Hisense 55A71F UHD TV review

30 second review

The Hisense 55A71F is a value for money smart 4KLED TV. It does have its quirks and limitations, but given the price, you can’t ask for more. The lag-free Android 9 adds to the experience with a plethora of apps. Overall performance and the additional warranty makes sure that the TV ranks way higher on most charts. Though it is worth noting that the additional warranty is not available on purchases made via eCommerce sites such as Amazon.

Having said that, the 55A71F is indeed a promising start for Hisense in India, given that it isn't yet a brand with top-of-the-mind recall. It faces stiff competition from established players such as Xiaomi, Thomson and TCL. The company claims that it has more than 450 service centres across India, which it wants buyers to consider as its commitment to the long-term.

Introduction

There was a time when buying a smart LED TV was a dream for most. However, over the few years, brands have shown increased interest in grabbing eyeballs in Indian living rooms. This has not only revolutionized the segment but has also made smart LED TVs extremely affordable.

Hisense, which is a globally recognized brand, debuted in India with a range of smart TVs across a wide price range. Their current line-up includes the affordable A56E range, mid-ranged A71F and the premium QLED TVs.

Unlike some brands that were importing fully assembled TVs in India, Hisense TV’s are assembled locally at Dixon Technologies, a vendor that manufactures TVs for several other brands including Samsung. 

We were sent the 55A71F UHD variant to play with and here’s what I think about the TV after using it for over a month.

Price and availability

Hisense announced 6 different TVs on August 5th in India. These models start with a 32-inch variant and go all the way up to the 55-inch TV that we are talking about. The 55A71F is priced at Rs. 33,990 while the price of 50A71F is set at Rs. 29,990 and the 43A71F costs Rs. 24,990 in India.

Hisense competes with premium TV brands on the price front by offering 4K UHD TVs at a fraction of what it used to cost. Though it still may have a worthy opposition in Xiaomi that has made a name for itself in budget smart LED TVs. 

The A56E range includes a 43-inch TV priced at Rs. 20,990, the 40-inch unit is available at Rs. 18,990 and last but not the least the 32A56E is the super affordable TV priced at Rs. 11,990.

During the launch, the company had offered a 5-year warranty on the panel though these TVs are now available with a standard one-year warranty on Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance and TataCliQ. Interestingly, Reliance Retail is still offering 3 years manufacturers’ warranty, however, availability might still be an issue there.

Check out Hisense TV on Amazon

Check out Hisense TV on Flipkart

Design

The Hisense 55A71F UHD has an uncluttered yet plain look. On the front, the brand Hisense logo is located at the bottom-centre of the display with a notification LED right below. The bezels are barely there on three sides while the “chin” is slightly thicker but nothing that feels odd or intrusive and the large 55-ich display remains the key point of focus while watching the TV. Speakers on this TV are bottom-firing and are located on either side of the connectivity array behind the display.

On the connectivity ports, the TV has an ample number of connectivity options including three HDMI 2.0 ports that are HDCP2.2 compliant, a couple of USB ports, an optical digital output to connect your sound-bar or home theatre for loss-less audio quality, a headphone jack, analogue AV input and an ethernet port, in case you want to offer wired Internet connectivity to the TV. Hisense has not cut any corners when it comes to connectivity and thankfully the ports are side facing rather than wall facing. 

On a wall-mounted TV, adding or removing devices to the connectivity array is a bit of a challenge, especially if one has large hands. This isn't a challenge on the device that I have tested. However, it must be said that the ports are housed too close for my comfort. In case one uses all three HDMI ports together, the best way to connect was to use all three devices simultaneously, not in sequence. Must say it was some sort of a struggle, though it is definitely not a deal-breaker. When I used just one HDMI to connect it to the set-top box, there was no trouble at all.  

The TV weighs a tad over 12 Kgs and mounting it on a wall is not an easy task. I needed some extra help to get the job done. Installation at my place was done the same day as the TV arrived and the wall-mount came along with the TV. 

Though if you plan to place the TV on the stands that are bundled, then it is fairly easy to install. However, to avoid any damage to the panel, it is best to let the experts do their job.

Performance 

This Hisense 55A71F TV has a massive display that should be sufficient for very large rooms. The fact that it offers close to 180—degrees of viewing angle makes you forget some of the cons like a regular 60 Hz display.  Additionally, the TV also offers support for features like Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, HDR 10 and HLG taking your viewing experience several notches higher.

Watching high-resolution HDR content on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime is a treat and I was impressed by the colour reproduction. Especially so, when watching animated movies where the viewing quality is top notch. The contrast was  vibrant and dark and night scenes had enough details though it doesn’t match the deep blacks that you’d enjoy on an OLED display. I felt that the presence of Dolby Vision does help get you the best out of this panel.

There is an entire array of settings that helps you tweak your viewing experience. The quick settings for picture mode include Dynamic, Standard, Natural, Game, Sports, Cinema and Calibrated are available with a single touch of a button on the remote. You even have an option to control noise reduction.

Though these smart TVs are best suited to stream high definition or UHD content, a lot of users still pair it with their regular set-top box. So, how does the TV fare in a more day to day scenario is an important factor for such users. I tried watching both HD and SD content via my Tata Sky connection and if the HD content had crisp video quality, the same wasn't the case with SD content. The sheer size of the panel will make the content look like one from the stone age with a palpable lack of depth.

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In terms of the operating system, since the smart TV runs on Android 9 OS and has access to the Play Store, you can virtually download any application you want. In terms of UI and regular operation, the TV worked perfectly fine. Though booting up after the power has been turned off from the mains takes some time. In case you habitually turn off electrical appliances at night, you’ll have to be patient while the TV boots up in the morning.

Access to play stores not only means being able to download any app that you want but also having access to some games and play them using the remote or with a gaming controller connected via Bluetooth. Since the TV has 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, casual gaming is not an issue. I also connected my laptop via HDMI cable to play games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, FIFA 19 and others and to play these games on such a massive TV with sharp video output was an immersive experience.

The TV comes with 30W in-built speakers which for a mid-sized room is just decent. Though the TV boasts Dolby Atmos audio quality, the missing thump leaves you wanting more. To test wireless audio streaming, I paired a speaker via Bluetooth and it worked fine. In case you want to just enjoy music on a Sunday morning, you can make use of the music mode that turns off the display but still plays audio.

The bundled remote is good and bad at the same time. It is extremely handy in terms of weight and size. The fact that it has hotkeys for 4 different OTT platforms along with YouTube, is hardly a regular feature. The biggest grouse I had with the remote was with its D-Pad. Since it’s not very well pronounced, I kept hitting the home or back button way too often. Even the battery cover seems slightly flimsy.

Should I buy Hisense 55A71F UHD

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