HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was only decent. It did a very good job displaying the fine detail of HD content. However, image detail was a bit over-sharpened and we could not minimize this in the picture settings. There was some loss of fine texture likely due to noise reduction processing which we could not turn off. Color accuracy was acceptable, but below that of most models. 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 (quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). Image brightness was very good (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture is well suited for a brighter room. A lower backlight setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. There was visible banding (unnatural contours) on scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, rather than smooth transitions. There was slight display non-uniformity that created brighter cloudy areas most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie). We routinely see this issue with LCDs and severity can vary from model to model. 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 JVC 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.
MOTION BLUR. This JVC TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. This is better than average for LCD displays with the basic 60Hz frame rate. 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 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 as was treble detail, and the overall sound was notably 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 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 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. JVC includes a traditional button keypad remote for control of basic functions. The high contrast labels on the buttons make them easier to read in a dimmer viewing environment. It lacks the ability to add custom labels to different input sources. Consider the TV's stand is 29 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
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) one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, a VGA video input.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. A detachable power cord. No printed manual is included.
