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It's already looking like 2016 will be a big year for Hisense. At CES, Hisense announced that it's releasing a slew of 4K and full-HD TVs in the United States in the hopes of competing with heavy-hitters like Samsung and LG.

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The flagship of the new lineup is the Hisense H10 Series (MSRP $2,799.99). The H10 (or 65H10C) is a 65-inch 4K LED TV equipped with full-array local dimming, quantum dot technology, and the real kicker—High Dynamic Range support.

If that wasn't enough, the company is enticing American consumers unfamiliar with the Hisense brand with a four-year extended warranty on all of its 4K TVs. That's almost unheard of, especially for a manufacturer as big as Hisense.

We won't know for sure how well this TV stacks up against its stiff competition until we get it into our lab and put it through the wringer later this year, but I got to hang out with the H10 for a while at the Hisense booth and came away quite impressed.

Design & Hardware

All aboard the curved panel bandwagon!

The last 4K Hisense TV we reviewed wasn't exactly a paragon of style. But in fairness, it didn't have to be: It was a bare-minimum 4K with an (extreme) emphasis on value, not design.

The H10 is a completely different story.

The side of the Hisense H10
Credit: Reviewed.com / Michael Desjardin

The panel is quite thick in order to accommodate the H10's backlight, which features full-array local dimming and 240 LED zones.

In the immortal words of Mugatu, curves are so hot right now. Hisense went ahead and bent the H10's screen in order to keep up with current trends, and although we've yet to see any evidence that a curved screen actually produces a better picture, there's no doubting that it proves two things: your manufacturing capabilities (or that of your panel supplier) are pretty advanced, and you know how to turn heads.

The panel itself is fairly thick, especially compared to the impossibly thin TVs we're seeing from Sony, Samsung, and LG, but for good reason (more on that later).

The Hisense H10's stand
Credit: Reviewed.com / Michael Desjardin

The H10 has a curved stand to match its curved panel.

Under the screen you'll find a flat-ish curved stand that spans the entire length of the TV. I dig the look, even if it's maybe a little too busy visually. Beneath the Hisense insignia is a glowing blue light, which isn't my favorite thing in the world; hopefully it can be toggled on and off.

The stand connects to the back of the panel via a transparent piece of plastic, similar to some early LG OLEDs. Quite honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this particular piece of hardware. It's an interesting design flourish, but one that looked a little bit cheap under the bright lights of the Las Vegas Convention Center show floor. Thankfully, it wasn't noticeable until I took a trip 'round back and examined the TV from behind.

After the clear plastic connective piece, the second thing you'll notice behind the H10 is a lack of connectivity ports. All that we could see was a brushed metal box that is either a fancy, Hisense-branded HDMI switch or something like Samsung's One Connect box.

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The inclusion of a connectivity box—assuming that's what it is—would be great. Since it's an external piece of hardware, you can run a single cable from the TV, and even upgrade down the line if TVs adopt new standards. At this point, we just don't know. Hisense reps were very clear that the H10 display units were prototypes, and with the H10 not slated to ship until the second half of this year, the design may change quite a bit.

Picture Quality

Fully equipped

When it comes to the hardware and software features crammed into the H10, there's a lot to cover.

Remember when I said that the panel was thicker than most, but that there was good reason for it? I misspoke: There are precisely 240 good reasons for it.

The H10 is a direct-lit TV with 240 separate LED zones and local dimming. In a nutshell, this means that there are 240 places on the screen that can brighten and dim independently of one another, depending on the picture being displayed. Pound-for-pound, full-array TVs with local dimming are the next-best option for picture enthusiasts after OLED. (Rest in peace, plasma).

The reasoning is simple: The more zones there are, the easier it is for the TV to amp up brightness or, conversely, preserve deep blacks. While some edge-lit LEDs have impressed us lately, Hisense's choice here is absolutely the right one.

A sunset as seen on the Hisense H10
Credit: Reviewed.com / Michael Desjardin

Full-array local dimming ostensibly allows for better contrast.

Next up are two terms you've probably heard a lot this week while reading about the TVs of CES: quantum dot and High Dynamic Range.

At CES, Hisense announced that the H10 will meet the UHD Alliance's standard for 4K televisions. This is great news, because it means that the H10 will produce a fantastic contrast ratio and extra-wide color gamut to go along with its already stellar Ultra HD resolution.

Quantum dot (or nanocrystal) is a relatively new technology that can intensify the colors produced by LED TVs. It's a feature that's been adopted by just about every major TV manufacturer, and it should roll out everywhere later this year.

A sweeping landscape as seen on the Hisense H10
Credit: Reviewed.com / Michael Desjardin

The main story of the Hisense H10 is its HDR support.

If all of this sounds a little too jargon-y, let me put it another way: This TV looks fantastic, and it should match up easily with all the upcoming UHD/HDR standards that are coming later this year. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but I spent a good amount of time watching the H10 cycle through its tech demo, and its picture lived up to the hype.

It's also worth noting that the H10 features 3D and smart features, but for obvious reasons I was unable to get a look at either.

The Verdict

Color us excited (with quantum dots).

I don't think I'm telling any tales out of school when I say that, when it comes to sheer picture quality, Hisense hasn't exactly wowed us in the past. While previous Hisense TVs in the U.S. have provided plenty of value, the company's initial attempts were dogged by all the issues that typically plague low-cost TVs.

That's all set to change in 2016. Hisense's new lineup, capped off by the H10, is shaping up to be quite competitive. The flagship in particular appears to have all of the hallmarks of a top-tier TV, and could stand up to the best of the best on the market right now.

The ULED logo on the bezel of the Hisense H10
Credit: Reviewed.com / Michael Desjardin

Don't be fooled—"ULED" is nothing like OLED.

From full-array local dimming to HDR support, the H10 is built from the ground up to dazzle. Whether it succeeds in its goals won't be clear until we test it ourselves, but this is the first time I've ever been truly excited about a Hisense TV—and that's before even taking the four-year warranty into account.

The H10 still has a lot left to prove, but if the engineers at Hisense are gunning for the champs, they're definitely off to a good start.

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Meet the tester

Michael Desjardin

Michael Desjardin

Senior Staff Writer

@Reviewed

Michael Desjardin graduated from Emerson College after having studied media production and screenwriting. He specializes in tech for Reviewed, but also loves film criticism, weird ambient music, cooking, and food in general.

See all of Michael Desjardin's reviews

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