Product Listing

LG 42-inch LH50YD LCD TV - One Step Closer To The Movies

By Andy Sim - 19 Jul 2009

Cosmetics and Features

Deceptively Simple

Design

You can say that the LH50 seems more like a peacock who has lost its feathers after witnessing how flamboyant LG can get with their TVs. It's plain. The LH50's panel is framed by an unassuming black bezel and a clear plastic trim running along it, meaning this Korean effort might not stick out among the conventional ones. Depth-wise, it isn't the slimmest of recent flat-panels with its depth measurement of 90mm. Besides its swiveling gait, LG has incorporated a simple power-indicator in the guise of a crescent at the bottom right. The LED turns red during standby and blue when powered on.

No, that LED indicator isn't a power switch. Its actual rocker is located at the right flank of the TV. Its blue glow does add a nice touch to an otherwise drab bezel.

At 90mm thick, the LH50 isn't going to earn any oohs and aahs from your dinner guests for its slimness. However, its simple looks isn't all that unappealing either.

One radical design of the LH50 is the placement of its side ports. They are nowhere near the sides in fact. With such deep indentations, LG is making it hard for anyone to access them, and even more so if you've wall-mounted the panel. Many manufacturers have incorporated at least a USB and HDMI port on their side bars and LG is no exception either, but LG seems to not understand the meaning of the side access ports. Given its awkward placement, we reckon many will face a thorny time trying to plug in their USB drives or when attempting to hook up cameras and consoles. This is a real letdown in terms of accessibility and usability and we hope to see this corrected soonest with LG's next effort.

The side panel is situated approximately 180mm from the edge of the LH50. Do consider this factor when wall-mounting this baby, else you may never reach its side ports. Some practical suggestions are to not wall-mount it, or if you really must, then pre-route the cables from the sides so that you can use them with ease later.

On the bright side, one thing we like best about the LH50 is its remote stick. The remote was a joy to wield given its concisely labeled buttons. The whole plastic wand has a textured feel that is somewhat akin to synthetic leather, typical of LG but it sure gives a good grip. There's also a dedicated Simplink button. To add, Simplink is LG's HDMI CEC function which allows you to control other LG products via a single remote. It's old news anyhow, but it's still a practical feature to own especially if you have other LG devices lurking in your AV setup.

Clean, simple and effective. This is how television remotes should be made. Are you listening, TV makers?

Features

LG has throttled their LCDs to the next level with the arrival of the LH50. They are now in the same playing field as the bigger boys who have already clinched their 200Hz accolades. There's Sony and their 200Hz Motion Flow enhancement as seen in the BRAVIA Z4500, while Samsung's answer can be found in the Series 7 suite braided with the 200Hz Motion Plus aspect. We'll discuss more of this when we check out the LH50's performance later.

It sure looks pretty, doesn't it? LG got their UI right this time with a beautiful yet practically crafted interface. One drawback is that its still unable to recognize active connections when selecting its inputs. Like its predecessors, you'll be given an entire list of AV connections to choose and not those which are actually connected.

Its menu settings have also been refurbished with a more pleasing layout, segregated into nine boxes each. The display tune-ups are located under its Picture segment. Additionally, we also found a total of nine color presets available, ranging from the customary Standard (or User) setting to the Intelligent Sensor mode. Speaking of which, the TV is also fitted with a sensor to determine your room's ambient lights. To shave power costs, it would automatically reduce the backlights' intensity should it detect a dimmer environment. Furthermore, the LH50 is equipped with a DVB-T tuner which eliminates the need for another HD set-top box.

There's also a "Quick Menu" for tweaking the TV's basic settings. You can fire this up via the Q.Menu button on the remote. Options such as the screen's aspect ratio and color presets can be managed here.

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8.0
  • HD Performance 8
  • SD Performance 8.5
  • Features 8
  • Value 8
The Good
Excellent 24p conversion
Healthy 480i upscaling
Relatively deep blacks
The Bad
Hard to reach side-panel
Poor noise reduction
Moderately expensive
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