One of the best looking HDTVs for 2008, the 50PG6000 was praised not only for its gorgeously sleek design but for its innovative features as well. HDTVs may not be LG’s bread and butter, but it sure goes overboard and delivers awe-inspiring TVs to show it’s not an also-ran in the highly competitive HDTV industry.
Design
The handsome styling of the 50PG6000 involves a frameless design, which of course, is a misnomer, as the TV’s screen is framed by a glossy black strip. It’s the glass panel that sits atop both the screen and
LG 50PG6000
frame that gives it its frameless moniker. The panel, which improves dramatically the aesthetics of the plasma, is an innovative color filter meant to enhance brightness, eliminate ghosting when watching off-axis, and increase absorption of ambient light. Below the panel, a matte grey strip that conceals the speakers and some controls gracefully angles inward, shifting focus to the glossy swivel pedestal. Adorned only by the LG logo below the screen and the half-moon power button and LED indicator on the lower right, the 50PG6000 is the epitome of sophistication and style.
The remote for this set is a revamped version of older LG clickers. Though the glossy finish isn’t particularly welcome (it’s a magnet for fingerprints!), the keys are just the right size and arrangement of the buttons are quite sensible, so use of the unit is easy. LG also revamped its GUI and gave this set a nice, icon-based menu system. Well-organized and thoughtfully-designed, the menu is delightful to use and intuitive enough even for first time users.
Screen/picture clarity
LG touts this TV as producing the blackest black in plasmas and obviously, it’s a marketing hype, as the black levels are a notch below those offered by a few top-ranked plasmas. But in context, the blacks offered by the 50PG6000 are definitely the blackest in its price range. And with excellent shadow details, vibrant color palette and subtle color blending to back it up, images are convincingly realistic and sharp.
Powered by LG’s XD engine, the 50PG6000 has no problem downscaling 1080 sources to fit into its 1366 x 768 native resolution and outputting high-def scenes that are almost as detailed as full HD TVs. Standard-def sources, including Freeview, are handled well, too, with the XD engine and 100hz. refresh rates working together to reduce noise and judder.
Features
A surprise from the 50PG6000 is the awesome audio produced from its invisible speakers. The sound, which is rich and clear, would put to shame some high-end TVs with highfalutin audio technologies that nonetheless sound like creaky trucks. This TV also offers extensive color and picture adjustments, and extensive connectivity: four v1.3 compliant HDMIs, two Scarts, USB port, and a slew of component input jacks for other requirements.
With awesome performance, striking design, impressive sounds and affordable price, it’s really quite silly to pass up the chance of having an outstanding TV like the 50PG6000. If this is not a great bargain, we don’t know what is.
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