When it comes to televisions, there's a lot that you can expect in terms of performance and features. LG's 42LM6690 is one of these feature-packed TVs that have a very good mix of both of these characteristics. Let’s take a closer look.

The LG 42LM6690 is a 42-inch full-HD (1920x1080) LED-backlit LCD TV that uses LG's passive 3D technology, which of course means no flickering bulky glasses. It's not just 3D that makes this TV this impressive; it's loaded with all kinds of features. It comes with 4 HDMI ports, plenty if you plan on connecting everything from Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, DTH service, laptops, etc. If that isn't enough, you can also connect an additional device using the Component connectors. The traditional D-Sub port and RF connections are also available. This being a smart TV, supports internet connectivity - there's Wi-Fi connectivity as well as a physical Ethernet port for this reason. Many other TVs need you to attach an external Wi-Fi adapter, but that's not the case here. Multimedia playback through USB is support and there are 3 USB ports that you can use for this.

The 42LM6690 supports a refresh rate of 400Hz, which is handy for 3D and also if you wish to enable the smooth motion feature. During our reviews, we tend to tone the intensity of this feature down a bit. The dual-play feature is another highlight of this product, which lets you run two streams of video on a single screen and lets viewers wear separate glasses to watch different views from a split-screen game on it. There are two remote controls, one a Magic Remote that supports hand motion and the other a more elegant looking traditional remote.

Rating: 4.5/5

Press the highlighted Home button on the remote control and you're shown a whole dashboard of apps, widgets and services, enough to keep you occupied for a very long time. There's everything from local news channels to Facebook to Skype to even YouTube. There's enough of video content on YouTube to keep you entertained for a very long time. Loading apps takes a few seconds to load but the performance of most apps is pretty good. It’s only when it comes to very intensive apps such as Google Maps those things felt a little sluggish. Social networking apps are also part of the bundle of apps that come with the TV. There's also a feature called Social Centre that lets you view content while chatting with friends over your favourite social networks. The ability to browse the web using a proper full-fledged browser is also a bonus with the LG 42LM6690. You can practically access any site and the remote lets you scroll and click on links using a mouse-like pointer.

Apart from apps, there are also some 3D demo trailers and content that you can use to check out the native 3D performance of the TV. If you're worried about not being to get enough 3D content, there's the option to convert your 2D content to 3D on-the-fly. It won't give you the same intensive 3D experience but it's still a good move up on traditional 2D content. The TV also has solid media playback features - it can easily handle most popular media formats without any hiccups. The media playback feature works rather well. Images for example can be viewed in full-screen without any pesky popups and menus showing up. Image transition is also very quick and effortless. There are also games that you can download and install on the TV.

Rating 4.5/5

The LG 42LM6690 is one of the more attractive TVs out there. Unlike the monotonous black that's used by most manufacturers, LG has chosen to go with a subtle white colour which extends to the back panel of the TV. The bezel facing you of course is black slimmer than most other models. There are other things that have been well sorted out. Take for example, the HDMI ports that are conveniently placed along the side of the TV, making it easier to connect if you decide to wall mount the TV. Build quality is also top-notch. The rear of the TV is made of metal and the entire panel is actually quite thin, as is the bezel. The bezel makes it look like an edge-to-edge display. All-in-all, it's a looker and we know that by the number of people who stop to watch it, at our stores. The user interface is particularly easy to use. It's similar to past generation of LG TVs but navigating continues to be as easy as always. Tasks such as switching inputs, changing settings for the TV and accessing smart TV features is just a button press or two away. The interface itself is very colourful and not as monotonous as some of the other UIs we've seen.

Rating: 4/5

Performance at the end of the day is what matters when it comes to devices such as TVs. The 42LM6690 is undoubtedly very good at this. Calibrating and setting it up doesn't take too much time and the result at the end of it, is very good. You're free to use one of the colour presets that come with it, but we always prefer to tweak the TV to output a very natural, sober looking image. We were pleased with our results. There's a lot of detail that the panel shows but at the same time, it's not too sharp or crisp. Colours are good and there's no visible over exaggeration of any specific colour tones. Apart from a few sluggish movements, we think the smart TV features work perfectly fine. 3D performance is quite good and there's very little strain on your eyes due to the lack of flicker created by the glasses themselves. The glasses are light, have no batteries and are comfortable to wear. Overall a very good performer for both 2D as well as 3D.

Rating: 4.5/5

The LG 42LM6690 is a solid product, that has everything from a solid, aesthetically pleasing design to brute performance when it comes to image quality. It's clearly a top-notch product but of course that means a higher price tag. We highly recommend checking out this TV at our stores if you're out shopping for a good 42-inch display that has all you can ask for.