Chinese TV brand Hisense is taking on the likes of LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony and TCL with the launch of its first-ever 8K television, and it has the big advantage of being very affordable compared to most rival offerings.
Available now in the U.S. on Amazon and Best Buy, the 75-inch Hisense U800GR is priced at just $2,699 (£2,040), which is around $1,000 cheaper than Samsung’s most affordable 8K TV, the 75-inch QN800A Neo QLED TV launched earlier this year.
The only 8K TV on the market with a comparable price tag is TCL’s 6-Series 8K Roku TV that was launched earlier this year, sharing many of the same specs as Hisense’s debut model.
That’s perhaps not really too surprising, because the Hisense U800GR also happens to be a Roku TV. It’s fitted with a 120Hz LCD panel and offers 180 local dimming zones for advanced picture control. It also supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG, and is capable of delivering up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness, though the relatively low number of dimming zones suggests it won’t hit those heights too often.
Onboard, the Hisense U800GR is powered by the company’s Hi-View picture engine.
There are a few things Hisense didn’t clarify. For one, it didn’t say if Dolby Vision is supported at 8K, and nor did it mention if the TV has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to support 8K60 input. It does however support Auto Low Latency Mode.
The Roku OS platform is a good choice, providing access to all the apps viewers will likely need, including Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, as well as hundreds of free TV channels.
Perhaps the best thing about this 8K TV is that, unlike Samsung’s and LG’s, it will at least actually be able to access some native 8K resolution content through The Explorers Channel, a documentary streaming service that aims to showcase the natural, cultural and human heritage of the planet. The Explorers Channel became the first streaming service in the world to add 8K content to its lineup last month. The 8K content, which is said to consist of “hundreds of hours” of video, is exclusively for 8K Roku TVs.
The promise of actual 8K content, combined with the relatively low price tag, might just be enough to tempt a few buyers, though it remains to be seen what kind of impact the Hisense U880GR will have. The 8K TV market has struggled to get much traction so far, with the analyst firm Omdia recently saying it doesn’t expect the technology to become relevant for many years to come.
