Hisense 55-inch Series 7 ULED TV review – holds its own against bigger brands

When it comes to buying a TV, customers are looking for great features and great value and one brand that can deliver both is Hisense with its impressive Series 7 range of ULED TVs.

Tech Guide looked at the Hisense 55-inch Series 7 (Model No 55N7) which was long on features but shorter on price but could still hold its own against more expensive brands.

In fact, here at Tech Guide, we often have readers emailing us asking why the Hisense TVs are so much cheaper than similar rival models. What’s the catch?

Our answer, especially after seeing this latest Series 7 television, is that there is no catch.

Hisense has numerous patents for the technology aboard its televisions and has enough efficiency in its manufacturing to offer these competitive prices.

Onboard you have 4K Ultra High Definition resolution, HDR (High Dynamic Range) Plus, PureColor technology and DBX-TV professional audio quality.

On the design side, the Hisense Series 7 TV has a thin silver bezel and discreet stands so all your attention is on the 4K screen which has four times as many pixels as a regular full high definition television.

The panel onboard has LED backlighting but with the addition of its patented technology, Hisense calls it ULED.

Right off the bat you can see the technology at work with terrific blacks and spectacular colours.

What helps with the contrast is the display’s local dimming so the black levels look remarkable.

We watched several 4K UHD movies on disc and the black levels were closer to OLED standard than a regular LED TV.

Also coming in to play here is HDR Plus so you get even more range of colours so whites look whiter and blacks look blacker while all the colours in between really pop.

Watching HDR content whether it’s on a 4K disc or on Netflix you’ll notice the difference.

The picture and excellent colour has a bit more punch and a wider colour gamut.

The other technology at work is PureColor which processes the image in real time.

And the result is brilliant clarity and rich colours that look real and natural and not pumped up with brightness that makes it look over the top and artificial.

Audio quality will also surprise you and the credit for that goes to the DBX-TV technology which includes Total Sonics which work together to optimise the sound and enhance your enjoyment.

The Hisense Series 7 55N7 is naturally a connected smart TV so you can access content and all your sources quickly and easily.

This is simplified by the VIDAA U ribbon menu that simple to navigate through the remote and see everything in a single menu.

Our only issue  was the slight lag accessing online content – but that’s probably as much a fault of our broadband as it is the TV.

Viewers can access subscription video on demand services like Netflix and Stan as well as Freeview Plus free-to-air catch up services.

On the connectivity side, there are four HDMI ports, one USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports.

You can connect a USB drive to the TV and turn it into a PVR (personal video recorder).

There is also wi-fi and an Ethernet port if you’ve got a cable nearby to connect the TV to your broadband.

The Hisense Series 7 55N7 is available now and with an RRP of $2,499 on the Hisense website but we’ve seen it $1000 cheaper in stores.

VERDICT

Hisense has proven they can play with the big boys and offers exceptional features and quality that can sit side by side against other brands and still hold its own but at a vastly cheaper price. There is no catch – Hisense is the real deal.