LG 42PG6000 Review

The LG 42PG6000 plasma television should make the shortlist of anyone looking to acquire a flat screen HDTV for less than £700. Boasting a “frameless” design which scooped up the “Best Of Innovation” award at CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2008 in Las Vegas, 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs, and a quoted contrast ratio of 30,000:1, the PG6000 plasma series may have been partly responsible for LG outselling Matsushita (parent company of Panasonic) in terms of global plasma volume shipped for the first time since the third quarter of 2006.

A non-true-HD native screen resolution of 1024×768 is probably the only slight chink in the armour of the LG 42PG6000 when you look at the specification sheet, but hey, you can’t expect the world at this bargain price.

We have completed a review of the LG 42PG6000, which contains a few comments comparing its performance against the Panasonic PX80, its main competitor in terms of specification and pricing. The LG 42PG6000 holds the edge in colour accuracy, overall video processing (especially in standard-def) and aesthetics, while the Panasonic TH42PX80 is capable of deeper blacks and native 1080p/24 playback free of telecine judder, and is more resistant to image retention.

At the end of the day, both of these HDTVs are fine choices for buyers looking to spend no more than £700 on a plasma TV. The only reason we gave the PX80 a higher rating is because some of its chief deficiencies could potentially be remedied by “outsourcing” (e.g. scaler, dedicated video processor); whereas most of the LG 42PG6000’s shortcomings are “fixed” (e.g. lighter black level, non-native 24fps playback, proneness to image retention).