LG 50PS80 50-Inch 1080p Plasma Broadband HDTV
Product by LG
Product model 50PS80
I was debating to get this model with NetCast, or model 50PS60 without NetCast. 50PS60 has a lot of strong reviews for its value and I was set on it over other brands. Because I have two kids that always wanted to watch some kids videos on YouTube, I figure I’ll get this higher end model and try out the NetCast feature.
I won’t review the stuff that is pretty much the same as 50PS60. Let just say I’m happy with the picture and the look. Sound is better than most similar flat panels. I do like the speakers hidden but still end it up getting a Bose Cinemate for my small entertainment room.
Because built-in access to YouTube is what I was looking forward to primarily, I tried that first. Typing in search phrase via on-screen keyboard is slow and as inconvenient as with PS3, Wii, XBox, et. al. without a keyboard. But you can sign-in to your YouTube account, and it will allow you to choose from your favorites. That’s better as I can pre-add the videos that my boys want to watch repeatedly. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support playlist yet so I can’t have too many videos in my favorites or scrolling will be equally painful to typing. Others such as playing popular videos were not interested to me. Streaming is reasonable with my DSL. Most of time there is initial delay after playing for few seconds but never after. On few bad nights where probably my DSL isn’t as fast the videos would repeatedly halt while loading/buffering.
Netflix is great option as well, as you can sign-up on the web. I haven’t view my first movie yet, but it appears I have to select few movies from the web and put them in “instant queue” so that the TV can pickup and play. Streamable titles on Netflix website seemed to be very limited to some OLD movies!! Didn’t see any new ones … Certainly great for watching some TV series such as Heros or Boston Legal…
There is another instant HD movie streaming service call Vudu. You can either rent or own movies. Menu choices are all in HD, but rental/purchase both have different prices for SD or HD versions. Very nice user interface on screen menu choices, as oppose to Netflix that have pretty much none.
Yahoo Widget has customizable weather forecast by location, finance, news, video, and flickr if you use for pictures. Not much third party widgets yet. There is Twitter that is note worthy. If you are die hard Yahoo user and wouldn’t mind see the snippets on a bar on the bottom of your TV screen, then it can be of real value to you.
As for playing personal media, you can play from USB storage device or over the network via shared folder on Windows. I hook up an external USB hard drive full of videos, music, and pictures. The TV can play them and combine music and picture. It certainly can play more video formats than PlayStation 3… Also it will let you navigate folders, which is much better than PS3 that can’t go two levels deep. It’s network supports Common Internet File System so you can share folders. But it won’t recognize media servers that PS3 use including TVersity, etc.
All in all, NetCast is nice feature if you don’t have more room for another media player (like Roku), a BD player with Netflix, game consoles, or computer hooked up. If you have room, then it may be worthwhile to buy the 50PS60 and spend the 0 – 0 on a PS3 or XBox or 0 on a Roku player. For me, it’s worth it if the price difference for this feature is only 0 extra, unless you have kids that hog your computer all the time for YouTubing…
Feature LG 50PS80 50-Inch 1080p Plasma Broadband HDTV
- Plasma HDTV features NetCast Entertainment Access to stream movies, TV shows and video, news, stock and weather updates to your TV directly
- THX Display Certification delivers exceptional video images and true sounds
- 600Hz sub-field driving refresh rate technology for realistic movement in sports and movie actions
- 1080p Full HD resolution 1920 x 1080p with 3x HDMI v 1.3 digital inputs with swivel stand
- Mega contrast ratio of 2 million to 1 provides sharper image quality
Overview LG 50PS80 50-Inch 1080p Plasma Broadband HDTV
Tap into Internet content easily and seamlessly with this stylish, Full HD model. The 2nd generation “single layer” design will make a dramatic statement in any home. It features THX display certification for exceptional image quality, THX media director for automatic content-based settings and broadband connectivity for the ultimate entertainment experience.
Specifications LG 50PS80 50-Inch 1080p Plasma Broadband HDTV
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Dec 07, 2009 20:24:04
