May 22, 2008 9:45 AM PDT

LG HT762TZ: DVD upscaler, 5.1 surround and boozy speakers

Posted by Ian Morris

(Credit: Crave UK)

Some time ago we reviewed an LG home cinema system, which wowed us with its low cost and high performance. So when LG offered to send us its new HT762TZ 5.1 system, with a built-in DVD player and the added bonus of some stylish Champagne-flute speakers, we were understandably excited.

As we've said many times, in countless reviews, flat-panel TVs often let themselves down with poor-quality sound, so adding a surround-sound system--or at least a 2.1 system--is a very good idea, especially if you're a movie fan. One of the things we loved about LG's previous all-in-one system was that it offered great performance for a very reasonable price. The HT762TZ comes in at around 400 pounds ($792), which puts it about 100 pounds more expensive than the HT902TB, but it does add upscaling to 1080p and a much sleeker design.

You get six speakers, including four satellites for front and rear effects, a center speaker designed to accurately convey dialog and a subwoofer that's designed to blow your trousers off. The main unit, which includes the DVD player, also decodes surround sound from external sources and is capable of upscaling DVDs to 1080p--with the usual caveat that upscaling won't polish a turd.

At the rear of the unit you get HDMI out, for delivering the upscaled video to your TV. Component, composite and Scart outputs are there too, providing support for people who don't have HD TVs yet, or those of us who have run out of HDMI sockets. You get optical audio in, for connecting external sources too, such as an Xbox 360 or Blu-ray player.

The HT762TZ also supports DivX playback from DVD or USB memory stick, a feature that will appeal to people who occasionally download video from the Internet. You also get a built-in FM/AM radio with RDS, and according to LG, 700W of power (100W to the satellite speakers and centre channel and 200W to the sub).

The system was released on Asian markets a few months back. But now we've set the HT762TZ up in our own test area, so expect a full review soon.

(Source: Crave UK)