Sylvania LC321SSX

Black Level (7.12)

The black level on the Sylvania LC321SSX is fairly good. As you can see from the chart below, the Samsung LN32B460 can get darker, but the Sylvania performed better than the LG 32LG70 and and much better than the Vizio VW32L. In real life, this means deeper blacks in shadowy areas. However, it does not mean more detail in shadows. In fact, the Sylvania LC321SSX is pretty terrible in this regard. More on how we test black level.

Read Reviews of Comparison Products
VIZIO VW32L	Samsung LN32B460	LG 32LG70

Peak Brightness (8.14)

The Sylvania LC321SSX produced the dimmest white levels of any TV in our little comparison pool, measuring 285.39 cd/m2. Practically speaking, bright whites are probably not as crucial as a nice, deep black. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast (7.12)

The overall contrast ratio from the Sylvania LC321SSX is decent, measuring 1903:1. Of course, it’s far smaller a number that what you’re used to seeing in Sunday circulars, but we measure the actual contrast ratio that a calibrated TV can display at the same time. Those inflated numbers you see are often the result of tallying the darkest and brightest possible values the TV can display when you fiddle with the menu settings. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast (9.18)

The Sylvania LC321SSX has little problem producing an even black level, even when all the screen space around it bright white. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff (9.31)

The Sylvania LC321SSX has a little harder time keeping its white levels consistent. From the chart below, you can see that as the white space gets smaller, surrounded by black screen, the white level gets dimmer and dimmer. This is not a fabulous performance. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity (6.13)

The screen on the Sylvania LC321SSX did not have perfect uniformity. When we looked at an all-white screen, it was clear that the illumination was not completely even. The corners dimmed and the center was brighter. When we looked at an all-black screen, the corners brightened and we saw some blotchiness scattered around the center. More on how we test white falloff.

Greyscale Gamma (6.40)

The greyscale gamma chart tells a story, if you know how to read it. The lower left portion of the curve is the shadow detail. Ideally, that’s moving in a straight diagonal line, in which case the TV is able to produce a lot of good shadow detail. Instead, the Sylvania LC321SSX produced what we see below. Notice how the line is more or less horizontal before it begins to slope upward? That means that for that entire portion of the dark-to-light scale, the TV can’t seem to find any detail. Our eyes confirmed this. Watching a movie with a lot of shadowy areas, like a horror movie, is terrible: you can’t make out anything.

After the darkest parts, the curve smooths out, and it appears the Sylvania LC321SSX is rather good at finding detail in highlights. But that’s typically not as noticeable as bad shadow detailing. Sorry, Sylvania. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Other Models in the LC32xSSX Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.
Sylvania LC320SSX 32 in.