LG 26LG3000 HD Ready LCD Television Review
LG 26LG3000 - 26″ Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV
LG3000 series was the Christmas gift from LG. The LG 26LG3000 is a high definition LCD TV with built-in digital FreeView. This LCD TV from LG follows the release of 26AV505DB from Toshiba. Although the LG3000 series loses the Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution of the 5000/6000 series TVs, it retains some of the innovative features found on LG’s high end LCD TVs.
Gorgeous design:
The design of the LG 26LG3000 Widescreen LCD TV is absolutely gorgeous, giving a very hi-end look to it. It has a very narrow bezel, that widens towards the bottom end. The finishing colour is glossy piano black, the glossy black finish which is the trademark of LG has been toned down to give a subtle as well as a stylish kit. Though, it is a low budget TV, it has a solid built quality. This kind of a neat attractive look of the TV is achieved with the help of LG’s invisible speaker technology. LG uses exciters in the bezel to produce sound, rather than using the conventional speakers that bolt on to the edges of the television. Adding to the beauty is the swivel stand that is semi circular, with a vertical stand. With the help of this stand, you will be able to see the TV sitting at any part of the room as you could rotate it. This adds to the flexibility of the entire kit, which we certainly did not expect for this price tag.
Solid set of connectivity:
The LG 26LG3000 HD Ready LCD Television has a solid set of connectivity options. It has two HDMI ports and a D-sub PC port, while you get most of the job done by these ports itself, it is important that we mention that the bigger versions of the LG3000 have three HDMI ports and are compatible with the LG’s SimpLink system. Absence of a third HDMI and the SimpLink system in the 26” version of the LG3000 means that you will be restricted from enjoying the enhanced two way communication between the LCD TV and the other HDMI connected LG gadgets.
Cut-downs done on this smaller version:
Apart from the difference with the connectivity between the 26″ version and the bigger versions of LG3000 series, there are a few other features too which are absent in 26LG3000, that could be found in the others. One of the most important one in this list is the LG’s XD Engine Processing. This engine helps in boosting the picture’s contrast, detail, colour, and motion details, and so, these advantages cannot be enjoyed in 26LG3000 26 inch LCD TV. XD Engine brings together a range of picture processing enhancements under the name of XD which focuses on improving the panels operation in two distinct areas. Its role in the input signal improves the quality of incoming feeds and then with the panel itself to improve the presentation of these feeds.
Coming to the difference in the speakers, the 26LG3000 LCD TV from LG has only a pair of one way hidden speaker, whereas, from the versions of 32″ and above, you get the four two way speakers. Even the menu system in the bigger versions are fancy, graphics heavy, easy to understand and lot of tweaks filled for expert picture menu, which this 26″ model of LG3000 lacks.
Features: a good second room companion
LG 26LG3000 supports freeview. As most of you will be aware of by now, it is a free of subscription service that delivers up to 48 digital channels that includes E4, ITV2, BBC3, and Film4-plus 24 digital radio stations. It is also worth mentioning that this feature is free of any contracts or dishes.
Along with the contrast ratio of 15,000:1, the 26LG3000 retains the Clear Voice technology which has been designed to enhance the sound frequency range of on-screen dialogue even when background noise increases.
With some of the features being cut down, it is clear that this LCD TV is mainly designed for the second room. And this is where, LG has made clever decisions in cutting down the prices. We use the word clever because, by the name of cutting down, LG has not compromised much on the specifications. For instance, the specified contrast ratio is 15000:1 and the brightness rate is also 500cd/m2, both the values, which are quite good.
Contrast:
The 15000:1 contrast ratio is not the native one. Instead, the contrast depends on the backlight system which reduces the brightness of the image when some the dark scenes are detected and this also helps in reducing the appearance of greyness over the darker areas. The fact that the 15000:1 is not the native resolution cannot be considered as an issue as the backlight system that is provided has a quick response time and so, you will not witness any unstableness.
Absence of the image processing engine:
Though most of the absent features that are cut down by LG did not affect the TV by large, the absence of LG’s XD picture processing engine did. The set of colours are vibrant and dynamic but are inefficient with the natural tones. It is not just one or two shades, the entire colour palette is not up there. Basically, it looks like as if the screen has been calibrated with PC-friendly colour temperatures more in mind than the D65 standard video devices generally aspire to.
Not gaming friendly:
Motion blur is also evident, this is because of the undesired response time of 8ms. The TV does not have even the 100Hz or any other means of image processing to help with. The issue with response time means that the TV is not that suitable for playing video games. For example, games like Gear Wars of 2, require a lot of action and quick responses which the 26LG3000 cannot handle. Though it claims to have a good contrast ratio, it fails to show off clearly the darkness of the game’s environments.
Some sweet things too:
Having said some disadvantages, it does not mean that 26h LG3000 is not worth it. It has some great advantageous features too. It reproduces pictures from the HD sources with a great deal of sharpness. Though you might argue that it is because of the small size of the TV, still, the replication is too good. Every pixel of the HD can be enjoyed when combined with the Built-in FreeView Tuner. The up-scaling capabilities of the TV are also too good. The HD version of the picture is reproduced without any unnecessary noises or issues with colour or softness. This performance of 26LG300 is very surprising as it does so without the help of any image enhancing engines.
Audio:
The audio again is quite disappointing with the absence of the two way speakers. The audio feels thinner, lifeless and wimpy. Not suitable for enjoying the day time chat shows. Interestingly there are a number of preset acoustic modes from which to choose, Standard, Music, Cinema, Game and Sport.
Verdict:
The price tag on this 26″ LCD TV is not that high considering the fact that is well designed and has a great list of features. This is one of the main reasons why 26LG3000 stands out from the crowd. Another most attractive thing is the TV’s design itself. But when you have a deeper look, most of you will not be happy with the sacrifices that had been made. If you are looking for a great looking television, a decoration piece, at a budget price, this is the one you were searching for.
The LG 32LG30 comes with one year manufacturers warranty.
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LG 26LG3000 LCD HDTV Technical Specification Details
| Manufacturer | LG |
| Model Name | LG 26LG3000 |
| Dimensions (H X W X D) mm | 663.8 x 447.8 x 79 |
| Weight | 8.6 kg |
| Colour/Finish | Glossy black |
| Stand type | Table top swivel |
| Display size | 26 inch wide screen |
| Display technology | LCD |
| Display Format | 720p |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Image Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Widescreen Modes | 16:9, Just, Zoom |
| Dynamic Contrast Ratio | 15000:1 |
| Brightness (cd/m2) | 500 |
| Response time | 8ms |
| Progressive Scan | Progressive scanning (line doubling) |
| Viewing Angle | 17 degrees |
| Backlight Life | 60,000 hours |
| Analog TV Tuner | NTSC |
| Digital TV Tuner | QAM, ATSC |
| Stereo Reception System | MTS |
| Channel Coverage | DTV:2-69, VHF:2-13, UHF:14-69, Cable:1-135 |
| HDTV Ready | Yes |
| Input Video Formats | 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p |
| Picture Status Mode | Vivid/Standard/Cinema/Game/Sport |
| Color Temperature Control | Cool/Medium/Warm |
| Analog Video Input Signals | NTSC |
| Remote Control | Universal remote control - Infrared |
| Supported Devices | TV and VCR, DVD , Satellite or Cable |
| Sound Output Mode | 1Way 2 Speakers |
| Sound Effects | Virtual Surround |
| Audio Controls | Balance, Bass, Treble, Sound mode |
| Sound Status Mode | 5 modes (Standard/Music/Cinema/Game/Sport) |
| Speakers Included | 2 x 5 watt |
| Connectivity | 2 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) 2 x Component video input 1 x VGA input 1 x S-Video input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) 3 x Composite video/audio input 1 x Serial ( 9 pin D-Sub ) Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) 1 x Audio line-out 1 x Remote control 1 x Digital audio output (optical) |
| Power Device | Power supply - Internal |
| Power | AC 120/230 V |
| Warranty | 1 year |
July 16th, 2009 at 9:40 am
We priced many tvs and this one was the best bargain for the money! Like the previous reviewer stated, I couldn’t give this a higher rating. It’s a great LCD!