Tour & Design
From the front you'll immediately notice the drop down iPod dock as it glows blue. Press it in to let the dock drop down. The bezel is a glossy black with a gentle curve along the bottom and semi-transparent plastic highlighting the speakers beneath the bezel.
The glossy black bezel has been narrawed slightly compared to last year's model
The back is relatively plain and we were unable to get a good photo of it. The only thing you'll really care about is that the ports are grouped together towards the right side of the back.
The right side of the LT-46P500 doesn't have any major features. On the left side you will find the on-TV controls near the bottom along with the USB port.
Nothing on the right side, but controls ont he left
The JVC LT-46P500's stand is a simple glossy plastic affair that looks similar to those we've seen on JVC televisions before. It does not swivel. The HDTV is wall mountable.
The stand doesn't swivel
The JVC LT-46P500's glossy black finish and details around the speaker lend it a certain charm, but it's not going to wow anyone with its looks, unless you like glowing blue things that is.
Performance Features
Display Size & Technology
The JVC LT-46P500 is a 46-inch LCD television. The P500 line is also available in a 42-inch model.
A 46-inch 1080p LCD is at the heart of the 46P500
Format & Resolution
The JVC LT-46P500 supports full 1080p HD content. Generally that's only available from Blu-Ray discs, but it's nice to know you have it if you want it. It is also capable of upscaling 1080i, 720p and 480i/p content, although we'll have to get it into the labs before we know how well it handles this. The aspect ratio is the standard 16:9.
Brightness, Blacks & Contrast Ratio
JVC has not provided information about the peak brightness, black leve or contrast ratio of the LT-46P500. You can be sure we'll be checking those numbers out right quick once we get the tv into our labs.
Refresh Rate & Motion
One of the signature features of the JVC LT-46P500 is an improved 120Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate tells us how many times per second the picture on the screen is updated each second. 120Hz is double the standard rate and should provide better motion performance over last year's JVC models.
Viewing Angle
On the floor we noticed that blacks washed out slightly at around fifty degrees from the center line, but this is pretty typical performance for an LCD HDTV and better than some we've seen.
Color
We didn't notice any major issues with color on the floor and were pleased to see that colors held up well across viewing angles. The JVC LT-46P500 doesn't support an expanded color gamut as we saw on the higher end LT-42WX70.
Connectivity & Media
Audio & Video Ports
All of the JVC LT-46P500's ports are found on the back of the HDTV toward the right when viewing from the back. Towards the bottom you'll find the HDTV's three HDMI ports as well as the antenna/cable input. Above these you will find a VGA port, three analog audio inputs, two composite video inputs, two component video inputs, an S-Video port, optical audio out and analog audio out.
All the ports are found on the back of the television
Media & Other Connectivity
The JVC LT-46P500 offers two ways to get additional media onto the HDTV. The most prominent is the iPod dock, located just below the display on the front. As with previous iPod dock capable JVC HDTVs we've reviewed there are some pretty blue lights highlighting it. Docking your iPod will allow yout to play back music, video and photo content stored on it and will charge the iPod even when the HDTV is turned off.
*JVC's iPod dock offers some new features like pass-through synchronization
*
In addition JVC says they have made several improvements to the iPod integration. For example during music playback the song title, album and genre will be displayed on the screen. You can also connect your computer directly to the LT-46P500 and synchronize iTunes with the iPod docked on the television. In addition to the iPod dock the JVC LT-46P500 also has a USB port located on the left side. Plugging in a compatible USB device will let you play back music of photos stored on it.
Placement
The ports on the JVC LT-46P500 are located around the left side of the HDTV on the back. Unlike many other HDTVs JVC hasn't placed any of the main audio and video ports on either side. This means that they are all slightly difficult to get to, especially if the TV is pushed up against a wall or mounted. The lack of a swiveling stand doesn't improve matters.
Audio
The JVC LT-46P500 seems to have two speakers located on the front just beneath the main bezel.
Controls, Menu & Remote
Remote
We weren't able to see the JVC LT-46P500's remote.
Controls
The on-TV controls of the JVC LT-46P500 are located on the left side. The buttons are small and plastic. From top to bottom you'll find Input, Menu, Channel +/-, Volume +/- and Power.
The controls are found on the left side
Menu
We weren't able to access the JVC LT-46P500's menu.
Conclusion
JVC must have seen some success with their iPod dock compatible HDTVs as they've expanded the line this year. The JVC LT-46P500 represents the top of that lineup, complementing the iPod dock with a significant improvement to refresh rate. 120Hz has made a significant difference with motion performance on other televisions that we've seen, we look forward to finding out if it does the same on the LT-46P500 when we get it into our labs.
Meet the tester
Alfredo Padilla
Editor
Alfredo Padilla is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.
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