Someone finally did it: a high-end TV with a DisplayPort connection actually is… is attracting attention across the tech world. Analysts, enthusiasts, and industry observers are watching closely to see how this story develops.
This update adds another signal to a fast-moving sector where product decisions, platform changes, and competition can quickly shape the market.
4K at 180Hz over DisplayPort, on top of the HDMI 2.1 connections? It’s a rarity, but Hisense has done it
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I just attended a demo of Hisense’s new 2026 TVs, and while discussing the new UR9 RGB TV, one unusual feature jumped out at me: it has a DisplayPort connection. It’s not a full-size DisplayPort port, but it’s a USB-C port with full DisplayPort support and branding.
HDMI has obviously dominated the world of TV inputs, but DisplayPort is still the most common output on GPUs — and preferred by the PC hardcore in many cases. In general, it seems more hassle to include DisplayPort than it’s worth on most TVs, so it’s just never on there — which is why this one obviously caught my eye.
Hisense didn’t explain exactly why it went for it on this particular model, but there are two things going on with this TV that might explain it.
First, the set has 3x HDMI 2.1 ports, not 4 like most high-end TVs. This was also true of the Hisense U8QG last year — it appears to be a result of the particular connection control chip that Hisense is using.
When Hisense revealed this to me, it explained that the TV has three HDMI ports, then made a point of saying it also has DisplayPort, which will support 4K at 170Hz/180Hz (depending on size). So it’s possible that adding a DisplayPort was simply a way of offering a fourth 4K 170Hz/180Hz input, overcoming whatever HDMI limitation there is.
But the second element is that this is an RGB-backlit mini-LED TV, and Hisense claims that it should be able to hit over 100% of the BT.2020 pro color space, and is also Pantone validated (though the latter doesn’t mean too much — Hisense’s more affordable TVs have this rating too).
So there could be an element of Hisense aiming to include DisplayPort for maximum color depth for creatives who want to use the wide color support of the screens. Whether the TV will hit the claimed color figure is something we’ll have to wait to see — there are multiple ways to measure the color space, and the Hisense UX116 released last year with RGB tech hit 92.6% of the BT.2020 space in our tests. This is way better than regular mini-LED TVs, which have tended to max out at around 75-78%, but obviously isn’t quite 100%.
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The only potential issue for both gaming and creative use is the size of the TVs — the UR9 series will come in 65-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch sizes, with 100 inches also available in the US. That means it’s not desk-friendly but might still have potential for both.
Dolby Vision (DV2 coming later in an update), HDR10+, HDR10, HLG
I think it’s PC gamers looking for a sofa setup who will find this the most interesting. You’ll have the flexibility to use the HDMI ports for whatever AV connectivity you need that really requires HDMI, and you can make the most of the high refresh rates over DisplayPort.
The TV supports AMD FreeSync, and while Hisense hasn’t confirmed it for this model, most of its mini-LED sets are G-Sync compatible, though not G-Sync certified.
Its TVs usually have fairly low latency when we’ve measured them, and they have easy-to-use gaming menus for adjusting settings.
But the other tempting factor is that RGB mini-LED tech innovation isn’t coming out in monitors at the moment, and it’s a really interesting new tech innovation. It uses an LCD panel with a mini-LED backlight, but the backlight isn’t one color: each light element has red, green, and blue LEDs, so effectively a low-res version of the image is created by the backlight, and then the LCD layer adds the final color-filtering and detail.
It’s theoretically more efficient than regular mini-LED, while having a wider color gamut and potentially less noticeable blooming from light areas to dark ones.
And it’s much brighter than OLED, and this TV has a lightly matte anti-reflective coating to help make it work well for brighter rooms, if you’re playing during the day.
Having a DisplayPort option won’t be a major game-changer for most people, but it’s so rare that I had to call it out — and it’s especially interesting that it’s on a TV tech innovation you can’t get in a smaller version, so the UR9 offers something unique.
It’s not going to be cheap, though — in the US, the 65-inch model is officially priced at $3,499. We don’t have UK or Australian prices yet, but that’s around £2,650 / AU$5,080.
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Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he’s in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It’s a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he’s also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He’s always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he’s explaining the offside rule.
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Why This Matters
This development may influence user expectations, future product strategy, and the competitive balance inside the broader technology industry.
Companies in adjacent segments often react quickly to similar moves, which is why stories like this tend to matter beyond a single announcement.
Looking Ahead
The full impact will become clearer over time, but the story already highlights how quickly the modern tech landscape can evolve.
Observers will continue tracking the next steps and how they affect products, users, and the wider market.
