Dial Back the Dazzle: A Close Look at Our Astoundingly Bright Mini LED TV Display

Key Takeaways

Hisense 65-inch U8N Mini-LED TV offers unbelievable peak brightness.
Impressive colors, contrast, and sound quality all stand out.
The TV is great value thanks to a wide range of features and a reasonable price.

Hisense makes some of the brightest TVs that most folks can afford, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to call them a “budget” brand. Over the last couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to test some of the company’s top TVs and I can say, without a doubt, that the Hisense 65-inch U8N Mini LED TV is the best of the best.

Hisense 65-inch U8N Mini-LED TV

8/ 10

$1150 $1500 Save $350

The U8 Series Mini-LED smart display from Hisense has double the local dimming zones of the previous version, QLED Quantum Dot color technology, Dolby Vision HDR and Anti-Glare Low Reflection technology.

Pros

Unbelievable peak brightness
Great colors and contrast
Impressive sound for a TV set
UI had speedy load times
Solid price-to-performance value

Cons

Out of the box picture needs some tweaking
Minor light blooming

$1150 at Amazon $1150 at Best Buy

How We Test and Review Products

Price and Availability

The Hisense U8N is available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-, and 100-inch sizes. I tested the 65-inch version, which currently sells for $1,150 and is available at major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target.

Specifications

Dimensions

57 x 35.7 x 11.4in

Display Technology

Mini LED

Brand

Hisense

Refresh Rate

Up to 144Hz

Resolution

HDR?

Supports all major formats

Ports

(2x) HDMI 2.1, (2x) HDMI 2.0, USB, 3.5mm aux, Ethernet

Expand

Welcome to the Modern Age

I say this a lot in my reviews, but first impressions very much matter to me. Thankfully, the Hisense U8N was what I wanted to see when I unboxed it: sleek and modern. Thin bezels match up nicely with the metallic stand. Hisense was kind enough to provide two mounting positions for the pedestal, with the taller of the two providing enough clearance for soundbars and small devices like my Peloton Guide .

I’d like to mention that I tested the 65-inch version of the U8N. The 55- and 100-inch sizes swap that center stand for two feet (the 75-inch keeps the stand). That being said, be sure to double-check your furniture measurements!

While part of me wishes the U8N was thinner from front to back, the extra chassis is mostly for the TV’s integrated subwoofer. All four HDMI inputs, coaxial, a 3.5mm aux out, and one of two USB ports are side-facing, while the second USB, digital optical, and Ethernet are located on the back panel. If you’re planning on wall mounting the U8N, I’d suggest a tilting or full motion bracket. Mounts that sit flush against the wall will block the TV’s rear ports, which could make it challenging to connect a soundbar or ethernet cable.

The sleek and modern style trickles down to the U8N’s remote control. Convenient keys for popular services like Netflix and Disney+ are placed right up top, along with one programmable shortcut key that you can assign an input, app, or certain TV features (like the sleep timer) to. The Home button is a quick and easy way to pull up the Google TV interface, and the mic button lets you issue voice commands to Google Assistant.

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But do you know what would have made me the happiest I could be? A USB-C port to recharge an internal battery. The U8N’s remote is powered by two AAA, but brands like Samsung have been transitioning to USB-C and solar-rechargeable remotes.

Tweak Some Settings

Out of the box, the Hisense U8N does not look very good. I think it’s important to address this issue before even talking about the U8N’s many visual accolades. After taking some time to tweak and calibrate, the U8N really does look incredible.

Fortunately, fixing the underwhelming default settings isn’t too difficult. By default, you’ll be set to a standard picture preset, which was far too bright and undersaturated for my liking. I’d recommend either of the Theater modes for backlighting and color accuracy. You can also use the brightness adjuster within any preset to lower illumination.

As the U8N runs on Google TV, you’ll be able to sign into a Google account after connecting the TV to the internet.

Hisense Tops Itself Once More

The Hisense U8N delivers a beautiful-looking picture when viewing both HDR and SDR content. And because this is a 4K TV, all lower-resolution sources get the upscaling treatment. While this type of picture processing isn’t unique to Hisense, I think it’s one of the best when it comes to pixel utilization.

If you’re an HDR devotee, rest assured that the U8N supports every major format, including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ. As I mentioned, the TV’s default settings needed some tweaking, but I was more than pleased with the Theater presets.

Pixar’s “Onward”(streamed on Disney+) is a kaleidoscopic showcase of oddball colors, intense lighting, and detailed animation. The movie looked incredible on the U8N. I’m usually a stickler for a TV’s digital motion enhancements (the setting that makes movies, shows, and video games look like soap operas), but the U8N’s frame rate tech worked so well, I just lowered its intensity in the picture settings, instead of turning it off completely.

Hisense claims the U8N can achieve around 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and I’d be glad to stand behind that claim. Specular highlights from Onward’s third-act dragon battle pushed the TV to its limits. But during these ultra-bright moments, the U8N still managed to deliver a picture that wasn’t oversaturated. Amazing.

Netflix’s “Ripley”limited series favors a cinematic style that couldn’t be more different than Onward. Rainbows of color are swapped for black and white camera work, making lighting and contrast all the more important. The U8N handled the noir aesthetic like a pro. It’s TVs like this that make it harder for me to choose between LED-LCD and OLED. While the latter is renowned for near-infinite contrast and inky blacks, with the right backlighting and dimming controls (like you’d find on the U8N), you can get an LED-LCD to look a lot like an OLED, especially during darker scenes.

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Did you notice I didn’t say “exactly like an OLED” though? At the end of the day, the U8N does have LEDs, which led to a few instances of light blooming. Think of bloom as a haze of light around certain subjects on dark screens. Subtitles are a usual suspect, which the U8N actually fared quite well against. Where I noticed light bloom the most was whenever I launched the YouTube app. A squared-off area of extra-pronounced color surrounded the boot logo, which would disappear as soon as YouTube video thumbnails started populating.

It’s also worth noting that the U8N’s HDMI inputs 3 and 4 are HDMI 2.1 certified with 144Hz frame rate capabilities. These are the two connections you’ll want to use for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, gaming PCs, and 4K Blu-ray players.

One of the best-looking and best-performing games in my collection is the 2023 remaster of “Resident Evil 4.” Hisense’s Automatic Game Mode kicked into gear the moment I fired up the PlayStation. Frame rate and HDR settings adjust accordingly, ensuring gameplay is as bright, colorful, and smooth as possible.

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Every TV Needs a Built-in Subwoofer

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Unlike the traditional set of small stereo speakers you’ll find on most modern TVs, the Hisense U8N comes equipped with a far more advanced audio system. Billed as a 2.1.2 configuration, the U8N is engineered to deliver surround sound emulation, and it does a great job.

On top of supporting all the major audio formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, the U8N even has a built-in subwoofer. This adds more low-end than you’d ever expect to hear coming out of a TV. I think audio enthusiasts will still want to use a soundbar (check out our rotating roundup ) or full speaker system, but most folks may be totally satisfied with the U8N’s sound.

Google TV is Still the Best

Google TV has been my favorite smart TV interface for a long time. The Hisense U8N runs on version 12, and I’m pleased to report that the interface runs better than ever on this Mini LED!

Not only does the software give you access to several major streaming apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, but Google TV provides recommendations based on your viewing history and the streaming services you use.

The U8N is also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, and supports hands-free voice controls. As long as the TV mic is enabled (and it is by default), you can use either voice assistant to search for movies, launch apps, change inputs, and control your smart home devices. You’ll even be able to pull up live surveillance views from most web-connected cameras on your property.

What About the Other Brands?

Michael Bizzaco / How-To Geek

The Hisense U8N does an excellent job of balancing picture, performance, and price, but how does it stack up to other great TVs? As far as Mini LEDs go, two of the U8N’s fiercest foes are the Samsung QN90D and Sony Bravia 7 . The QN90D delivers exceptional brightness, colors, contrast, and upscaling, thanks in part to Samsung’s Neo Quantum 4K AI Gen 2 processor. Sony’s Bravia 7 delivers great picture quality too, and is one of the best Mini LEDs when it comes to color and motion accuracy.

However, neither brand can hold a torch to the U8N’s pricing. Not only will you save at least $800 by going with the U8N, but Hisense beats both Samsung and Sony when it comes to peak brightness and HDR performance.

More in keeping with the U8N’s pricing is the TCL QM8 Series. One of TCL’s best Mini LEDs for 2023, the 65-inch size is currently $50 cheaper than the 65-inch U8N. While I’ve seen the U8N priced lower, Hisense’s Mini LED completely demolishes the QM8 when it comes to picture, sound, and overall performance.

Should You Buy the Hisense U8N?

I’ve had the opportunity to go hands-on with Hisense’s older U8K and U8H Mini LEDs. I can say without a doubt that the 2024 Hisense 65-inch U8N Mini LED TV is the best Hisense TV I’ve ever tested, and one of the best budget-friendly Mini LED sets you can buy in 2024.

Hisense 65-inch U8N Mini-LED TV

8/ 10

$1150 $1500 Save $350

$1150 at Amazon $1150 at Best Buy

Hardware Updates

Dial Back the Dazzle: A Close Look at Our Astoundingly Bright Mini LED TV Display