Image credit: Hisense.
Over the course of nearly two decades, I've reviewed hundreds of products, including my fair share of televisions. I'll admit it: I can be a bit of a specs snob, so in my own life, specs come first. I want the pinnacle of what's offered, or at least everything my budget can afford. But Hisense might break me of that habit, as its new E7SF TV brings features normally found on a flagship television to an entry or mid-tier price point.
Just in time for football season, Hisense is rolling out the E7SF, a 4K TV starting at $699.99 for the 50-inch model, with the 55-inch only costing $749.99 on Amazon. There's also a 65-inch model for $999.99. If that's not big enough, Amazon also has the TV in 75-inch, 85-inch, and a whopping 100-inch sizes.
If you've read any of my reviews over the years, you know I'm a huge OLED fan. However, QLED and MiniLED displays have made a big impression since their arrival, particularly when it comes to brightness and value.
Here's a quick cheat sheet for anyone unfamiliar with QLED and MiniLED. Both are based on LCD display technology and use LEDs to illuminate the picture from behind. QLED adds a layer of quantum dots designed to produce brighter, more accurate colors. Hisense calls its implementation Hi-QLED, but the underlying idea is the same.
MiniLED focuses on the backlight rather than the color-producing layer. It replaces conventional LEDs with much smaller ones, allowing manufacturers to pack more of them behind the display and divide them into more precisely controlled dimming zones. That can produce brighter highlights, finer details, deeper blacks, and better contrast than a conventional LED-backlit LCD TV.
MiniLED is particularly well suited to rooms that receive a lot of sunlight, since its higher brightness can make the picture easier to see during the day. And because it doesn't use OLED's self-emissive pixels, there's considerably less concern about permanent image retention or burn-in. Depending on the TV's size, Hisense claims a brightness of up to 600 nits. And if that's not enough visual razzle dazzle, the E7SF also has AI Picture, which relies on internal processing to enact enhancements in real time. Hisense also included Dolby Vision, which relies on the metadata created by filmmakers to adjust brightness, color, and contrast frame by frame when watching movies.
I had the opportunity to see the E7SF in action earlier this year, and the colors were absolutely mesmerizing. Watching FIFA recaps, the color immediately drew me in. The turf was a gorgeous verdant green with details so clean that I saw clumps of dislodged dirt from where the cleats dug in. The stadium was a sea of red and blue, matching the teams on the field fighting feverishly for the win. Despite the frenetic action, the motion remained smooth.
Those smooth images have a lot to do with the E7SF's 144Hz refresh rate. As a gamer and avid football fan, this is right up my alley. The way I don't want to miss a snap or play when I'm rooting for my teams is the same way a clipped or missed frame can mean the difference between landing the winning blow or taking it.
To further ensure that games will look their best on the E7SF, the television has AMD FreeSync Premium technology. It's an adaptive synchronization tech that matches up the display with the frame rate of your graphics card, eliminating any unsightly screen tearing and stuttering when you're fighting your way to victory in whatever game you're playing. The television also has Game Booster 240, which means it can support a 240Hz refresh rate, typically at the cost of resolution. It's a feature reserved for high-end gaming PCs, since current-gen consoles only support 120Hz.
Other gaming features include Dolby Vision Gaming, which does the same thing as Dolby Vision but for selected games, going frame by frame. Hisense also included HDR10+ Gaming, which uses dynamic metadata to update contrast and brightness scene by scene.
And speaking of consoles, let's take a quick accounting of the E7SF's ports. It has a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports (4K@144Hz), two HDMI 2.0 ports (4K@60Hz), Ethernet, two USB ports (USB 3.0 and USB 2.0), an RF antenna, and an optical digital audio output. That's more than enough to hook up several consoles, a gaming PC, and a soundbar if you so choose. However, you might not need to with the E7SF, or at least not right out of the box.
In addition to Dolby Vision, the E7SF supports Dolby Atmos, which adds height and surround cues to a soundtrack's mix. Played through the TV's 2.0 multichannel speakers, that translates to a fuller, more dynamic sound than you'd get from standard stereo, even without the illusion of true overhead audio.
Although the demo space where I saw the E7SF was a bit chaotic, I couldn't deny the robust roar of the crowd as a goal was scored. And that was probably the point. Hisense is positioning the E7SF as the ultimate TV for hosting, and where better to put that to the test than in a room full of loud, talkative guests?
And finally, putting a bow on this feature-packed affordability smorgasbord, the E7SF has Amazon Fire TV with Alexa+ and an Alexa Voice Remote. It's essentially having an Echo in your TV, but this one can search shows and movies for you as well as give recommendations using the sound of your voice. And if you're a big smart home fan, the TV can be integrated into your IoT setup.
Hisense is offering TVs that are bursting at the seams with features, including 4K resolution with eye-popping color and detail, a high refresh rate that will make gamers and sports fans happy, and onboard Alexa and Fire TV. And every single size is less expensive than the new iPhone Duo. If you're in the market for a TV that is the epitome of bang for your buck, the E7SF should be on your watchlist.
