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It’s been a banner year for Hisense, an internationally acclaimed brand that continues to make airwaves globally. The company’s flagship, the Hisense U9N, is one of the best mini-LED TVs we’ve seen this year, in part because it costs much less than top models from Samsung, LG, and Sony. The Hisense E6 Series (also known as Hisense E6QF) packs lots of value in an entry-level package.
For an exceptionally fair price, the Hisense 65E6QF delivers a really bright picture you’ll find for under $500. It’s got a longer list of image enhancement features than most TVs in this price range, including a 120-motion rate panel and Game Mode Plus. Though it’s not among the company’s top-of-the-line TVs, it marks not only a substantial upgrade over last year’s model, but also one that stacks against competitors soundly, particularly when on sale.
There are, of course, some missteps. The Hisense E6 suffers from some light bloom when viewed off-axis, and Hisense’s picture processing struggles to upscale sub-4K content as fluently as some of its competitors.
Still, the amount of value here is terrific. The E6 Cinema Series is great for daytime viewing, nighttime viewing, and some gaming; a jack of all trades. If you’ve had your sights on a Hisense QLED TV on a budget, this is a great choice, and certainly one of the best budget TVs you can currently buy.
About the Hisense E6 Cinema Series
The Hisense E6 Cinema Series is available in seven sizes, ranging from 43 inches all the way up to 100 inches. We’re reviewing the 65-inch unit – the Hisense 65E6QF.
The E6 Series has seen a significant price cut in the months since its initial release, and I don’t expect it to get much more expensive than it is right now, especially as we move into the holiday season.
Again, no matter the screen size you choose, we don’t expect there to be a major difference in performance from one size to the next. Each model is fitted with a different number of dimming zones. Even though the number of zones tends to increase proportionally to a TV’s size, a difference in zone count could spell slight differences in how they perform, particularly when it comes to contrast.
Here’s a rundown of the E6’s key hardware and software specifications
- Resolution: 4K (3,840 x 2,160)
- Display type: Full-array LED, QLED with Wide Color Gamut
- HDR support: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG
- Dolby Atmos: Yes
- eARC support: Yes (HDMI 3)
- Native refresh rate: 60Hz
- Smart platform: Fire TV
- Other features: Fire TV, AI 4K upscaling, Apple AirPlay, Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Google Chromecast, ATSC 3.0, Game Mode Pro, Gaming Bar, Voice command
Design and Features
On design, the Hisense 65E6QF looks like the Hisense 65QD6Q that we reviewed recently. Only when compared against older CRT TVs and flat screen TVs would the E6QF look svelte, but if you’ll place it on a stand where you’ll see its back every time you walk in the door, you can’t help notice how thick it looks compared to, let’s say, the paper-thin TCL QM6K, a competing flagship TV.
Looking at this TV face-on, however, it looks impeccably pleasant to stare at for long. The bottom lip is a little thicker than some other modern TVs, but sure, it looks beautiful and lively beyond any stretch of imagination. The panel is supported by a pair of slim, wide-set feet that easily snug into place and are held by a few screws. Set up is easy; you don’t need a pair of extra hands to get it running.
If you opt for a wall-mount setup, it’s a breeze too. You only have to remove two screws from the middle of the back of the display panel housing, then access the 400 x 300 VESA hole pattern for wall mounting.
Yet another thing I love about this TV’s design – the remote finally has the Home button in the right place.
The remote itself is a mixed bag; it feels like a cheap plastic wand, but it has some weight to it. It’s nothing compared to the latest remotes we’ve seen on some high-end TV models, but the design is a win. For example, the Alexa button is above the directional pad, and the rest of the buttons are below it. Other Fire or Google TVs place the voice assistant buttons at the center of the remote and the home button on the side. The remote is well-thought-out.
Picture Quality
The Hisense 65E6QF is among the brightest TVs in this price range that I’ve seen this year. Its peak brightness of around 385 cd/m2 is higher than similarly priced 65-inch TVs, which only scrape 320 cd/m2 in most scenarios.
If your living room is fairly bright, the 65E6QF will hold up quite well, so long as it’s not sitting directly in the line of a sunbeam. Dark-room viewing is impressive, too, thanks in part to the E6QF’s ability to get bright. While its black levels aren’t as deep as some of its competitors, and the E6QF has a tendency to lift them when dark areas of the picture are competing with bright elements, they are not badly off to come in the way of immersive viewing. You’ll find the TV’s performance to be suitable for both bright and dark viewing environments.
The Hisense 65E6QF delivers decent color and contrast, a strong feature set, and a surprisingly low price.
Another shoutout is for the Hisense E6’s AI-enhanced colors, too. It covers about 90% of the HDR color gamut (DCI-P3), which is slightly better than what you’d find on competing TVs, although not quite as impressive as the Hisense U8H. Still, there’s enough volume for the TV’s colors to pop in HDR – commonly not an easy feat for a TV in this price range.
The Hisense 65E6QF has an okay response time, meaning you can use it for basic gaming, but it’s not as swift as the TCL Q5/Q650F. You’ll notice it is a little sluggish with dark transitions, and unlike more expensive gaming TVs, it lacks HDMI 2.1, which would make it the ultimate gaming TV at this price point.
Even the TCL 5-Series, which also offers both VRR and ALLM, its panels limited to 60Hz, so 4K gaming at 120Hz is out of question. It’s all part of the compromise of buying an affordable TV. To secure slightly better gaming features, you’d have to spend more on something like the TCL 6-Series or the Hisense U8H mini-LED TV.
Fire TV OS and Alexa
For you to get the most out of Fire TV features, you’ll need to sign in with your Amazon account, which is typical of Fire TV streamers, which are built around using your account for transactions like purchasing apps and renting media. However, on the Hisense 65E6QF QLED TV, you don’t need an Amazon account to use the TV. There is an optional Basic mode that lets you use the TV as a TV, without access to most streaming features in the interface, but provides access to the TV’s varied inputs.
Still, most of us would want to use our Amazon account to access the full features of the Fire TV platform, bearing in mind how robust it is as a smart TV platform. For instance, it lets you access most streaming services, including Amazon Video and Music, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Spotify, and Twitch.
Not surprising at all, while the Fire TV OS is ideally based on Android, rarely do you see Amazon and Google get along much on content. The Fire TV includes access to the Alexa voice assistant, which you can easily use on the TV by pressing the microphone button on the remote and speaking into it. Sure, it may not be as hands-free as the Echo or Echo Spot, but it’s still functional out of the box with the press of a button.
Hisense 65E6QF Review: Bottom line
The Hisense 65E6QF is a great value among value TV propositions. It delivers stellar brightness and brings a slew of features at a more affordable price than competitors. And while nowhere near as powerful as its U8H counterpart, it might well have the best features among similarly priced QLED TVs in the market right now. At the end of the day, getting features like Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ means you’ll have a great viewing experience when it comes to movies and shows.
But when you start to compare it with some recently-released Mini-LED TVs, some costing a few dollars more, you start to notice some flaws. The display panel is bright, but we know it would be brighter at this price point. There are four HDMI ports, but all of them are limited to HDMI 2.0; none of them offers HDMI 2.1, and the display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate when it comes to 4K content.
Right now, there are TVs with better performance, and they cost less than $200 more. Take, for instance, the TCL QM6K/ 65QM6K, which costs under $700 but offers a solid feature set, including HDMI 2.1, a 144Hz refresh rate, uses mini-LED for the display, Dolby Atmos, and runs the Google Smart TV platform.
Well, the TCL doesn’t cost under $400 for any screen size, however. Which means that if you’re shopping for a truly budget 65-inch TV with a decent feature set, the Hisense QD6 is probably the best TV you can buy right now, instead of buying an older model of a higher-end TV.
If your budget can allow you to spend a bit more, the TCL 65QM6K (2025 model) is money well spent and will get you more value. If not, the Hisense 65QD6QF is a solid choice.
Price Comparison
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