Everyone wants something You can get it for free, or at least as free as possible. When most people ask me what TV they should buy, they usually tell me they have a budget of around $300 for a 55 inch TV. perhaps $500 for the 65-inch model. I know everyone wants to save money, but if you can stretch your budget a little further, this is a really good one.
Hisense’s U7 series represents a worthy investment above and beyond its base price tag, with the 65″ model retailing for around $1,000, but street prices are typically under $800. The new U7N significantly improves on the already-excellent U7K in several ways, with slightly higher brightness, improved overall backlight control for deeper black levels, and vibrant quantum dot colors. It also offers better gaming capabilities for its class, and a fully upgraded Google TV interface.
Still, you’ll have to make compromises, like betting on poor screen uniformity and other quality-control issues. If you’re more picky and aren’t looking to bargain, you’ll want to consider the surprisingly bright Hisense U8N (8/10, WIRED Recommendation) or Sony’s premium Bravia 7 (7/10, WIRED Recommendation), which is on sale. Otherwise, the U7N is an attractive premium model for those who want to enjoy the true spectacle of 4K HDR.
Almost a simple setup
Assembling the U7N is surprisingly easy, and I know this because I’ve built it twice – the first model I received was damaged in shipping.
Assembling the hardware is easy, even for the first time. The panels are surprisingly light (just over 42 pounds for the 65-inch model I reviewed), and the new pedestal stand, which uses two legs connected by a plastic plate, assembles in seconds without any screws. It’s also a lot more stylish than the previous U7K’s duck-skate legs. The only drawback is that a pair of cable guides poke unsightly out from the back of each leg.
Photo: Ryan Wanniata
Hisense’s Google TV makes setting up the software very intuitive, especially if you use Google services. The app-based system quickly connected to the network, used my previous login information to automatically set up matching voice assistants, and logged into several apps using my saved Google password. I like using Google Photos as a screensaver, and the ambient mode is easy to change later. Aside from a tendency for the volume to mute for a second or two when rewinding or fast forwarding, the interface is fairly responsive.
Optimizing picture quality is a pain, but not too difficult once you get the hang of Hisense’s quirks. As always, I recommend switching the picture mode to one of the movie-based options for most content. In SDR, Theater Night and Filmmaker modes are my favorites, while Theater Day mode shines even more when there’s a lot of ambient light. The U7N is one of the few TVs in its class that’s bright enough to regularly use Dolby Vision Dark, and I used it for all but the dimmest content, even in moderate lighting. I left the local dimming and peak brightness settings on high in all modes, but you can adjust peak brightness later if it gets too hot.
The TV’s optical light sensor, which adjusts the screen brightness based on the lighting in the room, is confusing. Most TVs offer a global setting that you can turn off in the Ambient Light or Eco settings, but I usually leave it off for better accuracy (and because I don’t like my TV dimming without warning). Hisense incorporates it pretty inconsistently into each picture mode; for example, the setting is off by default in HDR Filmmaker mode, but on in SDR Filmmaker. Even Dolby Vision Dark, which is designed to be the most accurate Dolby Vision setting, has the light sensor on by default. If you want to control your TV’s dimming tendencies, make sure the sensor is off for each mode you use, and make sure to switch each mode from the current mode to All Sources.
