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LG's LM9600 full-array local dimming LED TVs expand to 60 inches

LG's 2012 line of LED-based LCDs with full-array local dimming LED backlights now include more screen sizes, including a 60-inch option.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
David Katzmaier
2 min read
The LM9600 will have the thinnest bezel of any full-array LED TV yet. LG

LAS VEGAS--Last year LG released only one TV with our favorite kind of LED backlight, but for 2012 it has announced three sizes, from 47 through 60 inches.

All three of the LG LM9600 series offer that rare full-array local dimming LED backlight, but only two--the 47- and 55-inchers--utilize the "Nano" structure found on the 2011 55LW9800, which allows for a thinner cabinet design. The non-Nano 60-incher will have a thicker cabinet, although all three will boast the company's new thin Cinema Screen bezel, measuring "less than 5mm" according to a company rep we spoke to.

We asked whether the company had improved the screen finish, which was among the worst we'd seen on the 55LW9800, but he couldn't tell us by press time. He also couldn't yet specify how many "zones" of dimming each size provides.

Otherwise, these high-end LED TVs will offer all of LG's other step-up features, including the four-way Magic Motion remote with voice control and LG's redesigned Smart TV suite. For more on these features, check out our writeup of the LM8600 series.

Naturally they're also passive 3D TVs with LG's 2012 improvements, including better 2D-to-3D conversion, a 3D depth control with 20 steps, and Dual Play to cure the ills of spilt-screen gaming. New for 2012, LG includes six pairs of passive 3D glasses.

Pricing was not announced at the show, although LG's rep did give us approximate availability dates (see below).

LG LM9600 series features:

  • Full-array local dimming LED backlight
  • Thin 5mm bezel
  • Passive 3D
  • Six pairs of 3D glasses included
  • Four-way Magic Motion remote with voice control
  • Smart TV

LG LM9600 series models:

  • LG 47LM9600 47-inch, available April, $TBD
  • LG 55LM9600 55-inch, available April, $TBD
  • LG 60LM9600 60-inch, available third quarter 2012, $TBD