Hisense H9G 4K TV Review. Is this the BEST TV under 1000?
Hisense H9G 4K TV Review. Is this the BEST TV under 1000?
We are always looking out for affordable tvs with great picture. So of course, a review of the Hisense H9G has been high on your request list. Ever since we reviewed the brand’s H8G and labeled it our best, cheap 4K TV to beat, you have been asking for us to review the H9G. The H9G is Hisense’s current flagship 4K smart TV, coming in two sizes, 55 and 65 inches. Cheap tvs are getting better and better making it increasingly difficult to justify spending high prices on a new tv. Why spend over 1000 on a new tv and do you need to in 2020? Is this the best TV under 1000? Our new Hisense H9G 4K TV review may prove that spending thousands on a new tv is no longer a must.
The H9G is a true 4K TV that utilizes Quantum Dot technology for better, more accurate colors when used in conjunction with its full array LED backlighting. The H9G’s LED backlighting supports local dimming with up to 180 zones for better black level rendering and contrast throughout. The H9G is HDR compatible and has support for Dolby Vision HDR as well as HDR10. The H9G also has support for Dolby Atmos audio.
The Hisense H9G has a reported refresh rate of a 120Hz but it is not HDMI 2.1 so this will be a mixed bag for console gamers. To me, it’s a non-issue but I’m not on the bleeding edge of gaming tech at the moment. There is a dedicated game mode which is said to cut down on input lag. All of which is powered by Hisense’s own Hi-View processor and controlled via AndroidTV.
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Without looking at their included legs, it can be hard to tell different Hisense models apart visually. Hisense’s style is minimal but effective. The most notable aspect of the H9G’s outward appearance is its screen, and the glossy finish it has in direct comparison to other displays. You’re seeing a lot more displays utilize a matte screen, whereas the H9G’s looks glass-like, not unlike what you’d experience with OLED. This improves the appearance of blacks, though it also enhances reflections quite a bit.
getting the best picture from the Hisense H9G is easy
Out of the box the H9G ships with its eco or energy saving picture mode activated as standard. We know that eco modes are not ideal for picture accuracy so I won't waste your time on how it measured. Upon setting up the H9G, getting the best picture from the Hisense H9G is easy. The picture profile I recommend is Theater Day. Out of the box Theater Day is the MOST accurate preset or profile the H9G offers. Theater Day is so good, that in my tests, it fell within the parameters or margin of error necessary to be considered “calibrated” out of the box.
In its Theater Day mode I measured the H9G’s real world light output to be about 650-700 Nits. Hisense claims a max brightness of 1000 Nits from the H9G, and in its Vivid or Standard profile, or with its backlight and brightness maxed out, I was able to largely confirm Hisense’s claims, though the resulting image was far from accurate. You should expect the H9G’s real world light output to be more along the lines of around 600-700 Nits give or take. Fans of HDR content needn’t be worried, as the H9G is still plenty bright for Dolby Vision and HDR10 content in real world situations.
Black levels were impressive through the H9G. In its Theater Day profile I measured the H9G to have an absolute black level of 0.0035. While not true black like what you’ll find with OLED displays, the H9G gets close enough that I doubt many would be able to tell the two apart when viewing the same all-black test pattern. In real world viewing you’ll notice a minor difference, which we’ll talk about in just a second.
The H9G’s Theater Day mode is terrific in terms of its grey scale and color accuracy. Out of the box the grey scale had an average margin of error or Delta E of two. Anything below three isn’t really visible to the naked eye, so this is a very good measurement and means that the white balance of the H9G is neutral rather than being overly blue, green or red. Colors were equally impressive with a Delta E of 2.1. The biggest issue with the H9G’s color out of the box was a slight under luminance or brightness, though hue and saturation was bang on.
With real world content, specifically broadcast TV and movies the H9G’s grayscale and color accuracy means that in its Theater Day mode you’re treated to a very natural looking image, whereby everything appears as it should. Skin tones are especially pleasing, and fine detail such as hair and textures in clothing are rendered faithfully with terrific detail.
Hisense H9G backlight control
With respect to the Hisense H9G backlight control, this display performed very well, and blooming was kept to an absolute minimum when viewing test patterns, putting the Hisense up there with some of the best QLED TVs on the market right now. I won’t say blooming was non-existent as there did seem to be a few pixels worth of halo around stark black or white objects, or for example text or logos appearing against a black background, but it wasn’t anything to get too worked up over, and nowhere near as bad as I’ve seen from even costlier TVs such as our 8K LG TV. With real world content I consider blooming to be largely a non-issue with the H9G.
Speaking of text, one of the areas where I really felt the H9G wasn’t great was its sharpness, specifically its sharpness with respect to text or stark vertical lines. From proper viewing distances text appeared fine; it was legible and appeared smooth, though up close and personal I could clearly see edge artifacts. Again, from a distance of say 6 or more feet, text and strong verticals looked smooth and correct, but inside of 6 feet and some viewers may notice some irregularities.
FOR THE FULL HISENSE H9G REVIEW, WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE!
H9G VS TCL 6 Series TV
In terms of comparable TVs, the most notable comparison is the H9G VS TCL 6 Series TV. The 6 Series uses mini-LEDs for its full panel backlighting where the H9G uses a more “traditional” LED scheme. The H9G has more zones with respect to local dimming zones, which results in marginally better control of blooming, but this is ONLY visible really when viewing test patterns. In real world scenarios the two TVs are pretty much equal in this respect.
The Hisense has the TCL 6 Series beat in terms of absolute brightness. The H9G can get up to and around 1000 Nits if you play your cards right, whereas the 6 Series really maxed out around 700 Nits. That said, in everyday, real world viewing their brightness is more or less equal at around 600 or so Nits.
In terms of accuracy, the H9G is the superior TV out of the box as its Theater Day mode meets the standards to be considered calibrated from the factory -at least in our tests. The TCL DOES NOT. Moreover, the Hisense can be calibrated more easily in direct comparison to the TCL and does not require the use of an App to access its greyscale and CMS controls. That said, colors via the 6 Series appear more saturated and punchy, even after calibration, which Kristi preferred -and I’m not going to disagree.
Lastly, the TCL does have a few more gaming features in direct comparison to the H9G, and as a result looked marginally better to me when playing games such as The Last of Us II on my PS4 though I’m splitting hairs at this point. I prefer the H9G’s AndroidTV to TCL’s Roku OS, but the latter can easily be cured by attaching a Chromecast with GoogleTV dongle to bypass Roku. The TCL 6 comes in a 75 inch model whereas the H9G maxes out at 65 and I’m always a fan of bigger displays. Ultimately I preferred the TCL design and build quality over the H9G but looks are subjective. Which of these TVs is best really is going to be up to you. For me I could be truly happy with either.
WANT MORE TV COMPARISONS? WATCH THE FULL VIDEO REVIEW OF THE HISENSE H9G 4K TV
In the end the Hisense H9G is a fantastic, sub $1,000 4K Smart TV that continues to prove the point that in 2020 you simply do not have to spend an arm and a leg to get a quality TV that dishes out reference-caliber image quality.
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