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  • Introduction

  • Design

  • Smart TV Features

  • Picture Quality

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Color

  • Contrast

  • Uniformity

  • Other Tests

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

Introduction

Design

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The bezel is unsightly, but the port placement is well done.

One of the main features of the new BlackCrystal line from JVC is supposed to be the sleek design. We agree that they have made the width of the panel quite thin, like all other edgelit LED models on the market. But when you look at it from the front, as you will most times, sleek is not the word that comes to mind. The bezel is too thick to be dapper and the speaker bar at the bottom reminds us of HDTVs from the turn of the century.

Sleek is not the word that comes to mind.

On the BlackCrystal JLE47BC3001, the digital ports are kept separate from the analog ones. There are four HDMI ports and two USB ports arranged vertically, plus an analog audio input, a component video input, and a VGA connection on the horizontal part of the L-shaped cutout on the back. This organization makes sense to us. With analog fading into the days of human past, you will want easier access to the HDMI and USB ports, which is accommodated by the design here.

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Smart TV Features

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A simple menu interface works since there isn't a wealth of options.

The menus are handsome and easy (there’s a joke to be made here but it’s probably inappropriate). There are no advanced features to control, so the organization of setting options is intuitive. They appear on the left side as a column when you press the Menu button on the remote. Each one of the selections has a menu that tabs out to the right, with subsequent menus tabbing out again, creating clear stages of organization.]

The menus are handsome and easy.

The lack of features here is a bit dismaying for a television with an MSRP of around $1000. There are plenty of smart televisions in this range, so if you want to access internet content in your home theater you'll need to rely on peripherals like video game consoles or internet-connected DVD and Blu-ray players.

{{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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Great color accuracy, although the motion is spotty.

The first thing we noticed about the JVC JLE47BC3001's screen was how bright it was. This can be a good thing, since bright white levels are a plus, but as a general rule the black levels suffer from this. Without deep blacks complementing those bright areas, contrast suffers and picture quality is generally poor.

Colors were very accurate and stayed consistent.

Color quality and consistency was easily the highlight of this JVC's performance. Colors were very accurate and stayed consistently so, whether showing a darker image or a brighter one. Color inaccuracies can be very distracting, and to JVC's credit they've managed to avoid them here.

The JLE47BC3001 hit a snag when it came to motion performance. Faces in moving photographs blurred a little, though detailed lines remained separate. Colors trailed as they moved across the screen. High frequency patterns picked up significantly more jagged lines throughout the pattern. In all of these tests, the outline of the object skewed in motion, similar to the "Jell-O" effect you get with some digital cameras. This shows that the internal processor cannot render a moving object quickly enough to catch the top part of the object up with the bottom. Though not awful, these issues can be incredibly frustrating over time.

Conclusion

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Not exactly a budget TV, not quite a top performer.

The JVC JLE47BC3001 (MSRP $999) showed some good qualities in our testing labs. The peak brightness of the screen was really strong, the color accuracy was definitely noteworthy in every one of our testing categories, and the viewing angle was better than average for an LCD.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when we tested motion performance. There was noticeable artifacting in all of our tests, which is a shame because the picture suffered a great deal from this. Also, while the bright levels were great, that was coupled with poor black levels. This hinders contrast and results in a flat picture without much detail.

It's not clear who this television will really appeal to. It's too expensive to be considered a budget television, but its performance isn't anywhere near the top-tier brands. From what we've seen so far, the JVC BlackCrystal line falls between two consumer niches, satisfying neither. If you can get this television at a deep discount, we can see overlooking the performance issues. At its full MSRP, though, you're better off either dropping down and saving some money or stepping up to a better television.

Science Introduction

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The color quality was a standout feature on the JVC JLE47BC3001, with accurate and consistent performance. Viewing angle was also respectable, which is rare for an LCD television. Unfortunately, we found these positive qualities were dragged down by sub-par motion performance and an image that lacked proper contrast.

Color

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This JVC displays a highly accurate range of colors.

The international standard color gamut for HDTVs is called Rec. 709. The BlackCrystal JLE47BC3001 matches up to this standard almost perfectly, meaning that most colors should display as the original content creator intended them. The only issue we could consistently find is in the blue values; they're undersaturated, which can make certain scenes look less vibrant than they should be. It's not noticeable in everyday use, though, and it's the kind of thing that you'd really only pick up on when comparing the television side-by-side with a better model.

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Contrast

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A subpar black level ruins this contrast.

Contrast ratio is comprised of two parts: a strong peak brightness, and a very deep black level that still retains detail. When you compare the two numbers together, you get the contrast ratio for a television. The BlackCrystal JLE47BC3001 has a very strong peak brightness value, but it doesn't do nearly as well on the opposite end of the spectrum. With a black level of 0.24 cd/m2, this JVC panel is simply too bright in the shadow areas to hang with the competition. Its 1551:1 contrast ratio isn't terrible on paper, but it's only that high thanks to a very high peak brightness. The result is a flat, muddled mess without the rich blacks and smooth gradation that characterize better televisions.

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A subpar black level ruins this contrast.

 Contrast ratio is comprised of two parts: a strong peak brightness, and a very deep black level that still retains detail. When you compare the two numbers together, you get the contrast ratio for a television. The BlackCrystal JLE47BC3001 has a very strong peak brightness value, but it doesn't do nearly as well on the opposite end of the spectrum.   With a black level of 0.24 cd/m 2 , this JVC panel is simply too bright in the shadow areas to hang with the competition. Its 1551:1 contrast ratio isn't terrible on paper, but it's only that high thanks to a very high peak brightness. The result is a flat, muddled mess without the rich blacks and smooth gradation that characterize better televisions.

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Uniformity

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Edge-lit displays are great for keeping panels thin and slim, but they hinder image uniformity.

The JVC BlackCrystal JLE47BC3001 offers some strong performances in our tunnel contrast and white falloff tests, but it struggles to uniformly illuminate the display. This is due to the edge-lit construction of the panel. There just doesn't seem to be enough light to go around, resulting in a picture that had some evidence of flashlighting. With most types of content this isn't noticeable, but it can be quite distracting when viewing dark scenes or the credits roll at the end of movies, if you're into that sort of thing.

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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.

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