As I got my eyes on the 75-inch Hisense U9N ULED TV, I started to wonder if The Weeknd was going to start playing — because I was practically blinded by the lights, in a good way. Just like its 85-inch big brother, the set I saw is rated for a peak brightness of up to 5,000 nits, which is pretty bonkers. How wild is it? The LG C4 OLED TV, one of the other big new 2024 TVs, is aiming for a zenith of 1,500 nits. By that measure, it’s clear that brightness is Hisense’s weapon of choice in its bid to make the best TVs.
The display tech that makes the Hisense U9N special
If you haven’t heard about Hisense’s premium UX TV displays, know that the U9N finds the company bringing its best tech to a TV more people can afford. Those tricks include its Hi-View Engine X image processing, the rich colors that QLED Quantum Dot displays offer and as many as 5,300 localized dimming zones for improved contrast.
Available for order later this year, with a release date window of this summer, the U9N’s price starts at $2,999 for the 75-inch set I saw, and $3,999 for the 85-inch set. Those numbers may be high, but my hours with the smaller model gave me some hope that these units are worth their asking price. While we loved the Hisense U6K as a budget TV in the past, it’s not hard to see that the company is positioning the U9N as its best shot to increase market share in the more expensive tier. These TVs are big and bright and colorful, utilizing all that tech to get closer to what I love about OLED TVs.
For example, while I watched my 4K Blu-ray copy of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” I took note of the scene where Miles and Gwen swung around Mumbai with Pavitr Prabhakar. Everything wowed my eyes, from the inky blacks of Miles’ costume and how much the reds of his suit popped, to the purples, pinks and blues of the force fields and electricity that radiated off the screen.
A great TV hampered slightly by motion smoothing features
But let’s rewind a bit. The Hisense U9N is a Google TV-equipped Ultra LED TV, meaning this display offers a 4K resolution and bears Hisense’s own tech for color, local dimming zones and (groan) motion smoothing. Yes, folks, no matter where I turned on this TV, I kept having to find ways to disable the dreaded “soap opera” effect that is meant to make things look more natural, but often creates images that just look flat-out wrong. Or at least that’s my personal opinion; many people I know and love would keep those settings on had it not for me explaining that things could be better. Ignorance, they say, is bliss.
Otherwise, the U9N is a pretty great TV, bearing the content-first interface that Google TV is known for and you may have seen in a Chromecast with Google TV. Apps are front and center, as are highlighted films — yes, Google TV, I would like to watch “Love Lies Bleeding” again now that it’s available on-demand. There’s even a “live” tab for Google’s own YouTube TV, as well as select paid (Sling TV, Philo) and free (Pluto, Tubi) services.
Also, the Hisense U9N’s remote is a pretty good slab of tech, with standard controls for menus, volume, power, input and settings. I only wish it had dedicated fast forward and rewind buttons, but that might be a nitpick when a circular nav button is available.
Watching my 4K Blu-ray copy of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1,” I enjoyed rewatching the car chases in Rome where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Hayley Atwell’s Grace attempted to drive a petite Fiat while handcuffed together. The yellow of the automobile looked both strong and accurate, and no details were lost as the heroes unintentionally drove donuts around the famed Spanish Steps. Of course, everything only looked so good once I switched from the slightly dull default HDR Energy Saving mode to the trusty Filmmaker mode where nothing gets in the way.
I probably disabled a bit of Hisense’s own ULED tech when I turned its HDR Theater Mode off for “Across the Spider-Verse,” but even that setting’s moderate motion smoothing was a step too far. Filmmaker mode, again, just looked better, and allowed me to actually focus on the gorgeous and bright image quality.
As something of a cinephile myself, my eyes lit up when I noticed that the H9N featured an IMAX mode that is made to work with compatible films to improve picture processing with color and contrast. Unfortunately, that mode didn’t support the Disney+ app when I watched that service’s IMAX enhanced version of “The Marvels”, and I’m looking forward to learning more about what services and apps this mode will bring IMAX editions to life in.
Surprisingly strong audio for a TV set
The one thing I didn’t expect from the Hisense U9N is its punchy 4.1.2 multi-channel audio system, which produced a booming version of the “Dead Reckoning Part 1” orchestral score. I don’t expect the world from internal TV speakers, but as the sound intensified while Cruise and Atwell tried to evade Pom Klementieff’s reckless pursuit, I was thoroughly impressed.
Similarly, I loved how power pop band Charly Bliss’ new single “Nineteen” sounded on the set. Not only did singer Eva Hendricks’ vocals come in loud and clear, but the song’s terrific saxophone solo rang out boldly.
Hisense U9N speakers
Then, I noticed the speakers on the left and right sides of the U9N, a design choice that definitely highlights the TV’s audio prowess. While I don’t know if this will rub minimalists the wrong way, I’m sure those folks can choose from some of the other best TVs — and may not want a 75-inch set, either.
Hisense’s war on glare may not be won just yet
All that said, we need to talk about the glare issue that plagues many TVs today, especially OLED panels. Since this hands-on testing took place in a private room with an array of lights on the ceiling and around the room, I’m not sure I reviewed the set in the proper conditions to measure Hisense’s claims of having an “anti-glare ultra-low-reflection panel.” As you might tell in my photos, I saw reflection and glare on the panel throughout my testing. Further testing in our pending full review in more traditional conditions is required.
I noticed this reflection the most when I watched my 4K Blu-ray of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” as I had to turn the lights off to see more of Robert Pattinson’s brooding version of the caped crusader. I bring that film to test TVs on purpose, as it’s quite dark, and reveals reflectiveness — and it (yet again) did the trick.
Hisense is only one of many TV makers engaging in a fight against glare, as the Samsung S95D OLED is using a new set of tricks to reduce (but not quite eliminate) reflection.
Decent specs that gamers will like
Looking behind the panel, you’ll find a quartet of HDMI ports, including a pair of the modern HDMI 2.1 ports. Gamers will be happy to hear those two ports enable 144Hz refresh rates at 4K resolution for smoother crisp gaming.
Also, as noted above, the U9N features Dolby Vision HDR (along with the IQ and Gaming versions of that spec), as well as many other high dynamic range standards such as HDR10, HDR10+, HDR10+ Adaptive and HLG, which will help ensure strong contrast so your picture quality truly pops. Oh, and the aforementioned booming sound will sound more dimensional for some titles, as the U9N supports Dolby Atmos.
The U9N also supports Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit for those with digital assistant and smart home connection needs. And since it’s a Google TV, you won’t be surprised to learn it has Chromecast tech baked in.
The takeaway
The Hisense U9N is a beast of a TV that I look forward to learning more about through our inevitable deep-dive review. As I began to watch another episode of Netflix’s unsettling drama “Baby Reindeer,” I yet again had to tweak settings — this time more granular options, since Dolby Vision eliminates the Filmmaker mode — to stop motion smoothing. Once those options were disabled, I was again impressed by how bright and bold the Hisense U9N’s made this show look so visually strong.
So while I have open questions about IMAX mode and reflection, I’m still impressed by what Hisense is doing to prove itself as more than just a budget-friendly brand. Stay tuned for our full review.
