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Hisense 116UX: Redefining home entertainment

There’s a moment every few years when a new TV drops that feels like the industry collectively hitting reset. The Hisense 116UX delivers one of those moments.

This 116-inch titan is a calculated move to push the boundaries of display technology. It takes the best aspects of mini-LED, borrows the brilliance of OLED, and layers in proprietary Hisense innovation to create something that genuinely feels like a category of its own. This isn’t just another high-end screen joining the lineup, this is Hisense leading the market, not following it.

For years, Hisense built its name offering exceptional value in FHD, UHD, and QLED segments. But with the 116UX, it’s now setting the pace for the entire TV industry. This is the first time RGB mini-LED backlighting — a revolutionary step up from mini-LED — has been brought to market ahead of tier-one competitors. Hisense is forging the path ahead.

What makes the 116UX so different?

The headline here isn’t just size, though at 116-inches, it’s hard to ignore. The real conversation is about Hisense’s use of RGB mini-LED backlighting. While most TVs still rely on blue or white LEDs filtered through quantum dots, Hisense has tripled down on precision by using tens of thousands of individually addressable red, green, and blue mini-LEDs behind the panel.

Imagine if we put a pixelated lighting grid behind your display. Each RGB LED cluster is independently controlled, which provides precise local dimming. According to Hisense, this means the 116UX virtually eliminates blooming and halo effects, even during high-contrast scenes. No more glowing subtitles. No more starfields that look like blurry snow. Just pristine contrast that delivers on par with, and in some cases exceeds, the best OLEDs out there.

And here’s the shift: RGB mini-LED is outperforming OLED. OLED has long been heralded for its black levels, but it has limits in peak brightness, potential for burn-in, and overall lifespan. The 116UX obliterates those limitations. With up to 8,000 nits of peak brightness and robust panel architecture, it delivers a cinematic experience with both searing highlights and inky blacks, without trade-offs.

Additionally, the 116UX is certified for Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ, and IMAX Enhanced. This trifecta of format support guarantees reference-quality presentation across streaming platforms, UHD Blu-ray discs, and high-end digital content. It’s not an exaggeration to say this TV was built for cinephiles, filmmakers, and anyone who wants to experience entertainment the way it was intended to be viewed.

The brain behind the brawn

Pushing all those pixels and LEDs around takes some serious horsepower, which is where the Hi-View Engine X comes in. Hisense’s AI-powered processor is designed to optimize every frame in real time, using a suite of enhancements with very on-the-nose names: AI Peak Brightness, AI RGB Local Dimming, and AI Banding Smoother.

That last one’s particularly interesting. Banding, those visible gradients where color should be smooth, is notoriously tricky to eliminate, even on premium panels. With this solution, Hisense has made the 116UX a killer display not just for film lovers, but for all artists and content creators, too.

The processor dynamically adjusts the screen’s performance to account for room lighting and ambient noise. Watching a nature show at noon? The screen punches through glare with ease. Settling into a noir film at midnight? The intensity is dialed back for rich shadows and smooth transitions. The goal isn’t just picture quality. It’s presence.

Use cases, elevated

So what does this all mean in practice? It means the best cinematic experience available in any living room, with true-to-source color reproduction. Fast-paced sports look sharper, cleaner, and more vibrant — with no motion blur or ghosting thanks to lightning-fast refresh rates and real-time processing.

And for gamers? The 116UX is a dream setup. With support for the latest HDMI standards, high refresh rate compatibility, ultra-low latency, and blistering brightness, it’s a next-gen gaming powerhouse. Whether you’re exploring cinematic RPGs or battling through competitive shooters, the screen keeps up with every frame.

Technology you can trust

Any time a new category-defining product enters the scene, there’s bound to be curiosity.

Unlike traditional LED backlights that use a single color source filtered through layers, the 116UX produces light that is red, green, or blue at the source. That means more vivid saturation, a reduction in energy waste, and significantly lower blue light emission. In fact, blue light is reduced by up to 32% compared to conventional Mini-LED TVs. Your eyes will thank you for a more comfortable viewing experience.

This level of color purity also enables the 116UX to reach an astounding 97% of the BT.2020 color space, a benchmark that even most commercial cinema projectors can’t touch. You’ll see everything from richly graded feature films to animated content and video games appear with exceptional accuracy.

And because it’s built to support emerging formats and resolutions, the 116UX is not only impressive today, it’s future-proof. As streaming platforms, gaming consoles, and home cinema tech continue to push forward, the 116UX is engineered to evolve with them. Your content will only look better with time.

The sound of something big

The 116UX packs a built-in 6.2.2 CineStage X surround system, with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual X. That’s a mouthful, but what it means is immersive sound baked right into the hardware. No need for a soundbar unless you’re trying to rattle the neighbors.

Whether you’re locked into an action sequence, concert footage, or subtle drama, audio is delivered with clarity and directionality that tracks what’s happening on screen. It adds a physical element to the viewing experience, making the 116UX a complete audiovisual centerpiece.

Even better, the whole system runs on Google TV, which means easy integration with streaming apps, smart home devices, and Google Assistant. This is a future-ready screen that plays nice with your ecosystem.

Not just a TV, a vision

This display is clearly not built for casual living rooms. It’s a statement piece. But more than that, it’s a tech demo made real, a signal that Hisense isn’t content to follow the pack. While other brands inch forward in iterative updates, this TV jumps into unknown territory.

The 116UX proves premium performance and innovation can exist beyond OLED by redefining what RGB LED can be, establishing an entirely new performance tier for flagship TVs. It’s a television for enthusiasts, visionaries, and anyone ready to invest in the absolute best of what’s possible today.

Because once you’ve seen what RGB LEDs can really do — and we mean really do — there’s no going back.

Hisense didn’t just build a bigger TV. They built a better one. And with the 116UX, the future of television is brilliant.

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