Launched in the year 2021, the 55U8GQ is a 55" 4K TV from Hisense. It comes with a 10-bit IPS panel with Anti-glare/Matte finish.
The max. resolution it can achieve is 3840 x 2160 @ 120 Hz with a pixel density of 80 ppi.
Picture Quality
After screen size and resolution, the next important spec of a display that defines picture quality is Color Gamut.
This TV doesn't come with a color gamut specification, so we have to take a guess.
Considering the TV features a big 55 inch screen, it won't come with a cheap panel, so here we can assume its equivalent sRGB coverage to be 90-100% or above. Undoubtedly The color accuracy on this TV will be Lifelike! It is capable of producing color accurate images.
Understanding the Color Gamut Specification
Color gamut specification of a TV indicates the range of colors that the TV can produce.
A TV with poor color accuracy will produce washed out colors that will spoil the immersion.
Different manufacturers use different measurement standards to specify color gamut. Viz — sRGB (standard RGB), NTSC 1953, DCI P3 etc.
But don't worry, below is a chart that will help you choosing a TV with good color accuracy.
After color gamut, the static contrast ratio of a TV holds almost equal role in picture quality.
Understanding the static contrast ratio
A TV with low static contrast ratio will not produce deep blacks and possibly bleed backlight as shown in the images below:
The image is an example of another display, it is not this oneThe static contrast ratio of above TV is 800:1. So make sure you get a TV with a static contrast of >= 1000:1. More the better.
Also, a TV with high constrast ratio enables you to see more details. So, resolution and static contrast ratio go hand in hand.
This TV is rated with a static contrast ratio of 1200 : 1. — good enough for a TV in this range. For the record, it also comes with local dimming backlight technology which is a plus.
HDR is also supported on this TV in form of Dolby Vision, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma), HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ.
As for brightness, it is capable of producing a peak luminance of 1000 nits. The backlight used on the panel is Direct LED (Full-Array Local Dimming). This amount of brightness is good enough even for a well-lit room!
Gaming Performance
If you aren't planning to game on this TV, you can ignore these specifications. But if you are also planning to use the TV for playing games or use it as a PC monitor, make sure to take a TV that features the lowest input lag and response time.
Unfortunately, we cannot find the input lag specification for this unit. Now, since this is not a cheap TV from Hisense, we can expect an input lag of less than 20ms.
What is Input Lag and Why it matters ?
This lag is the latency at which key-presses or mouse movements changes the content of the TV. Though, this won't matter much if you aren't into competitive/FPS games like call of duty.
But ideally, get a TV that features an input lag and response time of < 20ms.
Dimensions and Ergonomics
The TV measures 55 inches vertically and 48.54 inches horizontally. It is 2.91 inches thick.
It weighs 17.5 kilograms and 1.5 kgs extra if you include stand.
Coming to ergonomics — a VESA mount with interface size of 400 x 300 mm is provided for wall-mounting. There is no Swivel, Tilt or Pivot feature support on this TV.
Hardware and Audio
The core of this TV is powered by a 4-Core (2x ARM Cortex-A73 + 2x ARM Cortex-A52) CPU and a (ARM Mali-G51) GPU.. There is no information on the RAM on the TV's specsheet.
The UI on this TV is powered by VIDAA U5.0 Operating System.
For display connectivity, there are four HDMI 2.0 (CEC) ports and one AV Composite In (Video + L/R) port on this TV.
USB ports include 1x USB 2.0 and 1x USB 3.0. Other connectivity ports include — 1x Satellite In (F-type female), 1x Antenna (RF) (female), 1x CI+ 1.4 and 1x Ethernet RJ45.
Wireless connectivity options on this TV include Wi-Fi (5Ghz + 2.5Ghz), Wifi-Direct and Bluetooth.
Coming to audio, it is packaged with 2 x 10W built-in speakers. It also comes with a built-in subwoofer. So you don't have to invest on any external sound system.
Now, coming to power consumption, on average, it uses 93 Watts. On standby, it takes 0.5 Watts.
For powering this unit, you'll require an 100 V - 120 V/50 Hz - 60 Hz outlet.