Description
What the Hisense 40H4030F4 is
The 40H4030F4 is a 40 inch class television from Hisense’s H4030F series, running Roku TV. The panel is an LED backlit LCD at 1920 by 1080, which is Full HD rather than 4K. That is the first thing to be clear about, because most televisions sold at this size are now 4K and this one deliberately is not.
At 40 inches and normal seating distances, 1080p is a defensible choice. The visible difference between 1080p and 4K depends on how many pixels the eye can resolve at a given distance, and on a 40 inch screen viewed from eight or nine feet, most people cannot reliably tell them apart. What 1080p buys is a lower price and, in this case, a set aimed at a bedroom, a kitchen or a second room rather than a main living room.
Hisense publishes a contrast ratio of 5000 to 1 in the description, which is unusual: most listings on this site publish no contrast figure at all. Treat it as the manufacturer’s specification rather than an independently measured result. Connectivity is two HDMI ports, one USB port and built in Wi-Fi, and a QAM tuner is listed among the special features. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding, with V-Chip parental controls and Energy Star certification.
The refresh rate question
This listing demonstrates exactly the confusion that motion rate figures create.
The product name says 120 Motion Rate. The description then says the television features a 120Hz refresh rate, reducing motion blur. Those are two different claims and the listing treats them as the same claim.
A motion rate is a manufacturer’s marketing figure that combines the panel’s actual refresh rate with backlight scanning and frame interpolation processing. It is not comparable between brands and it is not a refresh rate. A native refresh rate is the number of distinct frames the panel can display per second, and it is the figure that determines whether a 120 frame per second source can be shown as 120 distinct frames.
Nothing in this listing establishes a native refresh rate. The product name gives a motion rate, and the description restates that motion rate as though it were the panel specification. Anyone buying for high frame rate gaming should get the native refresh figure from Hisense directly rather than relying on either statement here.
Roku TV and the smart features
Roku TV built in is the strongest argument for this set. Every input and every app appears as a tile on a single home screen, so a games console sits alongside Netflix without cycling through HDMI inputs, and the remote is deliberately simple.
Hisense also lists compatibility with Apple HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant, which is a broader set than most televisions at this level offer and means the set can be controlled from whichever voice ecosystem a household already uses.
The QAM tuner is worth flagging for anyone in an apartment building or a similar setting with cable delivered over coaxial without a box, since a QAM tuner can receive unencrypted channels directly. It is also a standard broadcast tuner for an over the air antenna, and pairing this set with an antenna such as those in the TV antennas category is a low cost route to local broadcast television.
As with any built in platform, app availability and platform support are decided by Roku and the service providers rather than by Hisense, and change over the life of the set. The advantage of a built in platform is that nothing extra is needed; the disadvantage is that it cannot be replaced without replacing the television.
Sound, ports and the practical limits
Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding on a set with built in stereo speakers means the television can decode a 5.1 soundtrack and downmix it, not that it produces surround sound. It also means the set can pass a 5.1 stream to a soundbar or receiver. No speaker wattage is published, and at this size and price the built in audio should be assumed to be adequate for dialogue and little more.
Two HDMI ports is the number to plan around. A soundbar and a games console fill both, and adding a streaming stick or a disc player then means unplugging something. It is the most common practical frustration with entry level televisions, and it is worth counting the devices before ordering rather than afterward.
Highlights
- 40 inch class LED backlit LCD at 1920 by 1080.
- Roku TV built in, with every input and app on one home screen.
- Apple HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility.
- Two HDMI ports and one USB port, with built in Wi-Fi.
- Contrast ratio published at 5000 to 1, which most listings omit entirely.
- Dolby Digital 5.1 audio decoding.
- QAM tuner alongside the standard broadcast tuner.
- V-Chip parental controls and Energy Star certification.
Things To Consider
- The 120 figure is a motion rate, and the listing incorrectly restates it as a refresh rate. No native refresh rate is established.
- This is 1080p, not 4K. At 40 inches that is a reasonable choice, but it should be a deliberate one.
- Only two HDMI ports, which a soundbar and a console will use between them.
- No HDR support of any kind is claimed.
- No peak brightness figure and no local dimming.
- No audio output wattage is published.
- The weight is given in kilograms on a listing otherwise using inches.
- The published dimensions of 38.2 by 24.1 by 8.7 inches are carton figures, and no VESA pattern or stand width is given.
Who it suits
This is a sensible second television: a bedroom, a kitchen, a spare room or a small apartment where 40 inches is the right size and 4K would be spent on pixels nobody can see from the sofa. Roku TV makes it easy to use, the three voice assistant compatibilities are unusually broad at this level, and the tuner keeps free broadcast television available.
It is not a main set, it is not for a gamer and it is not for anyone who wants HDR. Buyers who want 4K at a similar price should read the Hisense 55A6HX or the TCL 55S455. Those wanting something smaller should compare the Hisense 32 inch A4 series and the TCL 32S327, and the full range sits in the LED and LCD TVs category.
