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Hands on: The Hisense U9N 4K TV is mini-LED taken to the max, with powerful built-in Dolby Atmos sound too – Samsung should be worried

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Hisense just announced its new Hisense U9N series mini-LED TVs, and as part of that announcement, the company invited reviewers, myself included, to spend quality hands-on time with a pre-production 75-inch version of the U9N at a launch event in New York.

The Hisense U9N series TVs slot between the company’s flagship ULED X series and the new U8N series (review coming soon) TVs, and incorporate technology from the ULED X lineup. Specifically, they use Hisense’s Hi-View Engine X picture processing and a mini-LED backlight with up to 5,300 local dimming zones. That’s a strikingly high number, even among the best TVs that use mini-LED – the Hisense U8K, in contrast, topped out at around 1,000 local dimming zones.

As you might expect, the premium tech packaged in the U9N series comes with a price boost over the U8N series, with the 75-inch version selling for $2,999 (around  £2,400 / AU$ 4,530) and $3,999 (around  £3,200 / AU$ 6,050) for the 85-inch version. (Compare that to the $1,999 pricing for the 75-inch Hisense U8N.) Hisense plans to ship both models this summer, and they will be sold at Best Buy and Amazon.

HIsense U9N close up of speaker

The Hisense U9N features substantial side-firing speakers, as shown here. (Image credit: Future)

The U9N series also has a premium design that aligns closely with the ULED X series TVs. That includes an aluminum bezel and side-mounted speakers, with the latter providing the left and right channels for the TV’s built-in 4.1.2 Dolby Atmos speaker system, which gets up to 82 watts of power (on the 85-inch model).

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I’ve seen Sony’s impressive new mini-LED TV backlight tech in action, and OLED TVs should be worried

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Sony made a special occasion of its 2024 TV launch, holding it at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Los Angeles. At the event, attendees, myself included, were treated to demos of Foley effects and soundtrack mixing, plus other striking examples of behind-the-scenes movie magic that happens at the studio. Sony’s message was that the technology that goes into movie and TV creation via its studio and professional camera and display divisions trickles down into consumer products, and it was made loud and clear at the event.

The Sony Bravia 9 is the flagship model of the new Bravia series TVs, taking that crown from the Sony A95L OLED TV, which will continue in the lineup for 2024. Interestingly, the Bravia 9 is a mini-LED TV. That marks a change in direction for Sony, a brand that in the past had regularly positioned OLED as the most premium technology in its TV lineup.

Sony’s re-positioning of mini-LED at the top of the TV food chain results from two tech developments at the company. The first is the creation of the BVM-HX3110, a professional mastering monitor capable of 4,000 nits peak brightness. The BVM-HX3110 was introduced in late 2023, and replaces the BVM-HX310, a standard model for movie post-production that tops out at 1,000 nits peak brightness.

The backlight LED driver panel used in Sony's Bravia 9 TVs

The backlight LED driver panel used in Sony’s Bravia 9 TVs. Those tiny black stripes are the mini-LED modules. (Image credit: Future)

The second development is XR Backlight Master Drive with High Peak Luminance, a new TV backlight technology used exclusively in the Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED TV. According to Sony, its next-gen backlight tech is responsible for a 50% brightness boost in the Bravia 9 over the company’s previous flagship mini-LED model, the Sony X95L, along with a 325% increase in local dimming zones – something it accomplishes through a new, highly miniaturized 22-bit LED driver.



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