LG Electronics 60PH6700 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz Active 3D Plasma HDTV with Smart TV (Black)

Beautiful TV with nice options, but a few minor drawbacks, May 11, 2013

By 

M. Fulkerson (Portland, Oregon) –

  

  

After a few weeks of heavy usage and exploring all the things this television has to offer, I can easily give it a top recommendation. There are a few annoying quirks, but nothing that mars the overall enjoyment. Depending upon what you plan to use this TV for, it can be the best television you’ve ever had for your needs. Just realize that if you plan to fully push this TV to what it’s capable of, you’ll need to make a few extra purchases which is a bit of a bummer.

First off, the television came with all of the necessary parts and instructions as far as set up goes. This includes Magic remote, Stand body and base, screws, power cord holder, ferrite core, and protection cover. Using and installing these things is easy with booklet that is included. Of course, one of the things that is NOT included are the 3D AG-S3 glasses that can be used with this particular tv. It seems that most televisions include 3D glasses WITH the tv’s these days, but not so here. It’s hard for me to really ding LG for this fact considering that it does not mention 3D glasses are included, so the discerning buyer who bothers to read what’s included will be able to make an educated decision as to whether or not that’s a deal breaker. Given the attributes of this set, I decided it wasn’t a big deal considering the overall price, but for your information, the glasses will cost around 75 extra dollars. I have not made that purchase as of yet, so I cannot attest to the quality of this sets 3D capability. Personally, I don’t care about 3D and will never use it, but if it’s the sole reason you’re picking up this TV, you’ll definitely want to do a lot of research on your own. I will also continue to update this review as my experience with this set becomes more complete.

Put simply, the picture is AMAZING. I mean, I’m slack-jawed at what this TV is able to produce on the screen. I watched the blu-ray version of Django Unchained on this TV, and it looked positively gorgeous. Colors were vibrant from every angle, and there was no streaking or blurring of any kind. I also watched some action-packed movies on blu-ray like Road Warrior and Predator, and wow, just stunning. Watching sports is an amazing experience as well. I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs on this tv, and you can almost reach out and touch the players. The 600 Hz refresh rate really shows off in this aspect, and my friends are all starting to trickle over to my place to watch games. Speaking of games, if you’re a video gamer like me, this tv will be your pride and joy of the home. I’ve played Skyrim, Tomb Raider, and Bioshock Infinite on this TV, and the picture is the best I’ve ever seen with a video game. No blurring of any kind whatsoever, and the colors are the most vibrant I’ve seen.

Setting up the internet was no problem as I have a wired connection directly to the TV. It has wi-fi capability, which i have tested and works fine. The connection is a tad slower than the wired connection, but that can always be expected with any device. The apps are all the standards, like Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. I had no issue getting them up and running like a charm. I’ve yet to fully explore all the apps and their functionality, but I will update this review as I continue to use more of its features.

The magic remote is extremely simple and responsive. It acts as a sort of Wii remote where you wave it to the side and a cursor will appear on the screen so you can navigate. I’ve read some people have had some problems with it’s responsiveness but not so here. It’s worked each and every time, and with no hassles. Mind you, I’m about 10 feet from the TV when I use it, so possibly the farther away you are, the more challenging it can be to use. I’ve backed up from the across the room (about 15 feet) and still had no issues with it. The remote has voice recognition as well which is pretty cool. It’s a beta version and is clearly stated as such in the literature that comes with the set, so it isn’t quite perfected yet. I had some spotty results, but this isn’t a feature I care much about, so, like the 3D, it’s easy for me to ignore. If this is important to you, be advised it IS a beta version. The remote also has a 3D button, Smart TV button and menu button. All are easy to navigate and very responsive. The literature makes note that the remote may experience interference from nearby devices such as microwaves and wireless LAN devices. I don’t have these devices nearby, but if you do it would be wise to take this under advisement.

Using the apps is pretty straight forward, and depending on your internet connection, very quick to load. My wired connection handles what this TV demands with ease.

The sound is just fine, but not great. You can’t expect great sound from stock speakers, and I’m assuming that anyone investing in a TV such as this will be thinking about their own…

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 Comments (5)

Give Plasma a Chance, May 14, 2013

I was shopping for a LED TV for a while. I leaned towards LG due to the reviews and the Magic Remote (Same remote, but for this model, it’s a black plastic one, no big deal). After shopping around, and talking to salespeople, I appreciated the benefits of a Plasma TV. Then I reviewed the LG series, and noticed they had a Plasma series with the same specifications as the LEDs at a better price. For the price I was originally going to spend on a TV and free Blue Ray Player, I got the TV, a Blue Ray Player, a Sound Bar (LG NB3530A), and a TV stand. I got everything I wanted. The TV is active 3D, so you need to order active 3D glasses separately. The TV is great, it wireless syncs with the LG Sound Bar. The whole package is fantastic, and I’m glad I waited. I got way more then I anticipated. The TV has a small bezel, it looks good, and the Plasma picture is great!

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Not bad for plasma, May 17, 2013

By 

Dienne (Cicero, IL) –

  

  

When the delivery guys brought this through my front door, all I could think was, wow, do I really want this in my living room? I was a bit afraid that it would dominate the whole room, but I’ve found, to my pleasant surprise, that, while it is considerably bigger than our old TV, it is not overwhelming. In fact, I’ve gotten so used to it that I can’t quite remember – nor imagine – what it was like to have such a small screen. Guess I’m getting spoiled.

But, that said, this thing is big. And, while flat screen TVs are of course much lighter than the old bulky TVs, this thing is still heavy. Even if you’re a big strong guy, you’re probably going to need some help getting it set up, especially getting it mounted on the base and standing upright. Other than the weight, however, the TV is relatively simple to put together. The base is also surprisingly sturdy (if a little bland looking). The TV looked awfully top-heavy to me, and we have young children, so I pushed on it pretty hard, but couldn’t make it tip over, which is a big relief.

Upon mounting it, hooking up any cables (DVD player, game systems, antenna, cable or dish service, etc.) and plugging it in, it’s a fairly simple matter of going through some start up procedures to find your channels and decide your settings. We initially encountered some difficulty getting the picture to come in when viewing regular TV through the antenna, but when all else fails, read the manual. There are some included magnets that go on the power cable to reduce interference and create a sharp picture. Voila!

The TV is controlled through the included “Magic” remote, which enables the on-screen menu navigation. The remote is quite nice in terms of simplifying navigation and doing away with the zillions of buttons found on a regular remote. It makes it more like navigating your computer with simple menus to guide you. But the select button is not always the most responsive and it can be difficult to hold the cursor on your choice and press the button to select that choice. I often find myself inadvertently selecting the choice below the one I want because it rolls before the button kicks in. A little practice helps.

The picture is not as sharp as you might be used to if you already have an LCD or LED TV, but it’s not as bad as the original plasma TVs which had very pronounced shadows. The shadow is very slightly visible, especially if viewing from an angle, but not so much that it negatively impacts the viewing experience.

As a typical Smart TV, you have easy access to any other device hooked up to your computer, such as your DVD player or game system, as well as a range of content available through internet hook-up, such as Hulu or Netflix (which require separate subscriptions, of course).

The sound is good, but nothing astounding. You may want to consider a stereo system add-on if you plan to watch movies or play games in which sound quality is very important.

The TV is 3-D capable, but because the TV is plasma rather than LED, ordinary 3-D glasses won’t work. Soon after getting this TV we contacted a number of electronics stores as well as the customer service number, but it appears that the required glasses for this model were not yet available. It’s been a few weeks since we looked and perhaps the situation has been rectified, but I’m a bit irritated that the required glasses weren’t simply included, even if that would add to the price a bit. Without the glasses, the 3-D feature is rather useless, after all.

Overall, we’re quite pleased with this TV, especially as it is quite a step-up, size-wise, from what we had before. I’m not as into TV and movies as my husband is, and he has spent quite a bit of time enjoying his new viewing experience. If we ever do get the 3-D glasses, he may never leave the couch again.

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