Refine search for TVs

  2 comments      Email TrustedReviews Newsletters

A check for other features of note doesn't turn up all that much, as I indicated at the start of this review. The most conspicuously absent feature is LG's XD Engine image processing, which is found on almost every other LG TV we've seen. Nor is there any 100Hz processing (this is actually less surprising on such a small TV), while ‘interesting' image tweaks are limited to noise reduction, a manual backlight adjustment and finally an automatic contrast option that's responsible for the 15,000:1 contrast ratio claim.

There are a couple of audio features of note, mind you; the fact that the set uses the same Mark Levinson-tuned Invisible Speaker technology that's worked so nicely for larger LG sets in recent times, and something called Clear Voice, which uses processing to highlight vocals in the sound mix.

Personally I had grave doubts that these audio features would really amount to much on such a small set - and these doubts prove to have some foundation, to be honest. For no matter how much input Mr Levinson may have had on proceedings, there's no getting round the fact that the 19LG3000's sound isn't significantly better than that of most small screens - which is to say, it's slightly impoverished, with a tinny, bass-free tone, and a tendency to become harsh under any action-scene duress.

Pictorially the 19LG3000 is a bit better - though certainly not without its flaws. Its greatest strength by far is the amount of clarity and detail in its pictures. With HD sources you can really appreciate the extra amount of pixels the source material contains, proving yet again that you don't need a really big screen to love high definition.

But the 19LG3000 is also very assured with standard definition, suffering none of the overt noise or softness that characterises standard definition on so many budget small LCD TVs. This standard def sharpness is particularly surprising given the set doesn't carry LG's XD Engine system, but there you go.

Pictures are also quite bright and vibrant for a small LCD TV, at least so long as you use the provided vivid preset (which strangely doesn't cause the same sort of noise problems witnessed on LG sets higher up the size tree). And finally in the tick box, motion doesn't look nearly as blurred as we've come to expect from most small LCD TVs.

Add your comment