HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was sub par. The TV had a few significant quirks that prevented us from optimizing the picture. After an initial adjustment to the image, turning the TV off, then on, defaulted the color to a much cooler temperature, while activating noise reduction processing which removed fine texture from the image. We also noted some added edge enhancement processing. We evaluated the image in this default mode. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--was good, so images had depth and dimension. Depth of black level was below average, with darker scenes in particular looking hazy, with little contrast (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). The picture could be driven to a fairly high brightness level with the backlight turned up, so the picture is well suited for a very sunny room. A lower backlight setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model did a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. The picture has "overscan" applied with no aspect ratio control options to disable it. This means the image is slightly expanded causing the extreme outer edges of the picture to be cut off. If you use this TV as monitor for your computer (via HDMI connection) you may lose the visibility of some icons that sit at the outer edges of the desktop. The deinterlacing and film mode operations were excellent on HD content; there was little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Element has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we viewed the TV from the sides image quality degraded significantly. The picture showed a strong loss of color, so flesh tones looked very washed out. Black levels visibly brightened, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle was good. The picture showed some change in color, contrast, and black level.
ULTRA HD PERFORMANCE. Overall UHD performance was decent but HD-to-UHD upconversion falls short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, was presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Photo playback via the TV's USB port is not supported. With regular HD content, the TV's HD-to-UHD up-conversion processing fell short, revealing some visible jaggies along the edges of diagonals when playing HD content.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance is ineffective. The display's lack of high peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) did not enhance the realism of our 4K test videos mastered for high dynamic range, while revealing little or no contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene. It did a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail from black to white, with no obvious banding on areas of the image that have subtle shade variations, but some loss of near-white shadow detail in the brightest areas was noted. Brighter colored objects remained nicely saturated.
MOTION BLUR. This Element TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. This model does not include a blur reduction feature.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. Though not as mirror-like as on some models, this screen surface is glossy and therefore susceptible to reflections from a nearby lamp or window. It does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast in a brighter room environment.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has good sound quality; about average among the models we've tested. When watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it delivers decent performance but falls short of the better performers. Bass was lacking in depth and definition, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was closed in. The speakers produced a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments, and quality does degrade at high volume settings. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be a bit distracting on some audio content. Most people would find this sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. Element includes a small, Android-based remote, with a built in microphone and a reduced set of buttons that support onscreen menu navigation. It does not include a number pad but does provide direct button access to Netflix, YouTube and Google Play. The TV's stand is 46 inches wide.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV provides basic Internet functionality with a limited selection of applications via its "Android TV" portal with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services include Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Go and HBO Now. Includes built-in Google Assistant, a virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming via the remote's built-in microphone.
CONNECTIONS. This model has three HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time). It also has two USB ports, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network; Screen mirroring, where the image on your smartphone or other compatible device can also appear on the TV.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.
ABOUT ULTRA HD TESTING: We test UHD picture quality using 4K movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We check the TV's ability to reproduce 4K image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR) for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a 4K movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, as well as from files stored on flash drive plugged into the TV's USB port. We also check how well the TV can upscale HD movies to the display's higher UHD resolution while keeping artifacts such as "jaggies" along the edges of image content to a minimum. The best UHD TVs, and HDTVs, present high fidelity images that reveal the full quality of the best source content without degradation.
