Subscores
The LS5600 clearly has not joined the race for new technology. It's 2D, has standard connectivity and an integrated media player, but no motion interpolation, no online services and no 3D.
It comes in four sizes: 32" (32LS5600), 37" (37LS5600), 42" (42LS5600) and 47" (the 47LS5600, tested here).
The LS5600 takes up the general design found on many high-end models with an open stand and a grey bar at the bottom of the frame. You really don't feel like you're standing in front of an entry-level product which is certainly a plus for a TV this price.
While advanced features are few and far between, it does have an integrated media player that you can access via the USB port. And it's a good media player; it read most of our files.
The connectivity, however, is reduced to the bare essentials: HDMI x 3, VGA x 1, SCART x 1, YUV x 1 and USB 2.0.
The menu is the same one found on other LG TVs. It's simple, intuitive and fast.
The remote control is as basic as they come. There's no backlighting and all the buttons are soft, with very few shortcuts. But for the functions it does perform, it performs them well.
Like all of LG's LCD TVs the LS5600 has an IPS panel, which we can confirm after having looked at the subpixels.
Colours in Cinema mode: average Delta E = 2.3
Glossy screen
After optimising the settings for watching movies (see above inset), the panel gives accurate colours (average Delta E = 2.3) and a near-perfect gamma. The viewing angles are wider than average, at 2.4/5, which is good for LCD, although still a far cry from plasma.
The real problem with this TV is the 590:1 contrast ratio. With such a low level black (0.34 cd/m²) any dark areas look more grey, even in a sunlit room. Based on our new rating system, any TV with under 600:1 contrast cannot score above three stars on its overall score.
Responsiveness is also not one of the LS5600's strong points. It has a 12 ms ghosting time, just like all of LG's TVs. As a result, any quick movement is followed by noticeable ghost images. And since it has no motion interpolation, there's no way to limit the effect.
Gamers, however, will appreciate the fact that the input lag is only 33 ms, the equivalent of two frames.
Usually, TVs with contrast this bad don't cloud. But that's not what we found with the LS5600; in fact, it's a perfect example of what clouding is. When it's pitch black night in the scene you're watching, you think it's cloudy out. This gets annoying when you're watching something like The Dark Knight.
As is so common on TVs these days, the sound is poor and frankly unpleasant to listen to. The vocal range is reproduced well, but that's it. The entire low-end of the spectrum turns into one big vibration and the highs are frequently followed by harmonic distortion. A budget home cinema speaker system would do better than this.
Let's go against the grain of the rest of this article and end on a good note... In sleep mode the juice consumed by the LS5600 falls to a low trickle at under 1 W. When the TV's on, the Edge LED backlighting helps reduce the amount of power it consumes to 78 W on the 47" model, or 129 W/m².
It comes in four sizes: 32" (32LS5600), 37" (37LS5600), 42" (42LS5600) and 47" (the 47LS5600, tested here).
Design
The LS5600 takes up the general design found on many high-end models with an open stand and a grey bar at the bottom of the frame. You really don't feel like you're standing in front of an entry-level product which is certainly a plus for a TV this price.
While advanced features are few and far between, it does have an integrated media player that you can access via the USB port. And it's a good media player; it read most of our files.
The connectivity, however, is reduced to the bare essentials: HDMI x 3, VGA x 1, SCART x 1, YUV x 1 and USB 2.0.
The menu is the same one found on other LG TVs. It's simple, intuitive and fast.
The remote control is as basic as they come. There's no backlighting and all the buttons are soft, with very few shortcuts. But for the functions it does perform, it performs them well.
2D Image Quality
Like all of LG's LCD TVs the LS5600 has an IPS panel, which we can confirm after having looked at the subpixels. Colours in Cinema mode: average Delta E = 2.3 Glossy screenAfter optimising the settings for watching movies (see above inset), the panel gives accurate colours (average Delta E = 2.3) and a near-perfect gamma. The viewing angles are wider than average, at 2.4/5, which is good for LCD, although still a far cry from plasma.
The contrast is 590:1 in ISF Expert mode
The real problem with this TV is the 590:1 contrast ratio. With such a low level black (0.34 cd/m²) any dark areas look more grey, even in a sunlit room. Based on our new rating system, any TV with under 600:1 contrast cannot score above three stars on its overall score.
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| Light Background Black Background Average | ||
This graph shows the TV's ghosting time, which is measured in ms and indicates the time it takes for individual frames to disappear. The shorter the ghosting time, the smoother the impression of continuous motion will appear.
Gamers, however, will appreciate the fact that the input lag is only 33 ms, the equivalent of two frames.
Clouding
Usually, TVs with contrast this bad don't cloud. But that's not what we found with the LS5600; in fact, it's a perfect example of what clouding is. When it's pitch black night in the scene you're watching, you think it's cloudy out. This gets annoying when you're watching something like The Dark Knight.
Audio
Green = good, orange = tolerable, white = too heavily altered
As is so common on TVs these days, the sound is poor and frankly unpleasant to listen to. The vocal range is reproduced well, but that's it. The entire low-end of the spectrum turns into one big vibration and the highs are frequently followed by harmonic distortion. A budget home cinema speaker system would do better than this.
Power Use
Let's go against the grain of the rest of this article and end on a good note... In sleep mode the juice consumed by the LS5600 falls to a low trickle at under 1 W. When the TV's on, the Edge LED backlighting helps reduce the amount of power it consumes to 78 W on the 47" model, or 129 W/m².Pros
- In ISF Expert mode the colours and gamma are near-perfect
- Wider-than-average viewing angles
Cons
- Contrast too low (590:1)
- Glossy screen reflects
- Clouding
- No motion interpolation
- Disappointing sound quality
Conclusion
The LS5600 has a balanced image and wide viewing angles for a TV this price. But the contrast is just too low (590:1) and the clouding highly noticeable.
OUR SCORE
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