Hisense U8/U8K Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 65-inch Hisense U8K (65U8K), and we expect them to be valid for the 55-inch (55U8K), 75-inch (75U8K), 85-inch (85U8K), and 100-inch (100U8K) models.

These settings are meant to provide you with a starting point; they're not meant to be copied 1:1. They provide the most accurate image overall, but you should adjust them to match your personal preferences and viewing conditions.

For SDR content, there are a few different preset picture modes you can choose. We used the 'Theater Night' Picture Mode because it's the most accurate out of the box and allows for the most customization. The 'Theater Day' Picture Mode offers a slightly brighter image, but the difference is minimal, and the image is less accurate.

There are a few settings you can adjust on the Picture settings page to optimize the image to your preference. From the Brightness settings menu, the Brightness setting controls the intensity of the backlight. You should adjust this to your viewing conditions and personal preferences. Changing this setting has no impact on the overall picture quality.

We set the Contrast to '38', Brightness to '26', and left Active Contrast disabled. Most of our testing was done with Local Dimming set to 'High', but if you find the zone transitions distracting, you should set this to a lower setting. As we aim for the most accurate image possible, we left Dark Detail disabled for our testing. We also left the Black Level setting at '0', the most neutral setting. We set the Gamma to '2.2', as that's also closest to our calibration target for a moderately-lit room. If you find the TV crushes details in shadows or boosts shadows too much, you should adjust these settings to your preference.

In the Color settings tab, we set Color to '50', Hue to '0', and we chose the 'Warm1' Color Temperature because it's closest to the target color temperature of 6500K. You should adjust that setting to your viewing conditions. We also left the Color Space set to 'Auto', so the TV doesn't appear over-saturated when playing SDR content.

In the Clarity settings tab, we left every setting disabled as they can cause a loss of fine details in higher-quality content. We also left the Sharpness and Super Resolution settings to their default value during calibration, which are different than our recommended settings for upscaling.

HDR is automatically enabled for native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears next to the picture mode on the quick settings menu, and some of the settings change automatically, including Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We left all the picture settings at their defaults in HDR, except for Color Temperature, which we set to 'Warm1', but you should adjust them to whatever looks best. In HDR, the 'HDR Theater' Picture Mode delivers the most accurate image overall, as it best tracks the PQ EOTF. This ensures that most content is displayed at the brightness level the content creator intended.

With most sources, HDMI Format has to be set to 'Enhanced format' for HDR to work. The TV disables HDR when FreeSync is enabled in the TV's Game Settings menu. In order for VRR and HDR to work simultaneously, FreeSync needs to be disabled on the TV, even for sources that specifically do FreeSync VRR.

The following are the results of calibrating the white balance of our unit to 6500K in HDR. They are provided for reference and shouldn't be copied as the calibration values vary per individual unit, even for the same model and size as the TV we tested, due to manufacturing tolerances. If you want to try them, you'll need to enter all values shown, as all of them are active at the same time. If you end up with worse picture quality, simply reset them to the default values.

The Hisense U8K supports Dolby Vision from native apps and most external devices. As with normal HDR content, some settings change automatically when you start playing Dolby Vision content. The 'Dolby Vision Custom' Picture Mode allows for the most customization, and the 'Dolby Vision IQ' Picture Mode that optimizes the content according to the level of ambient light in the room.

Although we disable most motion settings for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you. Some settings, like motion interpolation, may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you're watching.

If you want to enable motion interpolation, set Motion Enhancement to 'Custom' and adjust the Judder Reduction and Blur Reduction sliders. You should adjust these settings to your preferences, and you may need to adjust them depending on the specific content you're watching.

The Hisense U8K automatically removes judder from any source. You don't need to change any settings for it to do this.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it's best to switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get the lowest input lag and use the same settings for SDR or HDR. For most recent consoles, set the HDMI Format to 'Enhanced' for 4k @ 120Hz gaming. You can also enable Instant Game Response for the Auto Low Latency Mode so that the TV switches into Game Mode when you play a game from a compatible device. We disabled High Refresh Rate Mode as it negatively impacts the TV's input lag performance, although it automatically sets itself to on when the TV is running at 1080 @ 240Hz.

The TV disables HDR when FreeSync is enabled in the TV's Game Settings menu. In order for VRR and HDR to work simultaneously, FreeSync needs to be disabled on the TV, even for sources that specifically do FreeSync VRR.

Unlike TVs from most other brands, no special settings are required for PC use. Just make sure you're using the 'Game' Picture Mode and that you set HDMI Enhanced Format to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you're using. These settings are required for low input lag and for chroma 4:4:4 support, which is important for text clarity.

The Hisense U8K supports eARC passthrough on HDMI 4, so you can pass high-quality audio to a compatible receiver. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats. For DTS-X passthrough, set Digital Audio Out to 'Pass Through' and set it to 'Dolby Digital' or 'Auto' for all other formats.

The Hisense U8K has a few accessibility features, and the settings are all available in the Accessibility section. You can enable Captions, High Contrast Text, and Text to Speech, to name a few.

Google TV has an Ambient Mode available to display your Google Photos or pictures of art if you want the TV to display a slideshow while you're not actively using it. You can even control the slideshow speed.

We disabled Energy Saver so that the TV doesn't turn off during testing, but you can adjust this to your liking if you want the TV to turn off on its own.

The included remote has a built-in mic for voice control, and the remote needs to be connected to the TV via Bluetooth for it to work. If the voice control isn't working, ensure it's connected via Bluetooth in the Remotes & Accessories page of the settings menu. The TV has a built-in microphone, and there's a switch to turn it on.