Heading (back) off to uni and wondering what essentials you need to take with you? Well after you've packed the toothbrush, lots of underwear and a laptop, next on the list has to be a TV, right? I mean, you've got to have some down time occasionally, and you can't go to the SU every night...
Unless you're a very fortunate student indeed, you're unlikely to have a big budget for said TV, but the good news is that there are some very solid cheap TVs around, and this is one of the cheapest and most solid.
The TV in question is the Hisense 43A6KTUK, a 43-inch 4K HDR TV that can be bought for just £229 at Amazon.
£229 really is extraordinarily little for a 43-inch 4K TV, and the Hisense 43A6KTUK is much better than that low price suggests. It has its limitations, of course, most notably in that its motion is a little smeary and it doesn't go as bright as more expensive models, but it gets the basics very right.
The backlights of cheap TVs are often blotchy, but the Hisense's is really controlled and consistent. The TV is capable of delivering decently deep blacks, too, and it digs up plenty of shadow detail. Colours are natural and realistic (another thing that many cheap TVs get wrong), and images are sharp without looking artificially sharpened.
Inevitably, given its price, the Hisense doesn't support HDMI 2.1 gaming features such as 4K/120Hz or VRR, but it does have ALLM, which means it will automatically switch to its low-latency game mode when a signal from a console is detected. Said game mode brings input lag down to just 10.2ms, which is super-fast and very impressive for a TV at this level.
To top it all off, the VIDAA smart platform is really well-appointed when it comes to streaming apps, with all of the UK catch-up services, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV all built in, so you won't need to buy a separate streaming stick or dongle.
If you do have any budget left, a cheap soundbar would be a good investment. The Hisense doesn't sound bad for a TV, particularly one so cheap, but movies, games and music will sound so much better on a soundbar.
If the Hisense 43A6KTUK isn't the right TV for you, perhaps because you want one bigger or smaller, check out our list of the best cheap TVs you can buy right now.
MORE:
Read the full Hisense 43A6KTUK review
Here are the best cheap soundbars you can buy
5 affordable audio products I wish I had when I was a student, and can now recommend
