LG HT762TZ review

Performance
To find out how good the HT762TZ is, we tested sound and picture quality from the built-in DVD player, as well as the sound from an external Blu-ray player. Watching Blade on DVD using the LG's player showed us a couple of important things. First, the upscaling on this player isn't the greatest. When we selected 1080p output, the player left a large black line down the left-hand side of the screen.

We were also generally unimpressed by the upscaled picture quality. Setting the player back to 576p and letting our TV do the hard work was much better though, and generally speaking, TVs have much better upscaling hardware in anyway, so this is not a problem.

We also noticed that although the picture quality via HDMI was generally good, there was red bleed. The start of Blade features red credits on a mainly dark background. This player had red spilling out of the sides of text, a problem that plagues many players, but this was worse. Still, this is an exceptional test and most other material looked great.

Sound from the built-in player was excellent. The bass from the LG was tight and hard hitting in the right places. Surround effects were subtle too, but very much appropriate to what we were watching. The centre channel was the highlight, making dialogue much easier to hear and understand in loud action scenes.

Although we liked the sound, we did notice the system didn't go especially loud, despite its very high watt rating. We suspect the system is loud enough for most users, however.

Our Blu-ray player, hooked up via optical digital, proved that the system has the right stuff for external inputs too. The Blu-ray player outputs a Dolby Digital mix, which is downconverted from the TrueHD soundtrack on the Blu-ray. We found this surround track to be full of life, and the demo tracks on the Dolby disc sounded as brilliant as we would have expected.

Conclusion
As an upscaling DVD player, we weren't that impressed by the LG HT762TZ. Still, it's not a major concern because, when you can use your TV's upscaling capabilities anyway. In terms of sound, we found the system to be clear, crisp and well balanced.

Although it's not the cheapest product on the market, it's a strong contender and will offer people who want an all-in-one solution a great introduction to the world of home cinema. If you're looking for an alternative, consider the older LG model, the HT902TB, which is a good performer and cheaper. You could also take a look at the Samsung HT-X30, which we rated as excellent just a couple months ago.

Edited by Shannon Doubleday