Hisense U7QAU Mini-LED TV – the popular option (review)

The Hisense U7QAU is a mid-range mini-LED offering a very good price/performance, up to 2500 nits peak brightness, and saturated colours.

We have just finished the Hisense U8QAU – a pro-grade Mini-LED TV (review). Rather than repeat the considerable Hisense-specific detail, we will focus this review on the picture and sound quality. We suggest that you read the U8QAU review first so you have a benchmark. It also contains an overview of both TVs’ specifications and identifies where the differences are.

So, this is not a shootout but rather a question of whether the few hundred-dollar savings over the U8QAU matter to you.

CyberShack spent a day reviewing this and the U8QAU, and we were impressed. Regrettably, we can’t give quite the full deep-dive review as these were not examined in our lab under controlled conditions, and we could not lug heavy and sensitive test equipment to the review. Nevertheless, we think we have captured the essence and given you enough to compare.

Australian Review: Hisense U7QAU mini-LED

Note: This model is unique to Australia and cannot be compared to the Hisense Google TV U7QG or U7Q Pro versions sold in the US or elsewhere. Price and specs as at 20/6/25.

Website	2024 TV range Product page User Guide
Price RRP	55/65/75/85/100″ $1799/2399/3299/4199/7999 Shop around for EOFY deals
From	Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Appliance Central, Retravision, Videopro
Warranty	3-years ACL
Made in	China
Company	Hisense (founded in 1969) is a Chinese-owned, multi-national white goods and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. It owns appliance brands, including Gorenje, Hitachi, Sharp, Toshiba, and some local China-only brands.
More	CyberShack Hisense news and reviews CyberShack AV news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

Specs and errata

We assume it is a direct upgrade of the mid-range 2024 U7NAU. There are incorrect specifications on the web, as reviewers and even retailers mistake the U7QAU for the U7QG or Pro. Here are a few of the inconsistencies

• The 55/65/75/85” models do not appear to support 166Hz gaming. The 100” does.
• Our test equipment shows the panel is native 120/144Hz (50/60Hz power). Early reviews can’t get more than 4K@120Hz.
• The 85 and 100″ get 2.1.2, 70W Dolby Atmos (DA) sound. Other models get 2.1.2, 40W. These will decode DA, but there is virtually no spatial sound from the speakers.
• DEVIALET tuning is only for the U7QAU 100” and U8QAU models (Source)
• Only the 100” is a Mini-LED Pro panel. The 55/65/75/85” have about 10% of the Pro panels’ dimming zones and about 50% brightness.

Mistakes do happen. But buyers read reviews and marketing, and are probably never the wiser.

First impression – good all-around TV

We reviewed the 85”, but we will base any specs on the 65” for a fairer comparison to the U8NAU. Note that different sizes either use a VA panel or an IPS-ADS panel. In theory, the viewing experience should be similar, but the latter has better off-angle viewing and lower brightness and contrast levels.

The Hisense U7QAU is well-finished and well-made and should last the distance expected of brand-name TVs. That, however, is entirely dependent on VIDAA 9 TV Operating system updates and security patches. We have asked Hisense for the policy, but it was not available at the time of review.

The power socket is on the right, and the AV sockets are on the left. There is no cable management system to allow for a flush wall mount. In any case, you need to leave room for the rear-firing woofer to bounce off the wall.

The 85” and 100” have fixed height and rather thick legs that won’t allow a soundbar to sit under. These are more for wall mounting. The 55-75” have a centre pedestal that should accommodate a soundbar.

The 65″ is 1446 × 896 × 326mm x 20.7kg with stand. The 85 and 100″ exceed safe plasterboard mounting weights and require some wall reinforcement.

Remote – Pass

We were supplied with the solar remote. Hisense has sensibly left the numeric buttons for FTA navigation. It is not backlit.

Hisense U7QAU ports

• HDMI x 4 ports. 2.1, 48 Gbps, all VRR/ALLM, one eARC
• USB-A 2.0 5V/.5A/2.5W
• USB-A 3.0 5V/1A/5W
• Ethernet LAN 100Mbps
• Headphone 3.5mm
• Composite video in
• TV aerial
• Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5GHz
• BT 5.0
• Optical out

There is no Chromecast support (use a Google TV dongle).

Power use – Pass

As the tests were on 85”, power consumption is higher

• Digital and FTA approx. 200Wh
• Dolby Vision approx. 250Wh
• Standby screen off: <.5W
• At 40 cents per Wh, 12 cents per hour is negligible.

So, how does it look?

Joe and Jane Average will see a big, bright, reasonably colour-accurate screen that they can enjoy in SDR (FTA TV and digital TV streaming), HDR (digital streaming), and movies (Dolby Vision).

Videophiles will be less forgiving because this has about 10% of U8QAU dimming zones and a lower-powered processor. To a perfectionist, there is quite a gap between the U8QAU.

You may not be able to see the differences between the settings below, as you will likely view this on an 8-bit phone screen or desktop monitor. Look for details in the hair, green eye shadow, red lips and jewels. Also, look at the black background for subtle tone differences.

It has the following zone count (50”/128, 55/160, 65/220, 75/240, 85/352, 100/608 zones.

Tests

We tested with SDR, HDR, HDR10, HDR10+ Adaptive, IMAX Enhanced, and Dolby Vision IQ content. All HDR content is automatically identified.

Subjectively, and assuming a bright Aussie lounge room

• SDR (FTA and digital TV) on Standard or Energy efficiency modes meets expectations for daylight viewing.
• HDR/HDR10 (digital streaming) in Cinema or Filmmaker modes meets expectations.
• HDR10+ Adaptive uses the ambient light sensor and, in Filmmaker mode, meets average expectations. It is way too tempting to ramp up the brightness at the expense of colour accuracy (our eyes crave saturated colours). We had problems finding much commercial HDR10+ content
• Dolby Vision IQ uses the ambient light sensor and meets expectations. Like HDR10+, it is tempting to select more colourful presets.
• Imax Enhanced is a remastering of HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, but uses DTS:X sound and appears only to be supported by Disney+. It has not been tested, but we suspect this TV’s brightness and dimming zones suit Dolby Vision and Atmos more.

It is only when you see this side-by-side with the U8QAU that you notice the blacks are not as deep, the colours are less saturated, and screen reflectivity is higher. That said, it meets all expectations.

Colour – Pass+

It uses an 8-bit + 2 FRC (frame rate control) to produce 1.07 billion colours – all mini-LEDs use FRC. READ 8-bit versus 10-bit screen colours. What is the big deal?

DCI-P3 tests are 90% of the gamut (95% in U8QAU), and Delta E is well over 2 (could get this to 1 with professional calibration). The main areas to tweak are colour temperature and brightness. We tested on standard mode unless noted.

SDR/HDR brightness(nits) Pass (third-party data may not be correct)

• Sustained 100% Window: 400/428
• Sustained 10%: 1990/2075
• Peak 100%: 367/425
• Peak 10%: 1300/1450

Hisense claims peak nits at 2400, so we are in the ballpark. It is bright enough for SDR and HDR viewing in a bright Aussie lounge room. It does not overbrighten as the U8NAU does (which is more about tweaking brightness settings).

Contrast – Pass

Contrast is the difference between the panel’s blackest black and the whitest white. This claims 5000:1 (test 4120:1), which is static contrast—a popular marketing term. It means that its blacks are more deep grey. It also has some banding in greyscale tests.

Blooming – Pass

Some fast-moving objects have perceptible blooming and leading-edge dimming. No LCD can entirely cure this, but the U8NQAU has better control.

Motion smoothing – Pass

As far as we can tell, it is a mix of BFI (Black Frame Insertion) for video up to 60Hz and AI predictive insertion (the difference between the actual frame and the subsequent frames and recognised shapes); ergo, there is some motion tearing and a little lack of sharpness at 60Hz or more. There are some minor artefacts around fast-moving objects.

Upscale – Pass

It uses a Pentonic 700 MT9818 1.4MHz processor that does not quite have the power for great upscale for 480 and 720p video.

We test with 480/720/1080p content. In the most basic sense, it upscales to 4K (in 1080p’s case) by surrounding each real pixel with four more.

Hisense also has some AI (from machine learning) to recognise specific objects and colours, and use a mix of pixel wrapping and sharpening the image. It works well on 1080p. There is some loss of detail, but it is minor.

The 85” big screen wows, but the upscale performance, especially where those 8 million pixels need to spread over a larger screen, really shows softness on less than 1080p content.

Off-axis viewing – Passable

All VA panels suffer from colour washout and colour shifts past about 120° (90° means sitting straight on). It is fine when sitting in front of the screen, but quite noticeable if sitting side on.

Reflection – Pass+

It does not reduce glare and reflection as much as the U8QAU. But like any LED, it needs good back and side ambient light controls.

Colour uniformity and Dirty Screen effect – Pass

RGB colours are uniform, but we noticed some DSE around the edges in 100% white and grey tests

Sharpness and Text Clarity

It has acceptable text clarity to 24-point. Most OLEDs will get to 14-point.

PWM – Exceed

It uses PWM dimming, but it is at 25,000Hz, so it is safe for PWM-sensitive people.

How does it sound?

It has a 2.1.2 50W tuned by DEVIALET with Room Tuning. It decodes all standard formats and DTS. The 100” has 2.1.2, 50W.

• Left/Right front x 10W
• Left/Right side x 5W
• Subwoofer 20W

Its presets include (these are all overridden by Dolby Atmos and spatial metadata or an HDMI-connected soundbar and its presets).

• Standard: Fairly flat neutral frequency
• Enhanced ARC: Automatically adjusts content, privacy implications
• Theatre: Tried to add more surround sound but failed with 2.1 speakers.
• Music: recesses mid to make bass and treble sound more prominent.
• Speech: Recesses bass and treble to make 1-4kHz mid more prominent.
• Late Night: Focus on clear voice only – no bass or treble
• Sport: Attempts to reduce crowd noise and focus on commentary.

I wish I could say that it is excellent, but it is not a replacement for a decent Dolby Atmos soundbar.

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil, but distortion and white noise are evident
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Linear build from 68 Hz to 100 Hz
High Bass 100-200Hz	Reasonably flat to 6K
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Flat
Mid 400-1000Hz	Flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flattish with some frequency clipping to 6kHz
Low Treble 2-4kHz	As above
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	As above
High Treble 6-10kHz	Gradual linear decline to 18 kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	As above
Sound Signature type	This is a white noise test and pushes the speakers to their limits. It determines the native sound signature regardless of any EQ or presets. Bass: Enough mid and high bass but lacks low bass for any ‘room shaking’ effects. Mid: Reasonably flat. OK for clear voice Treble: Adequate but can be harsh. High treble is not strong enough to give that feeling of ‘air’ – as if you were there. In short, it is fine for SDR TV, won’t excite you in movies and dull and thin for music.
Soundstage PCM stereo	It is as wide and high as the TV.
Soundstage DA/Spatial	No. It can decode but cannot create a spatial envelope.
Comment	We expected much more from a Devialet-tuned speaker, but we noticed in the fine print that this feature is coming through a software update. The update release time varies by model and region. In any case, if you are watching movies with any surround or spatial sound, buy at least a 7.1.4 soundbar.
Read	How to tell if you have good music – sound signature is the key (AV guide)

CyberShack’s view: The Hisense U7QAU is a good mini-LED with adequate performance for SDR and HDR.

To be fair, it is a little hard to be enthusiastic when you review this straight after the U8QAU. There is a significant difference in image quality, yet the U7QAU is perfectly fine for bright Aussie loungerooms.

It fills the mid-range niche nicely, and there are no real downsides. Only a videophile would notice any foibles.

TV sound is not a strong point for any brand, and Hisense is no exception

Hisense U7QAU ratings

Features: 80. It is fully featured, but the lower brightness and approximately 10% of the control zones mean affects the rating.

Value: 80. Hisense retail prices always seem to tumble during event sales, and at RRP $2399, it is not the class leader. For example, it has been seen for less than $1800. But it competes with the $1995 Sony Bravia 5 (more dimming zones but not as bright) and $1595 (RRP $2295) TCL C7K (1008 dimming zones – 5X – and a new 2600 nit HVA 10-bit panel)

Performance: 80. This is a good score for the category. Reasonable out-of-the-box calibration and presets.

Ease of Use:  80—VIDAA 9 does everything you need in a relatively easy-to-use interface. If you need more streaming Apps, buy a Google TV dongle. While it has a three-year warranty, the single OS upgrade loses points against the competition, generally between four and seven.

Design: 80. A little chunky; wall mounting may impact speaker fidelity.