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.