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LG 50PZ950

The LG 50PZ950 "smart" plasma may include a THX3D-certified picture, but it's the Magic Motion remote and budget price that help it stand out.

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Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury

LG has plans to become the number one television manufacturer, and its with models such as the flagship PZ950 that it hopes to achieve this.

While the company is pushing this model's THX3D certification pretty hard — it probably cost them a pretty penny to get — there is one standout feature that should see it stand above its competitors this year, and it's not even a part of the TV itself.

The Magic Motion controller is a Wiimote-like remote that enables you to browse LG's Smart TV interface as well as the internet in a natural way. While Samsung also offers web browsing on its televisions, its system appears clunky in comparison to using the Magic Motion.

Yes, this model offers smart functionality as well as apps, and IPTV services such as BigPond TV and Movies mean you can even skip plugging in an antenna — at least for a little while.

Though LG's marketing would seem to suggest otherwise, the company is still offering shutter glasses on most of this year's 3D TVs, with the PZ950 including a single pair in the box.

As far as tech specs, the TV claims to support a contrast ratio with a five and lots of zeroes after it, helped by the company's TruBlack Filter. You also get four HDMI ports with version 1.4 support, and one with ARC functionality.