The whole TV industry is moving towards bigger and bigger screens, and the new Hisense 116UX takes the concept to a room-filling extreme. This is a 116-inch 4K TV that costs as much as a decent new car. But it’s not just orice 116-inch, $30,000 TV. Hisense built some sophisticated tech under the hood, and I got some hands-on time with it.
I can confirm that this is a truly massive screen. Like, absolutely huge. A real unit. To give you an idea of how big it is, I’m 6 feet tall and I could not touch one end and the other at the same time. I can also confirm that I kinda want one.
Also read: Cele mai bune televizoare din 2025
Unique tech, meet gigantic TV
First announced at CES, this Hisense 116UX is a different type of TV compared to the $20,000, 115-inch TCL we looked at last year. That was a “hang out with your buddies and watch the game” kind of TV. This Hisense is not just an inch larger diagonally and 10 grand more expensive, it’s squarely aimed at the (very) well-heeled video quality afficiando.
The LCD-based Hisense 116UX uses the company’s proprietary RGB, mini-LED backlight combined with quantum dots and 3,584 local dimming zones. As the name “RGB” suggests, each individual backlight is broken up into a trio of red, green and blue mini-LEDs. Representatives for the company said these zones can also be divided further through software, and that at full pelt the screen is capable of 8,000 nits peak brightness.
The remote has a solar panel built in
The TV is set for gaming on with a native 165Hz Panel and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Auto Low Latency Mode.
Though it lacks the level of anti-glare tech found on high-end Samsungs like the S95F I reviewed recently, Hisense’s TV has the company’s own Anti-Reflection Pro to ward off (though not completely obscure) reflected light.
Like most TVs from companies not called LG or Samsung, the 116UX runs on the Google TV operating system. If you have a Google smart home or Android phone it should integrate really well as a result.
And similar to recent Samsung remotes, 116UX comes with a suitably large remote control with a little photoelectric panel for charging with your overhead lights. Maybe it also charges from reflected light of the huge panel? It’s certainly bright enough.
The TV was the room
I spent a couple of hours with the Hisense 116UX, in Hisense’s New York demo room, which was only just big enough to fit the TV. I was reminded of Magritte’s painting of a massive apple in a small room. I watched some movie scenes, including scenes from Spider-man Into the Spider-Verse and Oppenheimer.
Apart from the size, I came away with the impression that this TV is great for HDR movies, as exemplified by its surprisingly deft handling of Oppenheimer. In the test scene I used, the Hisense was able to both bring out bright pinpricks of light while also able to show the hills and sky without banding.
Spider-man showed how bright and colorful this TV could get. The huge screen was also able to keep up with the movie’s frenetic action scenes without smearing.
I tested its light output using a Konica Minolta LS-100 light meter, which registered an impressive 7923 nits — pretty much exactly what Hinsense claimed. It’s also double the 65-inch Hisense U8Q, the brightest TV I’ve ever measured at CNET, and roughly 4 times brighter than the 65-inch LG G5, the brightest OLED TV.
The TV has Google TV onboard.
While I didn’t test the TV’s gaming prowess I have no doubt it would be a real blast to rid Mars of a new demonic scourge on a screen that truly is larger than life.
I listened to the 116UX for a little bit but it sounded disappointedly “like a TV,” with boomy lower mids and a vocal forwardness. If you can afford a TV like this, you can afford a sound system to go with it, and I will (maybe) come with you to help you buy it.
A big price tag to match
Is this the Holy Grail of TVs? For some, perhaps. Would I have one in my home? Yes, but only if I could find a rich benefactor to buy it for me — along with a bigger apartment. For its $30,000 price tag you could buy a hell of a lot of a lot of movie tickets instead. Like around 2,000 of them. But that’s hardly the point. This is currently the best (and only) 116-inch TV available, and if you really want to make your living room seem small, the Hisense 116UX it’s more practical and fun than a monster-sized piece of fruit.
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