LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black

Review by D. Horne for LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black
Rating:
Great Picture, I love the amount of customization available to change picture and sound settings. Set is very stylish and features simple easy to understand menus. The only real drawback of this set is that the screen is REALLY reflective and if there is any light behind the viewer (i.e. window in daytime, even with blinds drawn) it’s like looking in a mirror.

Amazons shipping partner Pilot is pretty poor. It took 8 days to ship from PA to CA, and they gave me a choice of several 4 hour windows for delivery but all in the middle of day on weekdays. My only other option was to drive 60 miles each way to pick up the set myself.

Review by chinee for LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black
Rating:
My first impressions…

For the past 2 months I’ve been researching and looking for a 40-42″, and there were products from Sony, Samsung and Panasonic that were solid options. I was all set for a Panasonic plasma but passed by the 42SL90 LED/LCD on my way to the salesguy. I pulled up short and stared… and stared… and stared. That SL90 is a great looking TV but was priced above my budget. Salesguy suggested I take a peek at the SL80… I was still wowed! Spent an hour Saturday night comparing this set to 3 others watching HD on CBS and tweaking the screens. I needed to do some more research before making a decision.

Didn’t find a lot online about the SL80, so went back on Sunday for another hour looking at the NFL pregame show, and some of the game, on broadcast HD. This time the Panasonic plasma and the SL80 were the finalists. Both screens had excellent picture quality, but it seems I’m an LCD kind of guy; I prefer my screens on the bright side. So I got the 42SL80.

At home, the picture quality was simply outstanding, the sound is more than adequate, and Comcast HD never looked so clean. Standard definition receives a thumbs up as well. Connecting my portable hard drive to the USB port on the TV, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could play my DVDs I had copied on to the drive. Not just pictures and music, but movies as well! A big plus in my book. Last night I viewed files from a TS folder, and will try other formats tonight.

Alas, it’s not all smiles and sunshine… a lip sync issue emerged later on at night. The sound seemed to lag behind the video. This issue was also reported with their LH90 sets when viewing content through a set top box, and a firmware fix was quickly issued. I sent an email to LG Support and I’m counting the days until a response and fix. If not addressed soon.. that Panasonic will start looking mighty good once more. I’ll be connecting my PS3 tonight to view bluray; hopefully the lip sync issue won’t appear there as well.

If not for that… I would have rated the SL80 5 stars, but since lip sync can render programming and movies unwatchable, it’s a substantial flaw until fixed.

Review by Hawkshaw for LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black
Rating:
I’ve only had my set a couple of days. It arrived on time. I like the picture and the sound.I have a few problems with it but am hoping most of them will be resolved soon.

One big problem for me is that there is no analog audio output, only an Optical,which I had never heard of before. I’m a senior and depend on my wireless headphones and have only found out by trial and error that I will have to get optical headphones or an adapter for optical to analog. When I e-mailed the LG company, I was told it was in the specifications. There are several pages in Amazon’n description and maybe it is there but it must be pretty well hidden. In a 1100$ plus machine one would not expect the absence of such a basic feature. One would at least expect a warning that it is not there.

The channels don’t change as quickly as they did on my old RCA

The on screen menus are somewhat complicated and difficult but I guess they will be easier with experience.

I hate having only a CD manual but the company has agreed to send me a printed one I’m hoping I made the right decision in buying this set and may write another report later after using it longer.

MHB

Review by Daniel Bennett for LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black
Rating:
I love the picture and build quality but have to agree with the other review that the glass front makes this TV too reflective – everything is there! The product shots really don’t give you a good impression of this. So, this TV would work best in a media room where you can really cut out unwanted light. My plan is to fix with really light frosting film – if I can find something appropriate will post a follow up.

HD content looks fantastic. Blacks are very black.

I had lip sync issues initially with my Charter Motorola cable box but setting it to 1080i (instead of 720p) has fixed this.

Only audio output is optical. HDMI audio is switched to the optical output – so greatly reduces the number of cables you need.

LG need to post the manual on their web site.

Review by Brendan H. Carolan for LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black
Rating:
Received the product seven days as promised. No problem with assembly. One problem; sound lags picture as many reviewed prior. Called customer services within 24 hours of receipt and promised service between 8:00 and 12:00, noon tomorrow. Very happy with the service thus far. It was indicated that I should have an update applied tomorrow that should correct the audio/vidio problem. This is the reason for the 4 1/2 construction quality.

Technician arrived approximately 24 hours from reporting my problem. He applied a program patch to the TV using the USB port. The fix was applied in about five-minutes. Perfect picture/sound. I would rate the TV five stars now.