LG 47LX6500

Black Level (5.22)

The black level on the LG 47LX6500 was not great, which has been the case for most of the LG’s we’ve reviewed recently. Part of the poor performance could be explained by our calibration, which turns the backlight all the way up (for best color), but as you can see from the chart below, similar TVs did not suffer the same problem under the same calibration.

Under normal viewing conditions, you’re not likely to look at the TV and decry a terrible black level. But were you to put it next to the other TVs mentioned here, you’d notice a difference. If you love LG, but feel iffy about the black level, take heart that the color performance is outstanding. More on how we test black level.

Read Reviews of Comparison Products
Sony Bravia KDL-46HX800	Samsung UN46C8000	Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20

Peak Brightness (8.63)

LG 47LX6500 had an average peak brightness. At 327.84 cd/m², that’s plenty bright, even in a sunny room. It’s typically plasma displays, like the Panasonic TC-P50VT20, that have problems with brightness. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast (5.93)

The contrast ratio on the LG 47LX6500 was hindered by the poor black level performance – only 941:1. That’s significantly narrower than the competing televisions in the chart below.

The LG 47LX6500 offers local dimming, meaning that certain regions of the screen can have backlighting different from the adjacent regions. It’s unclear just how many regions there are. We turn local dimming off during testing because it tends to throw the test results. But you should feel free to experiment with it, as different conditions yield different results. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast (9.23)

The tunnel contrast test indicates how well a TV maintains a consistent black level, no matter how much or how little of the screen is black. The LG 47LX6500 performed well on this test, as do most LCD displays. It’s usually just plasmas that have trouble. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff (9.95)

The white falloff test measures how well a TV maintains a consistent peak brightness, no matter how much or how little white is on the screen. The LG 47LX6500 performed near-perfectly. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity (5.50)

The LG 47LX6500 definitely showed some problems with screen uniformity. On an all-white screen, the corners are darker and yellower than the center. On an all-black screen, it’s even more noticeable. Corners and other areas around the edge of the screen are much brighter, like little torches popping up against the black background. This was noticeable in everyday TV watching also, whenever a dark and shadowy scene was displayed. More on how we test white falloff.

Greyscale Gamma (7.85)

The greyscale gamma test determine how well a TV transitions from black to white through the greyscale. We’re looking at a few things in the chart below. First, the smoothness of the line indicates that the lg 47LX6500 doesn’t make any huge leaps from one level to the next, so you won’t see any banding in the transitions. The flatter, horizontal stretch in the lower left indicates that the LG has some troubles finding details in the shadows, but we’ve seen worse.

There’s also the slope of the curve. A 2.73 slope is steeper than we’d like. Ironically, the 47LX6500 lets you ‘pick’ the desired gamma slop. We chose 2.2, which would have been ideal, and 2.73 is what we actually got when we tested. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Other Models in the xxLX6500 Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.
LG 55LX6500 55 in.