LG 84LM960V UHD 4K TV review – hands on

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Posted on 7 Jan 2013 at 07:37, by Tom Morgan

LG's monstrous 84LM960V ultra high definition TV was one of the first native 4K sets available to buy, but only in the company's native Korea and just recently the United States. We had yet to see it in the flesh, but finally got a look at one last night at CES Unveiled.

The 84in TV is simply mammoth, filling your vision completely at three feet, and we would certainly struggle to fit it in the average British living room. Despite its size, the screen bezel is barely an inch thick, with LG using the same minimal metallic edging as its other TVs. The stand that’s been borrowed from the more mainstream TV line-up looks just as good here, and would definitely confuse Father Dougle when seen from a distance.

The silver design scheme is in keeping with LG's more affordable TVs

With such a huge display area, LG has been able to squeeze in a 4K-ready 3,840x2,160 resolution IPS panel that looked superb playing Ultra-high definition video footage. Not only is the level of detail in wide angle shots incredibly impressive, but the clarity of close-up shots is perhaps even more so – seeing individual hairs and feathers on animals, or water droplets on flowers and blades of grass, lets you appreciate how much of a leap 4K is over traditional 1080p.

You have to push your nose to the screen to spot the individual pixels

LG's passive 3D looked superb during an animated demo reel, showing real depth and the flicker-free experience we've some to expect from passive 3D. Colours looked vibrant even on the bright show floor. LG bundles seven pairs of 3D glasses with the set - four regular 3D glasses, one clip-on pair for spectacle wearers and two dual-play glasses for playing split-screen multiplayer games across the entire TV.

LG's passive 3D system looks fantastic in 4K - plus, after spending $22,000 on one, at least the glasses are cheap

As LG's flagship TV, the 84LM9600 is incredibly well equipped - four HDMI inputs, SCART, component, composite and VGA video, digital optical and analogue phono audio, three USB ports, Ethernet, a Common Interface slot and built-in Wi-Fi are all present and correct. It’s DLNA-compatible, so you can stream content from a PC or NAS device, or directly from a USB flash drive or USB portable hard disk.

Naturally, a TV this impressive carries a suitably ridiculous price - US customers can expect to pay $20,000 to take one home and potential British buyers will need to pay a similar amount in pounds. Now that it has entered volume production we’ll be bringing you a full review as soon as we get one into our labs.

For all the latest news from the CES show, read CES 2013: In-depth, hands-on coverage from our team in Las Vegas