Is there a list of recommended settings for this one?
First post alert, been lurking for years....
I had an ageing 46" Samsung D7000 which needed a Fire Stick as it's own apps had ceased being updated and we wanted a stop gap 4K TV for a couple of years until some of the standards settle down and the new grandchild stopps tottering.
I originally was aiming for the LG 55" 7660PLA, side by side I couldn't see the difference on identical inputs, now you may well do so in the dark at home but in a well lit shop the only really obvious difference was the LG had a superior viewing angle. So I went home and bought the 50" U7B from AO.com via their eBay shop when they were running the £60 off PLENTIFUL code last weekend for £389 which has turned out to be a bit of a bargain.
Although I'm nowhere near as AV educated as some of the commentators here and my eyes are shot without glasses I have wasted a few hours with my test files and disks to get a picture I like. As I struggled to find any settings other than the review attached to this article I thought that I would share my settings and a couple of observations.
Settings changed from factory:
Mode: Cinema Night
Backlight: 48
Contrast: 48
Adaptive Contrast: OFF
All Noise Reduction Settings: OFF
Ultra Smooth Motion: OFF
Colour Temp: Warm
Gamma: 2.4
Firstly the bad:
- Freezing apps (fixed by software up date see below) particularly iPlayer
- Two remotes with only some keys on one or the other (like info and play etc.)
- Volume of Freeview HD channels is LOUD! I have a Dolby amp so this is fixed by leaving the audio out in PCM but then bang goes the extra channels. This setting really needs to be selectable by source.
- Ultra Smooth Motion adds some horrible artefacts to Netflix in particular (fixed by switching that setting it off)
The good:
- Picture is good for the price paid, hell its great to be honest
- Ultra Smooth Motion works really well in *most* cases but I prefer it off, there is no judder when I have it on in in sports mode.
- Apps run up quickly enough
- Shortcuts for the apps on the remote are useful
- One of the remotes is Bluetooth and has voice control (enabled by software update)
- Hisense support 5*
- My wife really likes it, that's a first as she usually hates tech
For the money I paid this is a great TV, when the apps started freezing I called Hisense and within two days they had sent me a USB with a new software build. It added voice control fixed the app freezing and addressed a couple of minor irritations. The service team were helpful and knowledgeable they deserve a pat on the back, ditto AO.com who did a sterling job of delivery.
I hope this helps someone until a better qualified set of settings shows up, oh and just for laughs there are Sharp and Toshiba logos selectable in the hidden factory menu.