LG TVs

LG Electronics is a multinational consumer-electronics manufacturer based in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1958 under the name “GoldStar”, LG has now become one of South Korea’s biggest companies and the world’s second largest TV manufacturer, according to figures released in 2008.

The company began by producing radios, finding initial success with a valve based model but struggling to shift its subsequent transistor-based T-701; that is, until Korea’s government launched a scheme to supply radios to rural communities. Within a couple of years, GoldStar’s annual sales had reached one million units. There soon followed a whole range of household appliances — washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators, and, crucially, Korea’s first TV. Throughout the 60s and 70s, the company extended its construction facilities and began preparing to expand — first nationally and then internationally.

In 1977, still carrying the name GoldStar, the company produced its first colour TV; in 1982, it founded GoldStar America Inc., the first of its international divisions, with the opening of a production facility in Huntsville, USA. Further expansion followed: West Germany in 1987, Turkey in 1988, the UK and Thailand in 1989, then Ireland, China, and Egypt — GoldStar had emerged as a multinational corporation. The name change followed in 1995, transforming GoldStar into the company we know today, LG Electronics.

LG’s offices in Seoul, South Korea, act as the company’s global headquarters.

LG televisions then took a leap into the flat-panel generation with the arrival of a 40-inch plasma-based LG TV in 1997. Two years later, LG forged a joint venture with Dutch manufacturer Philips to produce LCD panels under the name of LG.Philips LCD. In the eleven years since then, LG Electronics has continually improved its TV design, and continues to produce both plasma and LCD screens. Modern ranges include all kind of innovations — including, for example, Bluetooth connectivity to allow uploads from mobile phones — and show huge improvements in picture quality.

Today, for the consumer market, LG televisions range from LCD TVs as small as 19 inches to plasma TVs of up to 60 inches, offering something to suit all tastes and applications. The company also recently introduced one of the world’s first OLED TVs, the 15-inch 15EL9500, at a time when many though the OLED industry had failed to materialise. LG Electronics therefore remains at the forefront of TV innovation, and is slowly but surely shaking off its image as a cheap-and-cheerful manufacturer.

LG’s TVs, such as this LH 42 7000, have impressed our reviewers with their sleek designs.

We’ve reviewed a number of LG TVs in the past, and our reviewers were generally impressed. Our extensive review of the LG 42 LH 7000, for example, awarded the TV a respectable 7.6 out of 10 points. Read this and other reviews by clicking on the TVs listed above, or read the separate LG LCD TV and LG Plasma TV sections for more information on individual series of LG TVs.