LG 55LM960V 55in Smart TV The 55-inch LM960V is nothing if not formidable. LG has packed its new flagship LED with every digital doodah it can muster, and at £2,700, has priced it uncharacteristically high. This, the brand is clearly saying, is a telly to challenge the best there is – it’s worth paying through the nose for. In some ways, it’s right. LG …
To an average consumer who watches normal TV (HD+SD) and streaming services like Netflix rather than lots of blu-ray movies, would there be an obvious difference between watching a £500, a £1000 and a £2000 TV? Are we talking very subtle videophile-level differences, or something you'd walk into the room and go "wow that's amazing"?
You would definitely notice the £500-£1000 gap. You would see the difference from £1000-2000 if they were sat side by side but, once you had got used to either one I'm not sure most people would be able to say they were properly missing out. Of course, not all of the extra money has gone on the quality of the panel or picture processing tech. IF I was to spend £2K on a telly I would want it to look pretty damned fantastic (as I think this LG does). If I spent £500 on a telly I wouldn't be so bothered. I would be more interested in the picture quality/sound and does it have the features I need. "Does it look nice?" would come a long way down the list.
TV head to head
Saw this with 4 Sony TVs a little while I before I bought our most recent one.
All 46"
KDL46D/S/W/X4000 AFAIR
The two cheaper ones looked a lot worse than the two more expensive ones.
One was cheap
One was cheap panel and better electronics
Next was better panel
Next was nicer styling wih same panel
TV for chavs
TV for chavs with more money
TV for AV enthusiasts/gamers
TV for the style consious
I THINK the prices were from high hundreds to about 1.5k
i haven't tried a TV at this price level - but I do know that of the two Sonys i currently own - the older one (about 5 yrs, a 32in) has a better SD picture quality compared to the same channel displayed on a newer Sony (42in).
Colours were off, white balance not right. Only when on the HD channels did the newer TV shine.
So then it's a choice - do i calibrate the TV for SD or HD watching?
Not sure how these expensive TVs would handle that. Maybe this is a ploy to get us lowly consumers to convert to HD-only as soon as possible ;-)
off-topic:
Ran into another limitation - the quality of the HD feed. Was watching a live performance of i think Pink Floyd, on a local PBS channel. Sound quality was nice, but all of the sudden the lasers start firing.
I switched back to the SD channel to watch the rest of the show -- the pixellation / too much compression was tough to watch on the HD channel :-(
That's the top end of my budget, with umpteen kids it's not worth buying decent kit.
What I would love to see on el' reg occasionally is what is the best TV or Projector etc.. I can get for around £500.
I know this goes against the purpose of the hardware section, but would be great to see this occasionally. :)
By the way nice review.
I did get the kids an epson projector. (Moviemate 60, if I recall correctly) for the basement (plus a white bed sheet), and hooked a tivo up to it as well. No more xbox and tosh 2.0 in the living room :-)
No HD, mind yoy.
The epson is a simple dvd/surround sound projector, was about $500. Produces enough noise to get around the sound of the furnace downstairs. Should also work outside, summer eves etc.
In the three years only had to replace the lamp once, am keeping a spare handy.
How good at 55"? on a cheapo generic absolutely dire. mate bought a 55" Baird ( UMC or possibly Vestel )from a graded reseller, Picture was dim, and blocky. SD was virtually unwatchabl;e due to pixel pitch and jaggies. HD not much better. As to gaming? PS3 looked worse than Rise Of The Triad through Dosbox set full screen at 320 X 240 on my PC.1920 x 1080 monitor.
That telly seems pretty impressive. My wife and I being movie freaks I'm thinking of upgrading my old samsung lcd and definitely get a 3d tv. I read a lot of articles and reviews and everyone seem laudatory about this one so even though it's a little more budget than I originally planned I think it will be worth the price tag.
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