LG 60PY3RF (60-inch plasma)

Print

Email

Bookmark

Share

Add to My Products

By Philip Wong, CNET Asia
Jul 2, 2007

There are lots of catching up to be done for the plasma vendors in Asia. While their LCD rivals are churning out a barrage of full-HD models ranging from 40 to 52 inches, their plasma equivalents pale in comparison with limited entries from Pioneer, Panasonic and LG. Hopefully, this will change in the coming months, but for a PDP-5000EX alternative, the LG 60PY3RF may well be an interesting proposition for you.

Upside: If you are looking for something of a substantial size, you have obviously found the right match. This mammoth offers a generous 60-inch screen size that delivers a near-theatrical effect second to projectors. To top it off, a future-proof 1,920 x 1,080-pixel native resolution ensures pixel-to-pixel crisp visuals when paired with HD sources such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Easy on the eye, the chassis is dressed in all-round glossy black and measures an ultra-slim 98.5mm depth.

Onboard video processing is also well taken care of with an updated 1080p-ready 2007 XD engine and videophile-grade Faroudja DCDi deinterlacer/scalar. But what really differentiates this panel from the crowd is its 100Hz Drive. This doubles the standard picture frame rate for smoother motion reproduction ideal for sports and action-packed programs. Another notable feature is its souped-up two-way four-speaker audio subsystem, centered on a pair of 15W subwoofers for added oomph.

Moving on to connectivity, it ain't exactly a darling in quantity (more on this later), but nevertheless ranks high in versatility. For starters, there is Simplink or its implementation of the HDMI-Consumer Electronics Control. This allows you to power up or shut down all LG-compatible and HDMI-interfaced A/V boxes at the click of a button. For the video purist, the HDMI, component-video and PC inputs support film-based 24Hz 1080p signals, on top of the usual 50 and 60Hz variants.

Downside: For a model of this caliber, it's quite a shame the company has decided to do away with a third HDMI terminal. Though there are up to three analog sockets of similar capabilities, nothing beats the former when it comes to sharpness, especially critical for high-bandwidth 1080p video inputs. On a more practical note, a single cable that carries both audio and visual is a neater approach which not only minimizes clutter but also saves you a couple of dollars on cabling cost.

Comparing this LG against its closest peer, the Pioneer PDP-5000EX, it's not difficult to single out the identical specifications of 3,000:1 contrast and 1,000cd/m2 brightness. It may be a bit harsh to nitpick since larger panels are known to ship with more humble figures, but taking into consideration the one-year lapse between the two, it would have been nice if the Korean company had done better. Well, sort of, as this is not exactly a fair comparison to begin with.

Outlook: Size does matter and, to get an immersive movie experience, a 60-incher is definitely a recommended screen size to start with. But be prepared to fork out good money for such luxury--S$19,999 to be exact. If you are sourcing for a sizeable plasma TV with future-proofed specifications, this could well be your only alternative in the 60-inch class. Anything larger and you will be slapped with hard-to-swallow S$45,999 (US$32,727.85) and S$99,000 (US$70,437.57) invoices. Ouch! Reality check.