HISENSE T910 CURVED ULED

Get some

I’M NOT A BIG SUPPORTER of curved TV panels and also believe that OLED is very much the display technology all humans should be backing. I also don’t fully believe that most people need a TV screen bigger than 42 inches. I still stand by that last statement and firmly believe in OLED as the future dominant display technology, but this TV unit has softened my position on LCD and the usefulness of a curved display.

Hisense released its latest ULED panels to the world market late in 2015 and it took the better part of a year for the supply chain to establish a consistent support network for the Atlantis factory to facilitate local assembly. Now we have it in our stores and the product is showing up its rivals.

We’ve already seen the pinnacle of LED backlit LCD display technology earlier this year with Samsung’s stellar SUHD. Hisense runs the Korean company very close, trading technology blows in all but the nano coating Samsung uses to dissipate glare (which enhances the appearance of blacks). Over 200 backlight zones and quantum dot technology? ULED has it. HDR? ULED has it. 2D to 3D conversion? ULED has it. Wide colour gamut, local dimming, smart functions, retina-singeing brightness, ethernet and Wi-fi data connection? Hisense packs it all in, minus a Showmax app that’s in the pipeline.

To be fair, the only other thing Hisense doesn’t have is the very clever HDMI device auto-recognition, but the Chinese manufacturer fires back with a devastating knockout blow: a R20 000 sticker price.

Though I can never justify personally spending over R10 000 on a TV unit because I just don’t watch enough TV or value the experience that much, undercutting its nearest competitior by my maximum budget is an achievement on its own. Then staying comparable on specification and performance at that price point is a masterclass in cost control and value for money.

If you’re shopping for a UHD (2160p/4k) TV set that does it all, get this one. The value proposition is undeniable. Yes, the remote and interface are a bit clunky, but you’re getting all the core features that herald the final evolution of LCD – it would be very odd if they just keep adding more backlights instead of switching to OLED (where every pixel is its own light). You can even get the curved model because it works quite well when mounted on a wall. LS

TEST NOTES

Misfit ships to South Africa direct now, so you have full access to all the accessories and devices.