The largest HDTV with a THX display certification, the gigantic 60PG60 is LG’s flagship entry to the high-end plasma market. It is one of the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show awardees for innovation, and the hands-down winner in the looks department for all plasmas released this year.
Design
If looks alone would be the sole criterion in choosing an HDTV, the impeccably stylish LG 60PG60 would surely lead the pack. The single-pane glass covering the entire front of the TV shields the screen and the
LG 60PG60
uniformly-thick bezel around it. The bottom of the frame features an angled-back strip containing the arc-shaped power switch and the invisible speakers. The edges of the glossy black frame are highlighted with silver strips that match the elegant pedestal and the swivelling stand.
Unfortunately, it seems LG forgot to upgrade the remote to match the fantastic TV design. The same lacklustre clicker from past models is shipped with the 60PG60, and it simply is not up to par: difficult to differentiate keys that become more problematic with the lack of backlighting, confusing arrangements of buttons and the lack of dedicated keys for important functions are just some of the gripes against the wand. It’s a good thing that the menu system is straightforward and intuitive with legible text and logical menu groupings.
Screen/picture clarity
Color accuracy and video processing are the strengths of this LG plasma. The primary and secondary colors were superb under the THX mode, exhibiting natural-looking hues that are pretty close to standards. THX, however, tends to de-saturate reds, making images slightly less vivid than other plasmas. The 60PG60 also has black levels that are far below than the competing top-tier plasmas, delivering lighter shades of black that resulted in images having less impact. But to be fair, shadow details in THX mode is consistently good in this plasma.
Video processing of HD and standard-def sources were excellent in this HDTV. It properly resolved 1080p sources, deinterlaced 1080i materials, scaled 720p, 480p, 480i materials effortlessly, and resolved every detail from DVDs, with no apparent motion blurs or noise observed. A downside is the absence of anti-glare feature which makes TV viewing in bright environments quite problematic with the 60PG60,
Features
Aside from the fixed THX settings, almost everything can be tweaked in this plasma, with its six picture adjustments that can be set independently per input. Two expert modes add more adjustability, which includes controls to calibrate color temperature, reduce noise and gamma. It has five manual and one automatic aspect ratio options; a set of anti-burn protection mechanisms; and three power-saving modes. Connectivity choices in this set are four HDMI slots, VGA PC input, USB port and a slew of other component inputs.
Sporting a gorgeously beautiful design and reasonably solid picture quality one certainly would not regret splurging a little bit for this full-featured mammoth. For sheer size alone, the LG 60PG60 is worth every penny of its price.
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