Hisense Launches its 4K H8F & H9F Budget TVs with Local Zone Dimming

MW
Mike Wheatley

Chinese company Hisense’s affordably-priced H8F and H9F LCD TVs featuring local dimming capabilities are now on sale in the US, with prices starting at just $400 (£316) for its smallest 50-inch model.

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The H8F and H9F models are being marketed as “ULED” TVs, a decision that seems to have been influenced by Samsung’s QLED branding on its higher-end TVs. But Hisense’s TVs are much cheaper of course, and pack some interesting technology that might be enough to tempt budge buyers to give them a try.

Hisense’s ULED technology is not to be confused with its more advanced “ULED XD” tech, which uniquely squeezes two panels inside the body of its TVs together with an image processing algorithm that combine to produce deeper blacks and higher brightness levels. That technology was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, and is likely to be a feature of its yet-to-be-released higher end TVs.

Still, the H8F and H9F models are not to be sneered at. They both sport 4K resolution quantum dot LCD displays, with the lower end H8F series available in 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. The more expensive H9F models come in just two sizes, 55-inches and 65-inches.

The H9F TVs both feature a 120 Hz panel, come with 132 local dimming zones and offer up to 1,000 nits brightness. And thanks to the quantum dot display, the H9F offers an expanded colour gamut of up to 100% DCI-P3.

Hisense’s H8F series doesn’t pack quite the same punch, with just 60 dimming zones, 700 nits brightness and 90% DCI-P3.

Still, the company believes the TVs are still a great budget option, powered by Google’s Android TV platform which provides access to essential apps such as Netflix and YouTube.

"We see consumers as TV viewers, not just buyers, so we've worked tirelessly to design stunning and sophisticated televisions from the inside out that challenge expectations and deliver best-in-class experiences,” said Hisense USA’s vice president of consumer electronics David Gold.

Hisense also pointed to a study from Wakefield Research it commissioned that shows how its H8F series “significantly outperforms Vizio and TCL across the defining elements of ULED including brightness, range, and accuracy of colors, and image contrast.”

There’s no word yet on when the H8F and H9F will be available to buy in the UK.