television Review-LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV

Review by R. Precourt for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
I purchased this TV to replace my 3-year old Samsung Series 3 32" LCD TV in my master bedroom because I wanted a larger size TV now that prices have dropped a good bit (paid over $1,400 for my 32" a few years ago). I debated between this one and a 40" Samsung for the same price, both were 60hz models, which is fine since I'm only using this for my DVR. Since I've seen a few older LGs before that had decent picture quality, I went with this one for it's larger size with slighly better specs than the Samsung, although I've always preferred Samsung. I figured since this was a newer model than those I've seen, with better specs I couldn't lose…. I was wrong!

I put this one on the wall where my old one was and my first night watching it I was quite disappointed! Although the picture is sharp and vibratant, it's only that way if you are directly in front of it. The viewing angel is terrible with this set, especially vertically below, which is my problem since I'm using this on a wall in my bedroom and viewing it from the bed, which puts me slighly below the screen (the TV is just above my dresser, maybe 3 feet above the floor). In this position, the screen washes out terribly, much like some of the older laptop displays did. Blacks become gray and colors very washed out. My Samsungs don't have this problem, neither my old 32" or my 52" in the living room. The construction itself is also very flimsy compared to the Samsung models I've owned. It's strange though, that I installed a 42" LG for a friend that's over 2 years older than this one and it was much more solid and has a better picture and viewing angle than this one.

I realize this is a lower-end set, and I did not want the best just for the bedroom, but considering that I replaced a 3 year old set with only 30,000:1 contrast ratio and 720p with this one that is supposed to be 100,000:1 and 1080p and yet my old one produced much deeper blacks and vibrant whites and colors, I'm quite dissapointed. Also, another reviewer mentioned that he didn't notice any backlight coming out of the back, but that's not my experience. While I've seen worse, this one projects a good bit of backlight out through all the vents onto the wall. I guess I can live with it, but why? None of my others had this issue either.

I was considering returning it, but don't feel like going through the hastle and don't want to spend a bunch more money to get a higher-end set. I decided to change my wall mount to a tilt mount and angle the TV downward, with it slighly higher on the wall and that helps a good bit because it gets the viewing angel of the TV perfectly alligned with my viewing area, so it looks pretty good now and I can deal with it.

Bottom line, I'm going to be happy with it, but I'm not truly happy! I wouldn't recommend this one personally and if I had to do it over I probably would have gone with the 40" Samsung instead, or paid a little more to get a 42" or 46" Samsung.

Update on 6/23/2010

After trying to make myself like this TV for 3 days I decided to return it. It is just that bad! Even with the tilt wall mount it still isn't good. The blacks are still very gray and there is so much bright gray coming thru the LCD panel that it just washes out everything and lights up the lower half of my bedroom brightly, even when there's no picture displayed. That and all the backlight purring out of the back onto the walls, which is now much more noticeable with the tilt mount.

I went ahead and ordered the 40" samsung that I probably should have got it the first place and Amazon is making the process easy. They said they will pick up the bad one when they deliver the new one.

Review by K. Browning for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
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First off: We did not purchase this TV from Amazon, we purchased it at a local retail store, not for any other reason than the price (we paid a few hundred less than the current Amazon price)

My husband and I purchased this back in April, it was either this or the Phillips that they had set right beside it, it was really a hard choice as the Phillips was marked down to just a few hundred dollars, whilst this was just under six fifty. We are so very glad that we went with this model(42LD450). The video quality is quite good, blacks are black, and whites are white, back light is very bright, and video quality is amazing.

We almost took this back however: When we first plugged it in and turned it on, the only picture was a white screen with the Firmware version bouncing around, no menu would come up and it would not acknowledge anything had been connected. Well, we unplugged it again, and turned it back on, and this time, it acknowledged the DVR (input 1) and starting spewing forth video and audio We have had no problems since that.

My only gripe is that we will have to go out and purchase a new unit for our surround system, as the TV only has a Optical Audio Output. And on that note, the built in speakers are not awesome, yes, they are very usable, but like almost all TV speakers, they are not going to satisfy your need for spectacular surround.

This is definitely worth the buy, I really think you will be happy with your purchase. Thank You For Reading.

Review by K. Terry for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
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This is my first HDTV purchase and am pleased so far. (Read as I don't know much about this). Setup was simple; the price was right and it has some popular energy-saving features.

The picture was sharp and clear. Multiple preset modes (cinema, game, normal) make setup easy, but there are also custom, fine-tuning adjustments available. It does not appear to have network/internet capability, but I will purchase a Blue-ray DVD player with that feature separately. The unit has an optical audio out so I can use my older receiver for 5.1 sound.

The remote feels cheap, but gets the job done. I imagine one rarely uses the manufacturer's TV remote so LG (and other makers) probably do not spend much on them. I did not notice any backlight seeping out of case which I understand is a problem on some TVs.

For an entry-level buyer, this was a solid purchase. I paid $658 – I thought that was reasonable for a 1080p set in 42". I rated it 4 stars on because I do not have much product knowledge (yet).

Review by mattc for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
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I just got this 42" LCD and loving it. For the price and the convenience of getting it delivered at your door is incomparable. Quality of picture is very crisp and clear comparing to other top brands.

Review by D. KIM for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:

Good:

Budget priced 2010 model with BANG FOR BUCK (for 60Hz shoppers), very accurate colors out-of-the-box (AND a deep color tweaking menu), and surprisingly rich/dark blacks – as far as LCDs go

Bad:

60Hz means no 3D (boo!) but this has equal PQ in every other way as the 47LD550 42LD550 (yay!), the desktop stand assembly is far from the most secure stand, only 2 HDMI and 1 Component input (but RGB/VGA input is able to receive video color levels as well as PC color levels)

Bottom Line:

I'm not a T.V. nerd, audio/videophile forum-junkie but I am fairly knowlegable regarding A/V and tech stuff I've had several HDTVs since 2006 and closely compared LCD sets by Samsung, LG, and Sony with Panasonic Viera plasmas for the 2008/2009 model years. The 42LD450 has BETTER PQ to my eyes than the LG model 42LG40 (the 120Hz 2009 model). 2010 > 2009, with 120Hz series' offering little more than the refresh rate and the gimmicky motion-smoothing feature ("TruMotion"). In comparing the 42LD550 and the 42LD450, they both calibrated almost identically (the only difference between the sets being that the 42LD550 has a 120Hz refresh rate).

Sony's KDL-40EX600 and KDL-40EX400 also fell short to this BARGAIN BIN LG SET. Don't take my word for it…actually, DO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!!! Need a 42" 1080p?? Get the 120/240/480/600Hz model in 2-3 years when 3D technology is CHEAP AND VASTLY IMPROVED. 60Hz is all you need, and this TV will give you picture that would have carried a $1800 price tag in 2008.

If the #1 factor to you is having the best picture quality possible, simply don't go LCD. picture quality is the #1 most important factor to you, then let me advise you that NO LCD set will offer you superior PQ than other technologies.