For me, Hisense has become the value brand to beat. That title used to belong to TCL, but Hisense has been packing its televisions with so much over the last two years that it basically resets my internal barometer of what I think a TV should cost.
For $1,400 original MSRP – and regularly available on sale for around $900 – Hisense has created a 4K television that is packed with gaming features while at the same time providing enough brightness to overcome even the most window-lit living room. While some manufacturers are making the best TVs for home theaters, Hisense is over here making the best TVs for the majority of average families
As such, the U8H is a juiced-up utility knife of a television that not only manages to do a lot of things pretty well, but also takes the title for the brightest TV I’ve tested in the last year – a dynamic combination that results in a heck of a value.
Hisense U8H – Design and Build
The U8H isn’t going to wow you from every angle, but it’s a decent-looking television from the angle that matters most: the front. While most television manufacturers right now are reducing how much branding they show and slimming down extraneous parts on bezels – a strategy I agree with – Hisense’s choice to do the opposite is at least not particularly egregious as it is only one small box at the bottom of the display.
By default, this box shows a power icon when the TV is off (which feels backward but I think it’s there to let you know it is receiving power) which can be turned off in the menu. It also houses a physical switch that lets you turn the smart home-connected microphone on or off. The microphone is on by default, and when you switch it off the television displays four very bright yellow LEDs that do not turn off. I was unable to find a way to turn them off in the menu either, which is pretty annoying. It’s as if the television is punishing you for not wanting Google to listen in all the time.
I find this intrusion to be particularly glaring, and while I was more forgiving of it last year when I first encountered it, I’m becoming less willing to look past it and will specifically call this out as a downside to owning a Hisense. That said, I spoke to a couple of friends who own a recent Hisense and while they admit it is a bit annoying that the lights turn on, they are able to ignore them. Additionally, they don’t seem that bothered by Big Brother Google listening in on them. So I guess it is up to you when it comes to the degree this intrusion bothers you.
While I’ve seen less attractive TVs from the side, the U8H isn’t going to win any awards for the design. It’s thin enough, but notably thicker than the OLED panels that we’ve seen from LG, Samsung, and Sony. In this price tier, however, it’s not that bad and it won’t stick out that much from the wall if you were to mount it.
When looking at the TV from the front, the power cable routes in on the right side while all the inputs are on the left side. The U8H has four HDMI ports, two of which support HDMI 2.1 for 120Hz from PCs, the PlayStation 5, or the Xbox Series X. I think at this point, two HDMI ports are the absolute bare minimum that a manufacturer can put on a TV, especially considering that in this case one of them is also the eARC port. That means if you want to use a soundbar or a sound system connected via HDMI, which you absolutely should, that only leaves one port open for gaming.
In addition to the HDMI ports, the U8H has two USB 3.0 ports, optical audio, composite video, and Ethernet. It also supports triple-band Wi-Fi6E and Bluetooth.
If you don’t plan to wall mount the U8H, it comes with two sturdy metal feet. I'm a bit torn on these because on the one hand they can be mounted in two separate places, either wide or closer together, which greatly expands the number of media stands that it will work with. On the other hand, these feet are very deep – more than 14-inches – which makes them hang over the edge of my test stand, something that has never happened before. If you have a deep media stand, this won’t be an issue, but for those who are living in smaller quarters like me, the feet might not play nice.
The last thing to mention is that the feet do have some level of cable management, but it’s not that impressive – just a loop at the back that you can run the cables through in order to slightly hide them. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.
Hisense U8H – The Remote
I don’t think that many people really care how a television remote looks – outside of it not being comically large like Sony’s used to be, or so small that it’s hard to figure out what each button does like Samsung’s. I think the Hisense remote strikes a good balance between the two, and while it’s not a “pretty” remote by any means, it’s perfectly acceptable and comfortable to hold and use. It also has the unique ability to stand up thanks to a wide stable base – if you’re into that.
Our review unit featured six pre-installed streaming service shortcut buttons: Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+, Tubi, and Peacock.
The Hisense U8H remote is a voice remote as well, so if you enjoy searching for content without having to painstakingly navigate on a digital keyboard, you’ll like that you have that option here.
