Skip to main content
DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

BUY NOW
  • Introduction

  • Overall Design

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Stand/Mount

  • Controls

  • Remote Control

  • In the Box

  • Black Level

  • Peak Brightness

  • Contrast

  • Tunnel Contrast

  • White Falloff

  • Uniformity

  • Greyscale Gamma

  • Color Temperature

  • RGB Curves

  • Motion Performance

  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

  • Resolution Scaling

  • Formats

  • Viewing Angle

  • Reflectance

  • Video Processing

  • Calibration

  • Video Modes

  • Connectivity

  • Placement

  • Audio Quality

  • Menu Interface

  • Instruction Manual

  • Local Media Playback

  • Power Consumption

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Conclusion

  • Model Series Comparison

  • Photo Gallery

  • Ratings & Specs

  • Introduction
  • Overall Design
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Stand/Mount
  • Controls
  • Remote Control
  • In the Box
  • Black Level
  • Peak Brightness
  • Contrast
  • Tunnel Contrast
  • White Falloff
  • Uniformity
  • Greyscale Gamma
  • Color Temperature
  • RGB Curves
  • Motion Performance
  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps
  • Resolution Scaling
  • Formats
  • Viewing Angle
  • Reflectance
  • Video Processing
  • Calibration
  • Video Modes
  • Connectivity
  • Placement
  • Audio Quality
  • Menu Interface
  • Instruction Manual
  • Local Media Playback
  • Power Consumption
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Conclusion
  • Model Series Comparison
  • Photo Gallery
  • Ratings & Specs

Introduction

Overall Design

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} mostly resembles a "standard" television with a black glossy bezel and an emphasis on thin profile, though there are a few attributes that lend it some character. Instead of a complete rectangle, this Haier has a bit of a curve to the bottom side of the display and all corners are rounded to smooth out edges. The stand is made of thick clear plastic encasing a base of the same black plastic that makes up the bezel. Though the profile is very thin with LCD backlighting, the bezel is a little to thick to call this TV stylish.

Front

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Back

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Sides

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Stand/Mount

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Made of thick clear and black plastic, this stand pivots about 20º in each direction to make it easier to access the input/output ports in the back and side of the television. We noticed that the swivel action of the stand was not as smooth as most swivel mounts and disliked it at first. After further consideration, we decided that most people do not want their televisions straying from the position they put them in, and this stiffness can keep small disturbances from changing the angle of the display while still allowing passage to the back.

Controls

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The controls are located on the right side of the display and are touch sensitive. We do not like touch sensitive controls, generally, because they are hard to see in the dark, they provide no haptic feedback to let you know if you are changing the volume or by how much, and before you know it, your television is covered in grimy fingerprints.

Remote Control

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} comes with a remote that, on its surface, appears to be programmable for a number of devices. It's full of buttons! Buttons that don't have any use on a TV, like "record" and "fast forward"! However, there's no documentation in the manual or online as to how you might program the remote. Perhaps it's only an option for other Haier-brand AV devices. We'll never know.

The remote is light and well balanced in the hand, but about as ergonomic as block of wood. The buttons are a little mushy and the response time is slow when making your way through the menus. This could be the remote's fault, or it could be slow processing on the TV. The remote is made of the same shiny black plastic as the bezel, which means that the remote will also be covered in smudged fingerprints before long.

In the Box

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} ships with the TV panel, stand, remote control, batteries, and assorted documentation. There's also a little converter plug to connect stereo RCA cables to the 1/8th-inch stereo output port.

Black Level

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced a great, deep black level of 0.07 cd/m2. As you can see in the chart below, that compares quite well to the TV's we pulled in for comparison. The Sony and Samsung were only a little deeper. Of course, this test doesn't talk about how much detail you see in the shadows. The answer, sadly, is that the shadow details are thoroughly crushed. Jump down to the Greyscale Gamma section at the bottom of this page for details. More on how we test black level.

Peak Brightness

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} just barely passed the 345.61 cd/m2 mark, which indicates that the TV should be more than bright enough to compete with the ambient light of a sunny room. This is a distinct advantage that LCDs hold over many plasma TVs that may, perhaps, be more suited to dark home theater rooms. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced a healthy contrast ratio of 4937:1. In the chart below, you'll see that the Sony BX420 beat that handily, but the Samsung D550 was only a bit stronger. The LG D4500 was marred by a weak black level that killed its contrast ratio. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} showed only minor problems with maintaining a consistent black level as the amount of black area on the screen varied. Typically, LCDs have no problems here, but plasmas will brighten the black level of a dark area as it decreases in screen size. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} had no trouble maintaining a consistent peak brightness, no matter how much or how little white area was on the screen. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity

Greyscale Gamma

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The greyscale gamma test evaluates how well a TV transitions from dark to light within the greyscale. Unfortunately, the {{product.name}} didn't score too well. Let's examine the chart below.

The first thing we're looking at is the smoothness of the line. We can see a few little dips and breaks in the line. Each of those indicates an area where we might see banding, or an interruption in what should appear as a smooth gradient. Secondly, we're looking at the direction of the line. Ideally, we want a smooth transition from lower left to upper right. Instead, the {{product.name}}'s performance shows a long stretch of horizontal line in the lower left. This indicates that the TV has a lot of trouble showing detail it the shadows.

Finally, we're looking at the slope of the curve. An ideal slope should fall between 2.1 and 2.2. The {{product.name}} produced a slope of 2.89, which is far too steep. The TV is missing out on some of the finer gradations in the greyscale. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Color Temperature

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

A note on the color performance, before we begin. In order to get an even passable performance in our color tests, we had to calibrate and re-test several times over. It was only through an arcane process, mixed with a lot of luck, that it managed the performances you see here. The problem, it seemed, is that the {{product.name}} is so riddled with problems that simply opening and closing the menu can wildly shift the color temperature and other performance aspects. That's not an exaggeration, but a sad fact. In order to fairly asses the overall performance of the TV, we've manually deducted points from color temperature score.

The {{product.name}} eventually passed the color temperature test with a decent showing. Once the signal intensity got dark, the colors warmed noticeably. Overall, it's not terrible. However, we've docked points due to the inexplicably unstable color temperature of the TV. More on how we test color temperature.

RGB Curves

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}}'s RGB curve performance took a lot of work to look this good. Normally, you can take a TV out of the box, put it in "Movie" mode or "Cinema" mode and you're close to a perfect picture. The {{product.name}} required a careful balance between settings in order to bring about the best performance. And even that wasn't guaranteed because the TV seemed unusually fickle.

Anyway, here's the end result. As you can see, the color curves are quite smooth and move in a unison. More on how we test RGB curves.

The strips below are digital recreations of the RGB color curve data, compared alongside three similar TVs as well as an ideal response curve.

Motion Performance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} proved to have the motion performance we've come to expect from mid-priced LCD televisions. It's not perfect, but it certainly doesn't ruin the viewing experience. For the most part, the problems were limited to a loss of fine detail, some minor flickering, and minor color trailing. We've noted this in nearly all the LCD displays we've reviewed, but many of the more expensive models offer some type of processing feature to minimize these issues. No such luck with the {{product.name}}.

The other issue we noticed was that straight vertical lines can become horizontal when in motion. Rectangles become parallelograms. We suspect this is due to laggy processing. Hopefully, there won't be too many situations where you'd even notice it. (You might, though. Sorry to kill the party.) More on how we test motion performance.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} showed some minor problems with 3:2 pulldown, though it's possible that the issues actually stemmed from the TV's inability to cleanly display 1080p content (see the Resolution Scaling section below for details). For instance, we noticed some judder in high contrast, high frequency patterns, but this may have been caused by complications that have nothing to do with the fact that it was in a native 24fps format. More on how we test 3:2 pulldown and 24fps.

Resolution Scaling

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution, at least that's what the specs state. We have some doubts, though. The problem is that when we sent a 1080p signal to the TV, it looked terrible, like the product of bad upscaling. There are problems with high frequency patterns, loads of Moire patterns, and reading small text was impossible. However, if we fed it a 720p signal, the picture looked perfect.

Then we noticed that of the three models in the Haier HLxxxLE2 series, the 32-inch version is 720p, while the 37 and 42-inch are 1080p. All our equipment confirms that the {{product.name}} is indeed 1080p, but it sure sucks at displaying 1080p. And it's great at 720p. Something went wrong here. More on how we test resolution scaling.

480p

The {{product.name}} has absolutely no problem displaying 480p content.

720p

The 720p content we sent the {{product.name}} looked perfect, and much, much better than the native 1080p content.

Formats

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} handles all standard NTSC content.

Viewing Angle

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced a very narrow viewing angle, as we've seen with many LCD screens. The contrast ratio falls off significantly after just 10 degrees from center in either direction (or 20 degrees in total). As you can see in the chart, the Sony BX420 was close behind, and even the best performer, the LG D4500, was only a little better. None of these LCD TVs can compare to the viewing angle of a plasma TV.

Reflectance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has no special glass or overlays on the screen that attempts to deflect or refract ambient light, at least as far as we could tell. If hit with a strong light, you see a wide, diffuse glow that can wash out contrast ratio across a wide swath of the screen.

Video Processing

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has precious few video processing features compared to a lot of the TVs we've tested.

Calibration

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} was a remarkably frustrating TV to calibrate and the results – the best possible results – still weren't all that great. The problems were two-fold. First, nearly every video mode created very obviously poor color rendering. It almost hurt our tired, jaded reviewer eyes to look at the screen knowing what kind of results it might get against the rec. 709 color standards.

Initial test results showed abysmally bad color performance in every test. We decided to recalibrate and try again. And again. Finally we found some settings that allowed the TV to regain some decent results in the RGB curves and color temperature consistency. There didn't seem to be much hope for color accuracy (by rec. 709 standards).

Somewhere in that process we ran into our second problem. While reviewing a batch of test results, we found the color temperature scores to be off-the-charts bad. So we took a quick peak at the TV and discovered the color temperature clocking in at about 1100 K (ideally we're looking for 6500 K). That certainly wasn't where we had left it at the beginning of the test, so we opened the menu and located the "color temperature" setting. It was set to "warm," just where we had left it. Then we closed the menu and suddenly the numbers dropped to 7100 K. Not values were changed. There mere fact that we opened and closed the menu was enough the radically shift the color temperature.

Overall, this is a temperamental TV that requires a lot of work to get a reasonably decent picture. It's not worth the effort.

[

All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

There are a handful of video modes. If you make a change in the settings of any of them, you are automatically pushed in the Custom setting, where your changes will be stored.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} is equipped with the basics, plus just a little bit more to justify its price point statues above entry-level models. You'll find just one composite AV and one component AV input, along with four HDMI inputs. The TV also has a VGA input with matched audio input for computers.

As output ports, the {{product.name}} has an unusually generous collection: an analog audio out, a digital audio output, and a headphone out, as well. Typically there's just one analog output.

While the {{product.name}} lacks an internet or DLNA connectivity, there is a USB port that connect to USB mass storage devices for music and photo playback.

{{product.manufacturer_specs['Connectivity Tour Image 3']}}

Placement

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The ports are arranged in an L-shape on the back of the TV. Those ports that face the side are certainly easier to access, as you can simply rotate the panel on its base. Any port facing the bottom is a little trickier, even if everything is labeled well. We think it might have been nice if the composite AV input faced the side, as plenty of people have older camcorders and cameras that they'll want to quickly swap in and out.

Audio Quality

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The audio performance from the {{product.name}}'s built-in speakers could not have been much worse. They're about as tinny as the cheapest TVs we've reviewed. There is no bass response at all. The audio modes in the menu only seem to exaggerate different aspects of bad as you shuffle through them. There's five-channel equalizer, but we don't see the point.

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}}'s menu system is rudimentary and sluggish, but at least it's simple. On the other end of the spectrum we might place Sony, with impenetrable and labyrinthine menus in its more expensive models. There are no pretty graphics here. This is the store-brand cereal-in-a-bag-not-a-box menu.

There are just four subcategories in the menu, and you can always see them listed at the top of the menu box. You'll be hard-pressed to get lost. Of course, it took us a couple minutes to adjust to the remote control, as there's no Back or Return button (pro tip: use the Menu button go back a step in the menu). As we said above, the response time is a bit sluggish. Sometimes we hit the a button several times trying to get a response. Slow and steady wins the race if you're using this TV.

Instruction Manual

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} comes with a paper instruction manual and the downloadable PDF version is "here:"http://www.amazon.com/Haier-HL37XLE2-37-Inch-HDTV-Black/dp/B003QFQPRS. It's a stripped down guide that just covers the basics. Granted, it's a fairly basic TV so there's not that much to cover. We certainly could have done with some more detailed specs, though.

A manual for so many TV models, they have to be further categorized by type.

Local Media Playback

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has one USB port that you can use to connect to USB mass storage devices (i.e., flash drives), allowing you to play photos and music. The interface is stripped down as can be, and we can't imagine anyone choosing to use this over their computer, especially considering the poor quality of the speakers.

Photos can be arranged for a slideshow, if you like. It's all quite basic and has been done more elegantly any most of the TVs we've reviewed.

Power Consumption

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} requires just 96 watts, on average, in order to keep it running. That's quite the little efficiency monster. Also note that that's with the backlight up to its maximum setting. Normally, we decrease the backlight so a "minimum recommended" level for this test. No need here. The energy savings happens by default.

As you can see below, the {{product.name}} costs less to operate than any of the three LCD TVs we pulled in for comparison.

Value Comparison

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Sony KDL-46BX420 ($899 MSRP) is a better TV in most regards. With deeper blacks, whiter whites, better color and motion performance, and a far superior interface. Granted, it omits Sony's great collection of streaming content, but we still recommend it hands-down over the {{product.name}}.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Sony BX420 offers a wider contrast ratio with both blacker black levels and brighter whites. It's quite a bit better than the {{product.name}}.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} certainly required more work to get a decent color performance, while the Sony is nearly ready the moment you take it out of the box. Even after calibration, though, the Sony performed better, as the color gamut is far closer to accepted standards.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Sony BX420 series does not include any motion smoothing features like you'll find on more expensive Sonys, so it's subject to the same artifacts as the {{product.name}} and so many other LCD TVs. There's a little judder, a little color trailing, and a little loss of fine detail.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Neither the {{product.name}} nor the Sony BX420 offer exemplary viewing angles. It's one of the weaker aspects of LCD screens.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Sony BX420 comes up shy on HDMI ports, indicating that it's designed for the bedroom or kitchen or guestroom rather than an entertainment hub. The {{product.name}} beats it with two more HDMI ports, but is otherwise similar.

Value Comparison

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LN46D550 is one of Samsung's less expensive LCD models, using CCFL rather than LED backlighting. As a result, the TV panel is a little thicker, but screen performance is just as good, if not better in most regards. There's few additional features, but the total experience is far better than the {{product.name}}, as the Samsung is not littered with calibration problems.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Samsung D550's black levels were not quite as deep as the {{product.name}}, but the whites were so much brighter that the Samsung's contrast ratio ended up being wider.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

As we've mentioned throughout this review, the {{product.name}} required a careful calibration to get a passable color performance. The Samsung D550 requires virtually no effort and still comes out stronger in the end.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The motion performance of the {{product.name}} and the Samsung LN46D550 were similarly marred by artifacts, including color trailing, judders, and loss of fine detail. Neither were terrible performers, but they could have scored better had they offered some sort of motion smoothing features.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Both the {{product.name}} and the Samsung LN46D550 produced very narrow viewing angles.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Samsung LN46D550 offers more connectivity options than the {{product.name}}, including DLNA support for local networks, which can be connected over LAN or WiFi (the latter requires an additional purchase).

Value Comparison

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG 46D4500 was typical of all the LCD televisions we've reviewed in the LG family recently. The black levels were terrible, but the color performance was amazing. Overall, it's a far more enjoyable TV to use than the {{product.name}}, as the menus seem crafted with care and it's much easier to get a good picture straight out of the box.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG D4500 simply could not compete in these tests, as the black level was so much brighter than the {{product.name}} and the other TVs pulled in for comparison. It hurt the contrast ration considerably.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG D6500, like most of the LGs we've reviewed, produced excellent color reproduction. It was far and away better than the {{product.name}}.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG D4500 and {{product.name}} showed roughly the same level of motion artifacting. It was nothing too serious: the usual amounts of color trailing, judders, and loss of some fine detail.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG D4500 produced a noticeably wider viewing angle than the {{product.name}}, though it still pales compared to the average plasma TV.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG D4500 is a little shy on HDMI ports, but offers one additional composite AV input for older devices.

Conclusion

The {{product.name}} was one of the more difficult reviews we've written recently, due to the unbelievably poor software/firmware that drives the picture quality. We were forced to run tests multiple times because simply selecting an item in the menu (not even changing the setting, just opening and closing it) would be enough to shift the color temperature as much as 400 degrees K. And had that particular bug not have happened, it still would have been a challenge. Normally we can take a TV out of the box, put it in "Cinema" or "Movie" mode, and the performance is within close range of the ideal calibration. That could not have been farther from the case here. The settings in the menu are grossly mislabeled. "Color" changes color, contrast, and brightness. "Contrast" changes brightness, but not contrast. It's a mess of a menu and required a lot of back-and-forth to wrench a decent performance. In the end, we had to sacrifice color accuracy (as compared to the rec. 709 color standards) in order to get a smoother color performance and salvagable color temperature and contrast results.

The short of it is that the {{product.name}} is clearly not worth the effort. You shouldn't have to be a television professional to get a decent performance out of a TV, and no professional in their right mind would pay for this thing to begin with. Walk away.

Model Series Comparison

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

There are two or three models in the HLxxxLE2 series, depending on how you reckon it. The 32-inch model has a native resolution of 720p. The 37 and 42-inch models have a 1080p resolution. Beyond that, the TVs appear to be identical in their feature sets and connectivity options. We'd expect the same poor performance from all three.

{{photo_gallery "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

{{manufacturer_specs_table}}

Meet the tester

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

Staff Writer, Imaging

@cthomas8888

A seasoned writer and professional photographer, Chris reviews cameras, headphones, smartphones, laptops, and lenses. Educated in Political Science and Linguistics, Chris can often be found building a robot army, snowboarding, or getting ink.

See all of Chris Thomas's reviews

Checking our work.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.

Shoot us an email

Up next