LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV Reviews

Review by Dennis F. Lasanen for LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
I am very pleased with the LG capability. It receives movies from Net Flix thru my DSL connection. It was easy to program. It also receives extra HD stations thru the basic cable service. I was previously viewing from a Sharp 32″ LC-32D43U Aquos 2008 TV but was only able to receive Net Flix thru a graphics accelerator card connection from my Dell Computer by HDMI connection. I receive a lot better quality sound from this LG. Adjustments are easier to make for the picture and sound. The quality will be remembered long after the price that was paid will have been forgotton.

Review by Ferk V for LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
TV is great for the type (LCD) and price. The picture is bright, good contrast, and very smooth. The menu/remote are very comfortable…overall the picture is very nice. Aesthetically, the TV looks great as well…no cheesy features or decorations. This is my first LG product and I’m very pleased with this set. Also added the wireless adapter ($70). The entire setup and interface are very intuitive. This is a kids TV and they had Netflix down in no time (even the 5 year old). My only wish would be a backlit remote control.

Only complaint at all is with shipping. It did not ship on time and there was no communication from the shipping company. Ultimately, I had to contact the shipper to make an appointment (was stated that they would contact me). Once I called them, they drove it over the next day (Saturday). All in all, still very pleased.

Review by Ryan Boam for LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
I had been planning on buying a new tv for quite a while, and did as much reading and research as time would permit. I kept coming back to the LG 42LD550. What really sold me on it was the Netcast (powered by the WiFi USB dongle), super-high contrast ratio, wireless-ready, and the price. The price! Man, a tv like this would have cost several thousand dollars a few years ago.

At any rate, I’ve been working this set for about 2 weeks now, and I love it. The picture quality is amazing, it’s very responsive, the remote is very good, and even the speakers are decent. If you spring for the wireless box, you have the option of mounting it straight on the wall with no unsightly cables hanging off of it (or being routed through the drywall). Now it makes for a beautiful centerpiece of my entertainment center, which the wife loves to show off (win-win).

The World Cup is going to look mighty nice in HD on this tv!

Review by Frank O. for LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
I bought this TV a few weeks ago after reading many nice reviews about it, and while it’s nice, I found its features disappointing.

To start with the good part, this TV indeed looks great both on and off: its no-frills design is very elegant and will make it look good in every living room, its picture quality is amazing. I can’t really comment on the sound since I don’t have good speakers, but I’m not even missing them with the built-in speakers. Its TV-related functionalities and interface is also nice, with zillions of options to set the picture and sound to your liking.

However, the selling point of this TV is supposed to be the built-in software for online applications (called Netcast), and Netcast on the 42LD550 is a major letdown. At the time of this review LG doesn’t have model-specific information on the Netcast features available, only a generic all-promises page with the fine print “features vary by model and product category”. Now, Netcast in principle has at least three different video-on-demand services built-in, as well as internet radio, and many other great features — but this TV has almost none of these included! (I’m using the latest software version, as it updates itself automatically.)

Netflix is included (that’s the one extra star), and there is a dumbed-down version of Vudu, which only includes the movie rental features, but nothing else. (For example, there is no Pandora, even though it is included in the “real” Vudu application, it’s only left out of the LG version). The rest are useless “apps” and a few selected Yahoo Widgets (all the good ones are missing, the best is probably Weather), Flickr, Picasa, Youtube and Twitter (twitter on a TV??), and that’s pretty much it. But there is no Amazon On-demand, no TV On-demand, no internet radios, and I am listing only missing features that are available in some TVs with Netcast or Yahoo Widgets, but are not on this one.

Another (minor) quirk is that this “wireless-ready” TV requires an extra USB wi-fi adapter (LG AN-WF100) to actually go wireless. This is also made pretty clear in the specifications; the only problem is that it’s not easy to find this adapter anywhere! (At the time I bought the TV it was only available from a third-party vendor through Amazon marketplace, and it wasn’t cheap.) So if you want wireless, check first if this adapter is available.

At the end I’m not sure why would most buyers get this model. If you just want a sleek TV with great picture and sound, then there’s no use paying for the internet-related features, and you can get a better or larger TV for much less money. It’s perfect if you are considering buying a great TV with no internet features and a Netflix box – it may or may not save you money, but you get everything in one package, saving you the set-up or cable issues. But you may have cheaper options using a Netflix box, or if you already have a video game console, or by connecting your PC to your TV and using some media center software. If you expect all the bells-and-whistles from your internet-connected TV, then you have to get another model, because this one is really just a beautiful TV with a built-in Netflix box.

Review by K. Terry for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
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 K. Browning for LG 42LD450 42-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV
Rating:
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 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.

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