LG 42LK450

Pros: + Picture sharp and clear for a 60Hz
+ It sounds great!
+ Easy to use menu
+ Assembly was easy - took about 15 minutes
+ Cheap price

Cons: - Only 2 HDMI ports
- No analog audio out

Summary: OK - here we go, I'll try to be short and sweet about it:

For what it's worth - I'm a basic TV watcher - different shows, some sports (NFL, NHL), movies, etc. I'm not a gamer, nor use this for my PC (although that must look really cool).

Had this TV (42") for a week, and it's great!

I was nervous that it was going to get banged up during shipping, but it was perfect when it arrived.

Assembly was easy - took about 15 minutes. Make sure to lay out all of your assembly pieces out beforehand, just to be sure you have everything. You have to lay the screen face down during assembly, so be careful! It's not super heavy, but get someone to help you, if needed.

You will need a phillips screwdriver that has a long enough shaft to reach one of the holes from the top (actually bottom) of the mounting plate. The rear plate portion of the stand has a hole - this is so you can permanently mount it using the stand as opposed to mounting on a wall, if desired (a wood screw is included for this purpose).

If I may pause for a moment: I see many other reviewers complaining about this TV's picture and sound. I have to ask, since you try to come off as some diva audio/video-phile, why didn't you just go for the top of the line Sony Bravia's, and be done with it? What do expect for under $500?

Back to the TV: Features - too many to list. I used the picture calibrator to "set up" the tv. The Intellisensor option works well, but occasionally, I will switch it to

'Vivid', depending on the channel/show/movie, etc. I basically let the TV do the work via auto settings as much as possible. Works nice for me!

Picture - sharp and clear for a 60Hz. I have an HD cable box and use one of the HDMI ports. Looks great! The non-HD channels look decent, but that is about it. Just for the heck of it, I hooked up an antenna and did an auto-channel search. The 'on-air' HD broadcasts looked excellent. As far as picture adjustments go, I too, turned off the energy-saver feature; while I appreciate the idea of it, the picture was just a little too dark. Perhaps they will improve this in the future.

Sound - it sounds great! I don't know why people are complaining about this? Sure, connect it up to a surround system - that is ideal. But the TV's speakers themselves sound fine.

Let's see, what else... oh yeah, the model I received has the number "CUSYLH". Some people want to know this information. Something about what kind of screen panel it is?

The screen itself is matte, but has a slight glossy look to it. While it does a good job of eliminating glare, there can still be some reflection from windows/lamps/lights, etc, but it's OK.

The *only* thing I do not like, is the brown colored trim running across the lower portion of the frame. This definitely cheapens the look of the tv. I see where LG was going with it, but it looks dumb. It has four colors of brown (dark to light). It looks like an old 16bit gradient - not smooth, but blocky.

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All in all, this TV is a great buy for the money.