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LG 42LG6000 Review |
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Reviewed: 23 June 2008
Design
Employing a Milan based studio a few years ago to design their LCD TV's, the Korean manufacturer LG set in motion a train of events which transformed the way they, and ultimately their rivals approached the design, manufacture and marketing of flat panel TV's.
These days it is simply not enough to produce a technically brilliant flat panel. Many consumers, seduced by some of LG's early design led creations now see their flat panel TV's as design statements.
With their LG6000 series, LG have recognized a desire from consumers for slimmer screens, for some distinctive design feature, and also for some form of decoration on the back of the screen.
At just over 8cm at its widest point, the 42LG6000 presents a very slim profile and with a perfectly round hole through its bezel, the unique design feature is certainly present. What's more, this circular gap is illuminated 'grey' when the TV is on, reverting to 'scarlet' when the screen is in stand-by mode.
By colouring the back of the panel in a striking scarlet finish LG may have hit upon something not so obvious to most of us, that this part of the TV is quite often visible (at least in part) and therefore deserves some form of embellishment.
Features
Having grabbed our attention with its looks, the 42LG6000 continues to impress with its specification. No less than four HDMI (v1.3) inputs are joined by a USB 2.0 input which allows you to display your still MPEG's or play MP3 files through a slick on-screen menu interface.
Screen: 42in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1 Other Features: XD Engine, Trumotion 100Hz. Sockets: 4 HDMI (v1.3), 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input, USB 2.0.
TruMotion 100Hz increase the number of frames (the still pictures which shown in quick succession form a moving picture) from 50 frames per second to 100. LG's system does not simply display the same frame twice however, but introduces a complicated algorithms to 'build' a unique frame and create a smooth transition between two existing ones.
Picture processing technology on the 42LG6000 comes in the shape of LG's proprietary XD engine. The XD Engine brings together a range of picture processing enhancements under the XD umbrella which focuses on improving the panels operation in two distinct areas. It works with the input signal to improve the quality of incoming feeds and then with the panel itself to improve the presentation of the these feeds.
Now standard on most higher end screens, Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution can potentially give a marked improvement in the display of sources such as Sky TV (1080i) where the 1080 lines of resolution match the resolution of the screen, negating the need for any picture scaling to fit (with LG's 1:1 pixel mapping through HDMI).
By continually analysing the brightness and colour temperature of the area surrounding the screen, LG's 'Intelligent Sensor' technology optimises the brightness, contrast, colour, sharpness, and white balance to reduce unnecessary on-screen brightness. LG claim the technology can protect against eyestrain and reduce power consumption with potential savings of up to 62%.
A hidden speaker system tuned by the renowned hi-fi specialist, Mark Levinson, gives us some optimism for LG's acoustic ability.
Performance
LG have a history of producing flat panel TV's with a strong and vibrant colour performance. Unfortunately a vibrant colour palette was until recently associated with a rather 'garish' look to LG's screens. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the 42LG6000's performance is to be found with the subtlety with which it now reproduces colour. The vibrancy is still there but colours are no longer over saturated while they retain the on-screen presence of previous LCD TV's from LG.
Black level performance is another area that demonstrates the advances LG have made with their flat panel technology. Darker scenes on the 42LG6000 are not perfect but they demonstrate a subtlety across slight graduations on darker scenes that we have not seen on an LG up until now.
The benefits of 100Hz technology applied to flat panels has been the subject of much debate recently with opinions ranging from the view that it is indispensable to the belief that it produces no benefit whatsoever. There does seem to be some improvement when TruMotion is turned up but the effect is minimal. Manufacturers such as Sony are moving away from 100Hz technology and demonstrating that some of the best LCD TV's for motion handling don't require it. The 42LG6000 is a competent performer when it comes to motion handling with only a limited amount of blurring and loss of sharpness on faster action - we believe however that this reflects the inherent quality of the screen rather than 100Hz.
Perhaps of greatest interest to the majority of consumers considering this TV is its ability to handle Standard Definition sources. Considering this is a relatively large screen that has to do a lot of work to upscale a Freeview signal to a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, it does a remarkable job. Again, pictures are not perfect but demonstrate a performance which is only slightly compromised by video noise and loss of detail.
High Definition performance from the 42LG6000 with its Full HD resolution is excellent. The depth and realism can't quite match the supremely accomplished current range of Full HD plasmas from Panasonic, but is good enough to make you feel that an investment in a Blu-ray player or cable/satellite HD subscription has been worth the outlay.
Finally, the acoustic performance of the 42LG6000 was amongst the better we have witnessed from a flat panel TV, delivering a level of Bass and projecting sound with a strength that few can match.
Conclusion
The LG 42LG6000 delivers an above average performance in some areas and an excellent performance in others. Just of the pace of the very best, finding a good deal on this screen could make it a very serious proposition.
