A near-perfect balance of quality, features, and price.
When I sit down to write a review for a gadget here at AC, it's usually for a new pair of headphones/earbuds, a smartwatch, or a new Android phone. Today's a little different, however. Some time ago, Hisense reached out and asked if I wanted to take a look at its new H8G Quantum Series television. I'm not the biggest TV buff by any means, but I figured it'd at least be a good excuse to re-familiarize myself with Android TV.
After having the 65-inch variant of the H8G Quantum in my living room for a few weeks, I've come to realize a couple of things — 1) Android TV has gotten a lot better since I last used it, and 2) Hisense has crafted a seriously excellent TV at an extremely competitive price.
This isn't the cheapest or the best-looking television you can buy, but if you're looking for a near-perfect mix of picture quality, features, and cost, the H8G Quantum Series should be at the top of your short-list.
Checks all the boxes
Hisense H8G Quantum Series (65-inch)
Bottom line: With the H8G Quantum Series, Hisense set out to create excellent televisions at reasonable prices. After spending some time with the 65H8G model, I think the company achieved that goal with flying colors. The H8G is an exceptional TV, offering a gorgeous 4K ULED panel with HDR and Dolby Vision. Android TV is built-in for a clean and functional UI right out of the box, and when you factor all of that together with the more than reasonable price, you end up with one heck of a setup.
Pros
- Excellent 4K picture quality
- HDR and Dolby Vision support
- Very slim bezels
- Four HDMI ports
- Android TV built-in
Cons
- Large, bulky remote
- Occasionally slow performance
- HDR wonkiness when casting content
$800 at Amazon $800 at Best Buy
Hisense H8G Quantum Series What I love
Rather than talking about a bunch of smaller features and leaving you in suspense about how good/bad the TV looks, let's get that out of the way right now. This is a really, really gorgeous television.
On the technical side of things, the H8G features a ULED panel and quantum dot technology (the model I have has a 65-inch screen). It's a 4K television with support for HDR and Dolby Vision, and 90 zones of local dimming allow for better contrast and color accuracy. Rounding out the list, the H8G has a max brightness of 700 nits and Motion Rate 240 to make everything look ultra-smooth. Now, let's translate that into English.
This is a very, very pretty TV.
The 4K resolution allows supported content to be razer-sharp, so if you're watching a 4K movie or TV show, it'll look as crisp as can be. Hisense doesn't do any HD-to-4K conversion to upscale content, but if you really need that, you can always buy the NVIDIA Shield Android TV. In addition to picture sharpness, I've also been very pleased with colors and brightness. Everything is wonderfully vibrant without being too saturated, and while 700 nits isn't the highest brightness you can get for a TV, I actually found myself having to switch to Energy Saving mode a lot of the time because the Standard picture mode was too dang bright (a great problem to have).
HDR and Dolby Vision further contribute to the good looks of this TV, boosting colors and making supported shows/movies look outstanding. These picture modes enable automatically when the TV detects it's playing content that supports it, and in my experience, the H8G Quantum does a great job at switching back and forth between these picture modes without any funk (for the most part).
As for the Motion Rate 240, it's here if you want to use it. This is technically a 60Hz panel, but you can turn the setting on to make content super-smooth and look just like those afternoon soap operas you've absolutely never gotten sucked into (I still can't believe Chad cheated on Karen like that). To my eye, it makes content look jittery every now and then with an overall artificial feel, but there are also a lot of people out there that really like it. Use it if you want, but if not, you can completely ignore it.
Like I noted at the top of this review, I wouldn't consider myself to be a TV aficionado. Even so, it's been really easy to recognize that this is a great-looking television in just about every regard. With a picture this good, it makes it really difficult to imagine it being worth spending hundreds of dollars more for super high-end TVs out there.
When you aren't engrossed in an action-packed movie or watching Tiger King for the fifth time, you'll be interacting with Android TV. This is the smart TV operating system of choice that's installed on the Hisense H8G Quantum Series, and all-in-all, it's a thoroughly enjoyable experience. This was my first time using Android TV since the Android 9 Pie update that overhauled the home screen, and while I'm not sure if it would be my first smart TV platform if I had the choice, there's a lot to like here.
Google's user interface is pretty self-explanatory, showcasing a row of your favorite apps at the top and various "channels" below that which surface certain content from your apps for easier access right on your home screen. There's also the Play Next section, which groups all of your apps together and recommends things to watch based on what you've been watching.
Paired with the clean aesthetic of Android TV, I've also been quite happy with the selection of apps that are available. All of the big names like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ are available, along with some smaller apps such as Philo and JustWatch. You also benefit from having Chromecast functionality baked right in, not to mention the Google Assistant. Just press the Google Assistant button at any time on the remote and ask it to find a certain movie, set a timer, control the living room lights, etc. Whatever you use the Google Assistant for on your phone or smart speaker/display, you can do that on the Hisense H8G.
There are a couple of other perks to this TV I want to call out before moving on to the select negatives I have with it.
Having four HDMI ports is wonderful for a corwded entertainment center.
Hisense equipped the H8G Quantum Series with four HDMI ports, all of which are HDMI 2.1 and support 4K @ 60Hz (one of which is an HDMI ARC port, something you'll need if have a soundbar like the Sonos Beam). Coming from my TCL Roku TV that only had three HDMI ports, that extra one on the H8G is a big deal. Now, I can have my Sonos Beam, PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, and Nintendo Switch dock all plugged in at the same time and not have to worry about ever swapping the inputs. Most folks probably won't need four HDMI ports, but I'm really thankful Hisense went all out in this regard.
Finally, I've been quite happy with the overall design/build quality of the television. There are two different positions where you can attach the included feet, making the TV easy to fit on a large or more compact entertainment stand like the one I have. The bezels are also very slim to my eyes, allowing the actual display panel to shine without being held back by annoying black bars.
Hisense H8G Quantum Series What I'm not a fan of
As much as I've enjoyed my time with the Hisense H8G Quantum Series, there are a couple of areas where I think Hisense can improve for its next generation of TVs.
For starters, I'm not the biggest fan of the remote. All of the buttons work as they're supposed to and have a nice squishiness to them, not to mention that having shortcuts to Netflix and YouTube is quite handy. That stuff is all fine, but the design of the remote is just so bland and outdated.
The remote is fine, but the design is snooze-fest.
I'm sure people that still have cable/satellite TV will appreciate the number pad for quickly accessing specific channels, but for me personally, I greatly prefer ultra-minimalistic remotes like the ones you get with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or even the Apple TV.
Performance has been mostly fine, but my experience hasn't been without a few hiccups here and there. Navigating through apps is sometimes met with a bit of lag, and when starting a video, it'll occasionally be jittery for a second or so before smoothing out. None of this has been a deal-breaker, but it's the sort of thing you don't see on dedicated streaming devices like the NVIDIA Shield TV mentioned above.
My third and final complaint has to do with the H8G's Chromecast functionality. Whenever casting a YouTube video to the TV, something with the HDR processing seems to get messed up and overly saturates all of the colors. I can't replicate the issue with Netflix or other apps, so I'm not sure if this is a fault on Hisense's part of a bug with the YouTube app.
Hisense H8G Quantum Series An easy recommendation
Buying a TV is not a decision that comes lightly. This is a device that's going to sit prominently in your home and likely be there for a few years. Because of that, it's important you buy something you'll enjoy using without spending the entirety of your kid's college tuition fund.
This is a balance that the Hisense H8G Quantum Series does a fantastic job of hitting. I definitely wouldn't consider it to be a "cheap" television, but considering the picture quality and features you're getting, it's definitely one of the better values you can find.
If all you want is a barebones TV that delivers a 4K picture while spending the bare minimum, there are plenty of other options out there (TCL makes a 50-inch Roku TV that you can pick up for under $300). However, if you have a little more cash to burn through and want a higher-end experience without spending upwards of $1000, Hisense has a pretty phenomenal package here.
Checks all the boxes
Hisense H8G Quantum Series (65-inch)
An excellent television at an excellent price.
The H8G is an exceptional TV, offering a gorgeous 4K ULED panel with HDR and Dolby Vision. Android TV is built-in for a clean and functional UI right out of the box, and when you factor all of that together with the more than reasonable price, you end up with one heck of a setup.
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