Refine search for TVs

LG 22LU5000 22in LCD TV Review

Author John Archer
Published 30th Jun 2009
Manufacturer LG Electronics
Supplier Dixons
Price £347.82 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £399.99 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 9 for Design
Features Score 8 for Features
Image Quality Score 8 for Image Quality
Sound Quality Score 5 for Sound Quality
Value Score 8 for Value
Overall Score 8 for Overall
LG 22LU5000 22in LCD TV
Bookmark and Share discuss this article  3 comments    Email  Email trustedreviews newslettersTrustedReviews Newsletters

Today I have to admit to feeling, well, just a little bit girly. In touch with my feminine side. Or at least, not quite as butch and muscle-pumpingly macho as usual (stop laughing, Riyad!).

The reason for this curiously effeminate turn of events is LG's 22LU5000: a little ‘designer' LCD TV perfectly styled to appeal to the lady of the house thanks to its gloss white fascia, slender, gently contoured bezel, extravagantly arched bottom edge, transparent desktop stand ‘neck', and last but not least, brazenly orange rear end and outer trim.


To your average grunty male, with their love of black metallic finishes and harsh angular lines, this description of the 22LU5000 probably sounds about as likeable as a Tupperware party. But that's what they (probably) said about the Apple iPod when it first appeared. And I'm not ashamed - just a little disturbed - to say that I'm actually quite enjoying looking at the 22LU5000, despite being happily married and even having managed to father a child. Go figure.

What's particularly great about the 22LU5000, though, is that it thoughtfully provides a high-tech excuse for a man to like it, in the form of a Full HD resolution. Yes, despite only having a 22in screen, LG has managed to squeeze 1,920 x 1,080 pixels into the 22LU5000, giving it a leg up over the 22LU4000 I looked at a couple of weeks ago, and making it the smallest Full HD screen I've seen. Wowza.


Awesome though this sounds on paper, I guess there's a pretty good argument to be made that having a Full HD resolution in a 22in screen is just an almighty waste of time. I mean, some 26in TVs struggle to convincingly show the relatively straightforward difference between HD and standard definition, so it's hard to believe that a 22in TV will be able to show the much finer difference between an HD Ready and Full HD picture.

But hey - I'm supposed to be testing this TV, not pre-judging it, so I'll shut up on this subject now and hope to be proved wrong further down the line.

Less controversial is the 22LU5000's connectivity, which does decently enough by including two HDMIs, a component video input, and a PC port. I was initially pleased to see a USB port too, but as with the 22LU4000, this port is only for system update data. In other words, you can't watch your photos through it.

 

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 3 of 3 Comments

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

comment stranded said on 30th June 2009

What a design, makes me want to die (wake me up when picture quality is 10++).

comment basicasic said on 30th June 2009

Unless you are going to use it as computer monitor full HD resolution is pretty irrelevant on a screen this size. And £400 for a 22" screen is steep no matter how good ... more

comment GoldenGuy said on 4th August 2009

LG's M227WD is a Full HD 22 incher at half the price. I'm gonna stick up for the design here - I don't have a complete aversion to consumer electronics looking '... more

See all 3 comments on this article.

add comment Add your comment

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