If someone had told me, roughly a decade and a half ago, when I first started reviewing TVs, that processor speed and Internet connectivity would be major features in TVs in the future, I wouldn't have believed them. If that same person had said 50-inch and bigger flat-screen TVs would be commonplace and affordable, I probably would have asked for some of what they were smoking.
Back then, if you wanted a flat-screen TV, your choice was pretty much limited to plasma models, the biggest was around 40 inches, and the price was in the hundreds of thousands.
Skip forward to the present time, to the Hisense 50k 390P TV on review here, which not only sells for less than one-20th of the plasma mentioned earlier, with a 50-inch diagonal screen is bigger, being an Edge lit LED model is far thinner and better looking. That it trounces early plasma TVs in every performance department, has a list of smart features, lots of processing power on board and offers full high-definition video ? early plasmas were standard definition ? and 3D, shows just how far TV technology has moved in a relatively short space of time.
I've made the claim that the Hisense trounces early plasma models in every performance department, so let's explore this quickly.
When I test TVs, the first thing I do is calibrate the TV to an international standard (REC 709 for the pedantic). To do this I use calibration hardware and software that measures various TV performance factors.
For the bulk of my review, high-definition video was delivered to the TV via HDMI cable and a Cambridge Audio Azur 752 Blu-Ray player. Several test and demonstration Blu-Ray discs were used and both 2D and 3D performance was looked at. I also looked at video material streamed to the TV.
In standard mode, the TV was too bright ? which quickly leads to eye fatigue ? and images were too cold. Turning the back-light of the TV down solved the brightness issue and by using the image settings available in the TV's menu, I was able to get white balance and grey-scale tracking close to the required standard. Turning the TV's dynamic contrast off led to far better overall image depth and detail, and had the positive side-effect causing less colour drift and images moved from light to dark.
While I would have liked more colour management settings on the TV, those present enabled me to get the TV close enough to the calibration standard.
All TV settings are accessed via remote control, and the Bluetooth remote supplied with the Hisense was comfortable in my hands and was easy to use. Being Bluetooth meant it did not have to be pointed directly at the TV to make adjustments. If, however, you wanted to use the pointer function of the remote ? point the remote at the TV and a pointer would appear on screen ? you obviously do need to point the remote at the TV. I tried this feature but found using the controls on the remote much easier. I must admit, I didn't use the voice function on the remote.
When calibrated, the TV's performance was extremely good. Colours were accurate and despite Dynamic Contrast being turned off, contrast was good and I could clearly see detail even in dark areas of on-screen action. Contrast is an area where plasma used to reign supreme. This is no longer the case.
While motion control on the Hisense was good, I did at times see a little bit of blurring when watching fast-moving images. I'll temper this statement by adding I was sitting close to the TV during my review, and this slight motion-blurring would be less noticeable at longer, more living-room type viewing distances. If you watch a lot of sport this might be worth keeping in mind.
I'm not really a 3D fan but I have to admit the Hisense did 3D really well. I did have to remember to turn off the fluorescent lights in the room though, as these did interfere with 3D performance. The tip here is if you have energy-saving lights in your living room and you watch 3D on most 3D capable TVs, you should turn the lights off.
The last aspect of TV performance I tested was to have a listen to its audio capabilities. Here the TV sounded quite good for a flat-screen TV and its simulated surround sound worked reasonably well. My preference would, however, still be to use better, external speakers.
Overall, the Hisense 50k 390P proved to be a good looking TV to watch. Throw in its better-than-most warranty, Android-based operating system, DLNA capabilities and a host more features and it is a value proposition as well.
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