Verdict
A disappointing flagship Mini-LED from Hisense. While the U8N’s specs look very promising, its HDR performance is sub-par with non-Dolby Vision content.
Pros
- Accessible interface
- Plenty of gaming features
- Decent sound system
- Dolby Vision IQ
Cons
- Competition is better
- Underwhelming HDR10 and HDR10+ performance
- SDR performance is too bright
- Weak viewing angles
-
HDRFull house for HDR support -
Audio60W 2.1.2 sound system -
AppsSupplied by VIDAA interface with Freely support
Introduction
The U8N represents Hisense’s flagship TV for 2024, filled with all the features befitting of its status at a price less than its rivals.
The 65-inch Sony Bravia 9 would set you back nearly £3000, while the Samsung QN95D was £3299 when it first launched (now just £2000 at the time of review), so the Hisense U8N’s starting price of £1799 is rather charitable in comparison.
Hisense has, as usual, packed lots features to provide value to its more expensive rivals. But as always, the specs on paper can tell one story while the real-world performance tells another.
Design
- Heavy
- 65- and 75-inch sizes
The Hisense U8N comes in two sizes: 65- and 75-inch, so this isn’t the model to get if your living room is on the small side.
The build quality is on the robust side. You’ll strain to lift the U8N from its packaging, its total weight is 30.1kg (an LG G4 is just 24kg). And despite its Mini-LED backlight, the depth of the TV is around 57.1mm. Compare that to the Samsung QN95D’s 21.3mm and the U8N feels on the chunky side.
The stand is relatively easy to piece together and there’s an area to pass cables through to keep the area clean and free of clutter. The bezels are slim so most of what you see is what’s on-screen, and there are new front-firing speakers and twin subwoofers (on the back) that make up the TV’s sound system.
Operating system
- Easy to use
- Solar cell remote
- Freely support
Hisense’s VIDAA interface is a simple one to get to grips with. Content is organised into several rows with apps on the top row followed by live TV feeds and curated content from a range of TV services. Scrolling through the interface is a smooth, responsive experience. VIDAA’s never been the flashiest interface but it’s easy to use.
And although advertisements have become a growing concern, the ads here are mostly for Hisense’s own products and aren’t intrusive.
The UK catch-up apps and live feeds are brought to you by Freely, which streams over the Internet rather than through an aerial. It works well enough and seems to be getting slicker each month. Jumping in and out of live streams is easy enough with minimal lag, though it’s missing a few features Freeview Play had.
You can set the TV up through the VIDDA app, which is simple and quick to get through the process of setting the TV up. You can control and search for content via the app if you prefer not to use the remote control.
Speaking of, the remote control both looks and feels more premium than previous Hisense zappers. It’s still a fairly big unit, probably suited more for bigger hands. With the integrated solar cell the remote can charge itself but it’s probably more convenient to charge via USB-C. Anything that gets rid of batteries is worth having in my opinion.
Features
- Dolby Vision IQ
- Alexa voice control
- 144Hz refresh rates
Hisense has rammed the U8N with all the features. All HDR formats are supported in HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ Adaptive, and Dolby Vision IQ. You’ve also got IMAX Enhanced mode as well as Filmmaker mode, which with Prime Video automatically switches when it senses compatible films and programmes.
Hisense refers to the screen as a low reflection one, deflecting ambient light during the day (or, hopefully, at night). The panel is a 120Hz one, which should help with smooth motion with sports while the Total Ambient Adaptive feature automatically adapts the screen’s performance depending on the ambient light the TV’s sensor detects.
The sound system is a step up from the U7N, a 2.1.2 configuration with two front-firing speakers and twin subwoofers, fronted by 60W of power.
There’s DTS Virtual:X decoding and Hisense also offers its own version of Samsung’s Q-Symphony with its Hi-Concerto, linking the TV’s speakers with a soundbar. Just to add to the feature count, there’s WiSA Ready support to connect more wireless speakers to the U8N.
Gamers get VRR (HDMI and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro) as well as ALLM which automatically puts the TV into its lowest latency.
Refresh rates of up to 144Hz are possible with PC games but there’s no change in its input lag performance at 4K/60Hz, which remains 13.2ms. That’s not bad, but LG and Samsung offer lower input lag out of the box. The Game Bar feature means you can tweak settings on the fly.
Alexa and VIDAA Voice control are the supported voice assistants, as there’s HomeKit for those in the Apple smart ecosystem.
The U8N features four HDMI 2.1 inputs but the inputs PC gamers should be aware of are HDMI ports 3 and 4, which support 144Hz refresh rates. HDMI 3 is shared with the eARC (so you’ll lose one of the ‘gaming’ inputs if you plug in a soundbar), while ALLM is supported across all inputs.
Otherwise, there are two USB inputs (2.0 and 3.0), Ethernet, two RF tuners, CI+ 2.0 interface slot, digital optical out, sub-out, headphone out and an AV composite input. Wirelessly there’s Wi-Fi 6 (AirPlay 2) and Bluetooth streaming.
Picture Quality
- Over 2000 nits of brightness
- Surprisingly average black levels
- Heavily reliant on Dolby Vision
There’s a discrepancy that lies at the heart of the Hisense U8N’s performance. On paper, its performance is as good as more premium-priced Mini LEDs on the market.
In fact, it’s so bright my sensor struggled to record the measurements but on a 2% and 5% HDR window, the Hisense U8N hit 2150 and 2387 nits respectively. In Dynamic mode, it reached a blazing high of 2577 nits.
And yet its levels of brightness, contrast and black levels with films and TV series seemed the opposite of those results. Brightness with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (HDR10) rarely reached the eye-popping levels the figures suggested – the Hisense U8N looked dull sat next to a Samsung QN90D. Colours lacked the same vibrancy, brightness lacked the same level of precision, black levels were more bluish in some cases and contrast was weak.
For a TV that has 1600 local dimming zones, there remained slight blooming and backlight bleeding in The Darkest Hour. In Zero Dark Thirty black levels were washed out and lacked depth. Wide angles disappointed with colours fading not far off axis and blooming more noticeable. Despite Hisense’s claims the screen is reflective, the U8N is especially fragile when dark scenes are shown.
There’s even some Dirty Screen Effect towards the edges (though not as much as the U7N). These were all problems with the less expensive models so it’s a disappointment to record them on the flagship TV.
The underwhelming HDR performance continues with HDR10+ films as Doctor Sleep puts in some bluish blacks with some bleeding towards the sides and bottom of the screen. Scrolling through the modes and the Energy Saving mode offers better black levels than the cinema modes. Something’s not quite right with the Hisense U8N.
Most of these issues are solved with Dolby Vision IQ, which boosts blacks to give them more solidity, gives colours more punch, and injects more brightness into highlights but that only adds to the levels of disappointment – the only sense of relief is that Dolby Vision is widespread on streaming services and 4K Blu-ray. Streaming Nobody Wants This on Netflix and it’s a much higher level of performance.
The Hisense U8N’s upscaling skills are solid watching a Blu-ray of Dune. It’s not the sharpest image but given its 65-inch size edges are clear and there’s a satisfactory level of detail in the close-up of the characters’ faces. Colours are bright although the U8N’s SDR performance verges on too bright. Dark scenes in Dune look don’t go far enough, and its black level performance isn’t always the best. The Sardaukar attack on the Atreides army seems to suffer from a lack of clarity and detail in the darkest parts of the image.
With a DVD of Star Trek (2009), the U8N is fine. It’s unsurprisingly soft-looking but it is bright and colourful. Anything in the foreground and the AI processing of the Hi-View engine smooths out the jagged edges well enough, but anything in the background is noticeably fuzzier and undefined. Movement causes slight blurriness and softness too, while there’s more noise than there is on a Samsung QN90D and blacks can appear blue.
It’s not to say that this issue doesn’t afflict other TVs but the QN90D massages the creases of lower resolution content better than the Hisense does.
It’s with the U8N’s motion processing that Hisense retrieves a few more points on the board. With its Smooth setting there’s judder and it’s not as sharp or as detailed with a noticeably softer image but it holds up well enough.
Standard offers a smoother performance or no noise, judder and stutter; and with the Clear setting, I didn’t spot any issues. I do wish the motion settings for Dolby Vision IQ were customisable as there’s a bit of stutter on its current setting.
Sound Quality
The Hisense U8N’s 2.1.2 isn’t better than adding a sound system but it’s a respectable effort if you don’t already have one.
Dialogue is clear enough though not the crispest or most defined, leading to a slightly muffled delivery at times. Playing the Gom Jabbar scene from Dune and the Hisense U8N gets through it without tripping up, but in general, bass reaches for punch over depth, and there’s little to no dynamism. The U8N is a little tame in terms of excitement.
There’s also some distortion with low frequencies, a little crackle noticeable with demanding scenes but there’s width and height delivered by the sound system; highs are clear and it sounds spacious. It’s a solid effort but compared to the Philips OLED809, it’s not as good.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You watch lots of TV, movies and game a lot
It’s clear to see what Hisense is going for with the U8N, a TV that’s apt for any occasion and its specs are pretty impressive. It bungs in a lot of features for less than most of its main rivals.
You want a better HDR performance
While the U8N mostly eradicates the issues that plagued Hisense’s cheaper models, its HDR performance is disappointing. Unless you’re watching Dolby Vision content, this TV seems to struggle.
Final Thoughts
I was hoping that the Hisense U8N would be the best of the TVs I’d seen from the brand in 2024 but its overall HDR performance is puzzling, relying heavily on Dolby Vision to boost black levels, colour and brightness.
You’d be better off choosing the Philips OLED809 if you’re shopping at this price. The Samsung QN90D is another choice, and less expensive than the Hisense is currently. You could even opt for Hisense’s own U7N, though overall, the U8N offers a more consistent and accomplished image.
On paper, the Hisense U8N looks like it’ll serve up a feast but in reality, it’s not the most filling meal. If you’re still set on this TV, my advice would be to wait for a discount that makes it a more appetizing choice.
How we test
We test every television we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested with Spears and Munsil reference disc
FAQs
There are only two screen sizes this Hisense U8N is available in the UK: 65- and 75-inches.
Trusted Reviews test data
Verdict
A disappointing flagship Mini-LED from Hisense. While the U8N’s specs look very promising, its HDR performance is sub-par with non-Dolby Vision content.
Pros
- Accessible interface
- Plenty of gaming features
- Decent sound system
- Dolby Vision IQ
Cons
- Competition is better
- Underwhelming HDR10 and HDR10+ performance
- SDR performance is too bright
- Weak viewing angles
-
HDRFull house for HDR support -
Audio60W 2.1.2 sound system -
AppsSupplied by VIDAA interface with Freely support
Introduction
The U8N represents Hisense’s flagship TV for 2024, filled with all the features befitting of its status at a price less than its rivals.
The 65-inch Sony Bravia 9 would set you back nearly £3000, while the Samsung QN95D was £3299 when it first launched (now just £2000 at the time of review), so the Hisense U8N’s starting price of £1799 is rather charitable in comparison.
Hisense has, as usual, packed lots features to provide value to its more expensive rivals. But as always, the specs on paper can tell one story while the real-world performance tells another.
Design
- Heavy
- 65- and 75-inch sizes
The Hisense U8N comes in two sizes: 65- and 75-inch, so this isn’t the model to get if your living room is on the small side.
The build quality is on the robust side. You’ll strain to lift the U8N from its packaging, its total weight is 30.1kg (an LG G4 is just 24kg). And despite its Mini-LED backlight, the depth of the TV is around 57.1mm. Compare that to the Samsung QN95D’s 21.3mm and the U8N feels on the chunky side.
The stand is relatively easy to piece together and there’s an area to pass cables through to keep the area clean and free of clutter. The bezels are slim so most of what you see is what’s on-screen, and there are new front-firing speakers and twin subwoofers (on the back) that make up the TV’s sound system.
Operating system
- Easy to use
- Solar cell remote
- Freely support
Hisense’s VIDAA interface is a simple one to get to grips with. Content is organised into several rows with apps on the top row followed by live TV feeds and curated content from a range of TV services. Scrolling through the interface is a smooth, responsive experience. VIDAA’s never been the flashiest interface but it’s easy to use.
And although advertisements have become a growing concern, the ads here are mostly for Hisense’s own products and aren’t intrusive.
The UK catch-up apps and live feeds are brought to you by Freely, which streams over the Internet rather than through an aerial. It works well enough and seems to be getting slicker each month. Jumping in and out of live streams is easy enough with minimal lag, though it’s missing a few features Freeview Play had.
You can set the TV up through the VIDDA app, which is simple and quick to get through the process of setting the TV up. You can control and search for content via the app if you prefer not to use the remote control.
Speaking of, the remote control both looks and feels more premium than previous Hisense zappers. It’s still a fairly big unit, probably suited more for bigger hands. With the integrated solar cell the remote can charge itself but it’s probably more convenient to charge via USB-C. Anything that gets rid of batteries is worth having in my opinion.
Features
- Dolby Vision IQ
- Alexa voice control
- 144Hz refresh rates
Hisense has rammed the U8N with all the features. All HDR formats are supported in HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ Adaptive, and Dolby Vision IQ. You’ve also got IMAX Enhanced mode as well as Filmmaker mode, which with Prime Video automatically switches when it senses compatible films and programmes.
Hisense refers to the screen as a low reflection one, deflecting ambient light during the day (or, hopefully, at night). The panel is a 120Hz one, which should help with smooth motion with sports while the Total Ambient Adaptive feature automatically adapts the screen’s performance depending on the ambient light the TV’s sensor detects.
The sound system is a step up from the U7N, a 2.1.2 configuration with two front-firing speakers and twin subwoofers, fronted by 60W of power.
There’s DTS Virtual:X decoding and Hisense also offers its own version of Samsung’s Q-Symphony with its Hi-Concerto, linking the TV’s speakers with a soundbar. Just to add to the feature count, there’s WiSA Ready support to connect more wireless speakers to the U8N.
Gamers get VRR (HDMI and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro) as well as ALLM which automatically puts the TV into its lowest latency.
Refresh rates of up to 144Hz are possible with PC games but there’s no change in its input lag performance at 4K/60Hz, which remains 13.2ms. That’s not bad, but LG and Samsung offer lower input lag out of the box. The Game Bar feature means you can tweak settings on the fly.
Alexa and VIDAA Voice control are the supported voice assistants, as there’s HomeKit for those in the Apple smart ecosystem.
The U8N features four HDMI 2.1 inputs but the inputs PC gamers should be aware of are HDMI ports 3 and 4, which support 144Hz refresh rates. HDMI 3 is shared with the eARC (so you’ll lose one of the ‘gaming’ inputs if you plug in a soundbar), while ALLM is supported across all inputs.
Otherwise, there are two USB inputs (2.0 and 3.0), Ethernet, two RF tuners, CI+ 2.0 interface slot, digital optical out, sub-out, headphone out and an AV composite input. Wirelessly there’s Wi-Fi 6 (AirPlay 2) and Bluetooth streaming.
Picture Quality
- Over 2000 nits of brightness
- Surprisingly average black levels
- Heavily reliant on Dolby Vision
There’s a discrepancy that lies at the heart of the Hisense U8N’s performance. On paper, its performance is as good as more premium-priced Mini LEDs on the market.
In fact, it’s so bright my sensor struggled to record the measurements but on a 2% and 5% HDR window, the Hisense U8N hit 2150 and 2387 nits respectively. In Dynamic mode, it reached a blazing high of 2577 nits.
And yet its levels of brightness, contrast and black levels with films and TV series seemed the opposite of those results. Brightness with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (HDR10) rarely reached the eye-popping levels the figures suggested – the Hisense U8N looked dull sat next to a Samsung QN90D. Colours lacked the same vibrancy, brightness lacked the same level of precision, black levels were more bluish in some cases and contrast was weak.
For a TV that has 1600 local dimming zones, there remained slight blooming and backlight bleeding in The Darkest Hour. In Zero Dark Thirty black levels were washed out and lacked depth. Wide angles disappointed with colours fading not far off axis and blooming more noticeable. Despite Hisense’s claims the screen is reflective, the U8N is especially fragile when dark scenes are shown.
There’s even some Dirty Screen Effect towards the edges (though not as much as the U7N). These were all problems with the less expensive models so it’s a disappointment to record them on the flagship TV.
The underwhelming HDR performance continues with HDR10+ films as Doctor Sleep puts in some bluish blacks with some bleeding towards the sides and bottom of the screen. Scrolling through the modes and the Energy Saving mode offers better black levels than the cinema modes. Something’s not quite right with the Hisense U8N.
Most of these issues are solved with Dolby Vision IQ, which boosts blacks to give them more solidity, gives colours more punch, and injects more brightness into highlights but that only adds to the levels of disappointment – the only sense of relief is that Dolby Vision is widespread on streaming services and 4K Blu-ray. Streaming Nobody Wants This on Netflix and it’s a much higher level of performance.
The Hisense U8N’s upscaling skills are solid watching a Blu-ray of Dune. It’s not the sharpest image but given its 65-inch size edges are clear and there’s a satisfactory level of detail in the close-up of the characters’ faces. Colours are bright although the U8N’s SDR performance verges on too bright. Dark scenes in Dune look don’t go far enough, and its black level performance isn’t always the best. The Sardaukar attack on the Atreides army seems to suffer from a lack of clarity and detail in the darkest parts of the image.
With a DVD of Star Trek (2009), the U8N is fine. It’s unsurprisingly soft-looking but it is bright and colourful. Anything in the foreground and the AI processing of the Hi-View engine smooths out the jagged edges well enough, but anything in the background is noticeably fuzzier and undefined. Movement causes slight blurriness and softness too, while there’s more noise than there is on a Samsung QN90D and blacks can appear blue.
It’s not to say that this issue doesn’t afflict other TVs but the QN90D massages the creases of lower resolution content better than the Hisense does.
It’s with the U8N’s motion processing that Hisense retrieves a few more points on the board. With its Smooth setting there’s judder and it’s not as sharp or as detailed with a noticeably softer image but it holds up well enough.
Standard offers a smoother performance or no noise, judder and stutter; and with the Clear setting, I didn’t spot any issues. I do wish the motion settings for Dolby Vision IQ were customisable as there’s a bit of stutter on its current setting.
Sound Quality
The Hisense U8N’s 2.1.2 isn’t better than adding a sound system but it’s a respectable effort if you don’t already have one.
Dialogue is clear enough though not the crispest or most defined, leading to a slightly muffled delivery at times. Playing the Gom Jabbar scene from Dune and the Hisense U8N gets through it without tripping up, but in general, bass reaches for punch over depth, and there’s little to no dynamism. The U8N is a little tame in terms of excitement.
There’s also some distortion with low frequencies, a little crackle noticeable with demanding scenes but there’s width and height delivered by the sound system; highs are clear and it sounds spacious. It’s a solid effort but compared to the Philips OLED809, it’s not as good.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You watch lots of TV, movies and game a lot
It’s clear to see what Hisense is going for with the U8N, a TV that’s apt for any occasion and its specs are pretty impressive. It bungs in a lot of features for less than most of its main rivals.
You want a better HDR performance
While the U8N mostly eradicates the issues that plagued Hisense’s cheaper models, its HDR performance is disappointing. Unless you’re watching Dolby Vision content, this TV seems to struggle.
Final Thoughts
I was hoping that the Hisense U8N would be the best of the TVs I’d seen from the brand in 2024 but its overall HDR performance is puzzling, relying heavily on Dolby Vision to boost black levels, colour and brightness.
You’d be better off choosing the Philips OLED809 if you’re shopping at this price. The Samsung QN90D is another choice, and less expensive than the Hisense is currently. You could even opt for Hisense’s own U7N, though overall, the U8N offers a more consistent and accomplished image.
On paper, the Hisense U8N looks like it’ll serve up a feast but in reality, it’s not the most filling meal. If you’re still set on this TV, my advice would be to wait for a discount that makes it a more appetizing choice.
How we test
We test every television we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested with Spears and Munsil reference disc
FAQs
There are only two screen sizes this Hisense U8N is available in the UK: 65- and 75-inches.
