LG 42LW550T & 42LW650T Mark UK Debut Of “Cinema 3D” LED LCD TV Range

LG Electronics is hoping that its “Cinema 3D” range of passive 3-dimensional TVs will be a hit with consumers in the UK, if a media demonstration event held last week is anything to go by. Just like last year, the Korean TV manufacturer kitted out a swanky London townhouse with its 2011 HDTV models (mostly “Cinema 3D” LED-based LCD TV displays accompanied by polarized 3D glasses) to be sampled by members of the British press.

LG 42LW550T

Featuring the company’s FPR (film patterned retarder) polarized 3D technology which was first unveiled in Beijing towards the end of last year, LG’s “Cinema 3D” LED LCD televisions purportedly deliver a flicker-free tri-dimensional viewing experience, as well as allow for passive 3D glasses (similar to the ones handed out at cinemas) which are cheaper, lighter and does not require synchronisation nor battery charging. In fact, every “Cinema 3D” TV bought in the United Kingdom will come with seven pairs of 3D eyewear, and in the unlikely event that this is not enough, each additional pair will only cost £2.

The first batch of LG “Cinema 3D” TVs to arrive in UK stores comes in three flavours, namely the LW450U, LW550T and LW650T series. These 3D LCD televisions will be illuminated by edge LED backlight with some form of local dimming (LG calls this “LED plus with Spot Control”), and have the ability to carry out real-time 2D-to-3D conversion on the fly. Later this year, the top-end LW950T series will be launched, featuring the company’s Nano Lighting Technology.

42LW650T

LG 42LW650T

The LG LW650T series is available in screen sizes of 42, 47 and 55 inches, i.e. the 42LW650T, 47LW650T and 55LW650T. All models in this range will have integrated Freeview HD tuner, TruMotion 200Hz motion-compensated frame interpolation technology, and the company’s new Smart TV internet-connected platform which provides access to a wide range of online services including BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The LW650T can also be controlled via a motion-sensitive Magic Motion remote, or through a downloadable app from your iPhone or Android smartphone.

42LW550T

The step-down LG LW550T series will sport all the features found on the LW650 except for TruMotion 200Hz (the LW550 only has the 100Hz variant). Again, three screen sizes are available: the 42-inch 42LW550T, the 47-inch 47LW550T, and the 55-inch 55LW550T.

Lacking in built-in Freeview HD tuner and Smart TV portal, the LG LW450U series is the entry-level “Cinema 3D” range. It comes in four screen sizes: the 32″ 32LW450U, the 42″ 42LW450U, the 47″ 47LW450U, and the 55″ 55LW450U.

The LG LW450, LW550 and LW650 sets should start trickling into UK stores from this week onwards at competitive prices, especially when you consider the generous number of 3D glasses bundled in. The Seoul-based TV maker is also running a cashback promotion in conjunction with British Sky Broadcasting, where Sky TV subscribers can claim a rebate of up to £400 on a “Cinema 3D” television purchase made before the 8th of June from participating retailers.

14 comments

  1. I tested the 47LW550T at John Lewis today and the passive 3D was very impressive with an amazing wide angle of view. I thought that the quality appeared to be 720p to my eyes. Having spend over half an hour watching 3D footage I had no problem with eye strain. Normally I last a maximum of 10 minutes with active glasses. I can confirm the the 3D effect is still present if you tilt your head at 90 degrees. So in theory you can watch 3D TV whilst lying on the settee. The downside is that you get massive crosstalk if you are viewing the picture more than two foot above or below the centre of the screen. No problem for me as I always setup my TV level with my chair. After some setup adjustments I rated the 2D image quality on a par with my 4 year old panasonic plasma. I think I will buy one.

  2. Chidinma Nwabu-Ekeoma

    I watched the lw650s 47 inches tv in media markt,i think the passive glasses are amazing,when is it coming into the rep of ireland?i hope i get to get it in one of the stores that are in promotion with sky digital.

  3. Very impressed by the instore demo I had today, all round nice tv. The store also had a 3d tv using active shutter glasses and to be honest this produces a far superior 3d effect. Even the LG rep had to conceed that its not a good idea to wall mount due to viewing angle restrictions. nice effort but not up to the active.shutter experience yet.

  4. Had fantastic demo store for the 47lw550t and decided to buy at £1399. Went home to check independent reviews online and found identical product on Amazon for £1028 inc delivery! Purchased without delay. Fantastic value,quick delivery and live the TV. Amazing product.

  5. We have recently bought a LG 42″LW650T Full HD Freeview HD Cinema 3D Smart TV I was told we would be able to watch HD TV and to use a HDMI Cable form the LG660 3D Player, this is not so, we were mislead by the sales person and LG’s documentation we printed off the web before purchasing this new TV.
    I had my doubts looking at the screen that we were in fact not watching HD although a Freeview HD internal system was therein, to confirm my doubts I found on the web site an artical “MailOnline” and quote ” The Freeview HD ‘Con’ Even Viewers with the latest TV’s will need to pay £170 for high definition channels” unquote.
    We are not at all impressed with the sales pitch by the shop or LG, we feel this is a con and a waste of money, we might as well have stayed with our Philips TV because this LG LW650T is just a larger screen doing the same function as the old TV. Yet to try 3D as yet but don’t hold out much hope there either PLUS how much more will we have to pay out to get 3D !!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????

  6. @Mike Humphries

    Not sure what you are meaning when you said that you wasn’t watching HD from the Freeview HD. The article you are referring to is quite old and points to previous HD TV’s that had freeview build in but NOT Freeview HD, meaning that they had to pay extra for getting HD channels to their TV. Your model the 650T has Freeview HD and if you watch one of the HD channels like BBC1HD etc then you will be viewing a HD broadcast. Freeview does not contain as many HD channels as Virgin or Sky but then again it’s free.

  7. dont know were MIKE HUMPHRIES gets his information from
    i have the exact same tv and bluray 3d player and u do connect to tv with hdmi
    cable and the freeview hd is very good..i love people
    that havent got a clue as to what there doing,so the first thing
    they do is blame the product.hopefully by now
    you will have figured the tv out,if not then ebays a good place to put it.just to let you
    know the 3d on these tvs is pretty good…..

  8. I think a number of people have asked for this but if you can post your optimal setting for the LW550T to your Facebook page that would be great. I have one arriving on Friday and would love to see how your settings work out.

  9. I have justb received delivery of one and am struggling with the picture settings, whne watching in 2D HD it’s fantastic but looks out of focus and suffers with pixelisation when not in HD. I have adjusted the settings but cannot seem to improve it am I doing something fundamentally wrong????

  10. I just got a LG 42LW650T (got a refurbished one off Ebay – about £140 off the current Dixons Sale price) and I love it. I was careful to chose a TV which was Full HD with Freeview HD – some other models are listed as HD Ready and only have the
    basic Freeview tuner (which means they are capable of displaying a full HD picture if you connect a HD set-top box). There are some good free 3D videos available via the LG Premium service (you have to connect the TV to the LAN to get them, and I think going via an 85mbps homeplug network dpesnt have the bandwidth as the playback kept stopping which it loaded more into the play-back buffer).

  11. I purchased a lg42650t 4 months ago, although impressed i have an issue that i feel others may not have noticed, when you select 3d, no matter what format or from various inputs, the screen size reduces by 1″ on the left and right of the screen, this is annoying as i paid for a 42″ tv and not a 40″ tv, no matter what settings i have tried nothing will correct this, Also the units in currys are exactly the same and the store assistant said they have had complaints regarding this.

    Have a look at yours, it will be the same.

  12. Have bought a LG42LW55OT 42-inch full HD with 3D with freeview HD. When watching the football on 3D I notice the green grass goes out of focus then comes back again but seems fine when watching 3d movies. Any idea what could be wrong?

  13. i have the lg 42lw550t tv where exactly do i fit the broadband dongle i bought help please

  14. I dont know what planet people are from here

    this TV has perfect HD
    Perfect 3D – if your source is good
    Of course the HDMI cable works with the LG 3D bluray – unless you bought the wrong cable

    What people are doing wrong is messing with the settings.
    Leave it alone and stop trying to be clever.

    As for 1″ borders – no it doesnt – youve done something to it or are
    getting a picture not broadcast correctly.

    If any of these things are wrong its because YOU did something or dont
    understand what you are doing. The TV itself is fine at every aspect ratio.

    Sorry cant help with the dongle I have the 650 version. (nearly 1 year old now)