LG 37LH40 37-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black

Review by J. Livingston for LG 37LH40 37-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black
Rating:
I have had this HDTV for about 2 days now. I upgraded to the 37LH40 from an LG 30″ wide screen 720p/1080i CRT (tube).

Right away I noticed a huge difference in clarity/detail with this one in the 1080p mode. I have a PS3 (connected via HDMI), Xbox 360 (via component cable), Directv (HDMI) and a standard upconvert dvd player (via HDMI).

The difference between 60Hz and 120Hz could easily be seen when the store demos were scrolling baseball team logos sideways on a black screen. The 60Hz models were jerking the logos while the 120Hz models were MUCH MUCH smoother. I’m looking forward to watching NFL games this year on this LCD!

The only things I wish the 37LH40 had is a back-lit remote. The LCD screen comes close to the black color displayed on my previous HDTV tube model, but the blacks are a bit darker on the tube. Perhaps with some more fine tuning, I can get it right.

As far as the lack of a headphone jack/speakers, I don’t use them on the tv. I play my sound thru a surround sound system via optical cable from the tv.

OVERALL, I’m very happy with the purchase. I gave up a bigger screen size to get the 120Hz model, which I think was worth it for what I will be using the HDTV for.

Review by Jaxmoto for LG 37LH40 37-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black
Rating:
I basically bought this TV to use as a PC monitor. Between games and movies I wanted that “cinema” experience in my office, not just on the couch in the living room.

I chose the LG based on the stats and reviews. Overall it is a great TV, with easy to use menus and just about all the picture control a person could ever want. The picture control goes beyond most TV’s options with LG’s “expert” picture mode that lets you adjust much more than just contrast and color.

This TV is hooked up to the PC via HDMI and the PC recognized it immediately. It also gives the option of 24hz refresh rate (the pc recognizes it is a 120hz model that will run 24hz without pulldown), so there were two native resolutions available, 1080p/60hz and 1080p/24hz. It really isn’t needed on a PC, but nice to know if you are running a blu-ray player it will accept the 24hz signal without issue (a PC will normally change to 24hz when fullscreen movies are played even if you have it set to 60hz).

The one issue I found with this TV is that there is no PiP. My 2-year old Vizio first generation LCD has PiP, why wouldn’t a brand new 120hz model have the same? No PiP falls just short of a deal breaker, but I can live without it. The idea was to be able to watch TV in the PiP while browsing the net or working, but that is out the window.

I would like to say that most people are not going to like the “TruMotion” option that 120hz TV’s offer. The LG TruMotion does work, but I have found that the picture is so surreal that it is uncomfortable to watch. This has been the case on every 120hz TV I have seen EXCEPT the Sony Bravia XBR series. The Sony engine just seems to retain the cinema feel while adding the additional smoothness to the picture. If you are on the fence between the two then definitely consider the Bravia, the price difference is worth it, expecially considering you will be keeping a TV like this for years. The TruMotion is great for sports though, it almost feels more like looking through a window than watching a screen.

The performance of this TV has been outstanding so far (excluding TruMotion). Just comparing it to my Vizio 47″ 1080p 60hz there is a big difference. Tearing that was present in some movies and all games on the Vizio is completely gone with the LG. Scrolling and fast movement are very smooth and clear, and the color depth is outstanding. Movies really stand out in 720p or less and much of the graininess is gone vs my older Vizio. In 1080p the clarity of the screen stands out and even sitting only about 3-4 feet away it looks great.

The sound is good, but nothing great. There are options like voice clarity that I really like, it helps keep the volume reasonable and you can still hear voices from shows/movies very well.

The design is nice, there is a LED on the bottom that moves when you power it on, just a gimmick item that makes it look nice. The bezel is rather large, about twice the size of my Vizio 47″, but in all honesty you don’t notice it. The only drawback is the bezel is a highly reflective black and any light behind me reflects. Consider that when buying. The screen is not a glossy screen, but it does have a tiny bit of reflection to it… my guess is that the enhanced contrast ratio this TV has requires the screen to be darker making it reflect a little more than an older LCD might.

Overall a great purchase. There certainly is a difference in picture quality between this and older 60hz LCD’s. Personally I rate the XBR Bravia LCDs a little higher, but you also pay for that difference. I know there are a lot of people like me looking to get an HDTV for use as a monitor, if you are then you will enjoy this TV. Just remember that you need to take at least a few hours and really set the picture how you like it because right out of the box it looks good but with some tweaking you can get this screen to do some amazing things.

I also want to add that Amazon shipped this TV out very fast and the Pilot carriers who delivered the TV were great (I also got free shipping). They actually called and delivered it on Saturday since they had so many Christmas orders from Amazon. I declined, but the Pilot driver offered to bring it into my house and unbox/power it up to make sure everything was working. If you are worried about having a TV like this delivered (like I was), you don’t need to be.

Review by Wayne E. Fowler Jr. for LG 37LH40 37-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black
Rating:
I’ve had this product for about a month and have had no problems. I currently have my satellite dish, x-box, laptop and wii hooked up 2 it. The x-box and computer look awesome….I absolutly destroy people in cod4 becuase of the picture and the speed. My laptop looks really well also, my laptop screen is 1200p but still works well on the tv. I bought the tv because I love hockey and wanted a really quick response time; my LG has the best picture I’ve seen so far for hockey. The menu is easy to use and adjusting the picture with as much detail as you want is simple. The tv saves your settings for each different input, this feature makes things very convenient. The only bad thing I can say is that original viewing settings are all dark, I’ve had to adjust them all to get a picture I want. Sound is decent nothing great but not bad. Overall I would recomend, the response time is awesome and the tv cost only around 200 dollars more then tv’s with response times not even half as fast.

Review by Hermitld for LG 37LH40 37-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black
Rating:
This tv performs all the normal tasks as per spec’s.

The biggest flaws are:

1. The lack of printed manual.

2. The remote is chintzy, and isn’t lighted.

My biggest Pluses are:

1. Great picture quality.

2. Good on board speakers.

3. Lots of HDMI ports.

4. Attractive appearance.

One special alert:

1. My DirecTV remote didn’t list LG as a recognized TV.

a.You must KNOW that LG = LUCKY GOLDSTAR in the DirecTv remote

codes list. Then you can proceed to program the sat.’remote.

This is really a criticism of DirecTv, not LG.

A more robust remote and a printed manual would make this set a 5 star buy in my book.