Superior media support
Noticing the 50PK590's USB socket, we popped in our 8GB flash
memory stick, pre-loaded with a variety of test clips. We were surpised
to see almost all of them played flawlessly, including the MKV files
with 720p and 1080p MPEG-4 video contained within them. The picture
quality was good, and navigating through the files was as slick and
speedy an experience as we've ever enjoyed -- even on stand-alone media
players.
The TV can handle Dolby Digital audio with no problems at all, but it's not able to decode DTS sound, or the new lossless audio you might find on Blu-ray discs. That said, the vast majority of material out there uses Dolby Digital anyway.
As a feature we weren't really expecting, this is incredibly welcome, and it performs very well indeed. The TV can even handle video with a fairly high bit rate, which we've seen confuse the hell out of other similarly equipped media-playback devices. All in all, this handy feature gets a big thumbs up.
Fishy tuner
During our
tests, we noticed there was plenty of impulse noise interference when
watching Freeview. We don't know the cause, but it's not something that
affected the Panasonic Viera TX-P37X20B Freeview HD TV we
tested recently. It's possible this TV isn't as well insulated as
the TX-P37X20B, or perhaps it's not as good in a low-signal area.
Whatever the cause, we saw quite a few picture break-ups, which was
irritating.
If you live in a low-signal area, you might want to invest in a signal booster or a new roof-top aerial before buying this TV.
Caterwauling catatonia
For the most part, the 50PK590's audio was great -- comparitively. We
have to attach our usual rider at this point, because bass is
non-existent. This TV simply can't produce low-frequency sound at all,
and any attempt to do so usually ends in tears. Our tears.
Still, we've said it a hundred times before. Don't buy a flat-panel TV for more than a grand without investing in your audio system. Even connecting up a TV to a stereo amp and speakers can yield some really amazing quality improvements. Give it a go, because built-in speakers are woeful, and we've heard that they make kittens cry.
Plasma surprise
We weren't sure we were going to like the picture quality of this TV.
About 35 seconds into testing it however, we realised it was
considerably better than we were expecting. Like most LG plasmas,
there's a decent amount of pixel noise if you get really close to the
screen. This is a plasma trait, in the same way poor black levels are
associated with LCDs. In fact, noise like this doesn't have much of an
impact on the picture quality at distances over a metre anyway.
We found the Freeview HD performance of this TV to be utterly superb. We loved the sharpness, which got the balance between nasty soft images and hideous over-sharpened nonsense just about right. Standard-def Freeview looked very good too, offering as much detail as the TV could possibly be expected to rescue from the low-quality broadcast images.
Blu-ray movies such as Casino Royale and District 9 looked totally stunning on this TV. We used the THX movie mode for most film viewing, and liked it a great deal. The colours are a little muted, as you generally find with movie modes, but the detail was stunning, and the images still looked wonderfully vivid.
Conclusion
What are you still doing sitting there? If this TV is on your shortlist,
and you're here to find out if we think you should buy one, the answer
is a resounding yes. This is a terrific piece of hardware, and we've
utterly loved our time with it. It's good value, at around £1,000
online, and we think it's one of the best TVs we've seen this year.
Top-notch work from LG.
Edited by Nick Hide
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User reviews6
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amun82 21 May 2011
Good: price tag
Bad: burn in and image retention and lack of headphone socket
Comment: Good points in short: excellent picture quality (in dark environment - not so much in bright conditions as it is highly reflective), it's slim, easy to use.
Now, I will focus on the bad points of this plasma that were not mentioned in most reviews I read before I purchased this TV:
> burn-in and image retention
After just a few months of using the plasma ( anything from 5min to 8hours) there appears to be a white burn-in in the bottom left and right corners. To be more specific these are HUD elements from one of Xbox games Bad Company 2 (frame and digits size 3 inch by 3 inch). It's barely visible, nevertheless you can spot it on a grey background. I made LG aware of the problem. They came back with two points: the first is that warranty does not cover burn-in and the second is to run "white wash" which is simply white image which you need to keep on for some time. "white wash" no improvement at all. Now, I was aware of the concept of burn-in before I purchased this plasma and I was particularly careful not to leave still images for prolonged periods. But hey you can't help it sometimes some channels/games will have some still images present for some time - that's the way it is - I bought the plasma to use and enjoy it not to have it off or on 20% of brightness to prevent burn-in. Despite this the screen still suffered. I think this is quite bad that it is so easy to get burn-in on this otherwise good quality product.
> no headphone socket
Might be a problem if you want to use your headphones with your TV but your hi-fi / sound system connected to your TV does not have one either.
>reflections
The screen is highly reflective. I am aware of the fact that all screens reflect images to some extent but this model is a special one in this sense. You can use it as a mirror in bright conditions;).
The above is the reason why I took away 2 stars (I was tempted to take away 3 stars). Shame about the burn-in! I also have to add that before I bought this TV I read numerous reviews (including CNET's) and I am quite disappointed that none of them warned or mentioned about the highly likely burn in problem - which is very important as it damages your TV permanently. All I read was that "modern" plasmas are not really affected by this problem. Wrong! I would expect that such well known reviewer as CNET would mention this. It just shows how superficial and biased those reviews are.
fezzaman 24 December 2010
Good: Picture superb in HD
Bad: Sound not that great
Comment: This TV is superb for the money. The picture on HD is breathtaking, if you take the time to set it up properly. Sound quality is good but there's not much bass. It's useable though.
50" is pushing the boundaries of TV on standard definition, and I struggled to achieve a satisfactory result on FREEVIEW (non- HD channels) This is more a fault of the quality on standard definition than the TV itself.
We previously owned a Panasonic 42" Plasma, and the jump to 50" does make a difference in picture sharpness.
If you are watching standard definition on this TV, to save hours of your own time, try these settings.
Make sure "Energy Saving" is set to OFF.
Set the TV to "expert 1" and then contrast 85, brightness 55, H sharpness 70, V sharpness 70, colour 40, tint 0. Then in the sub menu OFF,OFF, MEDIUM, AUTO, ON, STANDARD, OFF, AUTO, OFF. In the third menu leave everything at the factory settings but make sure the colour temp is set at "WARM"
clancaster22 20 July 2010
Good: Huge, clear, good looking, good features
Bad: Slight shadowing across screen
Comment: There's only one thing I don't like about this TV and its shadowing. It isn't that noticeable unless you really look for it most of the time, but when credits are scrolling or bars are on the screen the tele seems to have a darker line ( or shadow ) running all the way across.
Like I say its usually not noticeable, but if you look for it it can get annoying.
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