I’ve been living with a brand new 42” LF7700 for the past couple of weeks courtesy of LG and it’s time to give my thoughts - so here we go!

First Impressions

Electronics styling goes through phases just like any other fashion but I’m pleased that black is back – chrome and gold never appealed to me. The LG sticks to this simple formula with a contemporary high gloss black frame surrounding the panel. Speakers are discretely tucked away in the bottom bezel. Yes, the high gloss finish shows fingerprints - well, nothing’s perfect!

Setup – what can I say? Plug in, attach aerial and let the TV do it’s thing. All channels found and ordered automatically just like it should be.

A tabletop swivel stand is included in the package – hopefully this is becoming a standard feature but it wasn’t that long ago when manufacturers expected you to pay extra for the stand.

Integrated Freesat!

The unique feature of the LF7700 is it’s integrated Freesat HD tuner. Freesat is basically Freeview delivered over a satellite dish, which means that as well as all the standard Freeview channels you also can also (with Freesat HD) get high definition pictures.

The upside is that it’s free to receive and you can use your existing Sky dish if you have the spare cabling. The downside is that (at the moment) BBC HD  and ITV HD are the only two HD channels available

The freesat / freeview TV guide is fairly standard and keeps the audio of the channel you’re watching running in the background.

The Picture – standard definition

Contrast is excellent, with blacks actually coming close to “proper” black rather than the washed out shade of grey so common to LCDs. Colours are bright and vivid without being over-saturated.

The standard definition picture does exhibit some of the usual LCD blocking artefacts inherent to the technology. What this means in practical terms is that poor quality source material (like old shows on some of the smaller sky channels) has it’s flaws exposed for all to see.

The LF7700 is by no means alone in this and manages it well – decent sources give a clean image and the effect is only really pronounced at very close viewing distances.

The Picture – high definition

Plug in a high-def source to the LF7700 and you really start to see what the 1080p panel can deliver. Crisp, fluid images with no sign of blocking or smearing really does make for a very compelling picture. If you’re watching on Freesat you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time on BBC HD, because once you’ve seen it you really won’t want to go back… SkyHD images benefit similarly from the 1080p treatment – sports fans will not be disappointed!

Intelligent Sensor

LG TVs are now coming with their version of automatic picture control, dubbed “Intelligent Sensor”. This uses an ambient light sensor on the front of the set to dynamically adjust all picture parameters for the best image in the current conditions.

Interestingly, it doesn’t just dim the backlight - it also alters the colour balance, contrast and brightness to try to optimise the image.

After much experimentation I broke with tradition and kept this setting on. Usually I’d disable it and tweak the settings myself but I found the intelligent sensor did a pretty good job and coped well with changing room light. It also seemed to keep the colours fairly accurate – for example whites stayed white as the picture changed brightness.

If I had a complaint I’d say that it keeps the pictures slightly darker than I’d like (although that’s a matter of personal taste). The intelligent sensor is tied in with the energy saving settings and seems to want to keep the backlight as low as possible to save power. Personally I’d like the option to burn a few more watts on the backlight while using the sensor to optimise all the other settings but that’s not an option here.

Connections and PC input

2 HDMI ports on the back and another on the side give plenty of digital connectivity, while the component and RGB SCART inputs cater for legacy equipment.

PC compatibility is also worth a mention. The LF7700 has a standard 15 pin VGA input on the back and does an excellent job as a 42” PC monitor. Plugging in a laptop, the screen was identified correctly and the laptop happily drove it at the native 1920×1080 resolution, producing a clean and bright image.

It’s a very good way to watch those HD DivX movies you know you’ve downloaded

Nestled in amongst the auxiliary inputs on the side is a USB port. This will display JPEGs in a photo slideshow or play MP3s back through the internal speaker.

And finally… The Giveaway!

Yes, you did read that right. This TV retails at around £850 and LG have allowed us to give it away to one lucky reader! How cool is that?

We’re working out the details of the competition now, so keep an eye on the blog - we’ll start the ball rolling next week!