The Short Form

Price $3,600 (AS TESTED) / lgusa.com / 800-243-0000

Snapshot

LG's biggest high-rez LCD carries an attractive price, but its picture is a mixed bag.

Plus

•Crisp high-def picture •Nice price for a large 1080p LCD •Swiveling stand

Minus

•Limited shadow detail •Colors lack punch •Noise-reduction setting softens picture

Key Features

•1,920 x 1,080-resolution LCD HDTV •Built-in HDTV tuner with CableCARD •Accepts 1080p via HDMI •TV Guide On Screen program guide •Inputs: 2 HDMI, 2 component-video, VGA, 2 composite- and S-video; 2 RF (antenna and cable); 4 analog stereo audio •50.5 x 32.5 x 12.5 in; 124 lb (w/stand)

Test Bench

In User Mode with Warm color-temperature preset, the LG's grayscale tracked within ±713 K of the 6,500 K standard from 30 to 100 IRE - a below-average performance. Red, green, and blue adjustments in the color-temperature menu improved this to ±341 K from 30 to 80 IRE. Color decoder tests showed a +10% red error for both the HDMI and component-video inputs, though the set's HDTV color points were very accurate. Overscan measured 6% for 1080i/p signals - higher than average. Both 1080i and 720p test patterns were fully resolved via HDMI and component video, although slight edge enhancement was visible on both inputs with the sharpness control zeroed out. Screen uniformity was excellent from both on- and off-center seats. LG's XD noise reduction smoothed out grainy pictures but also removed fine detail from high-def programs. Full Lab Results

SETUP To get things going, I plugged in my Radio Shack antenna and let the LG scan for digital channels. The robust tuner locked in all my local stations, and its onscreen signal-strength indicator - a feature that lets you conveniently punch in a specific channel for tuning - really helped tweak antenna placement. Channel information was listed by the built-in TV Guide On Screen system, which failed to obtain any program information to fill up its grid - barely surprising, given my past history with TV Guide On Screen. But you might fare better with a CableCARD.

LG gives you a good number of options to tweak the 47LB1DA's picture for different lighting conditions. In addition to Daylight, Normal, Nighttime, and Expert presets, two User memories can be independently adjusted for each input. And along with Cool, Medium, and Warm presets for color temperature, there are individual controls for red, green, and blue that let me tune the set more closely to the 6,500 K color-temperature standard. I also knocked back the set's color control to compensate for a degree of "red push."

One area where the LG falls short of its competition is in providing features to help you get good blacks and punchy contrast - attributes in which LCD TVs have traditionally failed to impress. An Advanced Black Level setting provides High, Low, and Auto options for initial setup, but there's no gamma control or variable backlight setting (which limits the output of the set's fluorescent backlight, functioning similarly to the iris control on DLP and LCoS projection TVs). One interesting feature you'll find is XD, a proprietary option that can automatically adjust contrast, color, and noise reduction based on program content. The XD noise-reduction setting significantly softened high-definition pictures, so I switched it off. The other two settings, contrast and color, helped add some visual punch for daylight viewing.

PICTURE QUALITY Adjustments complete, I watched a few scenes from the World War II movie The Great Raid on Blu-ray Disc. The disc's 1080p image looked very crisp on the LG: In wide shots of a graveyard on the outskirts of a POW camp, the exceptionally fine, solid-looking strands of swaying grass gave the picture a true 3-D effect. Masses of clouds in the same shots also showed a wide range of white tones, with no sign of any tinting or discoloration - a clear demonstration of excellent screen uniformity.