The Hisense U8/U8K is a mid-range 4k TV released in 2023. It sits between the high-end, limited-release Hisense UX and the Hisense U7K in Hisense's flagship 2023 ULED model. It replaces the Hisense U8/U8H, and while similar, the U8K offers more local dimming zones than its predecessor, a more powerful internal 5-speaker setup, and two HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports that can do up to 4k @ 144Hz. It still has a full suite of gaming features, like variable refresh rate support and Hisense's Game Mode Pro gaming interface. It's compatible with Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, is certified as IMAX Enhanced, and supports DTS and Dolby advanced audio formats. It has the user-friendly Google TV interface, which is easy to use and has a great selection of streaming apps. It comes in a wide range of sizes, from a 55-inch model to a massive 100-inch.
Our Verdict
The Hisense U8K is an excellent TV overall. It's extremely bright in both HDR and SDR and has fantastic reflection handling, so it's stellar in any bright room setting. Its contrast and black uniformity are superb, so it also looks amazing in dark rooms, and highlights pop amazingly well when watching HDR movies and games. Overall, it has very good image processing and supports advanced audio and video formats, making it a great choice for a home entertainment TV. It's great as a gaming TV due to its amazing picture quality, superbly low input lag, and good response time. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is inadequate, so it's not a great TV for any wide seating arrangement, like when watching TV shows or sports with friends.
- Fantastic contrast results in deep blacks in a dark room.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Fantastic reflection handling.
- Image degrades when viewed from the side.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8K is great for TV shows. It gets extremely bright in SDR and has fantastic reflection handling, easily handling extremely bright rooms. It has good image processing, so low-bitrate shows from streaming platforms look good, as does low-resolution content from cable boxes and DVDs. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is inadequate, so it's not the best TV to watch shows in a wide seating arrangement.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Fantastic reflection handling.
- Low-resolution content is upscaled without any issues.
- Very good low-quality content smoothing.
- Image degrades when viewed from the side.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8K is a very good TV to watch sports on. It gets extremely bright in SDR and has fantastic reflection handling, easily handling the brightest rooms. Its response time is good, although there's some blur when watching fast-moving sports like hockey. Its gray uniformity is decent, but in some sports with large areas of bright color, the sides of the screen are noticeably darker than the center. Unfortunately, the TV's viewing angle is inadequate, so it's not the best TV for a wide seating arrangement.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Fantastic reflection handling.
- Good response time with most content.
- Low-resolution content is upscaled without any issues.
- Image degrades when viewed from the side.
- Some noticeable vignetting on large areas of bright color.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8K is an excellent TV to play games on. Its contrast and dark details look fantastic in Game Mode. It gets extremely bright in SDR and has fantastic reflection handling, so it looks great in even the brightest of game rooms. Its input lag is superbly low, so your inputs are translated to the on-screen action very quickly. Its response time, while good overall, does cause some blur when playing action titles.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Fantastic reflection handling.
- Superbly low input lag.
- Good response time with most content.
- Great selection of gaming features.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8K is an excellent TV to watch the latest movies on. It has truly fantastic contrast, with nearly perfect black uniformity, so it looks outstanding in a dark room. Its HDR brightness is exceptional, so highlights pop next to the TV's very deep blacks. The TV is very accurate even without any calibration, so you don't have to worry about calibrating it to get an accurate viewing experience. Its low-quality content smoothing is very good, so movies played from streaming services look good even when the bitrate is low.
- Fantastic contrast results in deep blacks in a dark room.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Nearly perfect black uniformity.
- Very good low-quality content smoothing.
- Excellent wide color gamut and amazing color volume.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8 Series is an excellent TV for playing the latest HDR games. The TV looks vibrant and colorful in Game Mode. It has superb contrast and nearly perfect black uniformity, so the TV looks amazing in a dark room. It gets extremely bright in HDR and has fantastic reflection handling, so it looks amazing even in bright rooms. Its input lag is superbly low, so your inputs feel quick and responsive. Unfortunately, its response time does lead to some blur when playing fast titles, although it looks good in slower games.
- Fantastic contrast results in deep blacks in a dark room.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Superbly low input lag.
- Good response time with most content.
- Great selection of gaming features.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
The Hisense U8K is a great TV to use as a PC monitor. It gets extremely bright in SDR and has fantastic reflection handling, so it easily handles bright offices. It has extremely low input lag, so your mouse movements are quick and responsive. Its response time is good; there's some blur when things start moving quickly, like when playing action games, but it does a solid job overall. Unfortunately, the TV has an inadequate viewing angle, so the sides of the screen are inconsistent with the center when you're sitting close to the TV.
- Exceptionally bright in both SDR and HDR.
- Superbly low input lag.
- Good response time with most content.
- Image degrades when viewed from the side.
- It's a bit buggy at times.
Changelog
- Updated Oct 16, 2024: We changed the TV's Native Refresh Rate to match its maximum refresh rate at its native resolution in the Variable Refresh Rate section of this review.
- Updated May 27, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Hisense U8/U8N in the Contrast section of this review.
- Updated May 22, 2024: Clarified that the Pixels Sub-Type is VA on all sizes except for the 75" model.
- Updated Apr 03, 2024: Added links to our Best Soundbars For Watching Movies and Best Dolby Atmos Soundbars articles in the Compared To Other TVs section of this review.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65-inch Hisense U8K, and the results are also valid for the 55, 85, and 100-inch models. The 75-inch model uses an ADS Pro panel, so it performs a bit differently than the other sizes, as it has worse contrast and black uniformity, different reflection handling due to its glossy screen coating, and a wider viewing angle. In Canada, it's known as the Hisense U88KM, and it performs the same. There are similarly named international models, like the U8KAU in Australia, but these models perform differently to the North American U8K, so our results aren't valid for those models.
| Size | US Model | Local Dimming Zones | Panel Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55" | Hisense 55U8K | 672 | VA |
| 65" | Hisense 65U8K | 1,008 | VA |
| 75" | Hisense 75U8K | 1,056 | ADS Pro |
| 85" | Hisense 85U8K | 1,296 | VA |
| 100" | Hisense 100U8K | 1,620 | VA |
The unit we tested was manufactured in May 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Hisense U8K delivers incredible performance for the price. Its primary competitor is the TCL QM8/QM850G QLED, which is brighter than the Hisense, but in turn, the Hisense is a much more accurate TV and has much better upscaling, making it a bit better overall. The Hisense supports Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, as well as DTS and Dolby advanced audio formats. This makes it a fantastic home theater TV for a lower price than its competitors, severely undercutting the Sony X93L/X93CL and even the Sony X90L/X90CL, and it's better than most similarly-priced models like the LG QNED80 2023.
Unfortunately, the Hisense has some bugs: its brightness sometimes resets itself to its default value, and the TV sometimes reboots into a diagnostic mode when changing some settings or starting a game. It's a great performer, but it doesn't feel as reliable as more expensive models from name brands and more expensive models, like the Sony X95L.
See also our recommendations for the best 65-inch TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for bright rooms. If you're looking for a new soundbar to pair with your TV, consider our picks for the best soundbars for watching movies, or for the best possible sound, look up the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.
The Hisense U8N is better than the Hisense U8K. It has even better contrast, so blacks are deeper when viewed in a dark room. The U8N is also brighter overall than the U8K, so it handles more glare in a bright room, and highlights stand out more in HDR content. On top of that, the U8N has a faster response time for less blur behind quick motion.
The Hisense U8K and TCL QM851G are evenly matched, with only small differences. The TCL is a bit brighter in HDR and SDR, but the Hisense is more accurate in HDR and SDR. The TCL has slightly better image processing. Gamers might prefer the TCL, which has a noticeably faster response time than the Hisense. Ultimately, the Hisense is the better choice if you care about image accuracy. Otherwise, the TCL offers a slightly brighter image.
The Hisense U8K is better than the Sony X90L/X90CL. The Hisense is brighter than the Sony with much better reflection handling, so it looks better in a bright room. It also has better contrast, black uniformity, and a local dimming feature, so the Hisense looks better in a dark room. The Sony has the edge in response time, upscaling, and HDR gradient handling, although the Hisense also has good image processing. However, the Sony is the more stable TV overall, as the Hisense is a bit buggy.
The Hisense U7K and Hisense U8K are similar: they have the same feature set, but the U8K is a higher-tier TV, so it has better overall performance. The U8K gets brighter than the U7K, and this also gives it a higher color volume: colors are brighter and pop more on the more expensive model. It also has a more powerful local dimming feature, giving it better contrast in dark rooms. The U7K does have a better response time than the U8K, which is good for gamers or sports fans.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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