When I purchased a new TV a few years ago, I needed the television to check a few important boxes.
First, it had to come in at under $1,000. This meant that I'd likely end up with a TV from a mid-range, China-based manufacturer like TCL or Hisense, rather than a higher-end model from LG or Samsung. If I opted for a more well-known, reputable brand, I'd likely be stuck with an entry-level TV missing at least a few key features I wanted, including a higher-refresh-rate panel.
Next, I was hoping it would feature Mini-LED, a super-bright display technology that delivers solid blacks and overall solid contrast compared to a standard LED TV. Given my price constraints, OLED was, unfortunately, just entirely out of the question at the time. And lastly, the TV needed to support HDMI 2.1 so that, on the off chance I decided to hook up my Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 to it, I could take full advantage of the few games that support 4K/120Hz output.
The possibility that only some ports on my Hisense U8H TV supported HDMI 2.1 didn't occur to me...
A couple of months ago, when my son was only a few weeks old, I spent a lot more time in my living room, with him sleeping nearby in a bassinet. This often left me with ample time to kill late into the night. So, naturally, I figured it could be a good time to catch up on a few of the bigger PS5 games I'd missed out on, particularly Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (the game doesn't support 4K/120Hz, but it does run in a 120Hz container, offering smoother input and lower latency).
The possibility that only some ports on my Hisense U8H TV supported HDMI 2.1 didn't occur to me when I bought the TV, and looking back, I wish I had at least considered it, because it can make hooking up devices more complicated down the line.
Selecting the right HDMI port is key
This sounds simple and straightforward, but that isn't always the case
On most mid-range and even some high-end TVs (including my Hisense U8H) only a few ports offer a high-bandwidth connection. In my TV's case, it's HDMI 4 and its eARC (Audio Return Channel) HDMI 3 port, not HDMI 1 and 2 like I assumed. In reality, this leaves me with just one high-bandwidth port because I use the eARC HDMI port for my soundbar. It's the most straightforward way to connect it to my TV and also supports high-end audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTX: X.
If you're trying to figure out what ports on your TV support high-bandwidth, my recommendation is to either search for your TV's manual online or dig it out of its box, since it almost certainly includes the information. You can also check your TV's physical ports, as some models have clear labels like HDMI 2.1 and 4K 120Hz. With my Hisense U8H, there's no indication of differentiation between ports, and given it's a relatively obscure model with a short manufacturing run, there isn't much about it on Reddit either.
After a few hours of trying to figure out why the PS5 wouldn't let me set its 120Hz Output option to Automatic and trying what felt like every port on my TV, I thankfully opened the U8H's physical manual and I quickly realized that my only option was HDMI 4.
It's important to use an Ultra High-Speed HDMI cable rated for 48Gbps if you want to get 120Hz, 4K, 8K, HDR, and Dolby Vision from your TV. Always do your best to avoid older cables when working with these high-end formats (this is a mistake I've made many times over the years).
Make sure you enable "Enhanced HDMI" on your TV
It's rare this feature is turned on by default
With the majority of TVs, the settings for each individual HDMI input can be changed, and high-bandwidth ports that are HDMI 2.1 compatible, often have extra options in the settings menu. By default, they're often set for a lower-bandwidth connection, since that can help with device compatibility in some situations.
This setting is often called different things by TV manufacturers. For example. LG labels it HDMI Ultra HD Deep Color (this took me forever to figure out with my LG Ultragear 27GP950-B monitor), while Samsung's TVs call it Input Signal Plus or HDMI UHD Color, depending on the model. On the other hand, Sony labels it Enhanced Format. These options are usually available in the input settings, which is often found in the TV's main settings menu or under inputs.
With my Hisense TV, the feature is called Enhanced Format. To turn it on, I navigate to All Settings > Channels & Inputs > Inputs. Then I select the HDMI port (in this case four), select Format, and turn on Enhanced. This process is far from intuitive, and compared to turning on high-bandwidth on other televisions I've used, it's downright confusing. But it worked — once I changed the setting, I was good to go for 120Hz compatibility.
