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"Truly Amazing Television!" on by hdgmedic
Pros: 5ms response time; Excellent display of SDTV signals; 1080p also accepted via VGA input.; 10,000:1 contrast ratio
Cons: Blacks not as deep as the new Samsung
Summary: I have been researching TV's for quite awhile trying to determine the best one for me. I have watched the technology continually improve and am amazed by the progress. I finally decided to take the plunge and purchase a television and was certain I was going to purchase a DLP set. I made one of my many trips to the local electronics store to do more comparisons of certain models I had picked out and had not even considered an LCD TV, let alone an LG television. I was walking along the displays when my girlfriend actually pointed out the TV to me. I took a brief look and didn't see anything special and it was only upon closer inspection that I discovered what an awesome TV the LG 42LB5D is.
First, I set all of the neighboring 42" Televisions to the same HDTV signal (which anyone can do- just select the input on the tv's until they all show the same signal). I was never a fan of LCD TV's due to the pixelation in fast scenes-usually sports. This TV did the best job of displaying fast-moving sequences with very little pixelation, even better than the nearby Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, and Sharp models. My curiosity was piqued. I don't know if it is because of the proprietary software they use to render the image or if it is because the LCD panel has a 5ms response time. In case you don't know, a 5ms response time for an LCD panel is very, very fast. Alot of the other manufacturers have an 8ms response time. The faster the response time of the panel, the better it is able to render fast changing images.
Next, I switched the channels to a standard definition signal. Since most of what is on cable and satellite is broadcast in SDTV, it would be a good idea to pick a TV that does a good job of displaying that signal without making it look so bad. This television does an amazing job of displaying SDTV signals. Of course, it'll never be as good as a plain old CRT TV, but it does one heckuva job! Now I was getting really impressed.
The colors were bright and looked as good as the brand new Samsung LNT-4265, though the Samsung had a little deeper blacks. I don't think the extra few hundred dollars I would have had to pay would be worth that. Especially considering the better pixelation performace I noticed on the LG. (Pixelation annoys the heck out of me, by the way.)
I started checking out the specs. It has a clear QAM tuner that allows you to receive digital cable signals without the cable box. That usually means you can get all of the local network (ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, PBS) hi-def and secondary digital channels for free over your cable line (as long as you're not using a cable box connected to your TV). After I took it home, I found I had all of those channels. It has 3 HDMI inputs. It accepts 1080p via HDMI, Component, and VGA inputs. The VGA input was especially important to me because I have the XBOX 360 HD-DVD player and the only way to view movies in 1080p is via the VGA output from the 360. If not for that, I'd only be able to view my HDDVD's in 720p or 1080i.
I am incredibly pleased with this purchase and I gotta thank my girlfriend for noticing it or it would have slipped right past me. I know to take a review from a website with a grain of salt because you never really know who is writing it. The only thing I can tell you is to find a store that has one on display and do exactly what I did. I guarantee you'll see what I'm talking about. -
"Hope you have no issues with this TV" on by tmcrev
Pros: I truly like the picture of this TV and the inputs and features along with other peoples reviews helped me decide this TV was the right one for me given my budget
Cons: If you have problems with this TV and it is after the store return policy time frame, hang on for an extremely frustrating repair process
Summary: On day 45 of owning this TV it developed serious issus with its operation. Menus started popping up by themselves and eventually would cause the TV to become locked in the off air TV setting, the remote would not operate the TV anymore as well. Only the On/Off button on the side would work. After letting the TV sit for several hours would the TV allow it to be operated by remote and allow for the use of the HDMI input source. Within 30 minutes the same crazy defect would occur. I called LG and they said I had to contact my local service center. It took 7 days for a rep to look at the TV and then spent 2 minutes with the TV. He turned it on and off and said it was the Digital Master Board in the TV that was the problem. I was very skeptical when he ran no diagnostics and didn't wait for the issue to arise for his own eyes to see. He ordered the part 3 days later and then the waiting game began. I waited a week and a half and then called to see if they received the part yet. They told me that the part was on back order but had no idea how long it would take to get it. So I called LG with the part number to find out for my self when it was supposed to be available. They said middle of October. That was unacceptable in my opinion and I started to lobby for a new TV. I have already been without a working TV for 2 weeks at this point and they wanted me to wait at least another month. They said I had to wait and that they were very sorry for my situation. I don't know about you, but I hope if you spent $2000 for a TV you would be extremely upset about this. It also helped my frustration that I have seen no NFL games in HD either because of this matter. The final outcome was resolved yesterday 9/28, when LG finally authorized an exchange of my TV from the point of purchase, exactly 1 month from the original problem date. It took a huge number of phone calls to them to get this matter resolved and wouldn't you know they didn't have the decency to call me directly for this Exchange, I was contacted by the store where I purchased the TV. You decide if you want to go thru this if you by an LG TV and have an issue with it after the Store return date is reached. I am stuck with this brand/model TV and after 1 day, no issues yet. I would have rather gotten a refund so I could buy a different brand. And to top it off the price on this TV is dropping like a rock too!!
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"Nice Picture, but lots of glitches" on by davejeweler
Pros: Picture is nice, menu is very user friendly, lots of conections
Cons: Sound cuts out, developed vertical blue line
Summary: So I was very happy with this TV for the first week I owned it. Price was good, picture was great HD, even decent SD picture. The conection options are great (3 HDMI, side panel for temporary auxilary inputs, usb for my MP3 player). The onscreen menu is very easy to navigate. Then...
After a week the sound began to cut out sometimes when changing channels, or pausing a dvd. Turning the TV off then back on seemed to fix this. Then a few days later, a blue vertical line developed on the right hand side of the tv. It was there anytime the tv was on (like a vertical line of bad pixels). In the 3 days it took before i could exchange it, it developed addition sound issues. Sometimes, whenever the sound signal might change (changing channels, pausing tv or dvd, hitting mute) the sound would "explode" before resumeing play. It was like a burst of white noise, louder than the current TV volume.
I returned this unit, and got another, but after about a week again, it began with the sound issues, so i took it for good.
If you could a one that didnt have these bugs, this would be a very nice product. But after 2, i wasnt gonna take the chance again. -
"Very Nice TV" on by larryjbennett
Pros: Excellent Picture
Cons: None so far
Summary: I have had this TV for a about a week, maybe a bit early to write a review but I will give my opinion, so far I am very pleased with the picture on HD but the standard tv stations are not so good but I guess realisticically they will not be as good as high def, I have seen Sonys, Panasonics, Hitachi's before I bought this tv and they were all very similar in standard mode. The LG 42LB5D has a ton of inputs great for the attaching all those toys like Xbox, Playstation, HD Dvd or Blu ray. The price was decent. I would have no trouble recommending this tv. I read that there were lots of problems with this model that was made before June of 2007 my was made in October 2007 so I hope they have all the problems fixed. I will follow up on this in another month or so. Just one negative if you can call it that Help desk here in Canada not very helpful or knowledgeable. I called for help on setting up the DVI to HDMI cable and getting the sound to work on my ExpressVu HD reciever but the tech could't help as a matter of fact he seemed very puzzled by it and was not very helpful at all.
Updated
I am folowing up on the LG 42LB5D HDTV, I have had this tv for about 6 weeks so far and this tv is Excellent, great picture especially with the HDMI output, some use the component hook up's but I find the HDMI from your satellite receiver works best, even the SD channels are quite good, and the sound is quite good but I would recommend a good surround sound system. If I have one slight flaw I find that the blacks color could have been darker. But I would not hesitate recommeding this TV.Updated
I am folowing up on the LG 42LB5D HDTV, I have had this tv for about 6 weeks so far and this tv is Excellent, great picture especially with the HDMI output, some use the component hook up's but I find the HDMI from your satellite receiver works best, even the SD channels are quite good, and the sound is quite good but I would recommend a good surround sound system. If I have one slight flaw I find that the blacks color could have been darker. But I would not hesitate recommeding this TV. -
"Easy to use right out of the box" on by uofmgriz1
Pros: Sleek design, great picture, good connectivity
Cons: None so far
Summary: I shopped around for 3 months and finally decided on the this new 1080p LG. I have not ben disappointed! The picture is as good or better as the higher priced models and the new design is absolutely fantastic. It has 3 HDMI connections and plenty of others to ensure easy hook up to other components. I haven't had it long enough to check reliability but so far, I am vry pleased with my choice.
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