expressed in full.  

Match of the Day BBC iPlayer

What’s trickier for a TV to handle than televised sport? Sport being streamed via a catch-up service, that’s what - but the Hisense is up to the task. It can bring variation to big areas of uniform colour, and controls on-screen motion well - even when the camera is moving in opposition to the action on the pitch.

You want a great big picture - impressively composed and convincing images where native 4K content is concerned - without ending up with a great big bill.

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Not only does the DALI Katch One soundbar absolutely wipe the floor with the unassisted sound the Hisense 65U7NQTUK is capable of producing, it’s also one of the few soundbars around that can do a convincing job as a music speaker too. Two for the (very reasonable) price of one, in other words.