Hisense 40H3E Review; Basic Viewing with Great contrast

Let’s face it. The one thing people love about Hisense is how affordable they are and the great size and quality you get when you purchase one of their screens. This Hisense 40H3E review will prove you can’t get better value at such affordable prices where 40-inc screens are a concern. It’s a fantastic panel for the price. Even when you choose a refurbished option. In fact, it performs pretty well for something so simple and affordable.

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Depending on where you buy it, the Hisense 40h3e will cost you anywhere between $129 and $179 for a 32-inch screen, while the 40-inch screen may go up to around $300 or more. It won’t exactly wow you because of its black design and average bezels, but that’s fine when you think about how much you are paying for it. It’s decent for the money and will satisfy dark black levels. The overall picture quality is good, so you won’t be exactly disappointed.

If you need something with fancy extras like smart features, you may want to check out our Hisense 50H7GB3 review since you won’t be getting any of that with this Hisense 40H3E review. In fact, the H3 series doesn’t come with advanced picture quality settings you see on other screens, so no motion compensation for sports lovers or Blu-ray. But, don’t get disappointed with this Hisense 40H3E review yet. The TV has some great qualities as well. Honestly, it’s the best choice if all you need is something basic to watch shows and a few films a day.

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Typically, the H3 series comes in three sizes. You can either get the 32-inch (Hisense 32H3E), 40-inch (Hisense 40H3E), or 50-inch (Hisense 50H3E). Expect to spend anywhere between $179 or less for the 32-inch and $249 for the 40-inch. Prices for the 50-inch usually depend.

Connectivity

If you love binge-watching terrible movies on Netflix or Hulu, you aren’t lucky. The Hisense 40H3E doesn’t allow for internet connectivity. It does come with three HDMI inputs and one USB, so you may want to get an Amazon firestick if you really need to get connected. It will cost you a little more, but it’s worth having. You also get a headphone jack with the 40 and 50-inch sizes, which isn’t available in the 32.

The 3 HDMI inputs give your modern devices enough connectivity, which is ok. You also get composite, standard component, and coaxial hookups (cable) support. If you need more than that, you may want to check for screens a little above this price range.

Display and contrast

The Hisense 40H3E is a full HD set boasting of 1920 by 1080 pixels. While most people prefer a 4K screen, you still get decent quality with this TV. The Hisense 50H7GB3 we mentioned earlier is a 4k screen if this is really important to you. Let’s move to the most important thing to consider when buying a TV: the black level or basically how dark shadows and black areas appear on the screen.

This is one of the hardest things to get right for most people, but if you are considering this screen, you are in luck. Obviously, you don’t get top-notch contrast here, but you will have stable black levels and contrast to make watching TV pleasurable.

When using dedicated cinema mode, the black levels are around 0.03 nits with a reference of 50/50 luminance output of 118.30. These stats mean you have enough brightness to get the job done since the contrast will be around 4000:1, which is excellent for the price you are paying for the screen.

Calibration

I get it, nobody wants to pay a calibrator to ‘fix’ super cheap TVs, and as luck would have it, you don’t have to do that with this Hisense 40H3E TV either. While most level-entry televisions are known to come with blue-tinted whites, crushed details, and sometimes even banding, the Hisense 40H3E seems well-calibrated in its default settings. It has good white balance, so the grayscale remains color free, which is great.

Sound

Overtime, TVs have gotten thinner and minimalistic, so you can’t expect the sound quality to be as great on even a 50 and 65-inch tv. While you shouldn’t expect much with this TV, you can pair it with a soundbar to get the perfect sound. However, for most purposes, you will be fine even when you don’t get a soundbar or small desktop speakers.

Resolution

You probably already know that the best TV option for most people right now is a screen with 4K resolution. But, if you’ve learned anything from this Hisense 40H3E review, it’s that you won’t be getting anything fancy. That’s why we recommended the Hisense 50H7GB3. Now, down a step from 4k, you get a 1080p resolution, which is still an upgrade from what we had when growing up. This is where the Hisense 40H3E lies. Obviously, one of the main reasons why it’s so affordable.

While this resolution isn’t entirely bad for basic viewing, it won’t do you any good if you are a gamer and if you want to use this screen as a PC monitor. The resolution-to-size ration won’t be a good fit, and websites with high-density text may also suffer. Gamers won’t experience the full 1080p resolution of their games, which is pretty disappointing.

Watching with a large family

Fancy hosting movie night with friends and family? It’s probably not a good idea when using this TV. The Hisense H3 series is a vertical Alignment, also known as VA, type LCD panel, which means it bleeds less light than IPS types. This also means it effuses light on the sides more poorly. If you are watching away from the center, you won’t get the best picture quality, so movie nights with friends and family will have to be canceled for now. Unless, of course, you can all watch from the middle. Luckily, not many people will want to cram around a 40-inch TV, so this may not necessarily bother you.

Watching movies

Whether you are binge-watching movies or catching a classic favorite of yours, this TV will not do you justice in this front, especially if your films are Blu-rays. Blu-ray film play at 24 frames a second, and this TV will definitely struggle with that. The H3 series screens don’t have telecine eliminators or motion assistance, which is why it struggles to keep up with the film’s speed.

Not to worry, though. You can check out our review for the best TVs for watching movies. You may have to spend a little more than with the Hisense 40H3E, but it will be worth it. Because the refresh rate is 60HZ, it makes it hard to watch films without an uneven appearance, it’s also the same reason why gamers and sports fanatics won’t be happy with this TV.

If there is one thing you are confirming from this Hisense 40H3E review is that this screen is an excellent option if you are on a budget and want something basic, say for your daughter’s room or as your first tv. Although its color isn’t perfect, it has excellent contrast, so you won’t exactly mind watching unless you want more color. Overall, you won’t break your bank with this model, but you will have definitely compromise on a few things.

Ledmond