LG 47 LW6510 3DTV

3D like it should.

Until now home 3D has been all about active shutters, frame rate syncing and cranial haemorrhaging. Having given the world delicious cinema 3D, the great TV cartel saw fit to endow home cinema with a half-baked, overcomplicated equivalent, most likely so they could switch to something better and sell more TVs a year later.  Whether it was a global recession, childhood Betamax trauma or just how crap active glasses are, only a minuscule percentage of new TV sales have been 3D. Much to Sony and Samsung’s horror, LG have jumped the planned obsolescence queue and brought passive polarised 3D to the market. The difference is a game changer.

To put it simply; the 3D just works. Despite a hit to resolution courtesy of polarised interlacing when compared to active shutter, there’s no flicker, fatigue, eye irritation and courtesy of some nifty coating and LED trickery no darkening or visible lines.  Lenses are cheap, light, non-proprietary and, unlike active shutters, can be curved so they subsequently range from clip-ons to Oakley to the R6 NuMetro specials. LG even supply a party pack of 5 different styles and since they don’t need batteries, charging or much of a capital outlay, sharing a 3D movie or a gaming session with friends is suddenly viable. Living the dream.

Once you are all styling with your JFKs you can play your content directly from your home network (no more media player), USB or those quaint optical drive dinguses and you will be hard pressed not to be rapt by the format tolerance.

Now for the fail. Regrettably the LW6510 is steeped in frivolous schlock, most of which is ironically to float the ludicrous ‘Smart TV’ moniker and no doubt justify the R22k asking price for an LCD that has LED clouding. There’s integrated Facebook, Twitter and an LG app store if you really want to embarrass yourself. Even the ‘Magic Motion’ remote is OTT with a minimal set of buttons and a Wii style point and click experience driven by 2.4Ghz pickup and a terrible interface – because everybody needs a challenge when operating a TV.

Ridiculous gimmicks aside this TV, like several other LGs, also has some serious issues processing sound. Whether HDMI, optical or even streaming and transcoding on the unit itself, many formats exhibit delayed sound. No small thing.

Bigger picture; it’s a beautiful, albeit slightly rushed device that nevertheless makes 3D a viable option at last. With a software update to eradicate the nasty, pimped out ‘selling points’ and sound issues, it could be destined for glory. A brilliant glimpse of the future and a piece of kit worthy of serious praise, LG just may be the kick 3D needed to get started.

Price R22 000

Manufacturer LG

Supplier LG

Web www.lge.co.za

Screen size 47”

Contrast Ratio (dynamic) 9 000 000:1

Aspect ratio 16:9

Inputs 4xHDMI 1.4, VGA, 4xUSB, component, composite, LAN,  etc.