HD PICTURE QUALITY HD picture quality was Very Good, overall. Reproduction of fine HD image detail was Excellent. However, the color accuracy was below that of most models. Very Good contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—gave images convincing depth and dimension. But the depth of black levels fell short of the better TVs. The quality appeared worse as we viewed from the sides—see our Viewing Angle results, below. Image brightness was Very Good (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture was well suited for a brighter room—a lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. There was slight display non-uniformity in our test sample—it appeared as brighter cloudy areas which were most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie)—the severity can vary from model to model. For "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images, its reproduction of smooth edges on image content was Very Good with minimal "jaggies" (jagged edges). Deinterlacing of 1080i video, and film mode detection from 1080i content, were both Excellent.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY Overall 4K UHD picture quality was Very Good, overall. In our UHD testing, we played native-4K movies and test videos (non HDR) thru the TV's HDMI input, and found their image detail was all there. For color, contrast and black level, the TV performed similarly to its HD picture quality.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE HDR performance had very limited effectiveness. In our tests, the display's lack of high peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) limited its ability to show the benefits of our HDR 4K content. It could not reveal much contrast between the moderately bright and very bright highlights, though the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, were preserved. It did a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail, from black to white, with no obvious banding within the gradually shaded areas. There was no visible loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brightly colored objects remained nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE This Insignia model has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. We examined the image quality at various viewing angles—its image quality notably decreased as we moved away from the center position. In our tests, the picture did show moderate dimming from the sides. 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, and reduced the contrast especially on dark scenes. We viewed the image from above and below center screen, and noticed Good vertical viewing angle performance, with only slight changes in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR In our motion tests, this Insignia TV had Good motion performance, with some blurring. Though this model includes Insignia's "Motion Processing", a feature designed to reduce motion blur, we found it also activated the so-called "soap opera" effect that removes film judder (the slightly jerky motion visible during camera pans on film-based content). Since this "soap-opera" mode removes the authentic look of filmed movies, we turned the "Motion Processing" feature off.
SOUND QUALITY We got Good sound quality, about average among the models we've tested. When watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it can deliver decent performance but just not like the better performers. In our listening evaluations, we found the bass (low frequencies) was moderately deep and provided some sense of fullness, but lacked some definition, and had a noticeable amount of rattle or buzzing during our bass-heavy sound clip. Treble (high frequencies) was satisfactory. The overall sound was on the bright side and closed in. This TV should be OK if the room isn't too noisy—we found the speakers could produce a Good volume level and without obvious distortion. Overall, though imperfect, most people would find this sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE Consider the TV's stand is 43 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on. On first power up, an on-screen guide appeared—which you could choose to follow when setting up the TV. The remote controls the TV via an RF signal and doesn't need to be pointed at the TV. It has a simplified design with a reduced set of buttons. It includes many of the typical buttons: power, channel up/down, volume control, mute, menu and exit buttons. But annoyingly it lacks a source-input button. The remote has a microphone for accessing a built-in voice assistant feature. It also has dedicated buttons for streaming Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.
INTERNET FEATURES This TV provides internet functionality via its "Fire OS" portal, with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney, Apple TV and HBO Max—and these can be streamed in either HD or 4K UHD. It includes a built-in Amazon Alexa virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming by talking to the remote. Claimed support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri HomeKit.
CONNECTIONS This model has four HDMI inputs (one supports eARC, enhanced audio return channel). It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking, and AirPlay—for sharing videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to the TV.
WHAT'S INCLUDED You get with this TV: a quick start guide, an electronic user guide via the TV's menu, a remote control with batteries, and a detachable power cord. No printed manual is included.
ABOUT UHD TESTING Ultra-high definition "UHD" can refer to both the TV and program content. While the UHD industry standard includes 4K and 8K, most UHD TVs and UHD content at this time are 4K. A 4K UHD image is presented as 3840 x 2160 pixels—four times the pixel-count of HD. We test UHD TV picture quality using 4K UHD movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We examine the TV's ability to reproduce 4K UHD image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR)—for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a UHD movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, and from files stored on USB flash drive. 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.
