With support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision, built-in Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube apps, Hisense’s AE7400F TV series can live up to your expectations at a modest price point. For example, the 55AE7400F 55-inch model, which sells for less than 32 thousand dollars, does not include the manufacturer’s best technologies, but “like a simple 4K TV” looks very good.
Design
Comparing Hisense 2020 models, we are more and more convinced that the manufacturer has no chance of changing the design. The appearance of the AE7400F fully matches the classic design of the A7500F .
The screen bezel is rather thin, and plastic reigns here. The geometry of the lower edge of the case, which contains the Hisense logo, is slightly intricate, but nothing more. The back panel of the case is made in such a way that over the years, it is here that dust and other dirt will accumulate. But this is not only for the TVs of this manufacturer. The best part is the thin edges of the frame.
As for the stand. It is clearly not the ideal shape for installing a soundbar in front of a TV. The interface part is located on the left side of the case. HDMI 2.1 with e-ARC support is out of the question. The user is content with four HDMI 2.0 connectors and an optical audio output, besides other standard ports.
Hisense Vidaa OS
Like LG, Samsung and Panasonic, Hisense has since 2014 opted to develop its own operating system for its TVs known as VIDAA. The latest TVs are equipped with VIDAA U 4.0. Naturally, specific applications differ depending on the regions of the world in which the TVs are sold.
The VIDAA home page, accessed via the Home button on the remote, is a bit like the old Android TV with a few tweaks. At the very top, there are shortcuts for source selection, options, and Alexa activation.
Everything on the screen is intuitive. But there is, for example, the “VIDAA Art” icon. As the name suggests, it is a portal to display artwork on your TV screen so that there is no big black rectangle on the wall in the living room when you host. Deja vu? This is somewhat reminiscent of “Samsung Ambient Mode” – a mode that is much more successful and with better quality work.
By the way, errors are constantly thrown out when loading – images in 4: 3 format do not change to adapt to the panel format, and the images are more like a set of Windows splash screens. In short, the operating system is raw, as confirmed by Hisense 4K TV users.
On the other hand, the picture settings menu is quite extensive and intuitive. As for the image, there are presets: standard, day, evening, dynamic, sports and automatic modes, with variations of these modes in day, night, dynamic and sports HDR. The game mode is activated in another menu.
Picture
As we understand it, there is a certain difference in image quality and price between Hisense 50AE7400F and TVs from other manufacturers, such as Samsung Q80T or Sony XH95 . Undoubtedly, there is no need to compare 100 Hz models, variants with local dimming, with powerful Super 4K upscaling processors.
Hisense’s AE7400F series of TVs use a conventional 50Hz panel combined with direct LED backlighting. Therefore, “light leaks” along the contours are clearly visible, but it could be worse. However, in most cases, the viewer’s eyes, if he is ideally located in front of the screen, do not notice this disadvantage. This indicates limited viewing angles.
With this configuration, a fairly uniform black color can be observed, there is no particular haze. The image can even be called pleasant. Moreover, according to the manufacturer’s passport, Hisense AE7400F is compatible with HDR10 and Dolby Vision (we will not count HLG). But let’s not lie – the peak brightness margin is not enough to actually reproduce HDR content.
For everyday viewing, the 50 AE7400F TV is quite adequate considering the price of this model. Don’t forget that unlike the premium models that integrate high-performance image processors, the image processing technology is simpler here.
Not bad, but less effective. There are a few more drawbacks between the apparent limitations of the matrix and the less advanced electronics. This is especially noticeable when playing “complex scenes”, where the smoothness of the movement will not always be at its best.
With the basic settings of the Hisense 50 AE7400F TV, it is not uncommon to see artifacts at the edges of the image scenes, for example, when tracking a frame. A character that moves quickly leaves “extra” pixels on the screen. Upscaling in the AE7400F is also not the best, but with all this, playing Blu-ray and 4K videos from online gives quite adequate results.
The image looks reasonably correct and soft. When black bars appear on the sides of the screen (old movies or TV series), defects in light scattering at the corners are striking. It is recommended to use these models in a darkened environment, although the screen appears to be covered with a semi-matt filter and reflections are quite noticeable.
HDR playback
Either pluses or minuses. Some parameters are confusing and hard to believe in some results. Regardless of which mode the AE7400F is used in (day or night), the equipment captures the ideal color reproduction. And there is some misunderstanding in this, since obvious shortcomings are perceived with the naked eye.
Color temperature is too low in Cinema mode (about 7513 K). This figure is much better when the matrix is switched to Dolby Vision. There is a noticeable black color, which, however, tends to be gray.
Although the color accuracy is excellent, the dynamic range is not as wide as we would like. Approximately 95% coverage of the REC.709 color space. Of course, DCI-P3 coverage is much worse, only 65%. Many colors show questionable fidelity. Only the manufacturer knows how to understand this.
Intlag
As for video latency, the series surprised us again. The AE7400F TVs have an “excellent” input lag of 11.1ms in game mode. But the combination of VA panel response times and lack of smoothness does not make this a clear advantage. There are too many “jerks and tears” in the image when connecting a console or PC. It’s almost impossible to play at this FPS.
Sound
Oddly enough, the sound quality in the AE7400F is not as bad as expected. Of course, there is very little bass, but the sound power of 20 watts is enough for normal viewing. The sound setting options in the menu are pretty extensive. Available presets include Standard, Cinema, Music, Voice, Night, Sports and Auto modes. The differences are quite subtle and for a 2.0 circuit with two 10-watt drivers, the sound is generally satisfactory.
Conclusion
How to evaluate this series is not clear. Just call these TVs middling? Naturally, it cannot be compared to the average in the high-end TV segment. It should be borne in mind that a $ 450 TV may not perform perfectly like a $ 1000 model. It is obvious.
The image in most cases satisfies the user. SDR fidelity is excellent. The brightness is not top notch, but the rendering is satisfactory. There are models that are much worse than these. On the other hand, the pricing policy is captivating. Because of the “unique” OS, there won’t be many applications, but they are not always needed. Immediately we must not forget about the brightness, which will not fully reveal HDR content.
