X

LG LW5600 series (photos)

While passive 3D has its flaws, the LG LW5600's 2D picture quality is very good for an edge-lit LED-based LCD TV, especially in bright rooms.

David Katzmaier
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.
David Katzmaier
34468431_OVR.png
1 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Overview

By now you may have heard all about passive 3D, how it might or might not be better than active, how LG/Vizio and Samsung/Sony/Panasonic are at each others' throats trying to convince buyers to choose one over the other, and how 3D TV is here to stay. That's all true, and documented exhaustively in our 3D TV FAQ, but in our experience few TV shoppers care about 3D in the least. If you're one of the few, then you'll want to know that overall we like the picture quality of active better than what we've seen of passive from the LG LW5600 series--although passive definitely has its advantages.

That said, we can forget about 3D and focus on what really matters: 2D picture quality, where the LW5600 is one of the best edge-lit LED TVs we've tested. The dimming backlight, despite its flaws, is an asset overall (and no, it's not available on less-expensive, 2D-only 2011 LGs) along with best-in-class color. Perhaps most importantly, the LW5600 has a matte screen that performs better than glossy screens in bright rooms. We liked LG's Internet features and even its funky remote this year, although buyers seeking a style statement will be disappointed. The LG LW5600 costs more than most LED-based LCD TVs, but it offers the complete package and deserves consideration from buyers in this price range regardless of how they feel about 3D.

34468431_CRN.JPG
2 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Corner detail

Aside from transparent edging, not much distinguishes the exterior of the LW5600.
34468431_BASE.JPG
3 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Stand detail

The swivel stand and rectangular base are likewise standard-issue.
34468431_SD.JPG
4 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Side view

At 1.1 inches thick the LW5600's panel is thinner than many other LED TVs.
34468431_GLSSES.JPG
5 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Passive 3D glasses

The LW5600 is LG's first TV with passive 3D capability, enabled by something called a Film Pattern Retarder. A polarizing film coating the TV screen allows each eye, when wearing special glasses, to view every other line to create the two images necessary for the 3D illusion.

The biggest market advantage of passive 3D is inexpensive glasses. LG packs four pair of passive specs in with the LW5600, and additional pairs cost $20. Less expensive compatible circular polarized glasses are available from online merchants, and if you swipe a pair of passive 3D glasses from your local theater, they should work too.

34468431_BK2.JPG
6 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Back panel inputs

Unlike Samsung and Panasonic LG blesses its slim TVs with a set of honest-to-goodness multicolored RCA jacks that don't require breakout cables (although the second component/composite input does). Users of a USB wi-fi dongle might want a third USB port, but we doubt it.
_34468431_RMT1.JPG
7 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Standard remote

LG's main remote is well-designed enough, but more interesting by far is the...
34468431_RMT2.JPG
8 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Magic motion remote

The secondary "Magic Motion" remote acts like the controller on a Nintendo Wii to enable you to make menu selections by motion control, rather than clicking from box with your thumb.

We called the wand-like motion controller a gimmick last year, but now that it can be used seamlessly across all menus and nearly every app (Netflix is the only exception we found--it prevents motion control, although the wand's cursor buttons still work), many of which seem designed with motion control in mind, it's much more appealing. Sure some things could be better--we wish the wand had a dedicated Return/Back button, response times occasionally lagged a bit and on occasion we had to give the wand a vigorous shake to get our cursor to return--but it was sometimes easier and faster than using the standard remote (especially after we changed pointer settings to Speed: Fast and Alignment: On in the Settings>Options menu).

Since the wand is radio-controlled it doesn't require line-of-sight to the TV. Another bonus is drag/drop, which we used to customize menus where available, drag a map in the Google maps app, and easily scroll down an AP news story by dragging a scroll bar, for example. Waving the wand at the screen to navigate menus and apps will take some getting used to for motion control novices, but it's a cool and somewhat useful option to have. The biggest downside is that it means having an extra remote on your coffee table (at least until Harmony incorporates motion control).

34468431_DT.JPG
9 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Wi-fi dongle included

LG includes a USB dongle allowing the TV to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. We tested LG's dongle and it worked well.
IMG_8603.JPG
10 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Home page

. The Home page consists of a live TV window with links below to inputs, TV settings, and favorite channels; a central section with five tiles you can customize and re-arrange to link to any of the "Premium" services like Netflix and Amazon; an LG Apps section listing the three hottest and newest apps from LG's app store; and a bottom strip with links to the app store, browser and two apps of your choice (we wish this strip offered the ability to tweak more than just two). The page's proportions feel right and we liked the big icons, especially since they made using the motion controller easier.
IMG_8609.JPG
11 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Premium content

Despite the ill-chosen "Premium" heading, you won't have to pay for any of the streaming services beyond subscription or pay-per-view fees. The selection is solid, although two music services--Pandora and Mog--that are available on its Blu-ray players mysteriously go missing on the LW5600. The company says Skype (which requires purchase of the speakerphone) and Hulu Plus will be available in July 2011.

That said, we appreciated that LG's Premium services are almost all excellent. Separating the wheat from chaff is often difficult, and we prefer to have a few apps/services that work well and offer satisfying content as opposed to myriad useless ones.

IMG_8604.JPG
12 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Netflix interface

LG uses the new Netflix interface, but for some reason it doesn't allow motion control.
IMG_8606.JPG
13 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Amazon Instant interface

The Amazon interface will be familiar to Panasonic Viera owners.
IMG_8608.JPG
14 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Google maps

We liked the maps app, especially since you can click and drag using the motion controller.
IMG_8612.JPG
15 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Web browser

LG's browser is pretty good for the breed, albeit relatively slow. Again we appreciated being able to use the motion controller to move the cursor on web pages.
IMG_8610.JPG
16 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Search

Like Samsung LG also offers video search. Search hits even fewer services than Samsung's (just Amazon Instant and some podcasts as far as we could tell), making it even more disappointing.
IMG_8613.JPG
17 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

LG apps

The selection in LG's app store is anemic at the moment, far outpaced by Samsung and, to a lesser extent, Panasonic. We did like the star rating system, especially since the plethora of negative ratings signaled it was legit. We didn't like the cramped layout of the app store, however, and we're a bit mystified why some Apps (like the excellent HomeCast podcast aggregator) aren't "Premium."
IMG_8602.JPG
18 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Games

Built-in games make a bit more sense with the motion controller, but they're still pretty bad.
IMG_8595.JPG
19 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Picture settings menus

LG offers plenty of picture adjustable presets.
IMG_8596.JPG
20 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Advanced picture settings

LG is always among the best in this department, and we loved having two Expert modes with the full plethora of adjustments--although we prefer the color management system used by Samsung. LG's picture setting menus, while extensive, are also annoying to navigate since they require so much scrolling during adjustment (the motion remote isn't any help here).
34468431.jpg
21 of 21 Sarah Tew/CNET

Picture quality

The LG LW5600 is a very good overall performer for an edge-lit LED, matching its Samsung competitor the Samsung UN46D6400 with a "7" in this subcategory--although each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. We were most impressed by the LG's color, and while local dimming causes blooming and artifacts, the deep black levels and better uniformity were worth the tradeoff. 3D picture quality was, as we saw on the other passive TV we reviewed, inferior to active in key ways, but should still be appealing to less discerning eyes (and people who want to save money on a family's worth of glasses).

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos