HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was very good. It did an excellent job displaying the finest detail of HD content. Edges of objects in the image stood out too much because of over-enhancement. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Color temperature was slightly on the cool side, lending images a bluish tone. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--was good, so images had depth and dimension, typical of most models we test. The brightness level was good, making it a suitable choice for most rooms. Black level was generally good, though not as dark as better performers on the darkest scenes (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). 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. Film mode operation for HD film-based content was excellent, with no visible jaggies along the edges of objects during motion scenes. Deinterlacing was very good, with minimal jaggies visible when converting 1080i video content, such as from cable, to the display's native resolution.
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 moderate loss of color, so flesh tones looked a bit washed out, along with a slight color shift. 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 very good. The picture showed minimal change in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. This Element TV has only fair motion performance, with significant blurring on our motion tests. This is typical of LCD TVs with the basic 60Hz frame rate. This model does not include a blur reduction feature. The visibility of blurring on typical program content is often subtle and may not bother most people, but keen-eyed viewers may detect some loss of texture and detail on scenes with movement.
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 fair sound quality with below average performance. It's acceptable for typical programming, but shortcomings become obvious with movie soundtracks and music. Bass was lacking in depth and definition, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit thin and closed in. The speakers produced a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments, but quality does degrade at the highest settings. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting, but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting on some audio content. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. It lacks the ability to add custom labels to different input sources.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not have access to the Internet. Element includes a traditional IR, button keypad remote for control of basic TV functions. The high contrast labels on the buttons make them easier to read in a dimmer viewing environment.
CONNECTIONS. This model has three HDMI inputs and one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time) one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, a VGA video input. The cable connections on the rear panel are recessed with side or bottom-facing ports, so wires don't protrude beyond the display's depth.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A printed user manual. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries.
