LG 47SL9000 Review

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LGE are a manufacturer known for exceptional quality electronics at a price that's righT. Their most recent foray has seen them enter the flat screen LCD television market with some surprising early results. Their new range of LED TVs, the SL9000 series, have been wowing consumers; the combination full HD capabilities and hassle free functionality and a long life have been drawing in converts. But how good are these new LED televisions?

LG have produced, what would appear to be, stunning TV's at competitive prices.Their new range includes the LG 47SL9000, one of the smaller screens, although the specifications are pretty much the same across the board.

LG's SL9000 range of HDTV's have a series of LED's located on the edge of the display as opposed to the traditional LCD format seen on many models currently available. Light Emitting Diode has become the new byword in an industry that strives to produce ever greater levels of detail and viewing quality. There's no denying that the 47SL9000 and it's larger, 47 " brother produce exceptional viewing (the 3,000,000:1 contrast ratio alone produces a truly stunning selection, and depth, breathing new life into HD viewing).

The only downside to the screens on the 47SL9000 - the 1080p HD display has been coated with a glossy layer that has a habit of reflecting a lot of light off the surface so you need to plan to put this TV in a room where it won't be in direct sunlight. LG has coined the term 'borderless' to describe the SL9000 series but, although it's slim compared to many of their previous models, it's not the thinnest TV available to buyers (3.5 cm at the edges and over 4 cm at the bottom).

When first turned on, the LG 47SL9000 loads up the default factory settings as default which are, if we're brutally honest, not designed for optimal viewing. One of the best recommendations we can make is to read your instruction manual and configure the TV to your own requirements rather than using the LG's defaults. One of the best modes on the LG 47SL9000 is the Cinema Mode which has been designed to provide an all-round quality viewing experience out of the box. We found that this setting needs minor adjustments to get a great picture (some minor tweaks to you backlighting settings will do the trick).

Unfortunately, LG has decided to build the 47SL9000 TV with Trumotion 100Mhz motion control - the motion control features found on the SL8000 series is a far superior200 Hz - but the set still handles fast moving action well.

The build and design quality are up there with the best names in LCD manufacturing and the 47SL9000 features pretty much all the connectors you'll need to turn it into a decent multimedia hub. Connecting the TV to your compatible games consoles or Blu-Ray device simple and the TV has support for older devices like VCR's and SD devices.

Sadly, there's no SD card reader because LG have decided this television only needs a USB port. No big deal as the USB socket lets you attach a good range of multimedia devices (AVC HD, SD and HD DivX). If that's not enough, the SL9000 models also benefit from LG's support for DNLA compatible devices which let you to connect to streaming content via the Ethernet port.

The SL9000's remote commander is both simple to use and benefit from a backlit panel that makes it easy to see what you're doing when used in a dark room.

The LG 47SL9000's audio capabilities could do with a boost. It's not that LG have scrimped on features; far from it. The culprit here is the super model-like body which, because it's being only 2.9 cm thick, leaves no space for decent speakers! The resulting audio is under par in depth of sound but this is unlikely to be a problem for TV enthusiasts with plans to connect the 47SL9000 up to their surround sound system.

The 47SL9000 LED TV gets a big thumbs up in the power consumption department. The 47SL9000 uses only 0.3 W when placed in standby which, although more than other LED TV's out there, is still a major step up from most of the LCD televisions on the market right now.

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