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Company ProductName Specs
What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Hisense U8H delivers superior picture quality with higher contrast, better local dimming, and much brighter HDR highlights, which makes it particularly good for movies in dark rooms and HDR content. It also has better reflection handling and is thus more suitable for brighter rooms. On the other hand, the Sony X85J, while often significantly less expensive, offers good performance for mixed usage with lower input lag, making it a solid choice for gaming and watching sports but falls short in terms of contrast and local dimming features compared to the Hisense U8H. If you primarily watch movies or HDR content and can afford the higher price, the Hisense U8H would be a great choice. However, if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option that can handle a variety of content reasonably well, especially in gaming, the Sony X85J is a good alternative. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Hisense U8H (LCD)
- Best in class for bright room
- Very good for dark room
- Very good for gaming
- Very good for movies & TV
- Excellent for cartoons & animation
- Good for use as monitor
- Very good reflections
Advantages of the Sony X85J (LCD)
- Good for sports
- Best in class for upscaling
- Best in class motion processing
Key differences
Picture Quality
8.4
7.3
7.75/10
CONTRAST
7.88/10
9.1/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.3/10
miniLED FALD
PANEL TYPE
LED
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The Hisense U8H (LCD) has very good picture quality, while the Sony X85J (LCD) has good picture quality.
Movies & TV
8.2
6.5
7.75/10
CONTRAST
7.88/10
6.8/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
6.9/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The Hisense U8H (LCD) is very good for movies & TV, while the Sony X85J (LCD) is only fair.
Sports
6.5
7.2
3.9/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
7.3/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.6/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
9.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony X85J (LCD) is good for sports, while the Hisense U8H (LCD) is only fair.
The Hisense U8H provides a better viewing experience for sports due to its very good response time and very good reflections handling, which makes fast action clearer and reduces the impact of light reflections on the screen. In contrast, while the Sony X85J has good response time which helps with motion clarity, its poor reflections handling could be a disadvantage in brightly lit rooms, and its narrower viewing angles may limit the view from the sides.
Gaming
8.3
7.6
8.3/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
7.8/10
7.3/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.6/10
3.9/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
80.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
9.2/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.5/10
The Hisense U8H (LCD) is very good for gaming, while the Sony X85J (LCD) is good.
The Hisense U8H is considered very good for gaming largely due to its superior response time, making it better at handling fast-moving images without blurring, while both the Hisense U8H and the Sony X85J have similar input lag performance, which is crucial for the responsiveness of games. However, the Hisense U8H edges out slightly in gaming suitability due to this quicker response to on-screen actions.
Cartoons & Animation
9.1
8.6
8.4/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
7.3/10
9.1/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.3/10
9.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
9.1/10
8.5/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
8.2/10
The Hisense U8H (LCD) is excellent for cartoons & animation, while the Sony X85J (LCD) is very good.
The Hisense U8H is considered excellent for watching cartoons and animation due to its strong color performance out of the box and a very good color gamut, ensuring cartoons are vibrant and accurate. In comparison, the Sony X85J, while very good at displaying cartoons, has slightly less impressive color reproduction capabilities out of the box, which might affect the vividness of animated content slightly.
News, Talk, & Other TV
8.8
8.2
9.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
The Hisense U8H (LCD) and Sony X85J (LCD) are both very good for news, talk, & other TV, though the Hisense U8H (LCD) is somewhat better.
The Hisense U8H excels in upscaling lower-resolution content typical of news programs, and its high SDR brightness ensures clear visibility in bright conditions. Conversely, the Sony X85J also performs well in upscaling and offers excellent colors right out of the box, making it a strong performer for day-to-day TV viewing in various lighting situations.
Bright Room
9.7
7.3
5.5/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.3/10
9.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
9.1/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.1/10
8.6/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
5.9/10
The Hisense U8H (LCD) is best in class for bright room, while the Sony X85J (LCD) is good.
The Hisense U8H outshines the Sony X85J in situations where brightness and reflections are a concern, having "excellent" ratings for both SDR and HDR brightness, and a "very good" score for reflections handling, making it ideal for bright rooms. On the other hand, the Sony X85J, while still performing well with "very good" SDR brightness, falls short with only a "good" performance in HDR brightness and "poor" reflections handling, diminishing its appeal for environments with a lot of light.
Cost
$933
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Hisense U8H (LCD) has a price of $933 and the Sony X85J (LCD) costs $1,000.
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How the Hisense U8H (LCD) and the Sony X85J (LCD) compare to other TVs
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Hisense U8H (LCD) | Sony X85J (LCD) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$933 | $1,000 | ||
Brand | |||
Brand | Hisense | Sony | |
Release Date | |||
Release Date | August 1, 2022 | April 3, 2021 | |
Full name | |||
Full name | 55U8H | KD-55X85J | |
Screen Size | |||
Screen Size | 55" | 55" | |
Screen Resolution | |||
Screen Resolution | 4K | 4K | |
TV FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Operating System | |||
Operating System | Google TV | Android TV | |
Sound Quality Score | |||
Sound Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
NextGen Ready | |||
NextGen Ready | Yes | Yes | |
HDMI Ports | |||
HDMI Ports | 4 | 4 | |
Coax Ports | |||
Coax Ports | 1 | 1 | |
DISPLAY QUALITY SCORES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Picture Quality Score | |||
Picture Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7.3/10 | |
Bright Room Score | |||
Bright Room Score | 9.7/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Gaming Score | |||
Gaming Score | 8.3/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Movies & TV Score | |||
Movies & TV Score | 8.3/10 | 6.6/10 | |
Sports Score | |||
Sports Score | 6.5/10 | 7.3/10 | |
PHYSICAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Dimensions w/o Stand (H x W x D) | |||
Dimensions w/o Stand (H x W x D) | 28.2" x 48.5" x 3" | 28" x 48.5" x 2.8" | |
Dimensions with Stand (H x W) | |||
Dimensions with Stand (H x W) | 30.7" x 48.5" | 30.9" x 48.5" | |
Weight without Stand | |||
Weight without Stand | 41.2 lbs | 37.1 lbs | |
VESA Mount | |||
VESA Mount | 400 x 300 | 300 x 300 | |
DISPLAY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Color Depth | |||
Color Depth | 10 bit | 10 bit | |
Black Frame Insertion | |||
Black Frame Insertion | Yes | Yes | |
Auto Low Latency Mode | |||
Auto Low Latency Mode | Yes | Yes | |
Contrast | |||
Contrast | 7.8/10 | 7.9/10 | |
Local Dimming | |||
Local Dimming | 8/10 | 2.5/10 | |
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Speaker Setup | |||
Speaker Setup | 2.1 | 2.0 | |
Speaker Power | |||
Speaker Power | 40 W | 20 W | |
Dolby Atmos | |||
Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes | |
DTS:X | |||
DTS:X | Yes, Bypass only | Up to DTS Digital Surround, Bypass only | |
Shopping
Hisense U8H (LCD)
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Dig into reviews and images
IGN
Jaron Schneider | January 2023
"Hisense is over here making the best TVs for the majority of average families. U8H is a juiced-up utility knife of a television that manages to do a lot of things pretty well. The brightness this TV is capable of pushing out means I can see everything going on in any video game I’m playing regardless of what time of day it is"
Get a great deal on the Hisense U8H (LCD) or the Sony X85J (LCD)
About Hisense
Hisense, a Chinese TV manufacturer, entered the US market in approximately 2011 and has since acquired TV divisions from various companies such as Toshiba, Sharp, Hitachi, and NEC. Currently ranking as the fourth largest vendor in terms of sales volume, Hisense aims to capture a wide range of TV budget segments. They offer exceptional value with TVs that often outperform their competitors at similar price points, making them a compelling choice for consumers. In the US, they use Google TV as their smart TV software which provides the largest app selection and a very modern user interface, however it is not as user friendly as the software from other vendors.
About Sony
Sony stands as a highly experienced and widely trusted TV manufacturer, earning a reputation that surpasses all others. A Japanese company, Sony has been making TVs for far longs than it has been making Playstation game consoles. Sony's high-end TVs are often regarded as the ultimate choice for videophiles, representing the epitome of quality, albeit at a premium price point. Renowned for their advanced and precise motion handling, as well as their cutting-edge local dimming algorithms, Sony consistently delivers unparalleled performance in these areas. They include Google TV software with all their TV sets, which grants access to the largest selection of apps available and they also include Bravia Core which is a movie streaming platform specifically for Sony TVs that offers higher picture quality by using more bandwidth.
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