I have nothing to do today so might as well make a personal mini review with the TV I just recently bought. It is an LG 55LB6700 3D Smart TV. I admit it was an impulse buy as it was on sale on a marked down price of P51,997.00 from P84k+++.
It was delivered to my house in a box with free wall mount bracket.
I then set it up in my newly bought AV rack. This TV has "stiletto" stands and they are situated way on the sides of the TV as you can see compared to my other TVs where the stand is in the middle of the TV. I needed a wider TV stand. Not a fan really of wall mounted TVs as it is a hassle specially if you need to access some ports at the back.
One description I can say about this TV is
sexy. It has invisible speakers and you can just see the razor borderless frame. Even if the speakers are hidden, it produces very clear dialogues with acceptable bass for a flatscreen TV.
RemoteThe remote is one cute egg looking one. It uses an air mouse function where a pointer hovers over any app you want to activate and also to select some options. The button in the center of the arrow keys has a scroll function for easy navigation specially in going up and down webpages or by surfing channels.
LG also has an android and iOS app where you can control your TV via your local wifi/wired network. It can put the remote to rest with this app.
WebOSLG has its own operating system webOS unlike other TVs which uses the Android OS. It is easy to navigate and can add apps from the LG store.
It has its own web browser which was easy to use but unfortunately when typing you need to use the onscreen keyboard which was a chore. What I did was I tested my Measy wireless keyboard and trackpad by attaching the USB receiver in one of its USB ports and Yes it worked!
Youtube, I want TV, ABS-CBN News are some of the streaming apps that are installed in the OS.
ConnectivityIt has the usual HDMI ports. HDMI 1 has ARC (Audio Return Channel) where I was able to control the power and volume of my receiver via the remote of the TV i.e. turning the TV on also turns on the receiver and outputs audio in my HT. Whenever I turn the volume up or down using the TV's remote controls the volume of the receiver. Amazing!
Have seen ARC functions but didn't really delve into its capability until I discovered its potential in this TV. It also has an optical audio output but with the ARC function (w/c definitely is a better option), I didn't connect my optical cable anymore to my AVR.
It has 3 USB ports. I have tried attaching HDDs up to 3 TBs and the TV was able to access its contents. Good thing here is that I was able to play my 10GB++ 3D SBS movies with its internal player. I was already trying to setup my Measy X5 for playing 3D content but after discovering the capability of the internal player, Measy was put to rest. Playing 3D with its internal player is like using an external player although with limited functions to stop, play, pause, fast forward, rewind, toggling of audio language and subtitles. But the ease of just using a single remote is a plus! The scroll function of the remote was a breeze in navigating through my multiple files.
*thanks to DTNS for this picture from his phoneThis TV has
built in Wifi out of the box. No need for an external wifi adapter.
Time MachineIt can record TV shows and store it its internal memory or in your external storage. Something like the capability of a DVR. Haven't tried this function yet but when you use the remote while watching a TV program there is a record icon that pops on the left lower corner.
MirroringI connected my wife's Ipad with the TV via the local network and I can see in the TV what I can see in my Ipad screen. I can stream movies, play games and use facetime using my Ipad's camera and you can see it in your TV.
Image QualityBeing a plasma fan, this TV had comparable black levels. I just find the sharpness of the pictures sometimes artificial. Since it has an IPS panel, it has good viewing angles and the colors are very good although I haven't tried calibrating this TV yet, out of the box the picture is so bright...I had to wear shades.
I just toned down the brightness a bit by lowering the backlight levels and chose Cinema mode.
It has a 240Hz frequency and can exhibit the Soap Opera Effect. Options are Smooth, Clear and Clear Plus. I think these are the levels for the motion flow effect. Had to choose Clear as Clear Plus made me dizzy.
3D One of the main reasons why I bought this TV is because of its 3D capabilities using
passive 3D glasses. Glasses which you do not have to charge anymore. They are lightweight glasses in that you wouldn't notice it being there. I have the Panasonic 50UT30 which uses active 3D glasses and it is cumbersome and heavy to wear. My kids just got tired of it. I must say that the 3D rendition of this TV is much better than the 3D of my Panasonic 50UT30 plasma TV. I found some Real 3D glasses I purchased from amazon years ago and it worked with this TV. CDRKing sells the same glasses for 80-150/pc. The whole clan can watch 3D with this TV.
Audio QualityI can rate it above average for a flatscreen TV this thin as it can output low frequencies well on normal listening levels. But then I use my HT for all audio functions so this is put to rest.
LG ServiceThis is the 2nd time I had an LG TV. The first one was still from Theaterworks way back. A rare 32" LG plasma which until now is still working well. After 3 days LG called me up just to know if I have any problems with my TV or am I satisfied with it. I was surprised by the call which I have never experienced from any TV purchase before. It has a 2 year warranty so let's see how things will go.
I am enjoying this TV so far and will try to add later on what I can still discover. Being an HTPC guy, I am not a Smart TV fan. But when I tried to test its capabilities I was impressed. I have to admit though that I still have my HTPC hooked to this TV.