Hisense U7H Quantum ULED 4K TV Review

I just finished wrapping up my review of the Hisense U6H and the TV was quite impressive. You can read that review here. It marks a great entry point for users who are looking for a generally decent all-around TV with gaming features and some local dimming. However, the Hisense U7H steps things up even more with its feature set. In a way, it acts as the company’s high-end full-array local dimming TV with some of the best gaming features on the market and a panel that is able to produce some incredible image quality.

Where the U6H stumbled in some aspects, the U7H perfects it and you can definitely see the improvements across the board here. The Hisense U7H is also the official TV for the FIFA 2022 World Cup and Hisense should be proud of themselves for putting together such a great display. Sure, the Hisense U7H is a little bit pricier than its predecessor. The TV will set you back R15,999 for the 55-inch, R19,999 for the 65-inc, R29,999 for the 75-inch and R39,999 for the 85-inch but you pay for the extras here and they are so worth it.

Watch our Hisense U7H review below

Hisense U7H Unboxing

The Hisense U7H unboxes the same as the U6H but there are a few tweaks here and there I should mention. First off, the inside of the box is foam padded instead of polystyrene. The TV also uses a completely different stand so the box accommodates this.

Once unsealed, I removed the stand and top protector from the box. I then slid the box over the TV revealing the covered unit. The TV includes special padded protectors on the left and right-hand sides which are used to provide cushioning when placing the TV down on the surface while installing the stand. The stand is quite easily installed. I simply screwed the metal frame into the bottom of the TV unit using the provided screws, flipped the TV over and it was ready to go.

Setting up the Hisense U7H was pretty simple. I could either download the VIDAA app by scanning the QR code on the screen or manually connect to the internet and sign in. I chose to use the app. It was simple enough and once installed, I connected to the Wi-Fi and got everything up and running. It definitely makes things easier instead of having to sit and type out your email and password to log into the VIDAA account.

Hisense U7H Design

There’s no denying that the Hisense U7H looks excellent in person. The metal base stand, while being very anti soundbars looks great and gives the TV a very modern look. It stands 6.5cm off the surface and you might have some issues putting a soundbar under the TV due to the stand that comes out 12cm from the front of the TV.

The TV boasts a metal frame around the edges of the display. There’s also a gunmetal base at the bottom of the TV that’s got a sort of dual-layer design to it. On the right-hand side, there’s a small etching that shows off the Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos logos. I have to say that the general design of the TV is extremely elegant. The black glass panel looks so clean and the thin metal frame gives it a premium look. There’s also a Hisense logo at the bottom near the sensor and a red LED light.

When it comes to the ports, the TV includes everything you need on the left-hand side. Here you’ll find two HDMI 2.0 ports with ALLM and another 2 HDMI 2.1 ports. These two ports include one port with eARC while both ports support ALLM and VRR. These HDMI 2.1 ports also boast 4K120Hz support.

Other ports include one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port, ethernet, audio out, Mini AV, Digital Audio, and two tuner ports. There’s also a common interface card port for those who use this. Most of the ports are situated on the left-hand side while the ethernet, digital audio port and USB 2.0 port have their own slots on the back of the TV. The power port is on the right-hand side of the TV.

Hisense U7H Performnace

The Hisense U7H is quite a robust TV and if you can think of a modern TV feature, it has it. Both the 55 and 65-inch models come with Full Array Local Dimming while the 75 and 85-inch models include Full Array Local Dimming Pro. The larger TV panels just allow for more dimming capabilities but the general picture quality is superb. I was especially impressed by how incredible the black levels are on this TV while the local dimming does still produce a few blooming here and there, you’re not going to get any better than this when looking at an LED TV.

The VIDAA OS includes all the apps you’ll need. It is also expected to get Disney+ soon in SA. Hisense is also launching the FIFA+ app on VIDAA before the FIFA World cup 2022 kicks off. It will make for a great companion for the official TV of the World Cup and include highlights, match archives and live games. Beyond that, the general use of the OS is fast and responsive. Apps open and close quickly and switching between active apps leaves them open in the background to return to what you’re doing before.

The Dolby Vision IQ mode also enhances supported content depending on your room. I found that at times it even increased the brightness of the content I was watching due to the light in my room. I did notice some content stuttered here and there when making use of the feature. This was likely due to the sensor detecting light and the TV adjusting settings in the background. If it does happen to you, you can always disable the IQ feature.

I was impressed with the general image quality across all streams and content. The Hisense U7H packs a 600 nits display which is bright and vivid. Hisense’s U7G packed a 700-nit display so this one is a little dimmer. However, I measured 569 nits of brightness in a 100% window which is excellent for a panel like this in the first place. The peak brightness here allows images to punch through any glare you might face on the TV and makes the content look great. I also found turning off Clear Motion helped increase the brightness even more.

When it comes to the local dimming, the Hisense U7H includes 48 dimming zones that help keep the black levels down as low as possible while playing games and watching content. The 75 and 85-inch models include 120 dimming zones due to the size and “pro” local dimming feature.  In a decently lit room, blooming is basically non-existent thanks to these dimming zones. Unlike the U6H which completely eliminated small objects when turning the local dimming onto max, the U7H keeps them around meaning you can still max out the local dimming without losing image quality.

The only time you’ll notice a lot of blooming around the objects on the Hisense U7H is in a dark room and you’re dealing with very bright objects on a black background. Apart from that, this TV does a fantastic job replicating a pure black image and the black levels here are pretty impressive for the price tag.

Gaming on the Hisense U7H is where the real magic is and the TV packs some of the best of the best features. First off, the TV comes with 4K 120 support and it is flawless. You’re getting the full 4K resolution here when using the mode and there are no resolution sacrifices both horizontally or vertically. It also comes with VRR and ALLM. There’s a toggle in the settings to enable and disable FreeSync.

FreeSync and VRR make the world of difference when playing games. While the Dolby Vision Gaming Mode (this was meant to be Dolby Vision and not FreeSync) only supports 4K 60Hz, gaming is so much smoother with the Freesync or VRR enabled. Every action feels fluid and rotating a camera in the game results in a jitter-free and screen-tearing-free experience.

As expected for an LED TV, Local Dimming is reduced once you enable FreeSync on the display. During my review period with the TV, Hisense issued a substantial update to improve the local dimming and game mode experience on the U7H and it makes things easier to understand when you’re deciding between using local dimming or FreeSync. Make sure you update your TV to the latest firmware to get the best Game Mode settings and versatility.

So in a perfect world, you should be able to do local dimming with Dolby Vision Gaming, 4K120Hz and FreeSync at the same time but sadly, LED technology just isn’t there yet. It is what it is. However, the Hisense U7H lets you easily choose between local dimming or FreeSync. If you want to use FreeSync, you simply enable it on your PC or game console and make sure the toggle is on in the TV settings. This will automatically turn local dimming off and you can enjoy the smooth gameplay.

If you prefer local dimming, you simply disable FreeSync or VRR in the TV settings and on your PC or game console and the local dimming settings will then automatically kick in and you can toggle them to your liking. I should mention that even though local dimming gets disabled when using FreeSync and VRR, the Hisense U7H’s panel is already quite impressive and is still able to produce some fantastic black levels without the help of the extra dimming. It is a small price to pay for smoother gameplay. Although, I definitely preferred using Dolby Vision Gaming with local dimming enabled. I am a sucker for image quality of clarity.

Hisense has also added a Dolby Vision Gaming mode to the U7H and it is one of the few TVs to boast this mode. This means playing games on the Xbox Series X allows for Dolby Vision quality without sacrificing input lag. The mode is tailored for gaming and looks absolutely incredible. The combination of FreeSync and a Dolby Vision Gaming mode that actually works properly makes this TV an instant sell for me. These features just make gaming so much better and you’ll be happy once you feel and see the difference.

The general panel quality on the Hisense U7H is great. I didn’t notice any major issues and it was clean and uniform. It packs 75% DCI-P3 coverage which isn’t the best but is ample enough to deliver all types of content. The viewing angles were also decent but you’ll want to sit in the middle viewing distance to avoid seeing the bloom caused by local dimming. The panel is also quite reflective so avoid placing it facing a window. The speakers were also surprisingly good. Now I won’t say they will replace a soundbar but they were actually quite punchy and clear. They are only 10w and for general content they are okay.

Hisense U7H Verdict

The Hisense U7H is quite an impressive TV. Not only is its general viewing experience decent but its gaming features tick all the boxes for those looking for a 4K120Hz TV for their PS5 and Xbox Series X. It has a great panel and feature set so definitely put this on your list of TVs when shopping around for a model that does it all.

The Hisense U7H starts at R15,999 for the 55-inch, R19,999 for the 65-inch, R29,999 for the 75-inch and R39,999 for the 85-inch. You can find out more about the TV on the official site here.