HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality fell short, mainly due to visible loss of fine picture detail and texture resulting from noise reduction processing we couldn't turn off in the TV's picture settings. Added edge enhancement processing was also noted. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Lack of contrast gave images a somewhat flatter appearance with little depth. Brightness level was only fair, dimmer than most, not the best choice for a brighter room. 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. 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 Sceptre 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. The picture did show some dimming from the sides but not to any point we found distracting. 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.
MOTION BLUR. This Sceptre 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. Though this model includes Sceptre's "MEMC", a feature designed to reduce motion blur.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. The screen surface on this model has one of the shinier mirror-like surfaces we've seen, which makes it very 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, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit thin and notably closed in. The volume from its speakers was limited -- just adequate for a smaller, quiet listening environment, and quality does degrade at high volume levels. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting, but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting. 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. Sceptre includes a basic remote that has traditional button navigation controls and number keypad. Though the buttons have high contrast labeling, the text is very small, making it less easy to read in a dimmer viewing environment.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
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 quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was only decent. It did a decent job displaying the detail of HD content, but images didn't look as crisp and sharp as on the better TVs. Edges of objects in the image stood out too much because of over-enhancement. There was some slight loss of fine texture likely due to noise reduction processing. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Lack of contrast gave images a somewhat flatter appearance with little depth. Brightness level was only fair, dimmer than most, not the best choice for a brighter room. 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. 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 Sceptre 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. The picture did show some dimming from the sides but not to any point we found distracting. 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.
MOTION BLUR. This Sceptre 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. Though this model includes Sceptre's "MEMC", a feature designed to reduce motion blur.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. The screen surface on this model has one of the shinier mirror-like surfaces we've seen, which makes it very 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, and treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit thin notably closed in. The volume from its speakers was limited -- just adequate for a smaller, quiet listening environment, and quality does degrade at high volume levels. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting, but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting. 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. Sceptre includes a basic remote that has traditional button navigation controls and number keypad. Though the buttons have high contrast labeling, the text is very small, making it less easy to read in a dimmer viewing environment.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
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 quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was only decent. It did a decent job displaying the detail of HD content, but images didn't look as crisp and sharp as on the better TVs. Edges of objects in the image stood out too much because of over-enhancement. There was some slight loss of fine texture likely due to noise reduction processing. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Lack of contrast gave images a somewhat flatter appearance with little depth. Brightness level was only fair, dimmer than most, not the best choice for a brighter room. 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. 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 Sceptre 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. The picture did show some dimming from the sides but not to any point we found distracting. 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.
MOTION BLUR. This Sceptre 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. Though this model includes Sceptre's "MEMC", a feature designed to reduce motion blur.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. The screen surface on this model has one of the shinier mirror-like surfaces we've seen, which makes it very 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, and treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit thin notably closed in. The volume from its speakers was limited -- just adequate for a smaller, quiet listening environment, and quality does degrade at high volume levels. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting, but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting. 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. Sceptre includes a basic remote that has traditional button navigation controls and number keypad. Though the buttons have high contrast labeling, the text is very small, making it less easy to read in a dimmer viewing environment.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
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 quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.
