LG 42LH90 Review

With no interactive features to speak of in LG’s 42LH90, Samsung’s LUXIA UN55B9000 seems to surpass LG’s set. However, the 42LH90’s LED technology does give viewers fantastic black levels and color accuracy. And its 240Hz refresh rate blows many other sets out of the running for best picture. LG provides users a slew of picture controls, including the Picture Wizard feature that assists in optimizing the display. LG’s dejudder processing also smoothes out images during action sequences, reproducing them in a much more natural fashion.

Note: LG 42LH90 shares the same features and performance as all models in LH90 LG LCD HDTV series. This review here is slightly shorter than the LG 55LH90 Review. If you want to find out a bit more about this model (especially about its features), feel free to consult that review as well.

Brief Specifications of 42LH90

• Resolution: 1080p (standard), 1920 x 1080 (exact)
• Panel type: LED Backlighting with Localized Dimming
• Contrast Ratio: 40000:1 (native), 2,000,000:1 (dynamic)
• 240Hz TruMotion processing
• THX Certified: YES
• Anti-glare filter: YES
• 24p cinema mode: YES
• Intelligent Room Lighting Sensor
• Four HDMI Inputs

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Useful anti-glare matte
• Intense black levels and superb color accuracy
• 1080p picture
• Four HDMI inputs and one PC input

Cons:

• Viewing angles not ideal
• S-Video input missing
• No interactivity to speak of
• SD slot absent

Features

LG’s set uses a similar technology for its LED as that of Toshiba and Vizio. This technology employs a scanning backlight technology that enlarges the standard 120Hz method of replicating a 60-frame signal with a backlight that flashes indiscriminately. This greatly differs from the technology that Sony and Samsung utilize, which achieves the 240Hz refresh rate by quadrupling the original signal. While Sony an Samsung’s technology seems to reveal better results, most viewers won’t be able to tell the difference.

Black Levels

While its shadow detail definitely wins out when compared to Samsung’s B7000, most plasmas easily defeat the 42LH90 in this aspect. The 42LH90 black levels are some of the best on the market when compared to the Samsung B7000, A950, and B750 LCDs. Still, most viewers will notice that Panasonic’s V10 or Sony’s XBR8 best the 42LH90 in this category.

Color Accuracy

When it comes to color accuracy, the 42LH90 definitively beats out Samsung’s B7000. However, there’s no denying that many plasmas will reign supreme in overall saturation and depth of colors. LG’s grayscale is able to provide a consistent reproduction, though not as confidently as the Sony XBR8 or most plasmas. LG gives users a THX picture preset designed to boost accuracy as well.

Video Processing

The LH90 series gives users around 900 and 1,000 lines of movement resolution, however Panasonic’s plasma line beats out LG’s set for blur reduction. The 42LH90 doesn’t de-interlace film-based sources in an acceptable way, a bane for the company in the last few year. But LG’s Real Cinema setting seems to preserve the true frame rate of film, but it only when its 240Hz function is shut off.

Standard definition

LG’s set performs acceptably with Standar Definition turned on, reducing noise thoroughly. And the 42LH90 has no issues with 2:3 pull-down as well. LG’s 42LH90 can show fewer artifacts overall when on Standard, which outdoes Sony’s dejudder modes.

Glare and Reflections

The matte screen on the 42LH90 is designed to reflect lighting. Samsung’s shiny screens and plasmas’ glass screens don’t react well with light, putting the matte screen up on the best display surfaces on the market. The 42LH90 does well in fully lit rooms. Yet Samsung’s shiny screens can hold black-levels a bit more reliably.

Conclusion

The 42LH90 is missing an SD card slot or a S-Video input, setting it back from Samsung’s 7000 or Sony’s XBR8. While its’s matte screen reflects less light Samsung’s slick screens, its viewing angles can’t match Sony’s sets. Luckily, its ISFccc capability, along with its Picture Wizard feature, lets users to optimize the picture easily. And its 2,000,000:1 ratio solidifies the 42LH90 as great television.