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  • Introduction

  • Design

  • Smart TV Features

  • Picture Quality

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Contrast

  • Color

  • Other Tests

  • Introduction
  • Design
  • Smart TV Features
  • Picture Quality
  • Conclusion
  • Science Introduction
  • Contrast
  • Color
  • Other Tests

Introduction

Design

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Basic looks and basic connections are the name of the game.

Haier is employing some LED lights to make the LE46B1381 super slim. Less than two inches in depth, this TV looks good from the side, but the bezel running around the screen is pretty bold. This black frame bezel takes up a good amount of visual space and detracts from the purpose of LED slimness. All together, it’s a rather average looking television with a tight little profile.

This black frame bezel takes up a good amount of visual space and detracts from the purpose of LED slimness.

For connections, there is an L-shaped cutout with a standard set of port connections on the back-left side of this Haier. The ports are broken into two sections, with the newer digital ports along the bottom of the L, and the analog connections on the side. On the bottom, there are three HDMI ports and a USB connection, which should allow for hookups to many newer devices.

{{photo_gallery "Design Landing Page Photo", "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo"}}

Smart TV Features

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A simple menu without many options

The menus are crazy simple. They appear as a large gray box in the center of the screen. There are a few tab headers with options within each. With no advanced features of any kind—no internet, no 3D, not much in the way of video processing—the settings are very basic. In fact, after you calibrate once, you may never need to go back in to the menu.

The menus are crazy simple.

Since the menu interface is in the center of the screen, it is hard to see how much individual adjustments affect the picture. However, there are not that many adjustments to make so this should not be a huge problem.

There is one curious aspect to the menu: a tab called Lock, which was mysteriously locked. The menu tells us you need a password to enter this menu. The default password is 0000, but we were never asked to input a password, rather the Lock menu was grayed out and we couldn’t even select it. If you can access this menu, you can lock shows with a given MPAA rating.

{{photo_gallery "Software and Internet Landing Page Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Browser 1 Photo", "Browser 2 Photo", "Browser 3 Photo", "Apps 1 Photo", "Apps 2 Photo", "Apps 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo"}}

Picture Quality

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Plasma-rivaling black levels

We recorded a very deep black level on the Haier LE46B1381, which rivals some plasma screen models which are known for getting deeper black levels than LCDs. This comes with a caveat, because we noticed some auto-dimming. When the screen showed mostly black, we saw the LED backlights turning down. So, if the screen is mostly black, the LE46B1381 will show a very low luminance because the backlights are dimming.

Awful color temperature, which makes certain grey values have a red tint.

While the colors were surprisingly accurate on the LE46B1381, this TV had trouble displaying them smoothly. The transition from black to the primary colors was rough on the LE46B1381 and it ended up missing some transitional colors. The worst part about the Haier LE46B1381 is the awful color temperature, which makes certain grey values have a red tint.

When it comes to motion, there were some artifacts to mention. When a display adds elements to a picture that should not be there, like jagged edges, they are called artifacts. We saw jagged lines form on straight edges of objects. Jagged lines will show when an object does not move in unison. Instead, parts of it move while others catch up. These jaggies result when a processor cannot refresh the screen fast enough, from top to bottom, to move an object all at once. The jagged edges increased as the difficulty of our tests increased, degrading image quality. Overall the result is just average motion performance.

Conclusion

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This Haier cannot do anything consistently well.

The Haier LE46B1381 is a very basic 1080p LED television. You cannot access the internet, nor can you watch 3D images with this TV. Lacking advanced features can often be a boon to a television, making it easy to use and cost much less, as you're not paying for features you may rarely use. Unfortunately, that is not the case here.

Aside from the dark black level, there isn't much to like about this TV. Every supposed benefit comes with severe drawbacks. The LED lights make for a thin profile, but this TV is far from fashionable, what with its unsightly wide bezel. The contrast ratio is strong, but only because of an auto-dimming feature that cannot be turned off. The LE46B1381 produces a set of colors that are fairly accurate, but the color temperature is inconsistent. There is a great USB media port with an easy-to-use interface, but the physical location of this port makes it almost inaccessible.

The worst aspect of this television is that certain grey values reproduced with a reddish hue instead of pure grey. This became so obvious to us after we saw it the first time that it was really distracting. There is much to be said for a bargain TV, but it’s not a true bargain if you come to regret the purchase because of poor quality. Sadly, we cannot recommend this television to anyone.

Science Introduction

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Deep blacks and bright whites

The LE46B1381 has a strong contrast ratio, keeping up with the competition in the chart. Over 5000:1 is great on any scale. You can see that this Haier model has achieved a contrast ratio much the same as other models while not shining nearly as brightly. This is because a difference in black level of just 0.01 cd/m 2 can have a huge impact on the range of values used to create a picture. The result is a very high contrast ratio, even without the best brightness levels.

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While the Haier LE46B1381 has a great black level and color accuracy, there are significant performance flaws elsewhere. Yes, the colors are technically accurate, except for the fact that this TV has terrible color temperature errors, giving these "accurate" colors a warmer, reddish tint.

Contrast

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Deep blacks and bright whites

2 can have a huge impact on the range of values used to create a picture. The result is a very high contrast ratio, even without the best brightness levels.

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Color

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The color temperature on the LE46B1381 is off, to say the least.

The LE46B1381 shows color temperature errors throughout the spectrum from light to dark. From the brightest values through the middle grays, there are warming errors where all pictures will be tinted slightly orange. The darkest values have the opposite error, and will show a blue tint due to an irregularly cool color temperature.

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Other Tests

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Meet the tester

Christian Sherden

Christian Sherden

Staff Writer

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Christian Sherden is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.

See all of Christian Sherden's reviews

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