LG 47LD950 review

The 47LD950 sets out an impressively defiant stall with its glossy looks and bold, anti-establishment favouring of passive 3D reproduction. And for a while it looks like it might just be able to turn the new 3D world on its head when it turns out arguably the most watchable Sky 3D performance we've seen to date.
But then the wheels come off rather alarmingly with 3D Blu-rays, which are as tiring to watch as Sky's 3D channel is relaxing.

If 3D doesn't interest you, the 47LD950's 2D efforts turn out to be pretty directly related to the quality of the sources you feed it. As in, it's great with HD or really pure standard-def feeds, but a bit troublesome with typical Freeview broadcasts.

We liked:

Despite being pretty chunky compared with most 3D TVs, the 47LD950 cuts an attractive figure in your living room. It's impressively flexible when it comes to setting it up too, carrying enough tweaks and adjustments to keep the most dedicated of tweakers happy. And provided you're careful with all the tools on offer, they really are capable of radically improving the set's picture quality.

LG is also to be congratulated on making the 47LD950 so superbly easy to use. Best of all, though, it's a revelation with Sky 3D footage, as well as being a mighty fine displayer of HD 2D fare.

We disliked:

The 47LD950's price seems at least £500 too high, despite partial redemption from the fact that you don't have to cough up loads of extra money for spare pairs of its 3D glasses.

It's also a pity that such a costly set lacks a Freeview HD tuner or any online features.

Its sound is pretty average, but probably no more so than the majority of its rivals. But the 47LD950 certainly does struggle compared with some rivals when it comes to playing full HD, frame sequential Blu-ray films.

Verdict:

There is most definitely a place in the world for the 47LD950. Its ability to make 3D the social, event- driven technology it ought to be, thanks to its freedom from expensive, brand-specific glasses, is bound to find it an audience.

The supremely natural way its passive 3D engine presents Sky's 3D channel is also quite thought provoking, making us wonder if the frame sequential approach is really worth all the trouble. But then the 47LD950's problems with frame sequential Blu-ray playback plays straight back in to the hands of all the active 3D proponents out there.

With a mixed 2D performance to its name too, in the end the 47LD950's price arguably becomes its biggest problem, as it's too expensive to appeal to the more 'casual' 3D/TV viewer we might have been inclined to recommend it to.

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