Find your way with Webos

LG’s 55LB750T is a 55-inch LED smart TV with Cinema 3D and a tuner for digital TV sets without set-top boxes. Best of all, it runs on LG’s new Webos, making it more intuitive to use the “smart” functions and for setting it up once you get it home.

The unit sent for review had all the factory settings. Switched on, it had Webos to guide me through the initialising process – select the menu language, indicate whether subscription set-top box or terrestrial broadcast or both, etc.

It was easy hooking the TV into the HDMI 1 port and TrueVisions’ Humax HD satellite receiver. The unit came with two remote controls, one of them the “magic remote” that works like an “air mouse”. I used it with Webos, whose universal remote function pointed it at the Humax remote, but that one was incompatible.

The LB750T uses a DVB-T2 digital tuner. DVB-T2 is the digital terrestrial-broadcast platform used in Thailand. I connected the TV antenna port to my rooftop antenna and the Webos showed me to how tune all 38 digital channels with ease.

The reception was sharp and clear all around the dial, with the HD channels like Thairat TV looking particularly crisp. The unit lets you record the content onto an external hard drive or USB drive, along with programme details as provided by the station operators if the Live Menu command is activated. 

Webos makes it simple to call up the smart-TV function to use online content and services and switch over to TV broadcasts and back again. You press the “Home” button on the magic remote to see the menu of online features, among them YouTube, Facebook, Skype, Twitter and AccuWeather. There’s a Web browser where you can log on using an LG account and visit the LG Store to buy more apps and smart-TV content.

Webos serves as the guide to connecting the TV to a wireless home router. The TV has a built-in Wi-Fi adapter. An Internet connection is necessary to get the online content and services. The LB750T has a LAN port for the router.

High-definition clips on YouTube played in full screen with sharp resolution and smooth motion. The Web browser generated pages fast, with sharp text and beautiful graphics.

You can download and install the LG TV remote-control app on your mobile phone and then enter text there when using the smart-TV apps. This way it’s convenient to search for YouTube videos update your Facebook status or send a tweet from the TV.

As for TV quality, the LB750T looks very impressive, with bright colours and good level of blackness and smooth motion.

You get good viewing angles and top quality with the LG IPS Panel. IPS in-plane switching technology allows the panel to generate accurate colours, as seen in the original image. It reduces distortion so the colours are more consistent from any angle.

The IPS is also superior to conventional panels in the clarity of the picture during fast-motion display, allowing blur-free, crystal-clear imagery.

The LB750T uses LG’s latest and most advanced Triple XD Engine to bring about the highest level of excellence in colour, contrast and clarity. And Picture Wizard III allows you to easily adjust elements like the black level, hue, tint, sharpness and back lighting.

During my test I mostly watched programmes from TrueVisions’ satellite receiver. Seeing World Cup matches live was terrific – sharp and beautiful, especially in “Vivid Picture” mode. The viewing modes include standard, cinema, soccer and more, plus two “expert” modes that might actually require professional guidance.

TrueVisions HBO HD movies looked sensational and the series “Game of Thrones” had deep, gritty blacks and was sharp in every detail. In some series on AXN HD I noticed more detail in the characters’ faces than before.

A 2.1 speaker system – dual speakers with woofer – ensures top-quality sound. Virtual Surround Plus mode spreads the noise around nicely, and Clear Voice II mode picks up all the nuances of the dialogue.

LG Cinema 3D technology delivers the added dimension and includes light and comfortable flicker-free glasses. Content from the LG store showed a lot of depth and layers.

LG Cinema 3D Smart TV 55LB750T retails for Bt79,990 and includes access to on-demand movies at Doonung.com for six months via an app. The ones I watched were decent quality and streamed fluidly.

 

KEY SPECS

 

Display Device: LED

Screen size: 55 inches

Resolution: Full HD 1920x1080 pixels

Micro-pixel control (local dimming): Yes

Dynamic MCI: 800Hz

Analogue TV reception: PAL, PAL/Secam BG/DK, NTSC M

Digital TV reception (terrestrial): DVB-T2

Picture modes: Vivid, Standard, Eco, Cinema, Soccer, Game, Expert1, Expert2 Asia, APS MEA, Eco

Aspect ratio: Eight modes (16:9, Just scan, Original, Full Wide, 4:3, 14:9, Zoom, Cinema Zoom)

Speaker system: 2.1

Audio output: 24 watts

Sound mode: Six modes (Standard, News, Music, Cinema, Soccer, Game)

Sound optimiser: Three modes (Off, Stand, Wall-mounted)

3D type: FPR

2D to 3D mode: Five modes (Standard, Manual, Cinema, Sport, Extreme)

External HDD recording: Yes

Internal memory recording: Time Machine Cap: 3.9GB

Live playback (time shift) External HDD: Yes

USB playback: DivX HD, JPEG, JPS, MPO