Build quality and design

Unfortunately, though, this new feature isn't exactly a big success.  The word 'borderless' is taking it a little bit too far, as the TV has a frame that's exactly the same size as on other models.  What LG means by 'borderless' is that the surface of the panel extends right up to the edge of the frame--and it's this surface in front of the screen, rather than the display area, (which still stops a few centimetres short of the edge) to which LG is referring.  So it's not really anything new!

Worse still, this plexiglas-like surface in front of the screen isn't particularly attractive and reflects too much light.  The screen is entirely covered with reflections, and makes for one of the worst coatings we've seen on a TV display for a long time.

Everything else is pretty much as expected for a TV of this type, although the multimedia player deserves a mention because of the number of different HD file formats it supports, although VC1 and DTS are of course not included.  The inputs on the side of the TV aren't very accessible as they're hidden in a recess at the back of the screen, making them difficult to reach if you mount this TV on the wall.  Getting to the USB port or the HDMI port on the side is particularly frustrating.

This TV can display the input from a computer without any problems, and we measured an input lag of 33 ms, a finding which the majority of gamers would find acceptable.

Once you're in Cinema mode, the SL8000 produces a neutral, natural image without any need to adjust the other settings, although you might want to toy with the backlighting a little, depending on the light levels in the room where you put the TV.

However, the contrast ratio never climbs above 850:1 unless you activate the dynamic backlighting, but that has a detrimental effect on the image quality.

As soon as we began watching our first test clips, the role of the Trumotion and 200 Hz filters became apparent.  The former removes all traces of ghosting while the latter creates perfectly fluid movements.  It does, however, sometimes make small errors on the fastest movements, but the overall result is entirely satisfactory.

The viewing angles are excellent for an LCD TV.

Unfortunately, though, things begin to turn sour when you look a little closer.  That surface covering the panel that we mentioned at the start of the test has some very adverse effects.  Because it's a little in front of the screen itself, it reflects a second version of the image unless you're directly in front of the TV.  The effect is so obvious that we managed to photograph it: