LG 47LH50

Pros: Incredible hd picture, surprisingly good sd picture, affordable.

Cons: No s-video input (so what).

Summary: I have done 3 years worth of homework looking for a tv that would fit in my budget, & I'm glad I waited & did so much research. I now have a tv of incredible quality that didn't break me for the next 3 years. As stated above, this is a layman's review, so those who are down to earth should be able to follow. I read the editor's review, & can't fully agree with it. I purchased this tv at B.B. for $1200 out the door. When comparing it to other models, I noticed other tv's pixellated very momentarily when switching camera shots, especially on facial close-ups, where this tv didn't. I later learned this tv is one of the fastest on the market at 2.7 milliseconds. The darkness of the black level seems plenty black to me, depending on the broadcast. It shoud be noted I only use an antenna that I mounted in my attic, a white 1 foot square "digital" ant I bought for $50, not even amplified. I do live in the middle of Memphis, so broadcast quality is pretty good, and most of the local channels are in 1080i. The picture quality is exponentially better than my parents' 3 year old top of the line Toshiba with satellite hd. My dvd player is only capable of 1080i, but all the newer movies I've rented have had an unbelievable picture. The standard def tv shows are at least watchable & in fact substantially better than expected. (About the same quality as my folks' hd shows) The initial setting of the LG is in vivid, which is a little too bright and edgy, brash. I tried the editor's picture modifications, and found it too soft & dim. After a few weeks of fiddling with the ridiculous amount of picture modifications, I now have it dialed in to my personal taste. I have a bright living room the tv is situated, my main reason for buying an lcd, speaking of, this model had the least amount of glare of all the others on display. Another point I'll disagree with the editor's review is the viewing angle. Even in my bright environment I can sit well off-axis & the brightness doesn't drop that much. When watching a football game, I can actually tell if the quarterback is left or right handed because I can clearly see which way the ball is spiraling, not in slo-mo. Of course picture quality was better with MUCH more expensive sets, especially the new led's. It really becomes apparent when very close to the tv. Perhaps my biggest beef with the picture quality is some blurring around foreground characters up close, and even far away if the broadcast quality is lacking, and yes, you can tell one tv show from the next. I have noticed hd's biggest catch is that while good signals are exaggerated, so are bad signals. I've accepted that as an inherent problem with higher quality entertainment products. The same holds true with audio signals. All said & done, considering I have been looking at soooooooooooo many different tv's, & ALMOST made the mistake of wasting my money on a tv that blasts its name as bright as the tv screen itself (the LG's unobtrusive power light can be turned on or off), I am ecstatic enough to write my first review. If you have the spare cash, & you're freakishly anal about picture quality, get something expensive. If you're strapped like me & obsessively look for the best you can get for a reasonable price, this is it. Truly impressive.

Updated on Jan 3, 2010

I forgot to do the star ratings wtih my review. I give it a 4 1/2 stars, only because there are better tv's out there, but not for the price.