Hisense TV Reviews: Everything You Need to Know

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It didn’t take long into our Hisense TV reviews for us to figure out that this was a brand that focused primarily on Smart TVs. It’s a Chinese manufacturer that is quickly expanding into U.S. and other Western markets.

Hisense TVs give you the two main things most people look for when shopping for a television: high-quality pictures and great prices.

Let’s jump right into this!

Hisense TV reviews

1. Specifications

Hisense televisions come in a wide variety of sizes from 43 to 75 inches There’s also a large selection of models to choose from, each offering different levels of quality including Full HD and 4KHD. Hisense’s best-selling models typically come with Smart TV and Roku capabilities.

2. Reviewing the cheaper models

Like most TV manufacturers, Hisense also offers lower-end televisions for those working with a budget. For example, you can purchase an H4 series Smart TV for around $269 on Amazon. That gives you a 43″ inches, 1080p resolution, and Roku compatibility. You’re free to stream all your favorite shows and movies without having to use a third device and you can cast videos from your smartphone to your television.

During our Hisense TV reviews, we also noticed that this brand offers some lower-end selections that aren’t Smart TV compatible. Models like the H3 are the cheapest televisions you can buy from this manufacturer, but, quite frankly, there are better deals out there if you’re looking for a basic HD TV. Element clearly has the budget-TV market cornered, so you’re better off spending an extra 100 bucks for one of Hisense’s Smart TVs – which are some of the most affordable televisions on the market.

[Click here to read our Element TV Review]

3. Picture quality

Given the wide range of TVs Hisense offers, there is no consistent trend as far as picture quality is concerned. Some of their higher-end selections performed better than their counterparts made by well-known brands like Samsung, while some of the lower tier selections offer basic 720p resolution. Hisense Smart TVs and high-end selections are comparable with any top brand you can think of.

4. Portability

You don’t have to be Hercules to load anyone of Hisense’s TVs into your car or move it from one room to another. The average television made by this brand only weighs about 30 pounds. That makes them lighter than most TVs manufactured by their competitors.

5. Prices

You’ll hear no complaints from us as far as prices are concerned. Hisense is the way to go if you want a high tech, nice-sized TV without spending more than $300. The fact this manufacturer has a 1080p resolution, 43″, Smart TV listed for around $289 says it all. As a general rule, offerings from Hisense tend to be about 50 percent cheaper than their counterparts made by popular brands like Sony and Samsung. The higher-end selections this manufacturer offers can cost you up to $1200 like the H9D 65-inch 4K Smart TV.

6. Picture brightness

The one flaw that consistently came up during our Hisense TV review was the fact pictures came out too bright on the default setting. Fortunately, you can easily adjust the brightness from the system menu.

7. Angles

Certain Hisense models like the High Dynamic ones provide poor viewing angles. It also a complaint that we noticed other users have made as well. All the other models we examined during our Hisense TV reviews do not have this issue.

8. Apps

While many Hisense TVs come with popular apps like Hulu and Netflix, they can be somewhat buggy at times. That can be a bit annoying when you’re trying to enjoy some downtime and the video you’re trying to watch keeps freezing. That’s one area Hisense televisions fall short compared to competitors like Sony and Samsung.

9. Remote control

What likely makes the apps on Hisense buggy is the main software these TVs run on and that becomes apparent when you’re using the remote control. You might find yourself having to hit a button multiple times before the input is finally accepted.

10. Installation

Hisense televisions couldn’t be any easier to set up. It’s certainly a lot easier to set up that most of its competitors. It gets an A+ in this department – especially since these are extremely light as well.

11. Wi-Fi compatibility

Most televisions made by this brand come with Wi-Fi connections. That allows you to stream media directly from the internet.

12. Ports

There’s no shortage of HDMI ports when it comes to Hisense TVs. That was quite obvious during our Hisense TV review. This means you don’t have to constantly connect and disconnect the devices you use with your television. These TVs also come with multiple USD ports allowing you to connect devices like your smartphone or digital camera directly to the TV. That’s a unique feature that you don’t always find in televisions made by popular brands like Sony.

Wrapping up our Hisense TV reviews

After all of our Hisense TV reviews, the one thing that was obvious is that you get great value for your money. If you’re ready to step into the world of Smart TVs without having to shell out lots of cash, Hisense gives you many options to choose from.

Click here to browse through all the different Hisense TVs on the market.

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Top-Selling Hisense Televisions

We will finish up our Hisense TV review by going over some of the top-rated products from this manufacturer:

Hisense H4 Series Review: Good Value at a Great Price

This Hisense H4 series review is a useful read if you’re looking for a TV with good performance but on a budget. The Hisense H4F series is an entry-level product line from 2019. The opening sales pitch of these televisions is attractive pricing and Roku OS.

This review looks past these selling points to judge the smoothness and overall user experience of the Hisense version of Roku OS. It goes even further into a deep dive into the picture quality of the Hisense H4F series. Though we’ll look at the overall H4F series, the focus of this Hisense H4 review will be the 32-inch model; the runt of the bunch.

Hisense H4 series review: Resolution, pixel density, and quality in the age of 4K

With the exception of the 720p Hisense 32H4F, the larger screens in the series come in 1080p resolution. You may be wondering if 1080p is enough to prevent the appearance of large pixels on a 40” or 55” screen. The answer comes down to pixel density.

The larger a screen is, the more pixels the screen needs to ensure more pixels per inch. By the same logic the smaller a display, the fewer pixels it takes to avoid pixelation. It then follows that 4K resolution has little effect in a 20-inch screen, but is necessary for a 65” panel.

As we review the picture quality of the Hisense H4 series, we’ll see if and how screen resolution plays a role.

Unboxing the 32” Hisense H4F: The package with the bare minimum

The Hisense 32H4F ships with a power cable, a customized Roku remote, and a pair of AAA batteries. You will find a pair of legs, some screws and a user guide to walk you through the setup. You’re going to need your own supply of media cables.

Hisense H4 Review: Design

Hisense chose a no-frills design for the H4F series. The 32-inch Hisense H4 is fairly slim, with a side profile that’s only 2.8 inches thick. This means that the TV would pretty much hug the wall if you were to mount it. If you go with an entertainment stand instead, choose one that can accommodate a footprint of at 28 by 6.7 inches.

The TV sits in a black chassis with glossy bezels that measure 0.6 inches on three sides. The lower bezel is slightly thicker, to make space for the manufacturer logo. It is under this logo that you will find the singular control button on the TV. You could use the button to toggle between inputs or to power the TV. However, it’s easier to use the remote. The IR receiver sits hidden to the right of the button.

Going round the back, you will find a panel that sticks out in relief to the rest of the surface. This panel has a 200x100mm VESA wall mount. It also holds the inputs.

[Read what others are saying about this TV]

Inputs and connectivity

The inputs sit in a column that faces the right side of the screen. They consist of a 3.5mm headphone jack, an antenna connector, a USB port, a digital optical port, three HDMI ports, and a set of composite AV ports. You may find that your TV is a variation that splits the inputs into two sets. In this scenario, you will have to deal with several downward-facing ports.

Both the optical and the HDMI-ARC ports allow for audio passthrough of Dolby Digital and DTS formats. The HDMI ports also allow you to control connected devices via the TV itself.

The wireless adapter inside the 32H4 lacks Bluetooth capability, but it can connect to WiFi networks on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies.

Interface: Roku OS Setup

Once you’re done with the physical installation, you’ll want to set up the smart TV interface that comes with the 32H4. Roku will start you off by connecting to your home network and requesting your account information. Setup will let you create a Roku account if you don’t have one. The rest of the setup process is as easy as following the prompts right to the home screen.

You should find yourself face to face with a simple page with a grid of apps and inputs on the right half the screen. A navigation pane sits on the left while the settings menu sits on the top right corner.

Roku comes preinstalled with popular apps like YouTube TV, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Vudu. The app store is well stocked, in case you need additional apps.

Interface: User experience

The lightweight interface is responsive, after a software update or two. After the OS stabilizes, it only takes a second for user commands to execute. Roku is an intuitive interface that learns your viewing and gaming habits to create a customized menu. However, you’ll have to learn to live with ads and recommended content. The interface lacks an opt-out option for ads.

Larger Hisense H4 televisions come with Alexa, but not the 32H4F. That said, you can still use an Alexa device like an Amazon Echo to control the TV via Roku. Even then you’ll be unable to control the 32-inch screen with voice commands. This is just as well considering the lack of a microphone in the TV remote.

Hisense H4 Review: Hardware and picture quality

The Hisense 32H4F is a direct-array IPS panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz and a resolution of 720p. It may not seem like a lot, but 720p works for a 32-inch panel. The panel’s pixel density of 81 pixels per inch is enough to allow for saturated colors and a good level of detail.

IPS panels have wide viewing angles and workable response times. They are also famous for their color accuracy. Does the Hisense 32H4F conform to this trend?

1. Color accuracy

Hisense H4F panels have excellent color reproduction right out of the box; no calibration necessary. While the colors are a bit warm, it’s nothing that causes glaring tinges of pink. Being a budget 720p TV, the Hisense 32H4F lacks a wide color gamut or HDR support. Not that you’ll notice, because the TV renders rich colors.

2. Brightness and contrast

The 32-inch Hisense H4F has a peak brightness of 150 nits and an absolute black level of 0.03 nits. This makes for a contrast ratio of about 1050:1, which is underwhelming. You can find a comparable TV that is brighter, with a contrast ratio of at least 2000:1.

Hisense H4 panels have direct backlights, without local dimming. For the Hisense H4 display, the lack of local dimming limits the level of contrast that the TV executes on a localized region.

The resulting limit in contrast ratio in turn limits how well the H4F renders detail and texture. It takes away from the otherwise amazing color reproduction of the TV. So expect black colors to look a little grey, and expect minimal shadow detail.

3. Uniformity

Black uniformity in the Hisense H4 falls short. In addition to black colors looking grey in a dark room, you will notice clouding in the middle and backlight bleedthrough at the edges. This affects the look of dark scenes and you’ll have to increase the level of ambient light to counter this drawback.

The panels perform better when it comes to dark grey colors. You will notice a dirty screen effect with lighter shades of grey. This translates into discolored patches as you watch sports.

4. Viewing angles

IPS panels usually have wide viewing angles. So do Hisense H4F televisions. Colors only start to shift at 70 degrees from the center. Dimming starts to happen when you sit at more than 60 degrees from dead center. This implies an effective viewing angle of 140 degrees, which isn’t bad at all.

5. Response time and input lag

The Hisense 32H4F has an impressive response time of 15ms, which means little or no motion blur. It has an input lag of 15ms in game mode. The minimal input lag makes the Hisense H4 a great gaming screen. In movie mode, the screen’s input lag increases to 32 milliseconds, which is still great.

Combined, the response time and input lag make for excellent motion handling. It’s safe to say that the Hisense H4 series punches above its weight in this regard.

Sound

While the internal speakers of the Hisense 32H4 have non-existent bass, they are loud and clear.

Pros

Affordable, with great warranty and aftercare terms
Accurate colors
Good contrast ratio
Wide viewing angles
Fast response time and low input lag

Cons

The wireless receiver may drop the WiFi connection from time to time and you may need a software update to correct this issue
Remote is not universal
High input lag
Limited functionality of the smart interface (no allowance for voice commands)
No opt-out for ads and suggested content

Hisense H4 review: Great value from a budget TV

This Hisense H4 review reveals an affordable TV with useful features and good picture quality. You can counteract the dimness of the screen by adjusting the ambient light in your living space. As for the Hisense rendition of Roku, you might need a few software updates before the interface runs without a hitch. Click here to read more about this TV.