Refine search for TVs

LG 42LH5000 42in LCD TV Review

Author John Archer
Published 8th Apr 2009
Manufacturer LG Electronics
Supplier Currys
Price £868.70 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £999.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 9 for Design
Features Score 9 for Features
Image Quality Score 8 for Image Quality
Sound Quality Score 7 for Sound Quality
Value Score 8 for Value
Overall Score 8 for Overall
LG 42LH5000 42in LCD TV
Bookmark and Share discuss this article  4 comments    Email  Email trustedreviews newslettersTrustedReviews Newsletters

Don't let the simplicity of the 42LH5000's front-end presentation fool you into thinking it lacks feature depth, though. There are actually all manner of tweaks and adjustments available for you to play around with.

Particularly helpful is a Picture Wizard, which uses a surprisingly large set of simple test signals to help you calibrate the picture correctly. Plus there's an Advanced Control menu that offers such minutiae as multi-level dynamic contrast and colour settings, multi-level noise reduction, multi-level gamma reduction, an Eye Care mode that reduces the image's brightness, and multi-level Edge Enhancement.

I was pleased, too, to find this Advanced menu containing an option to adjust the strength of the 'TruMotion' 200Hz processing, giving you a degree of flexibility with the processing that could come in handy for adapting it to different types of source. After all, the real time demands on the 200Hz processing engine will obviously be greater - and thus more prone to glitching - when watching a sports broadcast than they are with something relatively static like a studio chat show.

So wide-ranging are the 42LH5000's adjustments, in fact, that the TV's list of presets includes a couple designated 'ISF Expert'. This indicates that the TV is primed for professional calibration by a trained Imaging Science Foundation engineer, should you be willing to stump up the necessary cash for their services.


First impressions of the 42LH5000's pictures suggests two key things. First, that its pictures aren't quite as good as those of Sony's Z4500 200Hz models. But second that they aren't bad at all for their money, showing an immediate grasp of 200Hz that bodes well for the future.

Taking this latter feature onboard first, the degree to which the 200Hz engine improves the fluidity of motion and, especially, camera pans is truly impressive - even if you do the sensible thing and just use the feature's 'Low' setting. What's more, this nicely judged fluidity is joined by impressive motion clarity, with little if any of the blurring on show that usually blights LCD motion.

Perhaps the single most impressive - or at least, surprising - thing about the 42LH5000's 200Hz engine, though, is how clean it is. By which I mean that provided you stick as much as possible with the feature's Low setting, you'll find that you get the extra fluidity and clarity without having to suffer anything major in the way of processing side effects.

The system isn't perfect; really fast movements or pans, especially if there's a vertical as well as horizontal component to them, can seem to flicker and jump for a fraction of a second. And even on the Low setting you also sometimes see a shimmering halo around moving objects. For a good example of what I'm talking about, check out the barman as he walks toward the poker table after being summoned so that Bond can order his famous favourite drink in Casino Royale.

Still, while the TruMotion 200Hz engine might generate a few more glitches than Sony's 200Hz approach, I'd also say that the benefits of 200Hz are also slightly more obvious with the LG screen, and aren't accompanied by the slight softness sometimes noted with the Z4500s.

 

Newsletters

Register to receive the latest Reviews and News Headlines directly to your Inbox every day, and enter our regular competitions. More Info.

Your Name


Email Address


Latest 4 of 4 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

comment robert day said on 14th May 2009

HI tehre - this was an informative review - not filled with techno babble for a non techno person like myself - I have only just found out LG have done a 200Mhz tv and this was on... more

comment mark thompson said on 11th August 2009

i have just purchased this tv but a 47".it was not the tv i planned on buying i was ou to purchase the samsung ub 8 series led back lite .but with future plans and price a con... more

comment liam said on 4th September 2009

hello there,, how will i be able to connect my net book to the tv? will i need a tv out on my net book? i own a eepc 901, will this be able to connect to the tv to view videos on t... more

comment Rob said on 21st November 2009

After reading reviews on the 42" LCD I decided to take the plunge and am not disappointed. The HD pictures are superb via Sky+HD box and DVD clarity is just as good. This TV i... more

See all 4 comments on this article.

add comment Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.