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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 22 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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8 out of 9 people found this review helpful
2.5 stars
"One to avoid. You get what you pay for."
Pros: Colors look good until you dig deeper,
Cons: More false contouring than other sets. Image retention. Poor sound. 1080i input difficulty with PS3
Summary: I have not had good luck with LG. I made the serious mistake of buying direct from LG, which means they absolutely flat-out refused any refund when I had problems. They just kept sending me problematic new TVs. I am on my third TV set from LG in 3 months, and I am now stuck with this model. I originally purchased a 42" Full HD 1080p LCD-TV. That was the model I wanted. It had a problem with clouding in the LCD. LG refused to replace it, because the said LCD clouding is "normal" and "within specification." After much pain and many calls, they finally replaced it with an identical set which had even worse clouding issues. They refused to admit any problems, despite the fact that the problem was even worse. I have photos if anyone cares to see them. The tech guy suggested I try a plasma, because plasmas don't suffer from clouding. They then allowed me to pick out a similar-priced Plamsa, and I got this 50" model (which, I deeply regret, is not 1080p). At first glance, this model looks very good. Unfortunately, after you watch it for a time at home, the shortfalls of this TV become readily apparent. One is the false contouring (banding) issues. I noticed it immediately when I saw my PS3 menu. It also shows up in movies as well. My LG LCD had the same problems, but not to this extent. I now feel like I am watching a cheap dithered screen. A real disappointment. Another problem is the buzzing. Different manufacturers have problems with this. My set buzzed terribly loud (I could hear buzzing 10 feet away with volume at 40 percent). After two service trips, and one where they again denied any problem, the buzzing was finally fixed. The final serious problem with this set has been with my PS3. It has issues accepting the PS3 signal at 1080i. It works, but there is an excessive and problematic line-jumping problem with white text. My PS3 works fine at 720p, but not at the 1080i setting on this TV. It worked fine at 1080p on the other LG set. I'm going to test my PS3 on my girlfriend's Samsung LCD at 1080i, and see if it's better. It looks, however, like the problem is likely with this TV. LG's solution? Just watch it at 720p. I'm sorry, but I didn't buy this 1080i-capable set (which actually downscales to 768p, or 1366x768) to watch it at 720p. LG has tried replacing the boards inside, but to no effect. The problem is still there, and even if it's fixed, the banding issues are driving me insane. All I wanted after the first set was to get my money back. My mistake for purchasing an LG TV, and my mistake for buying it directly from LG.Updated
This shocked me...
On a hunch, I decided to buy the proprietary PS3 component output plug (not included with the PS3). This solved virtually all of my problems!
1. I no longer have such a huge problem with banding/false contouring. The set seems to do a much better job of controlling this via component than HDMI. I am just guessing -- but I have a feeling that going through HDMI bypasses LG's false contouring control abilities. I can see a huge difference when looking at the glowing underwater green eggs in Hellboy, for example (1:08:31). Almost no false contouring through component.
2. I cannot make use of the Full range HDMI feature via component, but my PDP does 15:000 to 1 contrast ratio anyway, and it looks great without it.
3. The problems with image jumping on white text and white areas of the screen has totally gone.
I can see this is an HDMI issue with this particular LG TV.
I am very happy, but I still want them to fix the HDMI.Updated
I can't believe it! The HDMI input is the culprit on this TV. Component is fine. I purchased the proprietary PS3 component output dongle, and the following happened:
1. I no longer have such a huge problem with banding/false contouring. The set seems to do a much better job of controlling this via component than HDMI. I am just guessing -- but I have a feeling that going through HDMI bypasses LG's false contouring control abilities. I can see a huge difference when looking at the glowing underwater green eggs in Hellboy, for example (1:08:31). Almost no false contouring through component.
2. I cannot make use of the Full range HDMI feature via component, but my PDP does 15:000 to 1 contrast ratio anyway, and it looks great without it.
3. The problems with image jumping on white text and white areas of the screen has totally gone.
I can see this is an HDMI issue with this particular LG TV.
I am very happy, but I still want them to fix the HDMI.Updated
I just read a post on AVSForum that says I can hold down the menu button on my TV, followed by the remote's menu button (hold them both down for 5 secs) and a hidden menu will come up.
It worked!
I am now able to adjust my LG50PC5D to get rid of the grey bars, adjust fan speed (won't recommend you do this), added some additional "Eye-Q" functionality I had never heard of that now shows up in my menu. You seem to be able to cycle through different model versions of your set and add/remove different functions. Better write down my original settings!
Weird.
Going to do some more experimenting with this!Updated
My never-ending LG hell continues.
They replaced the ENTIRE inside of the unit, including the plasma screen (with the exception of the speakers and some small electronices near the speakers at the bottom inside of the set.
The buzzing is now gone. The HDMI STILL looks like crap. And now... WORSE... I have a blue sparkling effect that happens as a sort of halo around parts of the screen until the machine warms up after a few minutes.
I have read online that there were big problems with the older version of this set (pre 50PC5D model) that had this problem, and I am now wondering if they replaced my screen with a cheaper one for an older model! This model is not supposed to have the sparkling problems.
For more information on this issue, see and scroll down to the LG comments:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-635482.html
The sparkles can come in different colors. Gawd, I wish I just could have gotten my money back from this company 7 service calls ago! Yes, they have been here over 7 times, and including this panel, they have replaced my LG TVs with 4 new ones (including changing from LCD to PDP before) and ALL OF THEM exhibited some sort of problem.
This one also seems to have a blemish in the screen glass, as well. Not a dead pixel -- an actual screen blemish!
Stay far, far, far away from LG. Run far and fast. This is pure hell!Updated
The sparkling problem was fixed a while back. I am just now updating my comments. To fix it required a new circuit board in the back. Everything now FINALLY works on this TV, except 1080i input through HDMI, which can't handle bright whites and causes white areas to jump/dance. I realize this model is listed as a 720p TV in the USA, but it's listed as 1080i in Korea, and accepts 1080i input (although not well through HDMI). I get no jumping at 720p. LG had no answer for this problem, and it has never been fixed. I still advise people to avoid this TV.
- 2 replies to this review
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Actually this tv supports all resolutions except 480i.If your connecting playstation 3 through hdmi you only get 720p resolution because all of the games are programmed at 720p.While not playing game goto your display settings of your ps3 and choose hdmi it will tell you what resolution is being displayed.Mine is doing 1080p as I write this.I would recommend this tv to anyone to bad they dont make it anymore its a great tv.
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Bought an LG CRT 32 inch widescreen 6 months ago. Thought I'd avoid the teething problems you guys are speaking about relating to LCD's and plasma's. Unfortunately my CRT is also flawed and LG have not made Life Good. DO NOT BUY LG. ANY LG PRODUCT. THIS WAS MY LAST MISTAKE.
