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LG has clearly put a lot of work into getting good audio out of the 55LW980T's svelte form. In fact, it sounds more potent, dynamic, clear and well-rounded than any number of much chunkier sets, and in doing so produces a soundstage that feels equal in scale to the substantial images the 3D TV produces. Impressive.
Value
There's no getting around the fact that the £2,500 you need to buy the LG 55LW980T is a substantial wedge of money. Especially when Panasonic's outstanding TX-P55VT30B can be found for as much as £200 less.
But then in a way it's an alternative to Panasonic's active 3D model more than just a rival. So if you're persuaded by the passive 3D argument, a couple of hundred quid probably won't seem like much to worry about - especially if you've got enough money to be thinking about buying a TV that costs more than £2,000.
Ease of use
In most ways, the LG 55LW980T is very easy to use. Its on-screen menus are graphics-rich and extremely legible, and the Home Hub screen that provides access to all of your inputs, online sources and TV controls is surely a template for the way all TV menus will look in the future.
Also commendable is the LG 55LW980T's provision of not one but two remote controls: a perfectly pleasant 'standard' one and a rather groovy 'Magic' one that enables you to access features on the TV simply by pointing the remote directly at them or waving it around, like some kind of WiiMote. Only more useful.
It's good to find, too, that if you feel intimidated by the LG 55LW980T's extensive suite of picture calibration tools, the TV carries a decent Picture Wizard feature that guides you through the basics of picture optimisation.
The only significant usability problems are that the Smart TV menus are a bit sluggish, and you can only access the TV set-up menus by first navigating to the Home Hub screen.
