Hisense TV: Inexpensive Excellence (and a story)

[Qs Laptop]

My wife won a Hisense 50" R7F television at her company's Christmas party. Wait, that's not a 50" TV...



We were in the market for a new TV for the basement (my balliwick) and I had my eyes set on a new Sony or Samsung, possibly a TCL. When she came home with a Hisense TV, a brand I had never heard of, I was a bit slow to show enthusiasm. Throw in the fact the 50" TV was smaller than my old LG 55" set and I was not jumping for joy.

But it had built-in Roku, a streamer's dream (and voice activated Roku, very cool, more on this in a bit.) So I immediately went online and searched for reviews and found this review of the R7E, last year's model of the same TV:

https://www.pcmag.com/review/361289/hisense-50r7e

I also went to Best Buy's website and saw that this TV had a 4.5 out of 5.0 rating and 431 reviews. Hmmm...interesting.

My opinion of the TV was now flipped to positive, but I was still disappointed it was a smaller TV than my old TV. I learned this Hisense TV came from Target and decided to try to return it for a 55" version of the same model and pay the difference in cost to move up in size. Problem was I had no receipt, no gift receipt, no payment method. Target would not allow a return of a TV without one of those three items and I can't ask my wife to go to her boss for a receipt!

A couple of phone calls to Target corporate and I was able to get the pathway smoothed for me to return the TV, get a merchandise gift card issued in my name, apply the gift card to the new, larger Hisense TV and then pay the difference.

This is where the story gets better.

When the person at the returns and exchanges counter scanned the smaller 50" TV it came up as costing $30 more than the 55" TV I was "buying." I told the guy that was wrong, the 50" TV should be $249 and the 55" should be $299. He said they were both on sale but when he scans the 50" it comes up as $329 and said he owed me $29 plus tax and he would put it on a gift card. "Merry Christmas", he said.

Stunned that I had just swapped a TV out for a larger TV of the same brand and was given $32 to boot, I smiled all the way home.

I got the TV hooked up, tweaked the settings, and was shocked at the quality of the picture. I keep looking for flaws and so far I haven't found any. The built-in Roku is incredible and when I installed the Roku app on my phone I gained even more functionality.

The voice activated remote is fantastic. Say you want to watch a particular TV show or movie, you simply hold down the microphone button on the remote and speak the title of the show you are seeking. Example, "Yellowstone". The Roku app will find all streaming services that "Yellowstone" is currently airing on and list them in increasing order of cost, starting with free and going up from there.

If anyone is in the market for a new TV and wants to save some money, take a good look at the Hisense brand. The picture quality is very good--I can't find fault with it. The one I got is their budget model, they have other models with more features. As I said, the 55" TV with built-in Roku was on sale for $299. That's crazy.

 

[REWahoo]

One note of caution: Consumer Reports says Hisense reliability is near the bottom of the 16 TV brands they rated.

 

[VanWinkle]

I just bought a 40 inch Hisense for an elderly couple that needed some help to get past the 19 inch solid state tv they were watching. 175.00 bucks and it seems to work fine for them.

 

[Qs Laptop]

One note of caution: Consumer Reports says Hisense reliability is near the bottom of the 16 TV brands they rated.

Noted. Thanks for the info.

How long ago were the ratings made?

 

[Midpack]

One note of caution: Consumer Reports says Hisense reliability is near the bottom of the 16 TV brands they rated.

1. I’d want to know the TV was reliable before I’d recommend it to anyone else.
2. You get what you pay for. A low price doesn’t usually mean high quality or reliability.
3. Finding something that’s cheaper is easy...

 

[Qs Laptop]

1. I’d want to know the TV was reliable before I’d recommend it to anyone else.
2. You get what you pay for. A low price doesn’t usually mean high quality or reliability.
3. Finding something that’s cheaper is easy...

1. TV was a gift from my wife's work.
2. I was paid $32 to upgrade it.
3. Out of 431 reviews on Best Buy there were only about a dozen that said the TV had failed them.

 

[REWahoo]

How long ago were the ratings made?

December 2018

 

[Qs Laptop]

December 2018

As I recall, Consumer Reports reliability ratings are based on subscriber surveys. Also, the reliability ratings cover the entire model spectrum of the brand and not particular individual model lines.

I guess I'll see what happens.

There was nothing wrong with my seven year old LG TV, except that software updates had ceased and support for the built-in apps were going away. For example, I could no longer access Amazon Prime video using my TV's app.

Still, when I got the Hisense hooked up I could tell my LG's picture was tired looking, something you don't notice as it degrades gradually over years.

Do they say how many Hisense owners responded to the survey?

 

[REWahoo]

Do they say how many Hisense owners responded to the survey?

No, only this:

...from Consumer Reports’ 2018 Winter Survey of 97,554 TVs owned by members who purchased a new set between 2010 and 2018.

 

[statsman]

Still, when I got the Hisense hooked up I could tell my LG's picture was tired looking, something you don't notice as it degrades gradually over years.

I've wondered about that. We have two Samsung 55" LED TVs (UN55H7150). Both are approaching six years old and they are the older 1080p panels. One was purchased used two years ago when our 15 year-old Sony rear projection LCD TV bit the dust. We didn't want to buy new because we were expecting to move sometime last year (which we did). The TVs look good to us, and since all of our viewing is AT&T U-verse (720p/1080i), non-4K Blu-Ray and DVDs, I'm not sure what advantage there would be to a 4K TV.

That said, both TVs have been through at least two moves (one for 1,700 miles in a mover's van) and numerous power outages back in California and here in Texas (TVs are now on UPS backups). While neither my DW nor I are obsessive about having 4K video playback, considering most of the movies, TV shows, and videos we like are prior to the 1080p era, as you said sometimes you aren't aware of quality loss on video devices.

BTW, congrats on your *free* TV, which is giving you better video quality than your older TV, and the $32 gift card.

 

[davebarnes]

FYI.
Costco has a 55-inch LG and a 55-inch Samsung for $350.
For you old people, this is the same as buying a TV in 1970 for $55.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I've wondered about that. We have two Samsung 55" LED TVs (UN55H7150). Both are approaching six years old and they are the older 1080p panels. One was purchased used two years ago when our 15 year-old Sony rear projection LCD TV bit the dust. We didn't want to buy new because we were expecting to move sometime last year (which we did). The TVs look good to us, and since all of our viewing is AT&T U-verse (720p/1080i), non-4K Blu-Ray and DVDs, I'm not sure what advantage there would be to a 4K TV.

Those Samsung H7150's were top of the line stuff.

I did watch the first 10 minutes of The Avengers (movie) in 4K on Amazon Prime video and I was stunned at the picture quality. It looked fantastic, almost so good it looked fake. I also sampled some YouTube videos of nature and flyovers with drones in 4K and it is breathtaking. Right now there isn't a whole lot of content but I suspect that will change. My old LG had 3-D capabilities, which was fun for a while but became nothing more than a novelty due to lack of content.

That said, both TVs have been through at least two moves (one for 1,700 miles in a mover's van) and numerous power outages back in California and here in Texas (TVs are now on UPS backups).

Were you concerned that the moving around of the TV's might affect the quality of the picture? I doubt it would since the guts of a TV is typically only a couple of circuit boards and I believe the critical components are potted in epoxy. So far as I know an individual screen pixel is either going to work or not.

Power outages? Yeah, I can see the abrupt loss and subsequent application of power might stress components. And capacitors do age and go out of tolerance.

While neither my DW nor I are obsessive about having 4K video playback, considering most of the movies, TV shows, and videos we like are prior to the 1080p era, as you said sometimes you aren't aware of quality loss on video devices.

If you are watching mostly older content and your built-in streaming apps still work on the TV I guess I wouldn't upgrade.

BTW, congrats on your *free* TV, which is giving you better video quality than your older TV, and the $32 gift card.

Yes, it was a nice surprise. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone working out the logistics of returning a TV with no receipt, but it was worth it.

 

[CardsFan]

FYI.
Costco has a 55-inch LG and a 55-inch Samsung for $350.
For you old people, this is the same as buying a TV in 1970 for $55.

And in 1978, $350 bought me a 15" color TV with rabbit ears. Over $2,000 in today's dollars.

 

[dtbach]

Generally these days the TV either works fine or bites the dust. Not a lot of in between. For the money you pay these days for HD TV, it really doesn't matter if they last longer than 5 years, because there will most likely be great improvements by then anyway.

 

[Katsmeow]

1. I’d want to know the TV was reliable before I’d recommend it to anyone else.
2. You get what you pay for. A low price doesn’t usually mean high quality or reliability.
3. Finding something that’s cheaper is easy...

Generally these days the TV either works fine or bites the dust. Not a lot of in between. For the money you pay these days for HD TV, it really doesn't matter if they last longer than 5 years, because there will most likely be great improvements by then anyway.

Ok, I think I put these things together. We are remodeling our house and are getting two new TVs, one for a new room and the other for our living room which has no TV. The one for the new room is a smaller TV (about 43") and will mostly be to watch news or listen to stuff while in the sunroom. So really kind of anything will do there. I found some 4K TVs for about $250 which will be fine. I will probably get a Roku TV there since I won't want to have to deal with buying another Fire TV or Apple TV for the spot (we already have both of those elsewhere). And, we could replace it if better stuff came out or if it broke and it wouldn't be a big financial deal.

For the living room I started about more conflicted. This will be the room we would watch TV with others. It will be a larger TV (75"). I found 4K TVs for that size at the store for everything from about $800 to $5k. I am sure the $5k TVs are great. Even the $2500 TVs are probably wonderful. I will probably use my Apple TV on it. And, I will get a soundbar for it. But, I suspect that a $2500 TV could last a long time but could easily become obsolete. I would rather pay less and be able to replace the TV without a lot of angst. (We will probably end up paying around $1500 for that TV at most).

 

[Midpack]

Below

1. TV was a gift from my wife's work. & 2. I was paid $32 to upgrade it. Except you’ve recommended it to others who won’t get that deal.
3. Out of 431 reviews on Best Buy there were only about a dozen that said the TV had failed them. So far so good, I’d trust CR more though. YMMV.

If anyone is in the market for a new TV and wants to save some money, take a good look at the Hisense brand. The picture quality is very good--I can't find fault with it. The one I got is their budget model, they have other models with more features. As I said, the 55" TV with built-in Roku was on sale for $299. That's crazy.

 

[Bamaman]

I bought a 55 inch unknown brand of television from Walmart the other week for $148. If it lasts a year, I've got my money's worth.

And the picture's great.

 

[Red Badger]

I bought a 55 inch unknown brand of television from Walmart the other week for $148. If it lasts a year, I've got my money's worth.

And the picture's great.

TV's have become a commodity item. Anyone remember when Sony ruled the day. Once upon a time, there was Curtis-Mathis. A few years ago, LG. Today? I'm after Screen size, resolution, and price. The most of the first two, for the least of the last.

 

[pb4uski]

We bought our first big HDTV back around 2008. I did a lot of research, including Consumer Reports and we settled on a 47" Vizio from Costco... I recall because DW wanted to get the 42" because it was cheaper but I recalled the guy at Best Buy telling me that he had never had someone return a TV because it was too big. Very highly rated at the time by Consumer Reports and I was skeptical because I had never heard of Vizio.

Fast forward 11 years.... a lot of water has passed over the dam. We have a 65" LG 4K at our winter condo and I would love a good excuse to replace this puny 47" Vizio at home, but the damn thing just won't die!

 

[Sunset]

We bought our first big HDTV back around 2008. I did a lot of research, including Consumer Reports and we settled on a 47" Vizio from Costco... I recall because DW wanted to get the 42" because it was cheaper but I recalled the guy at Best Buy telling me that he had never had someone return a TV because it was too big. Very highly rated at the time by Consumer Reports and I was skeptical because I had never heard of Vizio.

Fast forward 11 years.... a lot of water has passed over the dam. We have a 65" LG 4K at our winter condo and I would love a good excuse to replace this puny 47" Vizio at home, but the damn thing just won't die!

My DW must talk to yours, as I've been told a 75" tv is too big. How can a TV be too big !!

 

[Katsmeow]

My DW must talk to yours, as I've been told a 75" tv is too big. How can a TV be too big !!

DH told me just a couple of weeks ago that a 75" TV was too large. However, we are remodeling our living room and based upon recommendations for where you sit and size that is the minimum we should have (85" wouldn't be out of the question). After drawing the dimensions on the wall (no texture on wall yet so OK) and looking in the store, even DH admits that a 75" will be fine there.

 

[Jerry1]

My DW must talk to yours, as I've been told a 75" tv is too big. How can a TV be too big !!

Exactly. I did a little sprucing up of the family room and went from a 55" to a 65". I would have liked to have gone bigger, but the setup of the room just didn't work. DW said 65" was too big, but once it got set up and her shows started playing, it seemed just right. I'm sure 75" would have seemed just right too.

 

[target2019]

My DW must talk to yours, as I've been told a 75" tv is too big. How can a TV be too big !!

Too big for the space, I think. But if a sale comes along...

 

[pb4uski]

DH told me just a couple of weeks ago that a 75" TV was too large. However, we are remodeling our living room and based upon recommendations for where you sit and size that is the minimum we should have (85" wouldn't be out of the question). After drawing the dimensions on the wall (no texture on wall yet so OK) and looking in the store, even DH admits that a 75" will be fine there.

That sounds like a role reversal to me.... the DH advocating a smaller TV.

 

[kcowan]

We are in the market for three for our new condo in PV. Thinking of a 75 and 2x60s. Looking at the sales now. Our previous condo had an LG and Panasonic. Awaiting possession in mid-Jan.