LG 47LD950 review

LG takes an old-fashioned approach to 3D - with some surprising results

LG 47LD950
The 47LD950 is designed for those wanting to get a taste of 3D without the limitations on glasses

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Excellent picture quality with Sky 3D broadcasts

  • +

    Attractive design

  • +

    Decent HD picture quality

  • +

    Cheap 3D glasses

Cons

  • -

    Alternate frame Blu-ray playback is fundamentally flawed

  • -

    Seems more expensive than it should be

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While seemingly millions of us are quite content to stick a pair of 3D glasses on our noses when we go to the cinema these days, it seems we're not so keen to wear them in our own living rooms.

Time and again we hear people saying they won't get into the technology until you don't have to wear glasses.

With this point of resistance in mind, it's hardly helpful that the specs in question cost around £100 each beyond the one or two pairs most manufacturers are including with their 3D sets.

Nor must it improve Joe Public's mood that one brand of alternate frame glasses isn't compatible with another brand's screens. So if you have a Samsung 3D TV and you want to go and watch something on your mate's Panasonic 3D TV, your glasses won't work.

The brand also does a range of active 3D sets: the 55-inch 55LX9900 and 47-inch 47LX9900 direct LED models, plus the 47-inch 47LX6900 and 42-inch 42LX6900 edge LED models. And if you're not interested in 3D, there's also a vast range of non-3D models, including most notably the LE8900 direct LED and LE7900 edge LED models.

The 47-inch 47LD950 boldly eschews the latest active shutter/alternate frame/frame sequential (take your pick of the terminology) technology and sticks with a passive, offset approach.

So while you do still have to wear glasses, these can be the cheap, electronics-free types that have been available for years, making it enthrallingly affordable to get as many pairs as you like.

In other words, the LG 47LD950 breakaway set is potentially the perfect solution for 3D fans with large families or who are prone to throwing big TV and film event parties. But is there a catch?

John Archer
AV Technology Contributor

John has been writing about home entertainment technology for more than two decades - an especially impressive feat considering he still claims to only be 35 years old (yeah, right). In that time he’s reviewed hundreds if not thousands of TVs, projectors and speakers, and spent frankly far too long sitting by himself in a dark room.