LG 50LB6300 Review

50 inch 1080p 120Hz LED TV

by Jack Burden, Reviewer

Strenghts

• Highly adjustable picture settings make it possible to aquire the best calibration
• Light-flow through and dark shadow detail are strong thanks to the backlighting
• WebOS powered smart TV is slick and easy to use
• We love the Magic Remote, we even get an Input button on it this year
• Low input lag for gamers
• Semi-clear coat screen coaxes out good color quality
• Dark scenes have vibrant color with excellent dark shadow detail thanks to the high contrast
• Dark Shadow Detail and light flow-through from LED backlighting

Weaknesses

• The lack of a subwoofer makes a big difference in the low range
• Motion blur is very noticeable when in the gaming picture setting
• Aside from the premium apps, most apps and games aren't very good
• Camera has to be bought seperately if you want access to Skype or finger gestures
• Micro Dimming has been left out on the LB6300
• The 50-inch size missed out on the IPS panel

Picture Quality Rating: 86/100

The 50LB6300 has plenty of picture quality features, though many were dropped that are on the LB7200 above this one. Still, the LB6300 is a solid buy for value TV shoppers. Color reproduction is generally good as we have seen in LG LED TVs in the past. It is one of the stronger suits of the picture quality. Colors come out looking bright and natural. Very similar to last year's similar LA6200. It also sports a 120Hz refresh rate that helps with motion blur and judder typically seen on LED TVs. Sports programming and fast on-screen action end up looking much smoother on a native 120Hz screen. This size lacks the IPS panel seen in other sizes of the series. Those have a bump in picutre quality because of that.

This shot shows the great amounts of detail seen in both the bright and dark areas of the screen

Side Angle Viewing

This is a weakness of this the 50LB6300 just as it is with most LED TVs. Some do a better job than others. At 25 degrees off center there is notable contrast loss and this is especially noticeable if you are viewing the TV from above or below eye level. For instance, you would be affected by this loss of color and contrast if you had the TV mounted above a fireplace.

Features Rating: 85/100

Smart TV Features - Powered by WebOS

LG has really switched things up this year when it comes to their Smart TV platform. Needed improvement in Smart TV functionality has arrived with the new 2014 LG TVs. The new WebOS operating system for Smart TV function is very fast in load time and selection. The design and layout is simple and much more straight forward than in the past.

The Smart TV menu is clearly organized this year and easy to navigate, especially with the Magic Remote

Simple is the name of the game here. Instead of a home screen with tons of buttons, you get a nice colored strip across the bottom of the screen populated with your favorite apps and the LG store. What you are currently viewing stays on the screen. Click the left arrow on the screen to see your open apps and the right arrow to show all the app downloaded to your TV. We were impressed with the speed of switching between apps. It was insatant. Last year a big complaint of ours was the poor streaming ability of LG's Smart TV platform. That's not the case this year thanks to the complete overhaul of the entire platform. This means the buffering times for streaming content are greatly reduced. Overall, the move to a WebOS based system was a good move on LG's part.

The LG Store is where you will find a ton of streaming content, apps, and games to download

Magic Remote

This is the updated look for the Magic Remote accessory. It's got all of the necessary buttons (even an Input button) and a mic button for engaging the voice controls

Magic Remote Control Initial Set up very easy. Shake the remote to get the cursor working, the arrow pops up immediately if you have a hot signal going into the TV. We have always liked the point and click operation of the Magic remote and still do. It speeds section and browsing. This year the new magic remote control has even better voice recognition technology. It works very well to find the programming you are looking for by speaking into the mic on the remote control. A list of potential fits and the various channels appear down the right hand side on-screen. And it finally has an input selection button. This has been a fault that we have noted for the past few years.

Speaker Performance

Sound quality from the LB6300 is not as good as the LGs with woofers built in. Clear Voice II and Virtual Surround Plus options here add interesting choices, but our choice is the Cinema setting with Clear Voice II setting enabled with the level set at 3. The Standard setting is our second favorite with Clear voice II enabled. It is better than the other manufacturers we've tested as well by a long shot. The speaker in the bottom back of the TV adds most of the overall depth to the TV but we believe it is well worth it to have good sound from the TV. These minimalist TV designs are often used in spaces without home theater systems.

Appearance and Design - Wonderful

The attractive Cinema Screen design of the LB7200 is framless with a very thin profile

The LG 50LB6300 has a nearly frame-less design with brushed dark silver sides and thin half inch of black across the bottom. The bezels are not as thin as the LB7200, but they still look great. Something we are seeing a lot of this year are the 'v' shaped two legged stands. They look nice and don't demand much attention, but the width can be a concern. Some TV stands don't have the width, making a wall mount necessary. Keep that in mind. The depth of the panel is about 2.2 inches at the deepest part to accommodate the speakers in the cabinet. The overall design is attractive yet low key with the nearly frameless picture being the highlight.

Value Rating: 90/100

The 50LB6300 sells for around $1,099. The new WebOS powered smart TV platform and solid passive 3D performance come together to make quite the attractive pacakge. Downsides like weak free apps, game mode motion blur, and less than powerful sound quality aren't going to make this a no-go. Just make sure you have other options for sound if this is going to be part of the home theater. Competition comes from the Samsung UN50H6400 and Sony KDL-50W800B.

Overall Rating: 87/100

Jack Burden has been reviewing and writing reviews in the consumer electronics category for 7 years with CEAG. He considers grayscale gradation, film patterned retarders, and focus field drives to be fun topics. Read more about Jack