Hisense has unveiled which of its latest televisions are to be sold in New Zealand this year to compete with TCL, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony.
The Chinese brand is releasing two new ULED models in Aotearoa in sizes ranging from 55 to 100 inches and is throwing in three-month subscriptions to Neon and Sky Sport Now with some of them.
'ULED' stands for 'Ultra LED' and is Hisense's own marketing term - similar to Samsung's 'QLED' - which the company describes as meaning "the ultimate screen for sports, nature, docs, movies and gaming".
The U7KNZ range starts at $2299 for the 55-inch model, while the U8KNZ range starts at $3499 for the 75-inch model. As well as the ULED models, Hisense is releasing a Wide Colour Gamut TV, the A7KNZ, which starts at $1099 for the 43-inch model.
The ULED models support resolution up to 4K and are powered by Mini LED technology.
The A7K and U7K models are available now from the likes of JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman while the U8K will be available before the end of August.
Christopher Mayer, Hisense ANZ's retail training manager, said the brand's "attainable premium" strategy is what sets it apart.
"We're at that middleground - we're not trying to unseat the most expensive TVs on the market, but we're also not trying to play with those super low-end budget TVs either," Mayer told Newshub.
"If I see a TV that blows my mind and then look at the price and think, 'Oh, well, I guess perhaps not' - that's really defeating and deflating. So the fact that we're offering Mini LED TVs at a price that means more people can actually take one home, that's what Hisense is really about at its core."
The U8K model features what Hisense calls Mini LED Pro backlight technology, with up to 1300 nits of peak brightness as well as support for up to 144Hz for PC gamers. The US version of this model recently won praise in a review from Digital Trends.
Hisense TVs run on the company's own VIDAA operating system, which was said to be the first in the world to be TÜV Rheinland-certified.
"We're not going to sell your data or store data that we don't need to. If you want us to delete data, we're fully GDPR compliant. We're proud of our privacy standards - not just with our TVs but across all of our products," Mayer said.
Hisense is the largest television manufacturer in China and entered the New Zealand market for the first time in 2022, despite having been established in Australia in 2008.
Across the Tasman, Hisense has a major presence in sport with sponsorship deals in rugby league, cricket, tennis, motorsport and owning naming rights to Adelaide's Richmond Oval.
"Our investment in sport isn't just superficial, it's intrinsic to the innovative technologies engineered for our products," said Gideon Lui, head of marketing at Hisense ANZ.
"With Sky Sport Now launching on VIDAA across our entire ULED range here in New Zealand for our 2023 TV range, sports fanatics can not only enjoy the best content but also reap the benefits of our innovative Sports AI Mode.
"So, whether it's a player running across the pitch at speed or a ball kicked for a conversion, the system is capable of adjusting the refresh rate and enhancing horizontal motions to eliminate blurs and juddering."
Although the range of products Hisense is currently selling in New Zealand is smaller than what is available in Australia, it intends to expand in coming years after the brand is better established locally.
