LG Scarlet 42" LCD TV

This new LCD TV from LG comes with a spanking new website and ad campaign, and just as things looked all set to take their natural course, it landed up in the Tech2.0 labs (much to our pleasure). We didn’t even have to ask for it, so I guess the makers are pretty confident about their new product. It’s one of the first red TVs out in the market, along with the Samsung Series 6 which looks good too. But we believe strictly in the first-come first-served policy, so the LG 42 LG60FR is what we’ll review first.

Design and specs
This model has a glossy smooth finish all over, with the back totally ‘snazzed’ up – no more ugly grilles and grooves! Replacing that is a smooth sheen reflecting a deep red finish. My gripe is: why just the back? If it’s a wall-mounted unit, it beats the whole purpose. The stand, on the other hand is shiny too. Secondly, is it just a new bezel on an old TV? That will be addressed in the course of this review; for now I’ll just say that the scarlet looks very nice.

The bottom panel contains the speaker. No grille is visible; the marketing folks say it’s ‘hidden’. There is a large ring carved out in the center of this thickish bottom part, which is again quite innovative. It glows red (scarlet?) while in standby, and white when the TV is on.

It’s a 42-inch full HD panel, meaning 1080 horizontal lines make up the image, currently the highest detail standard today (1920x 1080). It’s when you have a source that plays actual 1080p resolution footage that these TVs are at their best; otherwise the image is stretched. The contrast ratio is rated quite high at 50,000:1, while the brightness is 500 cd/m2. Let the performance section speak about this…

It has an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Sensor, which basically modifies the brightness by sensing the surrounding light. The highlight connections are HDMI 1.3 and a USB 2.0 input for viewing pics and hearing songs (no DivX yet, sorry). The back panel also bears other inputs such as composite and component in.

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We started off, hoping the performance would live up to the ritzy exterior. First up came calibration and fiddling around. Which brings me to the topic of AV modes that the TV offers. Cinema, Sport and Game are the presets, while you have an intelligent sensor setting here too. This sensor works very well; it’s not a gimmick. Well, not quite a gimmick; as I still think going to the user section and setting the menu to one’s liking yields best results.