TEST BENCH

Primary Color Point Accuracy vs. SMPTE HD Standard

After making basic adjustments in the 47LG90's Expert picture preset with the Warm color temperature mode selected, grayscale tracking measured +/- 492 ° K of the 6,500 K standard from 20 to 100 IRE. Further adjustments made to the red, green, and blue controls in the set's White balance menu upped performance to +/-85 ° K from 20 to 100 IRE, making the LG's post-calibration grayscale among the flattest I've measured on a TV. This result can be attributed to the 10-point White Balance option, an adjustment that lets you tweak settings at 10 separate brightness levels ranging from 10 to 100 IRE. Color decoder tests revealed only a slight 2.5 % green pull on the HDMI inputs, and 5 % for component-video. Compared with the SMPTE HD specification, only the TV's green color point measured off the mark, showing slight oversaturation.

Overscan - the amount of picture area hidden behind the edges of the TV's screen - measured 0% for 1080i and 720p-format high-definition signals when the Just Scan display mode was active. With the sharpness control adjusted for minimal edge enhancement, both 1080i and 720p test patterns looked soft via the TV's HDMI and component-video inputs. Screen uniformity was excellent, with no tinting or uneven brightness visible on gray, black, and white full-field patterns. Viewing angle was only fair as compared with other LCD TVs, though better than other LED-backlit models, with picture contrast dipping slightly at seats more than 15° off from the screen's center axis. Gamma hit the 2.2 target with the High Gamma mode selected, and 2.0 at the Medium setting.

Tests of the LG's video upconversion capabilities delivered mixed results. It failed the film resolution test on the Silicon Optix HQV high-def Blu-ray test disc, and also displayed moiré effects on the exterior Vatican wall scene from Chapter 6 of the Mission: Impossible III Blu-ray disc. When running DVD test discs, it also tripped up on HQV's 2:3 film pulldown and assorted cadences tests, although I didn't see any "jaggy" effects when watching regular DVD movies. The TV's noise reduction processing proved effective in cleaning up noisy pictures, and it didn't introduce any detail loss, even at the High setting. -A.G.