LG 47LX9900 review

We and loved LG’s second-best TV, the 47LE8900, so a similarly capable and elegant set endowed with 3D support should be a winner. Right?

First exposure to the LX9900 does nothing to undermine that impression. It’s a thing of beauty, its vanishingly slim profile confounding the widely held view that televisions with full-array LED backlighting have to be stockier than their edge-lit siblings.

Specification is complete, too, with 400Hz TruMotion processing, a Freeview HD tuner, LG’s NetCast online service – fairly limited in content at the mo – and ample support for media streaming from USB, Bluetooth and DLNA.

Specs appeal

You also get two remote handsets: a conventional design, and a Wii-style motion-sensitive wand called Magic Motion. In addition, two sets of 3D glasses included; they’re comfortable to wear and rechargeable over USB. Additional sets cost £100 per pair.

 

So far, so competitive – and the LG’s strong showing continues with its performance from Freeview HD, DVD and Blu-ray.

After some tweaking, pictures have a decent amount of punch and strong black depth, although some slight ‘halos’ are visible when bright whites appear next to dark areas.

Motion handling is largely good, although on occasion movement appears too smooth, and not at all filmic. TruMotion can be adjusted or turned off, so it’s one to experiment with.

3D suffers a bit

It’s with 3D the LG impresses and frustrates in equal measure. In the main, pictures continue to impress: however, you’ll notice more than an acceptable amount ‘crosstalk’ (where images meant for the left eye are seen by the right, and vice-versa).

We also found that the set’s slight motion issues were exacerbated by 3D. And the reflective glass screen becomes more noticeable with 3D, too: in a brightly lit room, it’s quite distracting, undermining the ‘realism’ of the 3D experience.

Other bugbears? Sound’s not great, with some breakup at low frequencies, although the LG will output 5.1 over its optical output from Freeview HD.

But the biggest problems facing the LG are its most recent rivals such as the Panasonic TX-P50VT20 and Sony KDL-46HX903. They’re better, yet cost similar money. That’s enough to relegate this LG to three stars.