Hisense U8HAU 2022 4K Mini-LED TV for the masses (AV review)

17/12/2022
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The best way to describe the Hisense U8HAU 2022 is an entry-level 4K Mini-LED, a step above its full array local dimming (FALD) ULED and a couple of steps below its X9HAU and X8HAU OLEDs. It is a value mini-LED.

Let’s first look at the 2022 range.

Prices (note that the HAU stands for the 2022 Australian TV range – 2021 is the G series)

X9HAU 4K OLED 65” $4499
X8HAU 4K OLED 55/65” $2999/4299
U80HAU 8K Mini-LED Pro ULED 75” $7999
U9HAU 4K Mini-LED Pro ULED 65/75” $2999/4499
U8HAU 4K Mini-LED ULED 55/65/75” $2299/2799/3999 (This review)
U7HAU 4K Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) backlit ULED 55/65/75/85” $1699/1999/2799/4299
U7HAU 4K Edge-lit LED/LCD 43/50/55/65/75/85 $899/999/1199/1499/1999/2999
A6HAU 4K Edge-lit LED/LCD 50/58” $799/999
A4HAU 1080p edge-lit LED/LCD 32/40” $449/549
100-or-120-inch Tri-Chroma Laser TV (100L9G/120L9G – 2021 model) $6499/7499 and includes ALR screen

The Hisense U8HAU is also the first 2022 model we have reviewed.

That is because Hisense, like many other TV makers, could not get enough stock. And ironically, the 2023 range will be announced at CES 2023 in early January. If all goes well, we expect these at Australian retailers before May 2023.

To position this (using 65” as a guide), it costs $2799. The U9HAU Mini-LED Pro version costs $2999 and has higher nits brightness and at least twice as many dimming zones. Then you have OLED models at around $4299/4799. Under this, you have U7HAU FALD at $1999. And there are some crazy retail discounts at present – $1995 for this in 65”.

Difference between the U8HAU and U9HAU Pro (65” model specs used throughout)

There may only be a $200 RRP difference, but there is a world of difference in performance. (U9 in brackets).

500+ (not confirmed and could be less – Hisense state ‘hundreds’) dimming zones (over 1000)
1500 nits peak brightness (2000)
Wi-Fi 5 AC dual band (Wi-Fi 6 tri-band)
2 x 10W 2.0 speakers (4 x 10W midrange, 2 x 5W tweeter, 20W sub-woofer)

Warning on international reviews – they are not relevant here

This is the Hisense U8HAU 2022 for Australia only. It is quite different to the U8Hxx series sold in other countries. Most international reviews will be for the Google TV, VA panel version with superior specifications to VIDAA U6, IPS panel version sold here. If you search for reviews, put “U8HAU” in inverted commas to get the correct reviews.

Australian review Hisense U8HAU 2022 4K Mini-LED

Website	2022 TV range, Product page, and Guide
Price RRP	“55/65/75” $2299/2799/3999 – shop around
From	Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Appliance Central,
Warranty	2-years ACL
Country of manufacture	China
Company	Hisense (Est. 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

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.

First Impression – well made, thin bezel – Pass

TVs are big glass slabs with little to distinguish them apart. It is well-finished, made from quality materials and should last the ten years or more we expect of TVs.

That, however, is entirely dependent on TV Operating system updates and security patches. We know Google (Android) TV, LG and Samsung have made overtures about three years of support, but we have no firm indication of Hisense’s policy (we will update this if we find an official policy). What you must remember is that you pay more for products with longer support.

The metal legs screw on, but you cannot change the spacing – fixed at 80cm on the 55″. They protrude about 12cm, limiting the soundbar’s size.

The only area that I am not overly impressed with is the remote. It is well-made but awash with 12 streaming pre-sets that are not programable and lacks a backlight. Its mouse control is slow and inaccurate. There is no settings button (you access this via another menu).

Hisense U8HAU 2022 — The Qucik Access buttons are not programable.

Ports/Connectivity – Pass

HDMI 1 and 2 are 2.0 4K@60Hz (note that this is really 50Hz in Australia)
HDMI 3 2.1 eARC/ARC 4K@120Hz (note that this is really 100Hz in Australia)
HDMI 4 is 4K@120Hz (note that this is really 100Hz in Australia)
USB-A 1 is 5V/1A/5W – supports Google Chromecast Dongle and should support up to 1TB SSD (not tested). Note that Hisense reformats the drive so it can only be used on that TV.
USB-A 2 is 5V/.5A/2.5W
AV IN (3.5mm to 3 x RCA adapter supplied)
Optical Out (Toslink)
LAN (speed unspecified)
Headphone 3.5mm
Antenna

Overall, a good selection of ports, and it is nice to see 2 X HMDI 2.1 with VRR and ALLM.

It has Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5Ghz half-duplex (not Wi-Fi 6 as claimed on the website) that is adequate for 4K streaming (minimum 50/20Mbps NBN), although we noticed a fair amount of buffering despite it sitting beside the NETGEAR Orbi Wi-Fi 6E router and 100/20Mbps NBN. We tested using Ethernet, and buffering was non-existent.

Most 2022 TVs now support Wi-Fi 6 AX tri-band, full-duplex for flawless streaming.

Bluetooth 5 is for Chromecast, and you can connect a range of gaming controllers, keyboards, mice etc. We had no issues, although Chromecast is limited to 1080p. It supports MiraCast over Wi-Fi at up to 4K.

VIDAA U6 setup – Pass

It offers various ways to set it up, including signing in with Google or Facebook (DO NOT USE if you value privacy) or preferred – using a junk email account (easy to set up in Gmail etc.).

If you want to use any smart TV features, you must create a Hisense Account; otherwise, it is just a dumb free-to-air TV.

VIDAA U6 (2022) is easy to use and reasonably fast, but it lacks some Australian Digital TV channels (7Plus) and Australian-centric streaming services. Unfortunately, I cannot find a list of Australian Apps, so you need to ask the store about specific ones. Hisense says that more Australian Apps are coming but cannot commit to a date.

If you buy the TV, buy an inexpensive Google TV Chromecast Dongle read Chromecast with Google Android TV 4K that has pretty well every App you can imagine.

Or use Chromecast to watch some channels in a browser, but these will be limited to 1080p SDR at best.

Privacy – Pass

All smart TVs hoover up what you view, your viewing habits, information from profiles you may set up and cross-platform share with Google, Facebook, and others. So, Hisense knows about you and monetises that data (as do Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL et al.).

There are some switches in the settings menu that you can disable, but you will still get recommendations (mainly adverts from Netflix, Prime etc.).

Hisense speaks about TÜV Rheinland Greater China granting the ETSI EN 303 645 (IoT) product cybersecurity and privacy protection standard certification to VIDAA 72671 (U5) platform smart TV in June 2021. This sounds good, and since then, other TV makers have obtained the same certification. The formal standard is here.

But in reality, it is more about protecting the TV against common cyber threats taking control (Mirai Botnets) or software integrity than in which country/cloud your data is stored.

Tests – Hisense U8HAU 2022

Image quality – Pass

It has a 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour/tone Quantum Dot LCD IPS panel.

It probably does not help that I have the LG QNED99 75”, 8K Mini-LED on the test bench at present (and the LG QNED91 65” 4K Mini-LED last week) because side-by-side the U8HAU image is underwhelming.

To be fair, it is fine for Joe and Jane Average and probably above most standard FALD, Direct Lit or Edge Lit LED/LCD TVs. And they will never see it beside Mini-LEDs with greater brightness or more dimming zones.

Colour – Pass(able) out-of-the-box and Pass after manual calibration

Mini-LED and Quantum Dots (ULED) should mean more saturated colours. Out-of-the-box, its colours are a little off – washed-out and not natural. There are pre-sets:

Standard/Natural – slight colour, brightness, and contrast modifications.
Theatre (Filmmaker mode) – all motion smoothing/colour corrections are disabled to resemble what a director intended.
PC/Game – image processing is disabled to decrease lag between the game controller and screen.
Dynamic/Sport/Vivid – more saturation for watching fast action in bright lighting.

Sport/Vivid gave unnatural skin tones, overly green grass, and blown-out highlights. Standard had more natural colours but not enough brightness for daylight viewing. Theatre had the most accurate colours but only for dark room viewing. We ended up using Standard and amping the backlight.

Hisense has a tutorial here, and you will need to adjust other settings like Backlight, Brightness, Contrast, Temperature etc., which is a little much for Joe and Jane Average. At least there are options.

Brightness – Pass

Hisense claims 1500 nits. In reality, that is in a tiny part of the screen (2-10% for a microsecond); overall, the screen averages about 400-500 nits (100%). That is typical of an LED/LCD TV.

It is suitable for SDR free-to-air TV but not outstanding for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision (IQ ambient light adjustment).

Contrast – Pass

Contrast is the difference between the panel’s blackest black and the whitest white. The lower the ratio, the greyer the blacks are.

The IPS panel contrast is 1400:1, which is average for an IPS LCD/LED but well below the 6000:1 of the VA-based LG QNED99/91. The image does not ‘pop’ in daylight viewing.

Dimming Zones – Pass

We understand it has about 500 dimming zones versus the U9HAU and LG QNED91 at over 1000. But frankly, our test software indicates far fewer zones – somewhere below 200.

There is noticeable blooming (a cloud around reverse text and white area) and motion tearing (the smoothness of a fast-moving image). While you may not notice it, a videophile does.

Motion smoothing – Pass

It is a 100Hz panel (Australian electricity is 50Hz so it is not 2 x 60Hz=120Hz) and uses simple black frame insertion (BFI) to offer Motion Smoothing 200 (this is not a Hz rating). More expensive models use a mix of BFI and AI predictive insertion (the difference between the actual frame and the subsequent frames and recognise shapes); ergo, there is some motion tearing and a little lack of sharpness.

There is quite a difference between a Mini-LED with 1000+ zones and this with allegedly 500+.

Upscale – Pass

A good segue to Hisense’s Hi-View Engine. The processor controls everything, and it is the same as used in the U9HAU (but that has more dimming zones and higher nits). We cannot measure it for noise reduction, AI recognition of images and shapes, upscale, sound processing etc., but it appears pretty good.

We test with 480/7320/1080p content. In the most basic sense, it upscales to 4K (in 1080p’s case) by surrounding each real pixel with four more. Hisense has sufficient AI (from machine learning) to recognise specific objects and colours to temper straight pixel insertion and sharpen the image.

It upscales pretty well, although we don’t recommend 480p – it must create so much detail that this content looks blurry, especially in action scenes.

Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HDR/IMAX Enhanced – Pass

We extensively test with HDR content up to Dolby Vision.

The TV handles HDR/HDR10 (metadata sets the calibration for the entire movie) very well.

For Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (frame-by-frame), it is an average representation in a side-by-side comparison with the LG QNED99/91. If the LG is, say, 9/10 for definition in the shadows and highlights, this is about a 6/10 (ahead of any standard LED/LCD).

But the Dolby Vision IQ (automatic brightness adjustment to suit ambient light) is way too aggressive and we ended up disabling it.

SDR – Pass

It is suitable for SDR free-to-air TV and most FHD SRD streaming services.

Dirty Screen effect and Uniformity – Pass(able)

This is about uniformity of colours, white and black. It reflects 500+ dimming zones as well.

The screen is not as uniform as we expected from Mini-LED, with a noticeably brighter centre and darker edges.

When watching ‘dark’ scenes and sports with large green grass areas, we noticed DSE – like a dusty haze.

Off-axis viewing – Pass(able)

This affects your seating layout. We noticed significant colour drop-off past about 120° off angle (90° means sitting straight on). Don’t put this in the corner of a room – put it where most will sit directly in front.

Reflection – Pass

The screen has a low reflection coating and, for the most part, does a good job. But don’t place it opposite windows or where strong lights can reflect.

Sharpness – Pass

You can read text down to 24-point. A few TVs can get to 12-point.

Sound – Pass(able)

Sound makes up over 30% of the viewing experience. This could be better. It has 2 x 10W down-firing speakers that reach 80dB (not overly loud) with a little too much harshness.

Its native sound signature is Mid – (bass recessed, mid boosted, treble recessed) – for clear voice. That means the pre-sets don’t do much because they cannot really boost beyond what the speaker is capable of.

Standard mode is probably the best
Theatre widens the sound stage a little
Music does little
Sports brings up the announcer’s voice by reducing the surrounding sounds
Late night reduces bass a lot and makes voice appear louder
Speech reduces the bass and treble and focuses on the 1-4kHZ range.

The soundstage is only as wide as the TV, and sound appears to come from the screen. There is poor left/right separation and no height or surround.

This TV would benefit from any soundbar, especially as it has no low-or-mid-bass and weak treble.

Dolby Atmos (DA) – Fail

The TV decodes Dolby Atmos to its 2.0 speakers. It does not provide DA sound either in 3D spatial height or 360° surround – typical of a two-speaker device.

Ditto – if you want surround and Dolby Atmos, get a 5.1.2 or 5.1.4 soundbar. Read

Gaming – Pass

We are not gamers. We connected an Xbox X to the HDMI 2.1 ALLM/VRR 4K@100Hz port and experienced issues. In the end, we found it stable at 4K@50Hz. We also connected a PC with an NVIDIA GPU and found it does not support G-Sync. It does support AMF FreeSync. Screen lag was acceptable.

Mounting – Pass

“It is wall mountable using 400x 400 x M6 thread (55/6″”) and 600 x 400 x M8 thread (75”) VESA mounts, so you are not tied into expensive ones.”It is wall mountable using 400x 400 x M6 thread (55/65”) and 600 x 400 x M8 thread (75”) VESA mounts, so you are not tied into expensive ones.

Voice control (not tested) – Pass

You can enable Google Assistant, Alexa and IOS.

Power – Pass

It has a 3-star rating. We measured an average of 100W and up to 250W at times with Dolby Vision content. At 30 cents per kWh, it is only a few cents per hour. In standby, it draws .5W.

CyberShack’s view – Hisense U8HAU 2022 4K Mini-LED for the masses

There is nothing wrong with this TV, but nothing is outstanding either. It is better than most Full Array Local Dimming (FALD), Direct Lit, and Edge Lit LED/LCD TVs, but it costs more too. It is a long way off the U9HAU Mini-LED Pro that, for an extra $200, adds so much more.

In short, Hisense is capitalising on the term Mini-LED but not delivering much better than its RRP $1999 U7HAU FALD ULED. And we are not impressed that the U8Hxx sold internationally has Google TV and a far superior panel.

In a typical lounge room with good ambient lighting control and a direct-on view, the image quality is good, with reasonably natural colours, upscaling, and motion.

Would I buy it?

No. If it is all you can afford, it is a good TV. But if you expect more, the U9HAU is much better and only costs a couple of hundred dollars more.

But having seen the LG QNED91SQA 2022 – Mini-LED Quantum Dot is terrific for Aussie homes (TV review) and the QNED99 (review coming), I would mortgage my first-born and spend $2990 (on special) for that. It is the perfect 4K Mini-LED (the 2022 QNED91SQA model).

Sorry Hisense, our job is to be objective. For Joe and Jane Average it is it meets their average needs.

Rating Explanation

Features: 80 – it has all the smart TV features, although it lacks a few local streaming options that may require you to buy a steaming dongle

Value: 80 – because the U9HAU is only $200 more and offers so much more

Performance: 75 Out-of-the-box, the defaults do not do this justice. If you are willing to calibrate (either yourself or call in an expert with a Calman calibrator), you can get far better results. And the sound is not great, so you will need a soundbar.

Ease of Use: 80 VIDAA U6 is easy to use, but without some local streaming options, you will need a Google TV Chromecast 4K (cheap) and probably never use VIDAA again.

Design: 80 – It is a glass slab, and the lack of adjustable feet could cause soundbar issues

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