My Favorite 65-inch Hisense Mini Led Tv Is $1,200 Off For Prime Day - And It's A Killer Deal

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Hisense U8QG is disposable from 55-inch to 100-inch, pinch astir models presently connected sale.
• It offers arresting HDR image value and brightness.
• However, this group lacks immoderate premium features for illustration 4 HDMI ports and an ultra-thin frame.

The Hisense U8QG is 1 measurement down from nan company's flagship TV, (the U9QG), and it's presently connected waste for astir $995 astatine awesome retailers (normally $2,200).

If you're up to velocity connected modern TV tech, past you mightiness cognize nan quality betwixt OLED and QLED, and possibly really Mini-LED fits into nan ecosystem of tv investigation and development. You might've moreover heard of QD-OLED and Micro-LED arsenic envelope-pushing technologies that will everlastingly alteration our viewing experience. 

But person you heard of ULED?

Also: The champion Prime Day deals 2025: Our favourite 130+ income unrecorded now

According to Hisense, ULED (or Ultra LED) is nan company's proprietary "ultimate viewing experience… that combines 20 different patents to create nan astir vivid and true-to-life viewing experience." It deploys these technologies crossed 4 cardinal areas: Ultra Local Dimming, Ultra Wide Color Gamut, Ultra 4K Resolution, and Ultra Smooth Motion Rate. 

TV trading nomenclature tin get further convoluted because, while you won't find Hisense's competitors utilizing nan word "ULED" to picture their caller models, nan 2025 Hisense sub-flagship U8QG besides categorizes itself arsenic a Mini-LED and QLED (Quantum Dot) television. So galore labels. 

Yet astir consumers only want to cognize a mates of things: How do each these labels construe into capacity and value? And really does this exemplary stack up to others? I tested nan 65-inch Hisense U8QG successful our Louisville laboratory to find out.

Setup and hardware observations

Setting up nan U8QG progressive nan accustomed creation of attaching nan guidelines and connecting nan portion to our network. While nan assembly process was not terrible, it surely required 4 hands (two people) to do safely, and it helped that my helper is my Lab Manager and an engineer. 

Even so, we consulted nan Quick Start instructions to usage 4 screws adjoining 2 integrative components to a dense robust sheet that serves arsenic nan ft of nan U8QG -- which seemed for illustration it could deflect a 50-caliber bullet.

In that light, this TV isn't going to topple complete if your feline spasmodically bounces disconnected nan wall aliases your kids roughhouse excessively adjacent to nan centerpiece of your surviving room.

Also: How to disable ACR connected your TV (and why doing truthful makes specified a large difference)

The distant came pinch caller batteries (always a plus), and I americium besides ever pleased by distant controls that ray up erstwhile you prime them up, arsenic this 1 does. It besides has an ambient ray sensor and Find My Remote feature, successful summation to being a sound distant tied to nan TV's Google OS. 

I bask nan hardy consciousness of this remote, which has a brushed metallic decorativeness but is intelligibly made of plastic. Notably, this distant mirrors nan width of nan TV itself, astatine astir 2 inches. This TV is not super-sleek, but that's not nan domiciled nan U8QG is playing successful nan crowded marketplace of fund to midrange options. 

Adam Breeden/ZDNET

Three HDMI ports are great, particularly since nan U8QG has a 165Hz autochthonal refresh rate, an upgrade from nan 144Hz complaint successful 2024's U8N model. However, 4 ports are becoming nan modular among premium TVs because you're apt to usage 3 ports pinch a gaming console, an outer speaker/soundbar, and a streaming device, if not a cablegram aliases outer box. Four ports licence a caller level of versatility, from a 2nd gaming strategy to a laptop relationship aliases a integer camera, and nan U8QG falls conscionable short of that versatility.

Also: I changed 10 settings connected my Fire TV to instantly amended nan performance

Having said that, nan U8QG is nan first Hisense TV to see a USB-C larboard that tin enactment arsenic an alternate show larboard for PC gamers, which is rather cool.

How does ULED really look?

When I first powered connected nan U8QG, nan unit mode demos connected its surface were arresting. Waterfalls of colour and ray poured vertically done a montage of imagery that I would telephone captivating. This is simply a 4K TV, but erstwhile playing high-res video, it looked 8K, astatine slightest to my quality eye. So let's break down those 4 components that Hisense celebrates pinch nan word "Ultra."

'Ultra Local Dimming' successful action

This is wherever nan U8QG's mini-LED facet really shines (literally) because thousands of mini LEDs tin beryllium controlled pinch exquisite precision. This intends deeper blacks that are actually black, not a murky grey positioned correct adjacent to bright, punchy highlights. 

Also: The default TV mounting you should move disconnected ASAP - and why professionals do nan same

The opposition is striking. During a peculiarly acheronian segment successful "Alien: Romulus," nan U8QG rendered nan inky blackness of abstraction pinch an strength that tin springiness an OLED a superior tally for its money. The distant stars and nebulae popped pinch brilliant, well-defined ray pinch minimal blooming aliases haloing astir agleam objects connected acheronian backgrounds.

Chris Bayer/ZDNET

How colors are reproduced

In 1 of galore trial videos of earthy scenery, nan vibrant plumage of tropical birds, nan rich | greens of a rainforest, and nan heavy blues of nan water felt incredibly lifelike and saturated, but not successful an artificial, overblown way. Similarly, erstwhile tuning successful to "Top Gun: Maverick," nan U8QG handled tegument tones pinch a earthy warmth, avoiding that plasticky aliases overly ruddy look that tin sometimes creep in.

Our Calman package and Klein colorimeter trial results bespeak a adjacent lucifer to targeted measurements for nan BT.2020 Gamut Coverage connected astatine slightest 3 image modes (i.e., standard, cinema, filmmaker). However, nan BT.709 and P3 Sweeps weren't arsenic successful, though these variables are not wide considered perceivable to nan naked quality eye. 

Also: I replaced my 4K TV pinch a UST projector - and nan ocular upgrade was worthy it

No less, nan out-of-the-box colour accuracy successful Filmmaker mode was besides very good, meaning you're getting a image that's adjacent to nan creator's intent without needing to dive heavy into calibration settings (though those options are location for tinkerers). 

What astir 4K video playback?

4K solution is modular fare for astir TVs nowadays. So what puts nan Hisense look into an "Ultra" category?

I will attest that for 4K viewing, nan U8QG's clarity was exceptional. Fine textures successful clothing, distant landscapes, and mini specifications successful analyzable scenes were each rendered pinch awesome precision, moreover for 1080p content. Hisense's upscaling engine, nan Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor, besides supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, which is noteworthy but not uncommon. 

Chris Bayer/ZDNET

While it's not magic (you won't correction an aged DVD for a 4K Blu-ray), nan U8QG's MediaTek Pentonic 800 spot sharpens and cleans up lower-resolution sources effectively, making them acold much appealing connected a 4K canvas.

Ultimately, pinch 8.3 cardinal pixels, we tin expect crisp visuals and crisp contrast, and this is nan lawsuit pinch each 4K TVs. But arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell, nan "Ultra" portion of Hisense's branding refers to further technologies it uses to heighten image value (like Noise Reduction, Detail Enhancement, and Dynamic Tone Mapping for HDR). Not to disregard aliases demystify nan word "ULED," but I want to beryllium clear that it does not picture a full caller class of modern TV technology.

Sports and gaming

One measurement I for illustration to measure mobility complaint connected a TV is to watch NFL (or immoderate sports) highlights, particularly of agelong downfield passes. For nan U8QG, nan spiraling launches from quarterbacks were reasonably tight successful position of blur, and location was almost zero blur trailing nan moving players. Frantic action sequences successful each nan footage I sampled retained their effect without devolving into a juddery mess.

Also: How to clear nan cache connected your TV (and why it makes specified a large difference)

Gamers, too, will admit nan U8QG's responsiveness, particularly pinch features for illustration ALLM, Game Mode Ultra (another "Ultra"), and AMD FreeSync PremiumPro -- each included to heighten fast-action content. Any TV that offers a adaptable refresh complaint (VRR) of 288Hz for gaming has an separator connected its contenders, which very good mightiness person to an separator for you arsenic a gamer. The U8QG reaches this potential, and that puts it successful nan precocious echelon for mobility clarity and smoothness successful nan user TV space. And that's "Ultra" capable for me.

A connection connected sound performance

The on-device sound value of nan U8QG was amazingly robust. While it won't switch a dedicated soundbar aliases situation sound strategy for existent audiophiles, nan 4.1.2 multi-channel speakers present clear speech and a decent magnitude of bass for mundane viewing. But arsenic I cranked up nan volume, I did announcement immoderate rattling bass that nan hardware successful this TV can't overcome.

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're looking for heavy blacks and vibrant colors connected a TV that holds up good successful ambient ray without nan value tag of an OLED screen, past nan Hisense U8QG is simply a sensible consideration. The TV is awesome for mixed usage, including gaming and sports, moreover successful rooms pinch abundant ambient lighting.

While nan 65-inch U8QG retails for $2,200, awesome retailers person slashed its value by up to 55%, bringing nan full person to $1,000. 

There are higher-end Mini-LEDs that connection much dimming zones and much refined processing, but nan U8QG delivers a level of capacity wherever nan rule of diminishing returns really starts to footwear successful for those pricier models. The worth proposition present is strong, particularly erstwhile priced right. Take advantage of nan discount while you can.

This communicative was primitively published connected June 6, 2025, and was updated connected July 9, 2025, adding accusation for a caller Prime Day discount.