For our last TV review of 2007, it seemed only fitting to view a TV with a firm eye on the future. More precisely, a future without analogue television.
Like it or not, in an ongoing three to four year process starting pretty much right now, parts of the UK will suddenly and dramatically find their analogue television broadcasts being shut down, leaving the Freeview digital terrestrial service their only option remains to watch any TV.
So it’s nice to see that manufacturers are finally paying more than lip service to the Freeview system in the form of the 42-inch 42LT75 LCD TV from LG. What makes the 42LT75 different/special is its Freeview Playback accreditation. In fact, this is the first Freeview playback TV to be launched in the UK.
Freeview Playback, in case you’ve missed all the recent TV adverts about it, is practically an attempt to bring the joys of Sky+ recording to Freeview’s own digital service. So any device – TV, separate receiver – that wants to be Freeview playback certified must have, among other things, a built-in hard disk recorder, two digital tuners so you can watch one digital channel while recording another, and – hooray! – Series Link feature where the hard drive automatically tracks and records every episode of your favorite shows so you never have to worry about missing them again.
Freeview playback devices also let you pause live TV, rewind live TV, or watch live TV (as in, you watch a show a minute or two later while it keeps recording in front of you). Also, you can link recordings/series by simply selecting programs from the 7-day electronic program guide. As you can see, Freeview Playback really does pretty much everything for Freeview that Sky+ does for Sky Digital.
At this point, anyone who has taken a break from stuffing themselves with turkey and chocolate to read our Christmas review of the Hitachi P50XR01 TV might be wondering what really makes the LG 42LT75 so special, given that it only shares a majority of its functionality seems with the Hitachi (which also had a built-in HDD recorder).
The answer is that the LG 42LT75’s recording and operating system not only features the all-important Series Link system, which is conspicuously absent from the Hitachi model, but has also been developed entirely in collaboration with Freeview engineers to deliver a defined set of ” Freeview Playback” standards. In comparison, the Hitachi just does its own thing.
And the results of the collaboration between LG and Freeview are evident in the 42LT75’s operating system, which is as perfect as you’re likely to ever get on a feature-packed TV. For example, creating and recalling recordings from the hard drive is incredibly easy, thanks to well-organized on-screen menus and a well thought-out remote control. And playback functions like rewind, fast forward and “live pause” are so easy to use that even the most nervous technophobes will be getting the most out of every aspect of the 42LT75 in a matter of hours.
Before we find out if the 42LT75 has the capability to back up its impressive functionality, there are a few limitations with the Freeview playback system that you should be aware of. First and worst, you can’t record two digital channels at the same time like Sky+ does. Second, oddly enough, there is no trace of any program on your save list while it’s actually being recorded; It will not appear until the recording is complete.
Still, we suspect the two limitations just outlined might not seem like too much of a deal for people wanting to enjoy the delights of onboard digital TV/HDD recording without having to pay through the nose like you would with the alternative do by Sky.
Additionally, the 42LT75’s digital channel recordings are absolutely impeccable. Because the television actually records the direct digital bitstream on its hard drive, the results are indistinguishable from the original broadcast. And there’s no fairer way to say it.
While it’s doubtful you’ll need to pick up the TV’s analogue tuner very often, the 42LT75 still does a good job when needed. Various recording quality options are available for the analog tuner, with the lower quality options taking up less storage space. And of those options, the top ‘High’ mode results in images that are only slightly noisier than the original analog broadcasts, while even the much less memory-hungry Standard mode works well too, and looks vastly better than anything you’d see from an old one VCR.
If we shift our attention from the quality of the 42LT75’s recordings to its actual screen performance, the 42LT75 proves to be an unexpected success. Why unexpected? Because the 42LT75 really makes big strides in the right direction, away from the rather disappointing efforts of many of LG’s other recent LCD offerings.
Of particular note – not to mention a necessity given the Freeview playback focus – is how good the 42LT75’s standard definition images look compared to most other LG LCDs. For example, LG’s old tendency to overemphasize noise in standard definition images is replaced here with one of the cleanest digital tuner presentations we’ve seen.
Also, LG’s previous problem with colors starting to take on some odd tones when viewed at standard definition has been massively reduced, to the point where the 42LT75’s standard definition images are actually some of the most natural tones we’d see on an LCD – Saw TV.
Finally, when objects scroll across the screen when viewed in standard definition, there are far fewer problems with smearing seen with previous LG LCDs.
In fact, the magnitude of the standard definition improvements made for the 42LT75 is so remarkable that we can only imagine that creating a Freeview playback TV eventually forced LG’s Korea-based engineers to tweak their normal picture processing routines, to optimize them for reality very specific image requirements of our Freeview service. Let’s hope similar changes can now infiltrate LG’s entire line of TVs.
In keeping with its focus on standard definition, the 42LT75 isn’t a Full HD TV, sticking to the HD Ready resolution of 1,366 x 768. That doesn’t mean it’s not a very comfortable HD performer, however.
For example, crisp HD sources like The Prestige look as sharp and detailed on HD DVD as they do on any other HD Ready TV we can imagine – and video noise is a big deal. The overall sharpness of the presentation is also enhanced by the fact that there’s even less motion blur than we’ve reported with standard definition, while colors in tone are even more subtly believable.
Another quality that rivals both standard and high definition quite well is the 42LT75’s black level response. We’re not talking about class-leading or benchmarking here; There are certainly other sets that deliver even deeper, more natural black levels. But the level of gray that sits over dark scenes like the shuddering final tracking shot in the basement of Robert Angier’s old theater in The Prestige is rarely, if ever, strong enough to really distract you from what you’re looking at.
Perhaps a little more disturbing is the fact that the 42LT75’s colors don’t look as aggressively vibrant and eye-catching as most of LG’s recent LCD releases. Still, they certainly don’t look drab, and if a little “holding back” helped LG achieve the more natural toning we’ve been talking about, then we won’t say more about it.
One definite downside that might compel some prospects to look elsewhere for their next digital TV is the way the digital feed loses strength as it makes its way through the 42LT75’s first tuner and into the second. In other words, when we cranked our digital reception strength down to the kind of levels you might reach if you happen to live in a frontier area of digital television reception, the second tuner often struggled to show a clean, stable picture, despite the first tuner has held up well. We therefore strongly recommend that you have your Freeview signal strength checked professionally before purchasing a 42LT75.
The 42LT75, like most LG flat screen TVs, is a very eye-catching eye-catcher. But its sleek design hasn’t stopped it from delivering robust audio, complete with rich, round vocals, a winsomely wide soundstage, and even a decent helping of bass by flat-screen TV standards. A bit more treble clarity would have added more “shine” to the soundstage, and the pseudo-surround sound mode provided is predictably terrible. But overall, the 42LT75’s sound offers a sympathetic accompaniment to its much-enhanced images.
“‘Verdict”‘
Congratulations to LG on the 42LT75. The Freeview playback system turns out to be a triumph, even in this first TV incarnation. And thankfully, LG has really thrown its support behind the new tech by showing Freeview pictures much better than ever.
Add all of this to a frankly amazingly low price for such a large, feature-packed TV, and LG deserves to have a resounding success.
How we test televisions
We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to properly compare features. We will always tell you what we find. We never accept money to rate a product.
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Used as the main TV during the period
Tested over a week
Tested with industry calibrated tools, discs and real world use
Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs
points in detail
value 10
picture quality 8
sound quality 8