LG 50PZ850T review

LG’s latest plasma TV is a little different from its competitors – as well as a standard remote control, it has a stylus that lets you write directly on the 50in screen. If you don’t want to hand over your expensive new tablet to your kids, this may be the next best thing.

Before you can start doodling, you have to install drivers onto a PC or laptop (you’re out of luck if you own a Mac – OS X isn’t supported) then connect it to the TV. It should be a straightforward process, but it took several tries to get everything paired and synced correctly.

The software suite includes a diary, photo gallery, web browser, office file viewer and sketchbook. Unless you plan on using the TV as an alternative to an office projector, the most useful application will probably be the sketchbook – children will love being able to draw on the TV, although if they already know how to use an iPad they might not be impressed with having to use a pen. The system is fairly responsive, but its limited uses are unlikely to appeal to everyone.

The TV stand has four sturdy legs and is unlikely to topple over, even with the weight of a toddler against it. The thin screen’s silver bezel looks great, and all the TV’s connections are on the rear. Three HDMI ports, component, VGA, composite and SCART video inputs, digital optical and 3.5mm audio inputs, a common interface slot and a single USB port should be more than enough for most home setups.

The touch-sensitive functions don’t come at the expense of other features – the 50PZ850T includes DLNA media streaming, USB hard disk recording and internet TV functions, so you’ll have plenty to keep you entertained. LG’s interface is a little slow to respond at times, but it is at least easy to navigate – we had no trouble playing files from a USB flash drive. File format support is excellent, and all our test files played correctly. USB recording is basic; you have to format your memory stick first and you can only record one channel at once.

Image quality isn’t up there with the best that Panasonic and Sony have shown this year, but the plasma technology helps create dramatically superior black levels to similarly-priced LCD TVs. Standard definition TV footage looked reasonable, with only a small amount of noise artefacts from the high quality channels – low-bandwidth streams looked a lot worse, with a lack of facial detail. HD Blu-ray video was much better, with crisp outlines and plenty of detail. Colours were quite muted at the default settings, but a quick trip through the menus let us turn up the vibrancy.

Unlike most LG TVs we’ve seen this year, the 50PZ850T uses active shutter 3D glasses rather than passive ones. We usually prefer passive 3D because there’s no screen flicker, but the pair supplied with the TV did a fantastic job of minimising this effect. They also weigh less than most active shutter sets, although you’ll still need to buy additional pairs (at £50 each from www.play.com) if more than one person wants to watch a 3D film. There was a minimal amount of ghosting and crosstalk, so we could comfortably watch films without having to take a break.

Audio quality was fairly basic, with the two 10W speakers managing to do a reasonable job with broadcast television. We would still want to use a dedicated surround sound system for watching films – there was a lack of bass and the speakers don’t go particularly loud.

This wand is provided in addition to the remote and pen, but its only use is to navigate the menus as if you were using a Wii controller.

PenTouch is an interesting concept, but the complicated setup and limited functions limit its appeal. There’s also the question of price; you’re paying a premium for the pen (LG’s standard full HD plasma, the 50PZ570T, is £100 less). The 50PZ850T has good picture quality and the 3D works well, but if you don’t plan to use it, there’s no reason to pay extra for the PenTouch feature.