Thought this review would be useful to some of you.
I recently brought a 42" Plasma. Thats LG PG61UR. I know that most of the forum members here and elsewhere would recommend Panasonic PV8 or PV80H when it comes to Plasma screens. However LG PG61 impressed me with its design, performance and futureproof features.
It is also important to note that PG61 compares to PV80 (and not PV8).
Design : Well, LG 60 series has won awards at CES, Las Vegas for its "frameless" design. The front panel doesn't have a bezel or the outer shiny plastic border. Instead a seamless sheet of glass pane covers the whole front panel and it has blakended edge which gives the illusion of a border when TV is turned on. (Big deal? I am not able to figure out what is it good for yet). This is suppose to make the TV look beautiful from close quarters, and especially when its wall mounted. The control buttons which are traditionally provided at the left side of the panel are hidden below the panel just below the ON button.
I would give 9/10 for looks.
Connectivity : This is where PG61 really scores. It has 1 USB, 3 HDMI, 1 Component, 2 AV, 1 S-Video and 1 RF. There are usual Video/Audio out options. USB 2.0 is supported with DivX and Xvid capabilities. This is a real GREAT feature. All you need a 2 GB pen drive to enjoy a 720p HD movie downloaded from internet. No fancy DVD players are required as long as you could download movies directly from the net. 1 HDMI port is provided in the side panel which is quite useful. USB has nice interface for viewing photos, playing audio and video. But the USB cannot recognize or play from USB powered hard drives OR iPod like MP3 players. Bit of a letdown.
I would give 8/10 for connectivity
Audio : The PG61 features hidden speakers which could output 30W. The output quality is decent and I found it adequate as I am not a great audiophile. The audio control features an onscreen equalizer. I have not connected it to a HT system, so I cannot comment on audio output quality to a device.
I would give 8/10 for audio quality
Operations : The 80's looking control menu of PG61 has nothing to write home about. It looks dated for a 2008 model. The LG Scarlet and Jazz series have great looking menus. The menu provides adequate control over picture settings and audio settings. There are 5 present view modes for Movies, Games, Sports, standard and vivid which are quite useful. You could control color temperature, play with the settings of dual XD engines (LGs color engine) and set the panel on a power saving mode. Remote has minimalist design, yet quite functional.
I would give 7/10 for operations
Picture quality : The screen resolution si 1024 x 768 pixels. Its HD ready panel. This resolution is same as Panasonic PV8/PV80 and Samsung A450 models. This is not a great resolution and one should be mindful of the viewing distance. The minimum recommended viewing distance is 7 ft. It has a dynamic contrast ratio of 10 lac : 1 and a quicker response time of 0.01 ms. I don't know much about PV8 and I have not seen it in action, but PG61 has a fantastic color reproduction ability and rich black levels. Honestly I am not sure if I would care whether black looks blacker than black or if one could count the hairs in the beard of Bachchan say from 1 feet. The pictures looks crisp, bright and rich and I couldn't have asked for more.
I would give 9/10 for PQ
Customer support : This is where LG scores a big plus compared to Samsung, Panny and others (perhaps barring Sony). It has 24/7 helpdesk. All the service calls are attended within 24 hours and they do collect feedbacks about the service. LG also offers extended warranty on the plasma for a discounted price.
I would give 9/10 for Customer support.
Perhaps Panasonic may have great tech specs. But for overall satisfaction I would recommend this model. PV8 doesn't have USB. PV80 has only a SD card reader.
The price I paid for this model is Rs.54,000.
LG official webpage for this model LCD TV, Plasma TV,Colour Television, Audio Video,Computer Products,Mobile Phone,Refrigerator, Washing Machine,Vacuum Cleaner,Microwave Oven,Air Conditioner, CAC Products by LG Electronics India
Hope this helps.
I recently brought a 42" Plasma. Thats LG PG61UR. I know that most of the forum members here and elsewhere would recommend Panasonic PV8 or PV80H when it comes to Plasma screens. However LG PG61 impressed me with its design, performance and futureproof features.
It is also important to note that PG61 compares to PV80 (and not PV8).
Design : Well, LG 60 series has won awards at CES, Las Vegas for its "frameless" design. The front panel doesn't have a bezel or the outer shiny plastic border. Instead a seamless sheet of glass pane covers the whole front panel and it has blakended edge which gives the illusion of a border when TV is turned on. (Big deal? I am not able to figure out what is it good for yet). This is suppose to make the TV look beautiful from close quarters, and especially when its wall mounted. The control buttons which are traditionally provided at the left side of the panel are hidden below the panel just below the ON button.
I would give 9/10 for looks.
Connectivity : This is where PG61 really scores. It has 1 USB, 3 HDMI, 1 Component, 2 AV, 1 S-Video and 1 RF. There are usual Video/Audio out options. USB 2.0 is supported with DivX and Xvid capabilities. This is a real GREAT feature. All you need a 2 GB pen drive to enjoy a 720p HD movie downloaded from internet. No fancy DVD players are required as long as you could download movies directly from the net. 1 HDMI port is provided in the side panel which is quite useful. USB has nice interface for viewing photos, playing audio and video. But the USB cannot recognize or play from USB powered hard drives OR iPod like MP3 players. Bit of a letdown.
I would give 8/10 for connectivity
Audio : The PG61 features hidden speakers which could output 30W. The output quality is decent and I found it adequate as I am not a great audiophile. The audio control features an onscreen equalizer. I have not connected it to a HT system, so I cannot comment on audio output quality to a device.
I would give 8/10 for audio quality
Operations : The 80's looking control menu of PG61 has nothing to write home about. It looks dated for a 2008 model. The LG Scarlet and Jazz series have great looking menus. The menu provides adequate control over picture settings and audio settings. There are 5 present view modes for Movies, Games, Sports, standard and vivid which are quite useful. You could control color temperature, play with the settings of dual XD engines (LGs color engine) and set the panel on a power saving mode. Remote has minimalist design, yet quite functional.
I would give 7/10 for operations
Picture quality : The screen resolution si 1024 x 768 pixels. Its HD ready panel. This resolution is same as Panasonic PV8/PV80 and Samsung A450 models. This is not a great resolution and one should be mindful of the viewing distance. The minimum recommended viewing distance is 7 ft. It has a dynamic contrast ratio of 10 lac : 1 and a quicker response time of 0.01 ms. I don't know much about PV8 and I have not seen it in action, but PG61 has a fantastic color reproduction ability and rich black levels. Honestly I am not sure if I would care whether black looks blacker than black or if one could count the hairs in the beard of Bachchan say from 1 feet. The pictures looks crisp, bright and rich and I couldn't have asked for more.
I would give 9/10 for PQ
Customer support : This is where LG scores a big plus compared to Samsung, Panny and others (perhaps barring Sony). It has 24/7 helpdesk. All the service calls are attended within 24 hours and they do collect feedbacks about the service. LG also offers extended warranty on the plasma for a discounted price.
I would give 9/10 for Customer support.
Perhaps Panasonic may have great tech specs. But for overall satisfaction I would recommend this model. PV8 doesn't have USB. PV80 has only a SD card reader.
The price I paid for this model is Rs.54,000.
LG official webpage for this model LCD TV, Plasma TV,Colour Television, Audio Video,Computer Products,Mobile Phone,Refrigerator, Washing Machine,Vacuum Cleaner,Microwave Oven,Air Conditioner, CAC Products by LG Electronics India
Hope this helps.