Do they support 8K – Hisense U8G Vs TCL 6 Series R646? The TCL has better contrast, but the difference isn’t as noticeable with real content. The TCL also gets brighter, but the Hisense has better reflection handling. While the Hisense uses Android TV and the TCL has Google, they’re very similar, and the only differences are aesthetic. They’re fairly similar overall, but there are a few differences between them. Even though the TCL has Mini LED backlighting, the Hisense has a better local dimming feature because it doesn’t raise the black level as much when there are bright objects.
Lineup – Hisense U8G Vs TCL 6 Series R646
The Hisense U8G is the second-highest 4k model in Hisense’s 2021 lineup, just below the Hisense U9DG and above the Hisense U7G. Despite the similar name to the Hisense H8G, this model replaces the Hisense H9G, as Hisense appears to have shifted their lineup this year.
The TCL 6 Series/R646 is a new TV in TCL’s 6 Series Mini LED QLED lineup. The TCL 6 Series/R635 2020 QLED is in the same lineup, and the main difference is that the R646 has Google TV, and the R635 uses Roku. There’s also the R648, which is an 8k model that uses Roku. The TCL R646 mainly competes with the Hisense U8G, but you can also find the Sony X85J and the Vizio P Series Quantum 2021 in the same price range.
Hisense U8G Vs TCL 6 Series R646 reviews
Build
It has good build quality, and it feels very similar to the TCL 6 Series/R635 2020 QLED. It’s well-put-together, and it feels sturdy for the most part. The feet are good, as there’s almost no wobble. However, the plastic on the back flexes quite easily, and it’s noticeable with both the glossy top and the textured bottom.
It has good overall build quality. The stand supports the TV well, with little wobble. The border around the screen is metal, but most of the body is plastic. There’s very little flex, except around the VESA mounts, but this shouldn’t cause any issues.
Design
The TCL R646 looks similar to the TCL 6 Series/R635 2020 QLED as it has a silver bottom bezel and the same back panel, but there are a few tweaks. This TV uses different feet that have a more premium feel, and the Google speaker sticks out at the bottom. This is a bulky TV that won’t sit flush against a wall because the bottom part near the inputs sticks out.
The Hisense U8G’s design is nearly identical to the 2020 Hisense H9G. They’ve made some slight changes to the stand, and the vents in the back are a bit different, but other than that, the frame is nearly identical. There are clips on the back of the TV for cable management. If you’re planning on wall-mounting the TV, these clips can be removed, reducing the total thickness to 3.2″ (8.2 cm).
Stand
The TCL R646 features new metal feet that don’t take up as much space as those on the TCL 6 Series/R635 2020 QLED. They support the TV well, and there’s minimal wobble. There’s 3.5 inches from the table to the bottom of the screen, and even with a soundbar placed in front, we could still use the remote and voice control properly. Footprint of the 55 inch TV: 40.35″ x 12.48″
The Hisense U8G has a very similar stand to the Hisense H9G. It’s solid, and supports the TV well. Footprint of the 55″ stand: 28.4″ x 10.3″.
Brightness
Hisense U8G
We retested the brightness to confirm our results because we measured a lower brightness than the advertised 1500 cd/m². This is the brightest the TV gets. We measured a max brightness of 702 and 1,249 cd/m² in the ‘Vivid’ and ‘Standard’ Picture Modes, respectively.
The Hisense U8G has excellent peak brightness in SDR, very similar to the Hisense H9G, and glare shouldn’t be an issue. Small highlights in some scenes stand out really well, much brighter than the Hisense U6G. There is some variation in peak brightness in very bright scenes. This results in a slightly dimmer screen with some content, like watching a hockey game for example.
We measured the brightness after calibration in the ‘Theater Night’ Picture Mode with the Backlight set to ‘Max’ and Local Dimming to ‘High’. Setting Active Contrast to ‘Medium’ results in a slightly brighter picture of 1,401 cd/m² in the 25% window, but it isn’t a very noticeable difference.
If you want something with Mini LED backlighting that gets much brighter with real content, then check out the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED.
TCL 6 Series
The SDR brightness is fantastic, so glare shouldn’t be an issue in most bright rooms. It gets brightest with small highlights, as seen in the 10% and 25% windows, and even though brightness varies a bit between scenes, it shouldn’t be too distracting.
We tested the SDR brightness after calibration in the ‘Movie’ Picture Mode with Brightness and Contrast at their max, Local Contrast on ‘Low’, the Color Temperature set to ‘Warm -5’, and Gamma on ‘2.2’.
You can achieve a slightly brighter image by setting Local Contrast to ‘High’ and Color Temperature to ‘Cool 4’. We measured 1,180 cd/m² in the 25% window using these settings, but this comes at the cost of losing image accuracy.
Viewing angle
The TCL 6 Series 2021 has narrow viewing angles, which is expected from a VA panel. The image looks inaccurate if you’re viewing it from the sides.
As expected of a VA-type TV, the image degrades when viewed at an angle. The most noticeable issue off-angle is the gamma shift, causing the image to appear washed out. Colors stay accurate to a wider angle than the gamma, but it’s not as good as IPS-type TVs, like the LG NANO90 2021.
Color gamut
This TV has a great color gamut for HDR content. It has fantastic coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space, and tone mapping is good, too, so colors look accurate. Coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 is more limited, but it’s still decent.
The Hisense U8G uses Quantum Dot technology, similar to the Samsung’s QLED lineup, like the Samsung QN90A QLED, and LG’s NanoCell TVs, like the LG NANO90 2021. This allows for a wider color gamut than traditional LCD technology. This results in an excellent color gamut, with nearly perfect coverage of the DCI P3 color space used by most current HDR content and good coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space. These results are a good improvement over the 2020 Hisense H9G and even better than the Samsung QN90A QLED.
Alternate of Hisense U8G Vs TCL 6 Series R646
75-inch TCL 6-Series Mini-LD 8K Roku TV
Why you should buy this: It can do 8K resolution at a 75-inch screen size for $3,000.
With a big, beautiful, 8K display, the TCL 6-Series is a great way to experience 8K resolution without spending a fortune.$3,000 FROM AMAZON
Who it’s for: Those who want to be on the leading edge of TV resolution without arranging for a second mortgage.
Why we picked the 75-inch TCL 6-Series Mini-LED 8K Roku TV:
8K is still very much an emerging corner of the entertainment world, so much so that — with the exception of some 8K videos on YouTube — there isn’t much actual 8K content readily available right now. That hasn’t stopped TV manufacturers from rolling out 8K displays, though, and right now, the TCL 6-Series (2021) R648 is the most affordable way to get a big, 75-inch picture in full 8K resolution.
Given that it shares the same name with TCL’s 6-Series 4K Roku TV (R635), it’s tempting to think that the R648 is simply a carbon copy, but with more pixels. But our reviewer discovered that’s not the whole story. The 8K model has better brightness, contrast, and even better black levels, thanks to its impressive 240 contrast control zones that are used for local dimming of the mini-LED backlight system.
These performance gains are the key to the TV’s awesome HDR and SDR picture quality, which is so good, it compares favorably to OLED TVs, which are still the leaders in this area. “Is the R648 a substitute for OLED in a setting with controlled lighting?” asks our reviewer. “No, not in terms of contrast and color. But in a brighter room, it will offer significantly better performance than most OLEDs on the market.”
Interestingly, unlike some TVs that require substantial settings tweaks to maximize their picture quality, and then require that you repeat the process for each input and streaming app, the 6-Series 8K TV greatly reduces this annoyance by copying your first set of adjustments to every source, while still letting you adjust each one manually if you want to.
That thoughtful ease-of-use carries over into the excellent Roku software. As usual, you get a huge choice of streaming apps, a dead-simple interface, and integration with a wide variety of ecosystems like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit. But TCL also includes an improved Roku remote with voice capabilities. Apple device owners can take advantage of Apple AirPlay for streaming local videos, music, and photos from their gadgets to the 6-Series.
Surprisingly for a TV, the 6-Series R648 has an awesome built-in sound system, complete with its own subwoofer, midranges drivers, and dedicated tweeters. You may still prefer to use a soundbar, but you certainly don’t need to. Speaking of sound, Dolby Atmos is supported, and if you connect the TV to a soundbar or an A/V receiver via the HDMI eARC port, you’ll be able to enjoy Atmos via those external devices too.
Gamers will be thrilled with the 75-inch TCL 6-Series Mini-LED 8K Roku TV advanced gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR), auto low-latency mode (ALLM), auto game mode, and THX Certified Game Mode, for the ultimate in gaming performance.
Our only critiques of the 6-Series are relatively minor: The TV suffers from poor off-angle viewing (but with a 75-inch TV that may not matter as much) and there’s no built-in support for ATSC 3.0 (or NextGen TV as it’s also known).
65-inch LG G1 Gallery Series 4K OLED TV (2021):
Who it’s for: Anyone who can afford it.
Why we picked the 65-inch LG G1 Gallery Series 4K OLED TV (2021):
If you’ve been following our coverage of OLED TVs, and in particular, LG’s OLED TVs, you know that superlatives just come with the territory. We loved the 2020 LG GX OLED, and the new 2021 G1 series is even better.
For a few years now, TV reviewers have observed that despite OLED’s incredible black levels, contrast, and color, OLED TVs haven’t been able to match QLED TVs in terms of brightness. The LG G1 Gallery Series goes further than any other OLED TV to address this gap, through a new kind of OLED panel that LG has labeled “OLED Evo.”
It’s essentially a tweak of the materials used to produce OLED panels, but it yields visible results. How good is it? “The LG G1 Gallery Series produces the cleanest, most enticing imagery I’ve seen from a TV yet,” our reviewer enthused.
That performance is also helped considerably by LG’s latest picture processing tech, quarterbacked by its fourth-generation Alpha 9 AI Processor 4K along with its AI Picture Pro algorithms. While it can sometimes be a little overzealous with motion smoothing unless you intercede, its ability to upscale compressed, non-4K content is the best we’ve ever seen.
The G1 is ideal for those who want to wall-mount their TV — it comes with everything you need. But it’s one of the few TVs that doesn’t come with a stand. If you need one, there are two options: A set of feet and a fancier, tripod-based unit, but both are paid extras.
With four HDMI 2.1 inputs, the G1 is more than a pretty face — it’s a gamer’s dream. With Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, HGiG profile support, variable refresh rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and 4K 120Hz in HDR at full RGB color, this is one of the only TVs in the world that can provide gamers with a big-screen experience that can compare to a dedicated gaming monitor.
