Hisense H8F (65H8F) 4K TV review: A worthy way to get into 4K

Over the past few years, Hisense has slotted itself as one of the best TV manufacturers you can go with. It offers everything from value-proposition 1080p smart TVs to gaudy $10,000 projectors that deliver gigantic 100-inch content. But it seems the sweet spot for people's preferences of TVs seem to fall somewhere in the middle of that.

We want a solid 4K TV that checks both the quality and affordable checkmarks. It's the best of both worlds that will fill your living room with impressive picture quality.

Hisense answers customer's wishes with the H8F 4K Ultra HD Android TV .

The H8F 4K Ultra HD TV comes in two flavors: a 55-inch version, and a 65-inch version. I suspect most people will be interested in the smaller version as it's more economical and less obtrusive, but I'd suggest just springing for the bigger version as it'll age better with time as TVs become bigger and bigger. (And increasingly less expensive.)

Hisense sent me the 65-inch version to test out, and while at first the outlandish size seemed too big for my apartment, the big size grew on me within a matter of days. Here's why.

The Good

• Really good picture quality
• Android TV interface is clean
• Fantastic price point
• Versatile remote control with Google Assistant

The Bad

• Audio is not great
• Auto-dimming struggles with gaming

A lot of bang for your buck

Hisense H8F 4K TV What I like

The design of the Hisense H8F TV might not stand out because it looks just like most modern TVs—super slim bezels with an expansive display in the middle—but it still looks great. The side and top bezels are basically nonexistent while the bottom one is slightly thicker providing a great place for the Hisense logo.

As someone who comes from an older TV with minimal ports, the rich port selection on the H8F was welcomed with open arms during my testing. It comes with four HDMI ports, two USB ports, an Ethernet port, an antenna/cable plug, AV IN for right, left and video, digital audio and a headphone jack.

Three HDMI ports should be the standard for all TVs. With the number of gaming systems, streaming boxes, cable boxes and other options you have at your disposal, it's best to have more than less. Hisense does a solid and throws in four HDMIs which were perfect for my set-up that includes a DirecTV box, Apple TV and PlayStation 4 with one to spare.

The last piece of the puzzle is the ergonomic remote. It's light and tactile with easy-access buttons for YouTube, Netflix, Vudu and Google Play.

This all leads to the best part of the TV: the picture quality.

Most of the content I consume is in HD, and it came out looking pretty good. The picture quality goes up to 2160p, so it can upscale HD content to a satisfactory level. Detail comes out very crisp while contrast is balanced very well. However, the main reason to get this TV is 4K content. We're at a point where 4K content is easily accessible. Netflix, YouTube, and many other streaming platforms have a healthy dose of 4K content that is vividly brought to life on the ULED panel.

I watched many 4K videos on YouTube to see the dynamic range of the TV, and unsurprisingly, the Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 really make images pop. Additionally, the H8F also offers wide color gamut and refresh rate of 240Hz.

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The TV panel is also really good at curving ugly glare from sunlight. It doesn't completely eliminate it, but it did a much better job than my Samsung TV. From a straight vantage point, the TV doesn't get washed out in sunlight even with multiple windows open, but if you turn at an angle and direct sunlight is striking it, then you'll be greeted with ugly washed out parts.

Getting around the TV is done through Android TV, and it takes the experience to the next level. TV OEMs have gotten better at designing unintrusive software for TVs, but it's not good as Google's version via Android. Menus are clear and simple to access while submenus offer exactly what they say they do. Rarely is anything buried under mountains of menus.

I found it quite easy jumping in and out of the picture settings whenever I needed to tweak something.

Another benefit of Android TV is that you get all the perks Google offers. That includes built-in Chromecast support and Google Assistant with a dedicated button on the remote controller. Asking it questions like "turn down the volume," "change input," and "launch Netflix" worked really well.

It also worked seamlessly with the Google Home devices I have around my house.

A major reason to get a big TV is to enjoy sports, and let me tell you, the Hisense H8F has come very handy now that the NFL season has started. Sports has been one of the strong points of the TV, delivering crisp images that really immerse you in the game. The wide color gamut does a fantastic job of getting those bright colors you see on the green field and the colorful uniforms.

Audio is a disappointment

Hisense H8F 4K TV What I don't like

Most of my testing period with the H8F TV was positive, but not all of it was as I ran into two issues. The first major hurdle were the underwhelming speakers. They get plenty loud, however, that's not the mark of good audio. The quality of it leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall audio quality is hurt by the low-frequency that throws everything off. Action scenes in movies don't truly pop while dialogue isn't as full as you'd like.

This lack of audio quality, combined with another ailment hurting most TVs—badly-placed speakers—just bring down the whole audio experience.

The one saving grace for the audio is that it's not the main focus of the TV. Hisense likely knows a large majority of people have a soundbar that is tailor-made to deliver fantastic audio quality. In any case, I'll take image quality over audio quality all day long since you can always buy a soundbar after the fact. You're stuck with the TV.

After making sure I got the proper experience from the TV speakers, I hooked up by Vizio soundbar and erased my first issue.

The second issue I ran into was the Full Array Local Dimming that went berzerk when it came to gaming. Booting up and going through menus on my PlayStation 4 was par for the course. The display looked vibrant and rich. Things changed quickly when I got into gameplay. The TV was dimming to extremely low levels leading to odd discoloration.

This was most evident during gameplay in Madden NFL 20. The washed out colors were a far cry from the experience I got from real-life NFL games.

I figured this might have something to do with the settings, so I adjusted the channel settings to Game Picture Mode, yet the dimming issue persisted. It didn't stop me from gaming on the TV, which I did begrudgingly because I had to complete my Madden franchise, but I lamented the constantly changing dimming levels.

A worthy option

Should you buy the Hisense H8F 4K TV? Yes

Minor issues aside, the Hisense H8F 4K TV is still a fantastic 4K option that I can absolutely recommend. I came away thoroughly impressed by the picture quality and the intuitive Android TV OS. I can't speak for all those that are going to read this review, but I am a bargain hunter and I'll gladly take this sub-$500 TV over pricier options that get near or over $1,000. You don't have to spend a lot to get a great 4K TV; the Hisense H8F 4K TV proves that.

There are countless 4K TVs out there that will take aim at your wallet, but why put yourself through that. We've tested a few of them out , and I won't lie, they're great. But Hisense's option is just as impressive and arguably even more so because of the tremendous value proposition.

This TV is a great entry point into the world of 4K, especially if you're on a limited budget. Hisense makes sure to round out the experience with Android TV and rich port selection that makes other TVs that cost $1,000 look bad.

No, the H8F TV is not perfect, but as long as you understand its shortcomings and make peace with that, you'll see exactly what it does offer: a solid 4K TV experience.