60in Plasma Picture Sound Features Usability Value A leviathan flat panel bargain from LG. HD Ready: yes Resolution: 1366 x 768 Rating: 90%

Reviewed: 13 February 2008

Design

With a sleek piano black finish and impressive build quality, LG's leviathan 60PC45 plasma is actually quite a sleek looking unit, and much more discreet than you would imagine as a result.

Features

Inevitably, comparisons will be made between the 60PC45 and its more lavishly equipped sibling the 60PF95. On paper, the 60PF95's Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution should produce a more accomplished picture performance - although as we have seen with other panels, a 1366 x 768 resolution can actually perform as well.

	Screen: 60in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1366 x 768 Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 Brightness: 1200cd/m2 Other Features: XD Engine, 100Hz processing, Noise Reduction, 3D Digital Comb Filter. Sockets: 2 HDMI, 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input.

 

With LG's 100 Hz technology, conventional refresh rates are doubled with the aim of reducing 'flickering' which is particularly apparent with fast motion pictures.

Connectivity on the 60PC45 is adequate rather than outstanding with 2 HDMI inputs, 2 Scarts, Component and Composite video inputs along with S-video and PC input.

Picture processing technology on the 60PF95 comes in the shape of LG's  XD engine. The XD engine has been designed to boost the screens contrast, brightness, colour saturation, image clarity and gradation/grayscaling capabilities.

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

Also featuring a Digital Comb Filter, LG's 50PC55 separates TV signals into Brightness and Colour components, aiming to provide softer and cleaner images.

We should also mention that the LG 60PF95 is capable of 1:1 pixel mapping, which translates to every pixel from a 1080i or 1080p source being matched perfectly to the screen without any scaling.

The 60PC45 is also equipped with Clear Filter Pro, an advanced thin film filter designed to improve brightness, contrast, and more importantly to reduce screen reflections.

Performance

For the outlay, the LG 60PC45 gives a staggering High Definition (HD) performance. If you are on a budget, this screen offers a fabulous home cinema experience with a level of sharpness detail and sheer involvement that no other panel can offer at the price.

What makes the LG 60PC45's performance even more impressive is its ability to handle Standard Definition (SD) pictures. Inevitably, with such a large screen, these are not the best SD pictures we have seen, but the 60PC45 achieves a level of competence in this area which should enable most people to happily live with it as an everyday TV, especially if you are lucky enough to have cable or satellite. A poorer quality Freeview source will start to highlight the limitations of a lower resolution piped into such a large HD ready screen, and could put deter people from using the panel for everyday use.

Whatever the resolution of the source materials, colours on the LG 60PC45 achieve impressive levels of vibrancy. Oversaturated at times maybe, but more importantly, tricky detail such as facial tones are generally faithfully observed.

Also impressive on the 60PC45 is the 'black level' performance. A 60in screen is inevitably going to make the good look great and the bad look terrible, and with a better than average black level, the experience in this case is astounding. Vast expanses of darkness graduating into subtle shadow detailing give the viewer a cinematic thrill that will place smaller screen viewing firmly in the shade.

We weren't expecting much from the speakers, but even so, they were a little disappointing in that they were simply overawed by the screens massive presence in virtually every situation. A simple lack of power was the problem, and even though many buyers will add their own acoustic systems, we still expected a little more from the standard offering.

Conclusion

As a budget home cinema system on this scale, the 60PC45 has no equal. Add to the mix a better than average Standard Definition performance and this LG starts to look like a large screen bargain.