Hisense 65-Inch U8 Series ULED TV (65U8K) Review (2024)

Hisense continues to make visually impressive, affordable TVs that put out incredible amounts of light. Last year's U8H earned our Editors’ Choice award and its successor, the U8K, is even brighter and faster. The $1,699.99 list price of the 65-inch model we tested matches that of the also-excellent TCL QM8, but Hisense states the TV has an “everyday price” of $1,099.99 (while the QM8 is often on sale for about $1,300). Though the U8K's discounted price is a bit higher than the $1,000 target cost we like to see at this size, it's still a fantastic value that earns our Editors’ Choice award.

Hisense U8K Series Design

The U8K features an almost bezel-free screen. A thin band of metallic gray material runs along the top and side edges, and a narrow brushed-metal strip spans the bottom edge where the Hisense logo resides. A wide bump sits directly under the logo and holds the infrared remote sensor, far-field microphones, and a mechanical mic mute switch. The TV sits on two T-shaped metal legs that, for the 65-inch model, can be mounted in a narrower or wider configuration to better match the width of your stand. The legs securely support the screen with no wobble either way. Like nearly all current TVs, the U8K can also be wall mounted with a VESA mount.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The power cable connects to the back of the TV near the right side, while all the other connections are housed closer to the left. Four HDMI ports (two 144Hz, one eARC), one USB port, a 3.5mm port for headphones, a 3.5mm composite video input, a serial control system, and an antenna/cable connector all face left. A second USB port, an Ethernet port, and an optical audio output face rearward.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The remote is identical to the button-filled black plastic wand that comes with the U6K. It features a fair-sized circular navigation pad near the top with power, input, settings, user, and Google Assistant buttons above it, as well as a pinhole microphone and indicator LED. Home, back, and live TV buttons sit below the pad, with volume and channel rockers and a mute button further down. Dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Tubi, and YouTube, plus a general Apps button, sit near the bottom.

Hisense U8K Series Google TV Features

Like most Hisense TVs, the U8K uses Google TV as its smart TV platform. It’s a feature-filled interface loaded with streaming options. All major services are present, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. Google TV supports Google Cast for streaming from Android devices and Chrome tabs, and Hisense added Apple AirPlay 2 for streaming from iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Google TV includes Google Assistant, which is accessible by pressing the corresponding button on the remote and speaking into it. You can also summon the digital assistant hands-free by saying, “Hey, Google,” thanks to the TV’s far-field microphones. Google Assistant is a useful voice control system that lets you search for content and control the TV, plus search for general information like sports scores and weather reports, and control compatible smart home devices.

One of the Brightest Pictures

The Hisense U8K is a 4K TV with a 144Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and hybrid log gamma (HLG) formats. It has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for HD and 4K broadcast television.

We test TVs with a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. Hisense claims the U8K has a maximum brightness of 1,500 nits, so we were surprised to discover in testing that the TV is considerably brighter than that.

With an HDR signal in Theater HDR mode out of the box, the U8K shows a peak brightness of 843 nits with a full-screen white field and an incredibly bright 2,114 nits with an 18% white field. That’s not just well past Hisense’s estimate, but among the brightest TVs we’ve tested. It beats out the U8H’s 1,982-nits peak brightness, and puts out more light than both the TCL QM8 (1,620 nits) and the Samsung QN95C (1,372 nits). With a black level of 0.001cd/m^2, that makes for an incredible 2,114,000:1 contrast ratio.

However, that measured number doesn’t quite reflect the real-world viewing experience, which seems to better reflect the TV’s company-stated brightness. Additionally, the 18% field on the U8K shows notable light bloom, both in a small haze around the field and in a notable darkening just inside the edges of the field, neither of which is apparent on the QM8 or the QN95C. The light bloom can be minimized by tweaking the U8K's active backlight settings.

You won’t get as bright a picture with SDR content unless you significantly change the TV’s backlight and brightness levels, but that’s consistent with almost all TVs. With an SDR signal in Theater Day mode out of the box, the U8K shows a peak brightness of 535 nits with a full-screen white field and 1,256 nits with an 18% white field, with a black level of 0.006cd/m^2.

(Credit: PCMag)

The above charts show the U8K’s color levels with an SDR signal in Theater Day mode compared against Rec.709 broadcast standard colors, and with an HDR signal in Theater HDR mode compared against DCI-P3 digital cinema colors. By default, the TV significantly pushes past Rec.709 colors with SDR, though whites are accurate and colors are all fairly balanced with little skewing. The color levels can be tamped down to less intense and closer-to-standard levels by manually adjusting the color space for that picture mode from Auto to Rec.709.

HDR color levels are fantastic, though not quite perfect. Whites and primary colors are accurate, though cyans lean a little green and magentas lean a little red. Still, the TV covers the DCI-P3 color space almost completely.

Footage of penguins and lions in BBC’s Dynasties looks bright and natural. Sunny ice shelves and savannah look bright too, and the blue whites of snow, the tans of lion fur, and the browns of cowhide all appear balanced and loaded with detail, whether brightly lit or shaded. Even the fine black down on penguins has a distinct, clear texture.

The party scenes in The Great Gatsby show off the U8K’s excellent contrast. Black suits and dark hair demonstrate plenty of shadow detail, with contours and textures coming through while staying properly dark. The whites of jackets and balloons appear bright and accurately cool, while skin tones look natural.

The U8K’s picture looks excellent when viewed straight on, but colors start to desaturate from about 30 degrees off angle. It isn’t a massive or jarring effect and the contrast isn’t wildly skewed, but anything you watch from the side won’t look quite as vibrant as it does when you’re directly in front of the TV.

144Hz for Gamers

Gamers should be pleased by the U8K’s features. The 144Hz panel supports variable refresh rate (VRR) from 48Hz to 144Hz and has AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The Game mode has a useful Game Bar quick menu that shows the screen’s current settings and enables easy access to certain options. Game Mode also shows an input lag of 6.6 milliseconds, measured with an HDFury Diva 4K HDMI matrix. That’s below the 10ms threshold we use to consider a TV to be among the best for gaming. In other picture modes, the input lag jumps to 101ms.

A Flagship TV for a Midrange Price

The Hisense U8K is a worthy successor to the fantastic U8H. It’s a little more expensive, with its common sale price coming in at about $100 more than our sweet spot for midrange models. Even so, it’s an excellent value for one of the brightest pictures we’ve seen. Like its predecessor, the U8K earns our Editors’ Choice award for midrange TVs. If you want to spend a bit less, the Hisense U6K is our top pick for budget TVs, with similarly excellent color but a picture that's about a third as bright.