PICTURE QUALITY. It did an excellent job displaying the finest detail. Color accuracy was very good, with image content, and flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Color temperature was slightly on the cool side, lending images a bluish 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. Black levels were generally good, though not as dark as better performers on the darkest scenes. 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. Check your model and see if you find it a problem. The deinterlacing and film mode operations were excellent on HD content; there was little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Insignia has a moderate viewing angle overall, decent, but not quite as good as the better-performing TVs we've tested. The optimal seating position for best picture quality is directly in front of this model. When we viewed the TV from the sides the image quality showed some loss. The picture showed a slight loss of color, along with a slight color shift. 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 very good. The picture showed minimal change in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. This Insignia 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. The screen is dark so it does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast even in a bright room.
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. With movies, dialog was generally clear and remained well balanced with respect to background music and other sounds. Bass was lacking, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was and closed in. The speakers produced a good volume—so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments 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. Overall, it was fairly easy to setup and fairly easy to do routine things. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. The remote's major function buttons were sufficiently large and have high-contrast labeling, making them easier to see and navigate.
STAND ASSEMBLY. The TV's base does not come pre-attached, so some assembly is required. Mounting the support stand to the TV is straightforward, though the stand requires the assembly of one part before mounting.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not have access to the Internet.
CONNECTIONS. This model has three HDMI inputs—one supports MHL (Mobile High-definition Link), one composite input, and no component input. It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone 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.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.
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.
