50in Plasma Picture Sound Features Usability Value Falling short in some important areas, the PB65 is nevertheless a compelling package. HD Ready: yes Resolution: 1366 x 768 Rating: 85%

Reviewed: 06 August 2007

Design

By farming out the design of all of its flat panel TV's to a Milan based studio, LG has suddenly found itself at the forefront of Plasma and LCD design.

LG's have never looked less than appealing, but now with designs that have been inspired by the Korean manufacturers 'chocolate' phone and with piano black minimalist look complemented by a stand in the same style, the 50PB65 looks like it could actually claw back sales that were lost as a result of previous models rather 'clunky' style.

Features

With 2 HDMI, Composite, Component and S-video inputs along with 2 scarts and a PC input, connectivity on the LG 50PB65 is adequate rather than outstanding.

	Screen: 50in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1366 x 768 Contrast Ratio: 15,000:1 Brightness: 1500cd/m2 Other Features: XD Image Processing Engine, MPEG Noise Reduction, 100Hz processing, Faroudja DCDi. Sockets: 2 HDMI, 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, S-Video, PC input.

 

What the LG PB65 does have is an impressive array of picture processing technologies which includes a 100Hz refresh rate for improving motion handling capability. This doubles the standard PAL frame rate found on many flat panels.

The real heart of this screen is LG's XD Picture Processing technology, which is designed to improve Contrast, Colour and to reduce the impact of video noise from incoming feeds.

The XD engine is complimented by MPEG Noise Reduction processing which has been designed to eliminate video noise once it hits the screen.

Rounding off an impressive feature list is Faroudja's DCDi de-interlacing processing which aims to eliminate jagged edges (jaggies) which are particularly noticeable with fast moving action.

LG have given the operator a great deal of flexibility when it comes to the customization of these technologies, and if they are not to your liking, they can be turned off completely.

Performance

What is most noticeable about the performance of the LG 50PB65 is how well it handles all types of fast moving scenes, with minimal interference to picture quality from traditional bug bears such as dot crawl and jagged edges.

Disappointingly however some of the detailing on darker scenes lacked the subtlety possessed by more accomplished performers. Instead of a smooth colour transition, we were often faced with a 'graduated' transition.

It is the High Definition (HD) performance of the 50PB65 that makes it such a serious contender for best budget home cinema screen. Pictures posses all the detail and sharpness you will ever need, and the depth of colour on such a reasonably priced piece of kit is a revelation.

Over the years, LG has gained a reputation for over saturated colours. While the LG PB65 displays the familiar LG bold colour palette, these colours show a subtlety which has been lacking on LG's of old. Skin tones in particular demonstrate how much finesse LG's are now capable of demonstrating.

Inevitably, there is a fair amount of grain and video noise with Standard Definition (SD) sources. To a degree this is a reflection of the 50PB65's size, but it is also a reflection of the budget status of the kit.

The acoustic ability of the LG 50PB65 is nothing more and nothing less than adequate. Lack of bass is the main problem, and as the majority of buyers will probably be upgrading the sound capability on this unit, it won't be a problem.

Conclusion

Unsurprisingly for a budget contender, the LG PB65 missies the mark in some important areas. However, at around £1100 for a 50in plasma it deserves serious consideration.