Hg9 hisense: Hisense H9G Review (55H9G, 65H9G)

Hisense H9G Quantum HDR TV (55H9G, 65H9G) review

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The Hisense H9G takes an already solid TV and makes it even better

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(Image: © Hisense)

TechRadar Verdict

The Hisense H9G excels where it counts. It doesn’t offer great audio or a flashy design, but it has an excellent image quality, a generally responsive Android TV, and some other helpful smart features. In fact, this is arguably one of the best TVs under $1,000.

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30-second review

Hisense has been building some of the best sub-$1,000 TVs for a few years now, and now the company is back with a follow-up to last year’s Hisense H9F.

On paper, the Hisense H9G doesn’t represent a massive upgrade over the H9F, but in use it’s a huge upgrade. Android TV is faster, the TV has a microphone built in for Google Assistant even when the TV is off, and it supports HDR10+.

Generally speaking, this TV offers among the best picture quality on a TV under $1,000. Colors are vivid, black levels are deep, and so on. The audio quality leaves a little to be desired, but paired with a soundbar or a pair of speakers, and you’ve got a viewing experience that punches well above its weight class.

Price and release date

New for 2020, the Hisense H9G is available in two sizes: 55 inches, and 65 inches. Both of those models are now available from most big box retailers, with the 55-inch model coming at $700, and the 65-inch model coming at $1,000 – though some retailers will discount the TV, especially around Black Friday 2020. (At the time of this writing, Best Buy was selling the TV for $50 off.)

For comparison, the current-generation Vizio M-Series Quantum comes at $550 for the 55-inch model and $650 for the 65-inch model. The TCL 6-Series (R635) is also a great option in this price range, and it comes at $650 for the 55-inch model and $1,000 for the 65-inch model.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Not be all that flashy, but offers a few modern touches, like thin bezels
On the front, there’s a microphone mute button
Good selection of ports, including four HDMI ports
The remote puts function over design… but you’ll get used to it.

The Hisense H9G offers a very similar design to last year’s H9F, and while it’s not necessarily all that flashy, it still offers a few modern touches that keep the company ahead of the curve in this price range. We’re reviewing the 65-inch model, which measures in at 4.1 inches thick at its thickest – which is a bit chunky, but not as bad as the old “flatscreens” of yesteryear.

That said, there are a few things that give the TV a modern look: For starters, there’s the relatively thin bezels around the display, which are only around a quarter of an inch thick. They’re not quite as thin as they look in some press images, but it’s still a good look. The legs also help give the TV a unique look, thanks to the fact that they start in the center and spread out. It’s the same as last year’s model, and it does result in a relatively deep leg footprint, but we like it.

One major difference between the design of this TV and the H9F is the fact that this one has a microphone mute switch right on the front of the TV. While those who want to use Google Assistant and voice search will want to keep the microphone on, it’s nice that the privacy-aware can mute the microphone with a hardware switch.

Around the back, you’ll get a solid selection of ports. There are four HDMI ports, including one with ARC, and two USB ports, which can be used to apply power and to access local media. Other ports include an Ethernet port, a headphone jack, and a composite video input.

The remote that comes with the TV looks fine, but in a world of ultra-simple remotes like the Apple TV 4K remote and the Nvidia Shield TV remote, it is a little complex. You’ll get input and channel controls at the top, under which there are software controls, and quick-access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play. Thankfully, the TV supports HDMI CEC, so if you want to connect a device like an Apple TV and control the TV with that instead, you can.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Smart TV (Android TV)

Android TV works faster here than it usually does on budget TVs
You can use it like a basic Google Assistant speaker, even when off
Or you can push a button instead of using the “Hey, Google” wake word

While some Hisense TVs come with Roku built-in, the H9G comes with Android TV, and that means that it supports all your favorite streaming services… well, all of them except for Apple TV+.

Android TV is generally pretty well-designed. You get a row of tiles for apps at the top, then rows of content for your favorite apps below that. It’s a lot to take in all at once, but you’ll get used to it, and it’s nice to be able to access all of that content straight from the home screen. Because of the massive ecosystem that is the Google Play Store, you’ll also get access to a huge range of other apps and services, including games, VPNs, and so on.

One of the main issues with Android TV on budget TVs is usually that they don’t come with processors fast enough to deliver a fast experience. While there were plenty of times that the software seemed a bit slow, for the most part, it actually wasn’t bad on the H9G.

Google Assistant gets a major improvement on the H9G too. As mentioned, the TV has a microphone built into it, and that means that even when off, the TV can act like a Google Assistant smart speaker. You can use it to control smart home devices, play music, and more – all using only your voice. Assistant reacted quickly to my commands, and easily turned lights off, locked a smart lock, and so on. The remote has a microphone built into it too, though weirdly you have to pair the remote as a Bluetooth device to use it. By default, the remote controls the TV just through infrared, but it should really be paired to the TV through Bluetooth out of the box.

Once you pair the remote, you can push the button to trigger Assistant instead of always using the “Hey, Google” wake word. You can use the button when the TV is off too, but the lights that indicate Google is listening weirdly don’t turn on when you do that.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Picture quality

Looks great in both 1080p and in 4K
Black levels are nice and deep, and while there is some blooming and a slight dirty screen effect, those things are barely noticeable
Colors are nice and vivid, making for a solid image quality over all

The best thing about the Hisense H9G has nothing to do with the design or the smart operating system. It’s the fact that the TV has an excellent picture quality, and while it’s not perfect, it’s about as close as you’re going to get for a TV in this price range.

The H9G offers a 4K resolution, with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The TV also offers full-array local dimming to make for deeper blacks and an increased contrast ratio, and there are a range of picture modes to choose from.

When it comes to 1080p, SDR content, the picture quality is excellent. The upscaling tech on the TV means that a 1080p image looks almost as detailed as a 4K picture, and while you can tell a slight difference when you’re looking for it, it’s far from distracting. There are a total of seven picture modes in SDR, however we found that none of them looked perfect – and ended up keeping the TV on Standard mode and tweaking a few of the settings. During gaming, the mode was switched to Game mode, which lowers the input lag to a solid level.

When it comes to 4K/HDR content, colors were beautifully vivid, while black levels were nice and deep. There was a little blooming with some bright objects, but it’s only at some times, and it’s barely noticeable. The other issue we noticed was that there were some minor issues related to gray uniformity, which might be noticeable at times. During most content, however, you won’t see it. Last but not least, the viewing angles aren’t the best, so if you’re living room setup involves needing to be able to see at a high angle, you may be a little disappointed.

Generally, however, the image quality here is incredible for the price. Watching David Attenborough’s Our Planet gave us our nature fix without having to venture into the scary outside world, while the TV nicely highlighted Superstore’s bright colors.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Audio performance

The speakers built into the Hisense H9G are fine for basic use.
It’s worth buying a soundbar or a pair of external speakers if you want an audio experience that’s anywhere near the viewing quality
Ton of mids, with a lack of extension in the lows and the highs

The audio performance on the H9G could be described as “fine.” It’s definitely passable if you’re in a pinch, but it’s worth getting a pair of bookshelf speakers or a soundbar if you want to pair that great viewing experience with a good audio experience too.

The bass response is one of the weaker aspects of the TV’s audio quality, and as a result you won’t get the depth and body from things like explosions or kick drums in music that you might want. It’s essentially the same issue with the highs – there just isn’t enough extension to make for a super detailed listening experience. As is usually the case with TV built-in speakers, with the Hisense H9G you’ll get all mids all the time. That said, the speakers do get very loud.

Of course, built-in speakers are better now than they were a few years ago, and hopefully they’ll continue to get better. But in the meantime, if you don’t mind paying a little extra, it’s worth using another speaker of some kind.

Should I buy the Hisense H9G?

(Image credit: Hisense)

Buy it if…

You want a TV that prioritizes excellent picture quality
Thanks to Hisense’s ULED technology, the TV delivers vivid colors and deep black levels.

You’re plugged into Google’s ecosystem
With Android TV and a microphone built right into the TV, The Hisense H9G will fit right in to the rest of your Google digital life.

You want one of the best TVs under $1,000
Android TV is better than ever here, image quality is great, and it has some awesome smart features – meaning that this is the best Android TV under $1,000.

Don’t buy it if…

You have money for the best of the best
If you really have the cash to spend, it’s worth upgrading to an LG OLED TV, as it will produce even deeper black levels without some of the quirks we noted.

Expect to see the Hisense H9G Quantum on our list of the best 4K TVs in 2020
There’s also the H65 TV series which is seriously competitive.

Hisense 55H9G: Price Comparison

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Christian is a writer who’s covered technology for many years, for sites including Tom’s Guide, Android Central, iMore, CNN, Business Insider and BGR, as well as TechRadar.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV (55H9G) review

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A brilliant picture for the price

(Image: © Hisense)

Tom’s Guide Verdict

A solid picture with excellent details, the 4K Hisense H9G delivers top value with plenty of smart TV features and a rapid screen for gamers.

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Pros

+
Great color accuracy
+
Solid Android TV smarts
+
Built-in Google Assistant

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Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV Specs

Price: $699.99
Model number: 55H9G
Screen Size: 55 inches
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
HDR: HDR10 and Dolby Vision
Refresh Rate: 120 Hz
Ports: 4 HDMI, 2 USB
Audio: 2 x 10-watts
Smart TV Software: Android TV
Size: 48.5 x 28.2 x 3.9 inches [w/o stand]
Weight: 38.1 pounds [w/o stand], 39.2 pounds [with stand]

Hisense has established itself in the TV world by offering performance and features that outpace its sets’ price. The company’s flagship 4K H9G Quantum set is a statement piece, but it’s also a good value and an improvement over what we saw in last year’s Hisense H9F review. In addition to boasting the familiar Android TV operating system, the H9G Quantum is equipped with Hisense’s new quantum dot technology, supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10, and has built-in voice controls. It’s an impressive set of features for a model priced at roughly $700.

Alas, there’s a lot of competition out there—which is great for shoppers and movie fans. The TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635), for example, is available in the same 55-inch size for less and includes not only the leading smart TV interface, Roku, but also some cutting-edge picture technology known as mini-LED. Vizio is also targeting the same market with its mid-range sets, like the one seen in our Vizio M-Series Quantum (M658-G1) review.

Editor’s Note: We periodically update our TV reviews to reflect changes in pricing and availability. The ratings and recommendations in this review are unchanged from our original review in November of 2020.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Price and availability

Two versions of the H9G Quantum are available: The 55-inch model (the 55H9G)and the 65-inch 65H9G. We evaluated the former, but the latter should have a nearly identical feature set and comparable performance. (The significant difference between the two being the number of active dimming zones—180 for the 65-inch and 132 for the 55-inch—which is more a function of size rather than performance.)

Below we have listed the current recommended retail price, but the Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV is frequently on sale, and may be available at lower prices.

55-inch (model 55H9G) – $749
65-inch (model 65H9G) – $999

The H9G is Hisense’s top-of-the-line series and replaces last year’s H9F. It represents some solid but not groundbreaking improvements over the previous model and competes against TCL 6-Series Roku TVs and Vizio M-Series sets.

The Hisense 55H9G set has a thin silver bezel along three sides—top, left, and right—with a wider, sculpted border on the bottom predictably emblazoned with the Hisense logo. Below that is a trapezoid-shaped control panel that contains a power button on the right and a convenient mic button (a.k.a. far-field voice system) on the left. There are also two downward-firing 10-watt Dolby Atmos speakers.

(Image credit: Hisense)

The set uses two center-mounted triangular feet for table-top placement. The advantage is that it can securely sit on a credenza that is smaller than the screen’s 48.5-inch width, but it makes it tricky to slide a sound bar or box under the screen. For wall installations, the 55H9G works with VESA 400mm x 300mm mounts.

(Image credit: Hisense)

The back of the Hisense H9G sports a new look, with an eye-catching diamond pattern replacing the H9F’s simpler three-line design, four VESA wall-mounting holes, and a track near the bottom to aid with cable management.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Ports

On the right hand side of the TV is a connector panel boasting the same collection of ports seen on last year’s H9F.

(Image credit: Hisense)

There you’ll find four HDMI 2.0 connections, two USB, an Ethernet jack, Digital Audio output, a coaxial connection for cable or antenna, RCA composite video input, and a headphone jack. There is also a small headphone-jack-style port labelled “Service”, but it’s not used to connect any external devices and anyone but a TV technician can safely ignore it.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Performance

The Hisense H9G is an LCD panel augmented with a quantum dot film to deliver a broader spectrum of colors. To improve contrast within challenging scenes, the 4K set also has a full-array backlight with 132 local dimming zones. It’s the kind of display technology one expects in a flagship model.

Hisense has several preset picture modes, including settings for sports, movies, and a Filmmaker Mode. We found the best preset mode for watching a variety of movies and broadcasts was the set’s Theater Night mode, which turns off video processing such as motion smoothing (or “Clearness”) and active contrast and puts noise reduction down to medium.

(Image credit: Hisense)

We have come to expect any 4K set that uses quantum dot film to boost the color spectrum to do well in a standard color gamut test, and the Hisense 55H9G didn’t disappoint, reproducing 99.8 percent of the standard Rec 709 spectrum, comparable to other sets in this class. The TCL 6-Series R635, for example, yielded 99.92 percent of the color spectrum while the Vizio M-Series Quantum (M658-G1) yielded 99.91 percent in our tests.

The big highlight among our test results was the Hisense 55H9G’s impressive color accuracy. It turned in a Delta-E score of 0.92. We generally consider any number less than 2 to be a good result, so the Hisense set definitely impressed, bettering the results from the TCL 6-Series Roku TV R635 which turned in a 2. 85 in our tests. The Vizio M-Series Quantum we tested was marginally better in this regard with a Delta-E of 0.62

On the Hisense H9G, 4K Dolby Vision material like The Mandalorian looked very impressive, whether it was displaying worn, rust-colored speeders or the hero’s glinty helmet. Scenes looked detailed and naturalistic, ranging from a burgeoning snow storm to an arid desert. All the while, the active dimming zones helped to keep the letterbox bars nice and black.

The Hisense H9G also did justice to our Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray test disc. There was little to no banding on subtle color transitions like the desert skies, and the pyrotechnics were appropriately intense and sharp. In the worm tunnel scene, the set did an excellent job rendering shadowy details and bright highlights in the same scene without generating any posterization.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Indeed, the only downside we noted was the set’s relatively narrow view axis. Get too far out of the set’s center sweet spot and colors tend to wash out.

Gamers—who know that every second counts—will be encouraged to note that the Hisense 55H9G turned in an excellent quick response with a tested lag time of just 16.1 ms. We consider 17 ms a great result and anything quicker than that to be excellent. It’s also an impressive test result compared to the TCL 6-Series Roku TV R635 (21.5 ms) and Vizio M-Series Quantum M658-G1 (29.9 ms). As a result, the Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV lands on our lest of the best gaming TVs.

Cord cutters will find the H9G also works well with an HD antenna. Our initial scan using a Mohu Leaf antenna revealed 86 digital channels in the New York area. The Hisense tuner is more sensitive than most, receiving CBS, which we don’t usually get, as well as other major networks, such as NBC and ABC.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Smart TV features

Powering the H9G is Android TV, one of the richer TV operating systems. With a clean, minimalist layout that’s easy and intuitive to navigate, it delivers tons of default apps for major streaming services and gives you the ability to add hundreds of other apps in myriad categories from the Google Play Store. And with Chromecast built in, you can easily beam content from your phone to your TV.

You can set up the Hisense H9G using your Android phone and easily transfer Wi-Fi settings and Google account information to the TV. You have the choice to enable location services, for example, and to turn on Google Assistant, as well. You may also enable “personal results,” which will allow you to open email, check your calendar and make payments using only your voice…but it will also allow others to get access to your personal information on the big screen just using their voice.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Having Google Assistant and far-field microphones built into the set itself enables you to say things like, “Ok Google, what’s the temperature outside?” without picking up the remote control or pressing any buttons. You can also make this work when the TV is off. If any of this makes you uneasy, you can turn it all off just by using the mic switch located right below the screen; we thought this was a handy feature.

Is Google Assistant perfect? No, but neither is Alexa (which you can use here via an app). The set sometimes doesn’t understand spoken questions if they refer to features in other sub menus (such as asking for an app that isn’t installed yet). And our set kept hearing “find” as “signed” but then had no problem understanding “Bodhisattva.”

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Audio

Hisense includes six preset sound modes in the H9G, from standard to theater and music to “Late Night” listening. We found the standard mode actually delivered the best sound for broadcast and most streaming sources with a pleasing balance of bass and treble and dialogue and sound effects.

There’s plenty of volume here from the TV’s two 10-watt speakers, but the overall quality is a little wanting. Blasting the 4K “Take On Me” video with the music setting lowered the sound stage and boosted the bass, but it neglected some of the high end, so what should be soaring vocals sounded thin. Theater mode seemed to bury the sound behind the TV rather than making it seem more expansive. We also didn’t feel like there was much if any channel separation in any of the audio modes.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Remote

The remote for the Hisense H9G is relatively large (about 8 inches) and with a clean, simple layout. Unlike smaller remotes, it includes a numeric pad, which makes it easy to navigate and take full advantage of the TV’s various functions. Dedicated buttons at the bottom give you instant access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play. It’s not backlit, so you may have a little trouble using it in a darkened living room until you’ve memorized its layout.

(Image credit: Hisense)

If you’d rather dispense with the remote altogether, you can download the Android TV app to your phone and control the H9G using it. Or there is the set’s integrated far-field voice control, for receiving your Google Assistant commands. Adding this functionality directly into the TV is a handy feature; other sets we’ve seen have the voice control built into the remote, which isn’t immediately more convenient.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV review: Verdict

The 4K Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV represents something of the pinnacle of LCD TVs using quantum dot technology. Witness its admirable color accuracy. It’s also got plenty of convenient smart features, such as the Android TV software and built-in Google Assistant. And while the H9G’s far-field microphones may raise some eyebrows over privacy concerns, the inclusion of a physical switch to turn them off should allay most of those worries.

Overall, the Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV is a touch ahead of the Vizio M-Series Quantum, especially for any gamers looking for a quick-response big screen. However, movie lovers looking for maximum picture intensity will also want to consider the TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) with its leading mini-LED picture technology.

Hisense 55H9G: Price Comparison

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Matthew Murray is the head of testing for Future, coordinating and conducting product testing at Tom’s Guide and other Future publications.