Up until recently, budget HDTVs haven't been all that exciting. Thanks to Roku TV, however, you can now get a big HDTV loaded with online features for a very reasonable price, which is a pretty exciting prospect. The Insignia DR420NA16 series from Best Buy isn't the most eye-catching HDTV line, but relatively solid performance and a very budget-friendly price make it quite appealing; the 55-inch NS-55DR420NA16 we tested retails for $549.99, $50 less than the same-size TCL 55FS3700 ( at Amazon) . It offers better contrast and color accuracy as well, so it's our latest Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs.
Editors' Note: This review is based on tests performed on the Insignia NS-55DR420NA16, the 55-inch version of the series. Besides the screen-size difference, the 32-inch $229.99 NS-32DR420NA16 is identical in features, and while we didn't perform lab tests on this specific model, we expect similar performance.
Design
Like most low-cost HDTVs, the 55DR420NA16 has a very plain look. The LED display is surrounded by a simple half-inch glossy black plastic bezel, with a curved protrusion on the bottom edge holding the remote sensor, a power indicator, and the Insignia logo. The screen stands on two V-shaped feet that face outward, holding it up very securely.
An HDMI port, a USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an optical audio output face left on the back of the HDTV, alongside a small Reset button. Two more HDMI ports, a composite video input, and an antenna/cable connector face down from the back of the set. A bank of plastic buttons sit on the left edge of the screen to offer basic controls, though the included remote is vital to get any real use out of it.
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The remote uses a standard Roku TV design that differs very little from the remotes that come with other Roku TVs we've tested. Besides a prominent, purple direction pad, the remote has Home, Back, Option, Sleep Time, and Game Mode buttons, along with playback controls (Play/Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward). It also features four dedicated service buttons for Netflix, Sling TV, Rdio, and M-GO.
Roku TV
As a Roku TV, the 55DR420NA16 offers nearly all of the online services and apps offered through Roku's Channel Store, with the exception of motion controller-specific games exclusive to the Roku 3 ($113.95 at Amazon) . All of the major services are present, including the aforementioned Netflix and Sling TV, along with Hulu Plus, YouTube, Twitch, and Amazon Instant Video.
The interface is identical to other Roku TVs from other manufacturers, with the exception of the Insignia label on the upper-left corner of the menus. If you've used a Roku device before, you already know how to use the 55DR420NA16, although it's simple and accessible enough to learn quickly if you haven't.
The free Roku app for iOS and Android lets you stream media from your smartphone or tablet to the 55DR410NA16. It also turns your mobile device into a remote, if you don't want to use the one included.
Performance
We test HDTVs with a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a DVDO AVLab 4K test pattern generator, and SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software. After a basic dark room calibration, the LED screen showed a peak brightness of 267.16 cd/m2 and a black level of 0.06 cd/m2 for a respectable 4,453:1 contrast ratio. This is about as good as you can expect in this price range; you need to break the $1,000 mark for an HDTV with a very low black level, like the Sony KDL-60W850B ($1,398.00 at Amazon) (0.005 cd/m2 black level and 21,156:1 contrast ratio). The TV's contrast is actually a bit stronger than another pick in this price range, the TCL 55FS3700 (0.08 cd/m2 black level and 3,417:1 contrast ratio).
The chart above shows ideal color levels as boxes and measured color levels as dots. White leaned a bit cold and all colors veered slightly off, but nothing was wildly inaccurate. Unfortunately, there are no options for extensive color calibration through the Roku TV menu system. Standard settings like brightness and contrast are hidden in the Advanced Picture Settings sub-menu, and there are no granular options for calibrating color beyond tint and color temperature presets.
Thankfully, the 55DR420NA16 delivers a solid picture for the price. In the dark alley fights of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the screen's mediocre black levels showed a respectable amount of shadow detail without looking washed-out, though it doesn't come close to the inky blacks offered by much more expensive HDTVs.
While its colors aren't perfect, the 55DR420NA16 produces relatively natural flesh tones, and can generally produce an image that's vivid enough to satisfy. The reds and blues in Spider-Man's costume looked balanced and even, though the greens of the jungle in Platoon leaned just barely on the pale and underwhelming side.
For a 55-inch HDTV, the 55D420NA16 showed a very solid 31.6-millisecond input lag, which could be shaved down to 27.9 milliseconds by enabling the screen's Game mode.
Under normal viewing conditions, the HDTV consumes 84 watts. The Eco Save picture mode reduces that to 62 watts, and dims the picture noticeably. That's significantly better than the TCL 55FS3700, which uses 99 watts of power normally and 82 watts in Eco Save mode.
Insignia's DR420NA16 series might not offer the best picture you can buy, but at $550 for a 55-inch HDTV loaded with streaming media features thanks to Roku TV, it's a very good deal. If you're looking for a big screen for a low price, it should be at the top of your list. Of course, at this price point and in this category, that list should already consist of mostly Roku TV models, like the excellent TCL 55FS3700. The DR420NA16 has the slight edge in picture, so it edges out the TCL for our top pick. But no matter which Roku TV you pick, you can be certain you'll have lots of connectivity and services.
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