If you're reading this you may be down the rabbit hole of tv research asking yourself: OLED or LED? Mini LED or QLED? Full array or edge-lit. Tv research becomes an obsession and I've been down that rabbit hole myself, reading reddit threads and watching youtuber reviews so I hope my review will help!
After extensively obsessing over tv specs and research I finally chose the 65" U7G. I was between the: U6G, U7G, U8G, H9G, C1, QN90A, and X80J. First off let me tell you, the C1 OLED and QN90A are phenomenal tvs that cost roughly $1000 more than the U7G, but they are NOT $1000 "better" imho. I'm a samsung guy going from a samsung DLP (my 1st 1080p tv) to an lcd (which still works great after 11yrs!) to a Black Friday special samsung 6000 series 4k tv. Yes, I've been a brand loyalist to samsung for about 15yrs, but I have broken tradition buying a Hisense. But why!?
I always say buy the tv that looks good to YOUR EYES! If it's not perceivably better or worth high end prices to your eyes and for your tv usage, then why over pay!? The U7G to my eyes delivers about 97% of the image quality that the flagship QN90A does for half the price. Sorry samsung! The jump from a samsung 6000 series to the U7G was SHOCKING! It was like jumping from a CRT tv to my 1st 1080p tv. I kid you not! I did not expect that whatsoever.
I began the tv quest leaning towards getting an OLED actually as I've been obsessed with those gorgeous black levels for over a decade but the prices were astronomical back then. The C1, A1, and Vizio OLEDs are simply gorgeous with their black levels and color saturation, but I can't get over how glossy they are. I have always believed that glossy screens on plasma and OLED tvs are a part of the magic of their image quality, but it's a double edged sword because I hate the reflections that are as bad as old CRT tvs in many instances. Plus, in my research OLEDs will have a shorter lifespan than LEDs (remember my 11yr old samsung lcd is still kicking!). So I just could not justify paying double the price for reflections, a shorter lifespan, much lower hdr brightness, and the risk of burn-in.
Full array vs edge-lit. This is HUGE for me and I think often overlooked or overshadowed by the OLED vs LED debate. Simply put, full array backlighting is far superior to edge-lit. You simple cannot get the color saturation and hdr pop out of edge-lit. That's even more important than the 60hz vs 120hz debate imho. Full array just looks better and Vizio has known that since their 1st full array lcds back in 2008/2009. Samsung and the other big companies dragged their heels on it for a decade. Even now the big 3 (samsung, LG, sony) use edge lighting on most of their lower tier tvs below $1000 which is a terrible marketing decision now that Hisense, TCL, and Vizio offer superb full array tvs way below that price point.
Compared to the other budget brands, I chose the U7G because of the future proofing with hdmi 2.1 inputs, VRR, and high peak brightness for hdr. I would have gone with last years H9G, but for next gen gaming, I wanted the peace of mind of having a tv that can properly display 4k content at 120hz.
Now, the only caveat is that on a black/dark or mostly dark screen with light spots (think of a black title screen or a dark horror movie scene following a character walking through a dark house) there is blooming because the backlight is so bright and the algorithm struggles a bit with local dimming. I honestly only ever see this blooming maybe 3% to 5% of the content I watch (movies, shows, live tv, video games, sports). Do the QN90A and C1 have less blooming and/or algorithms or dimming zones that do a better job here? 100% yes they do! Is that worth $1000 more of my hard earned money just to not have blooming in 5% of what I watch!? HECK NO! Because 95% of the time this tv smokes the competition and to my eyes it keeps up with the flagship $2000 tvs. Also, it crushes anything samsung, sony, or lg have below $1000.
At bestbuy they had the U7G next to a sony x80j. They had the sony set at maximum brightness and contrast (dynamic mode) and totally crippled the U7G by running it in a dark mode with probably the ugliest most inaccurate unsaturated color settings I've ever seen, seriously it looked like it was in sepia mode lol. They were so desperate to sell the x80j which imho is trash, that they handicapped the U7G which absolutely smokes the sony!
This review is long and I apologize, but I hope it helps! If you're like me obsessing over tv specs and comparisons, give the U7G a look because imho it is the absolute best picture you're going to get under $1000. YMMV
| Brand Name | Hisense |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 66 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 66 x 14.5 x 41.4 inches |
| Item model number | 75U7G |
| Color Name | Black |
| Special Features | Game Mode Pro, 4K ULED, Alexa Built-in, Google Assistant; Voice Remote, Dolby Vison and Dolby Atmos, Quantum Dot Color QLED |
| Speaker Type | Built-In |
| Item Weight | 30 Kilograms |
| Standing screen display size | 75 Inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Voltage | 120 Volts (AC) |
| Wattage | 350 watts |
