LG DU-42LZ30 review (42" LCD TV)

LG claims its XD processing engine will greatly improve standard-definition video signals from cable TV and satellite, but we found that for the best performance with high-resolution video sources like DVD and HDTV, XD should be turned off. There are also three selectable color temperatures (Warm, Medium, and Cool) with Warm being the closest to the NTSC standard of 6,500K.

A number of audio features are onboard as well, including EZ Soundrite, which keeps the volume level the same between regular program material and commercials. EZ Sound claims to automatically choose the right sound mode depending on the program material. Otherwise you can manually select from Normal, Stadium, Theater, and Music modes.

Connection options on the DU-42LZ30 are fairly generous. Two component-video inputs and one DVI input head up the list. Unusually, there is a pair of optical digital inputs--one for DVI and one for one of the component jacks--in addition to the standard analog audio inputs. We also counted two composite-video inputs, one S-Video input, one 15-pin RGB/VGA input for either a computer or an HDTV set-top box, and an optical digital audio output. Behind the left speaker is another set of A/V inputs with both S-Video and composite video, which would be convenient for hooking up a camcorder, a digital camera, or a video game console.

Picture quality at factory settings out of the box was pretty typical, which is to say overdriven and a far cry from accurate. Unfortunately, even after calibration, the grayscale went plus-red in the low end, and as a result, dark parts of the picture had a reddish cast. We also detected a little bit of edge enhancement, which created faint rings around lines and edges onscreen. Reducing the sharpness control didn't do anything in the component-video inputs to reduce or eliminate it. Testing the DVI input, however, we discovered that we could get rid of the edge enhancement by bringing down sharpness. Go figure!

White-field uniformity (the evenness of color across the screen) as well as black-level performance were both quite good for an LCD flat panel. Resolution measured much higher with the DVI input than with either of the component-video inputs; the component-video input rolls off some of the high-frequency video resolution from a 720p signal. We recommend that you use the DVI input for your HDTV connection.

After calibration, chapters 12 through 25 of the Seabiscuit DVD looked a lot better, with great detail and good color saturation. Fast motion scenes were solid with none of the smear commonly associated with direct-view LCDs. The opening scenes of Alien, very dark material, looked reasonable, with little or no low-level noise, albeit with a slight reddish hue.

HD material from our DirecTV satellite feed also looked fairly good. Bright scenes were full of snap and good color saturation, but again, dark material suffered a bit with the plus-red color temperature.