HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was only decent. It did an excellent job displaying the fine detail of HD content though added edge enhancement processing was noted, but wasn't distracting. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Color temperature was slightly on the warm side, lending images a reddish 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. Depth of black level was below average, with darker scenes in particular looking hazy, with little contrast. 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. 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.
VIEWING ANGLE. This RCA has a wide viewing angle overall, better than that of most TVs. It will provide the same picture quality, with fewer problems than most TVs, for typical viewing conditions—say, if your family is seated across a long sectional or in chairs off to the sides. With dark scenes this model didn't fare quite as well. When viewed from the sides, the depth of black levels varied depending on the vertical position of the viewer's head. As we moved closer to the screen this limitation became even more apparent, especially if seated on the floor looking upward where black levels brightened significantly.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY. Overall UHD performance was below par. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model via its HDMI input, including movies and test videos, had full 4K detail, but the image was aggressively oversharpened, which marred fidelity. For color, contrast and black level, the TV performs similarly to its HD picture quality.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. This model does not support HDR.
MOTION BLUR. This RCA 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 notably absent, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was 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. RCA includes a traditional IR, button keypad remote for control of basic functions. The black against gray labeling on the buttons make it less easy to read in a dimmer viewing environment.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not have access to the Internet.
CONNECTIONS. This model has four 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), an optical digital audio out. 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.
WHAT'S INCLUDED. A printed user manual. A remote control with batteries.
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 the quality of 4K streaming from Netflix or YouTube (if the service is supported by the TV), and 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.
