Usually one of the flat TV world’s most prolific brands, it’s very surprising that we’ve not had our hands on a big-screen TV from LG for more than six months.
But it seems that the Korean giant has put its hiatus to very good use, for on paper at least, the 42LF66, looks a considerable advance on anything LG has produced before.
Tucked away in a strikingly elegant, gloss black body is all manner of high-definition LCD goodness. To start with, it’s fully connected for HD, with twin HDMIs, a component video input and a D-Sub PC port.
It’s also got a digital audio output for shipping on digital audio mixes received via the HDMIs, plus a slot for adding a Top Up TV subscription card, which is a dead giveaway that there’s a digital tuner onboard.
Then there’s the small matter of its ‘full HD’ 1920 x 1080 native pixel count. The benefit of this is easy to see when accompanied by a 1:1 pixel mapping mode for watching HD sources such as the Sky broadcasts that correspond perfectly to the screen’s resolution without introducing any messy overscanning scaling.
24fps via HDMI
LG hasn’t skimped on the TV’s HD compatibilities either, with its HDMI jacks able to take 1080p inputs (including the 24fps format about to appear as the best-quality output format on one or two high-end Blu-ray/HD DVD players).
The 1:1 pixel mapping mentioned a moment ago forms part of a new version of LG’s XD Engine image processing system, which also features new noise reduction routines and enough processing power to work with HD sources in their native form.
These new tweaks come on top of XD Engine’s customary attempts to boost colour tone/saturation, black levels and motion handling.
Other notable highlights include a healthy claimed contrast ratio of 5000:1; MPEG and standard noise reduction; a black level booster and the Simplink function that lets you control other LG gear that’s connected via the HDMIs using just the TV’s remote.
The 42LF66’s onscreen menus are outstanding: high resolution, colourful affairs that present their many options clearly and concisely, and use a simple logic.
The remote control is also a big improvement over LG’s previous efforts, now featuring cleanly spaced, well-labelled buttons laid out in a sensible way.
Our first impulse on seeing the 42LF66’s pictures is to reach for our sunglasses. For, if there’s a big-screen TV out there with a brighter, more aggressively dynamic approach to images we can’t think of it.
This certainly ensures that bright source material grabs and holds your attention and that everything else in your living room pales in comparison.
LG LCDs have long stood out from the throng on account of their colours, but the 42LF66 takes this aspect to a new level. And crucially it does this without the sort of sporadic, weird colour tone issues witnessed with previous LG screens.
Here even tricky skin tones are convincing. Some subtly blended colours, together with the high pixel density afforded by that 1920 x 1080 resolution also ensure that flesh avoids the plasticky, waxy look still seen on many flat TVs .
Also instantly appealing is how extremely crisp and detailed high-definition sources look. Absolutely no pixel is left unturned in the 42LF66’s bid to do justice to the detail glories of the HD format.
What’s more, HD sources suffer hardly at all with any of the grain and dot crawl that can accompany very sharp presentations, and the general sense of crispness is also served well by the fact that moving objects don’t lose as much resolution as we’ve often noted with LCD technology.
It’s a pity, then, that this same freedom from noise doesn’t apply to the set’s standard-definition efforts. All but the most pristine standard-def sources look slightly fizzy and edges tend to look a touch harsh and over-cooked.
On the upside, standard-definition pictures look sharper than you’d currently expect to find with full HD sets and also seem to suffer less with motion smearing into the bargain.
However, we have to report one further flaw in the 42LF66 that affects both standard and high definition alike: underwhelming black levels. Dark scenes see their blackest areas tail off into murky greyness rather earlier than we’d like, a fact which also contributes to a slight shortage of detail in the dark areas of the picture.
Although they’re pretty small, the 42LF66’s speakers are surprisingly good. Their mid-range is open and smooth, helping voices sound natural even during action scenes, treble detailing is clean and plentiful and bass levels are solid enough.
By selling the 42LF66 at a price in the region of £1,150, LG has managed the conjuring trick of producing a 42-inch LCD TV from a mainstream brand that’s truly competitive with plasma screens. Which is all the more impressive when you take into account the set’s respectable performance.
For
* Tidy price
* Good price
* Bright, colourful picture
* Solid connectivity
Against
* Standard-def picture can look noisy
* Weak black levels
Verdict
Slightly wishy washy black levels stop us giving it a totally unreserved recommendation
Specifications
– Screen Type: Widescreen 16:9
– Screen Size: 42"/106cm
– Full HD 1080P
– Dimensions (mm): 1033.1 W x 685.5 H x 88.5 D (without stand)
– Dimensions with Stand (mm): 1033.1 W x 750 H x 300.1 D
– IDTV (Freeview)
– XD EngineTM Full HD
– Surround MAX
– Dimple Speaker
– Simplink
– Intelligent Eye
– AV Input Navigation
– Input Labeling
– Resolution: 1920 x 1080
– Contrast Ratio: 5000:1
– TruV : (178/178)
– PC Input
– 2 x HDMI
– 2 x Scart
– Digital Optical Out (5.1 Home Cinema System)
– S-Video
