HD PICTURE QUALITY HD picture quality is very good. Reproduction of fine HD image detail is very good, just shy of excellent. We did note some added edge enhancement processing but it isn't distracting. There is some slight loss of fine texture due to noise reduction processing. Color accuracy is very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Color temperature is slightly on the cool side, with the image tending toward a bluish tone. Contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—is good, so images have some depth. Depth of black level is below average, with darker scenes in particular looking hazy, with little contrast. Image brightness is good (with the backlight control turned up), making it a suitable choice for all but the sunniest rooms. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model does a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. There is slight display non-uniformity that creates brighter cloudy areas most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie). Severity can vary from model to model. The deinterlacing and film mode operations are excellent on HD content there is 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 wide viewing angle overall, better than that of most TVs. It will provide fairly consistent 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 does show some slight dimming from the sides but not to any point we find distracting. With dark scenes this model doesn't fare quite as well. When viewed from the sides, the depth of black levels vary 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 brighten significantly.
