When the delivery truck pulled up to the Linus Tech Tips’ studio, anticipation was already running high. Linus Sebastian, the host, was ready to unbox Hisense’s 116-inch UX RGB Mini-LED TV—a screen so big it could be a wall.
Linus starts by sizing up the box, a cardboard monolith that dwarfs a 75-inch TV used for scale. The shipping weight is nearly 400 pounds, which prompts a joke about needing more than two people to handle it—especially if you’re French and stuck with the English or Spanish instructions. They cut the straps and the foam is so dense it could survive a meteor strike and the cardboard screen protector is so thick it could be a dining table. Linus jokes that Hisense could’ve shaved off some weight if they weren’t so busy cramming all the latest tech into this giant.
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Once the box is open the specs start to steal the show. Hisense’s UX has 4K resolution, 165Hz native refresh rate and G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support, it’s a gamer’s dream—at least on paper. The real star though is the RGB Mini-LED backlight, a first of its kind setup that ditches the traditional white backlight and color filters for thousands of red, green and blue LEDs. This gives a claimed 95% of the BT.2020 color space and 8,000 nits of peak brightness. Linus is excited to see if the TV lives up to the hype.
The unboxing is a long process as they struggle with the handles that dig into their hands—Linus compares them to the screw-in grips on the TCL 115-inch model. But Hisense has a trick up their sleeve, detachable grips that make it a little less painful. As the TV comes out Linus is struck by how big it is, the I/O ports are literally at eye level when standing next to it. Three HDMI ports and a DisplayPort catch his eye but he quickly points out that three HDMI ports might not be enough for a screen this size.
Linus powers on the 116UX and starts with video content. He notes the Google TV operating system makes it easy to navigate apps like Netflix and YouTube. The 6.2.2 CineStage X Surround sound system, tuned by Opéra de Paris and Devialet, gets a test run with a speaker test. Linus is skeptical about onboard audio for a TV this size and tells viewers to invest in a real sound system but he gives the speakers a shot. The results are impressive for built-in audio, but not quite cinematic enough for a $30,000 TV.
Gaming is next and Linus puts the TV through its paces with a first person shooter. The 165Hz refresh rate and low latency shine but he’s underwhelmed at first. The motion feels off until he tweaks the game settings, turns off VSync and DLSS to get rid of the Vaseline like blur. Once optimized the visuals snap into focus, colors are vibrant and details are sharp. He’s not fully sold on gaming with this beast. For fast paced shooters he’d stick with a high refresh rate monitor. Slower games or side-scrollers look stunning especially with the 20,000+ color control units and 3,500 dimming zones at work.
