HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality fell short, overall. Reproduction of fine HD image detail was Excellent. Color accuracy falls short, not as realistic as on most models. Very Good contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—gave images convincing depth and dimension. Black levels were OK and maintained some contrast in darker scenes, but they 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 Good, making it a suitable choice for all but the sunniest rooms. There was a strong display non-uniformity in our test sample—it appeared as brighter cloudy areas that were very distracting in dark scenes—the severity can vary from model to model. Its reproduction of smooth edges on image content for "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images fell short with some visible "jaggies" (jagged edges); deinterlacing of 1080i video was Excellent; and film mode detection from 1080i content was imperfect.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY. Overall 4K UHD picture quality was decent, 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, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, were slightly low. 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, but we noted some loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brightly colored objects remained nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE. This RCA 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. 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 brightened significantly, and made dark scenes look hazy. 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 RCA TV had Good motion performance, with some blurring. It does not have a special feature to minimize motion blur.
SOUND QUALITY. We got sub-par sound quality, with below average performance. It could be acceptable for typical programming, but its shortcomings would be obvious with movie soundtracks and music. In our listening evaluations, we found the bass (low frequencies) to be lacking. Treble (high frequencies) was satisfactory. The overall sound was on the bright side, thin 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. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system.
EASE OF USE. Consider the TV's stand is 47 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 IR light beam which must 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. But annoyingly it lacks a source input button. It also has dedicated buttons for streaming Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Sling.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV provides internet functionality via its "Roku TV" portal, with access to a library of applications from the Channel Store. 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. More so, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+ can be streamed in 4K UHD. Claimed support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
CONNECTIONS. This model has three HDMI inputs (one supports ARC, Audio Return Channel), one composite input, and no component input. It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; DLNA, to access files within your home network; 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.
WHAT'S INCLUDED. You get with this TV: a quick start guide, an electronic user guide via the TV's menu, and a remote control with batteries. 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.
