Hisense U7 55" Inch 4K Smart TV 55U7SG Review

Hisense U7 55"" Inch 4K Smart TV 55U7SG Review

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Buy it at Amazon: Hisense U7 55"" Inch 4K Smart TV 55U7SG [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Excellent picture and sound, good for gaming.

In the box you’ll receive the flat panel TV, two angled support brackets for the stand each with an M4x15 screw tucked in the back, a pack of 8 M5x16 screws, 5 ft power cord, remote control, two AAA batteries, and 6.25 lb base plate that measures 10.25” x 13.75”. The yellow illustrated installation guide shows you how to unbox the unit and attach the included stand.

The entire back cover of the remote control slides off to reveal the battery bay where you’ll install the included batteries. It has a pinhole mic/status LED, power and input source keys, dedicated buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Kids content, and a customizable favorite key. Profile swap, push-to-talk mic, quick settings, 4-way navigation d-pad, OK button, back, home, Live TV, volume and channel adjustment, Free TV key, menu, numpad, and mute button.

The remote is backlit and even lights up automatically when the remote is picked up in dim lighting. However, you’ll notice that only the “main” function keys in dark gray with white icons are backlit, like settings, volume, channel, mute, and menu; the power and one-touch buttons for the various streaming services are not backlit. Don’t forget to remove the plastic film on top for best performance, though note that the remote does not need a line of site to the TV in order to operate.

When unboxing the screen, be sure to keep the foam stickers on the sides installed and avoid putting direct pressure on the front of the display, to prevent damage to it. The screen size is 48.25” wide and 28” tall with a 55” diagonal. The bezels on the TV are razor thin at about 1/16th of an inch at the sides and top, while the thicker chin along the bottom is about ½” tall. The panel’s thickness is just over 2”, so not the thinnest out there, but the unit overall is still pretty lightweight at just over 30 lbs. At the center of the display along the bottom you’ll find the power button and microphone mute toggle switch. This area here houses ambient light sensors so the panel can automatically adjust settings like brightness and color temperature based on the current environment.

On the back of the screen you’ll find the sub-woofer in the center, two main drivers towards the bottom, and there are two surround channels towards the top on the sides. The two sets of threaded holes are for attaching the stand, which can be set to a high or low position depending on where the supports are attached. Attaching them in the upper position allows the panel to sit lower to your console while moving the supports to the lower position will raise the panel about 1.25” so you can fit a soundbar underneath the screen. Optionally, you can wall mount the TV using the 400mm VESA compatible attachment points located under the four screws around the sub-woofer.

When installing the stand, the covers on the back of the support brackets should be removed prior to installation by unclipping their catches towards the top and pulling outward. On the bottom of the base plate are a number of grips to prevent it from sliding around easily on your entertainment console. The supports attach to the holes in the corners. Simply match the two small posts on the bottom of the supports to the smaller holes on the top of the base, then secure them with two M5x16 screws from underneath. Do this on both sides. Now, choose the height you want by attaching the M4x15 screws in the marked positions, low or high. These posts will slot into the center keyholes on the support brackets. Then secure the supports with M5x16 screws above and below.
Now we can place the power cord in the left support bracket and re-install the cover over it. The cord plugs in the the AC port on the left side, and the I/O is located on the other side. There is a USB-A 2.0 port and a USB-A 3.0 port with 0.5 A and 1 A power output respectively. Both of these ports can be used with a USB flash drive loaded with pictures, music, and movies, so you can play and view them on the TV; but note that the USB 3.0 port has data speeds up to 10 times faster than the USB 2.0 port. You can also access other files types like APKs if you’d like to sideload apps not available in the Google Play store.

Next are the 4 HDMI 2.1 inputs, and note here that only HDMI 3 is eARC and CEC compatible, though all of them can accept input streams up to 4K resolution at 165 Hz refresh rate. There’s also a coaxial input for use with a digital over-the-air antennas or a cable signal, digital audio out also known as optical out, and an Ethernet jack for wired networking or internet access.
Once you’re done setting it up, then you can remove the protective foams and films covering the display. The surface of the screen is matte with an anti-glare and anti-reflection coating, so other than my studio lights you won’t see a ton of reflections or glare on the screen. When you turn it on, after a brief splash screen, the built-in Android-based OS Google TV will launch. And there’s a little bit of setup the first time the TV is turned on. Using the remote control, select your language and region. Then you can opt for quick setup by scanning the displayed QR code with a mobile phone, or enter settings manually using the remote and I opted for the former. This just transfers some information from your phone to the TV like your WiFi network name and password and Google account login information.

You’ll need to agree to some terms and conditions, set communication preferences, app sharing, and pick the streaming services that you use. If you have external audio connected to HDMI 3, you’ll set it up next, but I’m skipping that for now. I don’t use cable services, so I’ll skip that too. You’ll need to agree to some more legal terms. Here you can register the TV to activate its 2-year manufacturer warranty. There’s a reminder that the TV is AirPlay and HomeKit compatible. And now it’ll download and setup the streaming apps you chose. After that you can setup multiple profiles or kids features, but let’s skip that and go right to the Google TV dashboard.

If you’ve used any type of streaming device, service, or OS, this should look pretty familiar. There’s a main menu bar along the top, a side scrolling app menu, search feature, special offers, and different categories to help you navigate to different apps and content, for things like free games with Play Pass. Google’s AI assistant Gemini is built-in and you can enable the Wake word, “Hey Google” to activate it when the TV is powered on, enable personalized results, and choose a custom voice for it. Pressing the mic button on the remote, or using the wake word, lets you communicate with Gemini. You can search, ask general questions, and have it perform smart home tasks. When you don't want the mic to be actively listening, use the physical switch below the screen to disable the microphone.

I found the Google TV interface to be fast and responsive and the nice thing about this model is that it has a tri-band WiFi 6E card, so you can connect to 2.4 GHZ, 5 GHz, and even 6 GHz bands, if you network supports it. Another feature that I really like is that its Bluetooth 5.4 capability lets me connect with multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously. For example, I connected the TV to my Bluetooth ear buds and my wireless PS4 controller, so not only could I use the controller as a remote, including its mouse trackpad, but I also had private, lag-free audio streaming straight to my headphones that was perfectly in sync to the video content displayed on the screen. And with the controller I was able to play simple native Android games on it, like Mars, without any issues.

Cloud-based streaming game platforms like Luna worked okay, but immersive world RPGs like Hogwarts Legacy felt a little juttery and laggy, so I’m not sure if that’s a result of not enough processing power, a slow internet connection, or perhaps one of the display settings on the TV. The game controller’s input response time was generally instant and lag-free. For external gaming inputs via the HDMI ports, you’ll be able to achieve a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz, and the display supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for variable refresh rates when connecting to a laptop or PC’s GPU while using the TV as a monitor.

As you can probably tell, the image quality of the display is amazingly sharp and clear with vivid colors, good contrast, and high brightness even during the day and under bright lighting conditions. The maximum resolution of the display is 4K at 3840 by 2160 pixels and has super fine detail that enhances realism. In addition, you can apply AI enhancement and upscaling for additional improvement to quality and clarity, from motion smoothing to noise reduction. With most of these options set to medium or high, when watching video or movies with fast-paced action, I didn’t notice much blur, digital artifacts, or graininess. Even from a close distance, the pixels are so tiny that they’re hard to make out.

The Free TV key launches Google TV Freeplay for viewing an assortment of live programming that you don't need to pay a subscription fee to watch. It includes things like local news and classic TV show and movie channels. The customizable favorite button can be set to change to specific input or launch a particular app or function, and I use mine as a shortcut to Luna.
The integrated 2.1.2 speaker system actually sounds quite nice. While not as immersive as a true surround sound system, the virtualized surround sound it delivers gives you a sense of depth and movement that's more three-dimensional than stereo alone. That said, the max sound output at 50 Watts is more than it needs. I keep the set at around 15 to 20 out of 100, and when I attempted to listen to higher volumes, the sound started to get deafening and distorted above 50. I’ve not gone above 70 because I'm worried about blowing out the speakers. In lieu of increasing the volume, you can enable voice enhancement to make them clearer and louder without affecting the overall volume level.

Overall, this Hisense TV was simple to set up, and I had it up and running in under 10 minutes after unboxing, which includes attaching the stand and connecting it to the internet. It delivers an enjoyable viewing experience with clear, rich picture quality and great sound. The built-in OS is smooth and responsive and offers everything I need to enjoy movies, music, and gaming on it: fast internet connectivity, access to apps and streaming services, and multipoint Bluetooth support.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned
Buy it at Amazon: Hisense U7 55"" Inch 4K Smart TV 55U7SG [Affiliate Link]