LG’s 47LH50 is a set that stands apart from all other LCD HDTVs on the market in that it takes full advantage of its interactive features. It’s the first and only set to date that features Netflix streaming movies, which allows users to watch instant, free-to-subscribers all-you-can watch movies and TV shows without needing an external box. Sony claimed that the service will be available for its own compatible TVs this fall, and it will most likely be available on the Yahoo Widget TVs from Samsung by winter. Yahoo Widgets is also offered on the LH50 and even though they’re similar, LG’s seem to work better with the service than Samsung, offering users their own YouTube client and network streaming as a bonus.
Brief Specifications of 47LH50
- Resolution: 1080p (standard), 1920 x 1080 (exact)
- Contrast Ratio: 12000:1 (native), 70,000:1 Contrast Ratio (dynamic)
- 120Hz TruMotion processing
- THX Certified: NO
- Picture-in-Picture: NO
- Anti-glare filter: YES
- 24p cinema mode: YES
- NetFlix streaming
- SIMPLINK
- Smart Energy Saving Plus
- Four HDMI Inputs
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- First set with NetFlix streaming capability
- Smooth operation of Yahoo! Widgets
- Picture Wizard is helpful
- Four HDMI and one PC input
- Energy efficient
Cons:
- Fails to separate anti-blur and anti-judder processing
- Fairly light black levels
- Doesn’t work well with 1080p/24 content
- Poor off-angle viewing
- No S-Video input
Features
LG’s foray into Yahoo Widgets offers fewer widgets than Samsung, but drastically more than Sony. LG’s Yahoo Widgets seem to respond much better than Samsung’s and Sony’s as well. It has the best load time and offers the most rounded and enjoyable widget encounter out of all the Widget-equipped sets on the market.
LG’s LH50 series also offers a YouTube client, which is better quality than the Yahoo! Widget available on Samsung TVs. It even beats out many of the more proprietary clients that Sony and Panasonic offer users. This service lets users sign into their YouTube account, browse most-recent, top-rated, and most-viewed videos, as well as conduct a search with an onscreen keyboard using the TV remote. Video quality is considerably inferior to the actual Web site, even with higher-quality non-HD videos.
The LH50 LCD and PS80 plasma series by LG are the only sets on the market with built-in Netflix streaming right now. The service can be received on external devices such like the Xbox 360, Rook player, TiVo HD, and a few Blu-Ray players, but many consumers would prefer to have it all in one package. Netflix streaming lets subscribers watch free movies and TV shows from NetFlix’s catalog. Video quality will depend on each user’s Internet connection. HD videos on the service can look a bit better than DVD at times, but it still suffers from a slower frame rate that the set’s dejudder feature can’t fix, though the service in any respect is responsible for this issue. While the overall selection of titles is bit more limited than the normal mail order service and doesn’t normally contain new releases, it still has many films. Users must select titles to watch using a PC, meaning viewers can’t browse and choose titles directly on the set itself at the moment.
One big distinction with LG’s Netflix service that may bother some consumers is the inability to adjust any of the picture parameters beyond the presets for the various picture modes. Users can decide from the modes with a provided menu, but you can’t fine-tune any of them. However, this is still more control of the picture than provided in Yahoo Widgets’ current video players. Not to mention that the eight picture modes will probably be enough for most viewers, as some may not be able to notice any difference between them.
The LG 47LH50 can also stream photos and music from networked PCs and thumbdrives with USB port. Unlike Sony and Samsung’s models, LG’s cannot handle video streaming. And like almost every interactive TV on the market, the LH50 series has no wireless capability, only an Ethernet input. Users interested in going wireless will have to add a router.
Connectivity
The biggest omission for the LH50 series regarding connectivity is the overall lack of any S-Video input. But with four total HDMI ports, three on the back and one on the side, the 47LH50 is still quite versatile. The back panel holds an AV input with composite video, two component-video inputs, an RGB-style analog PC input, an RS-232 port for custom installations an optical digital audio output, and an RF input for antenna or cable. The side panel has a second AV input with composite video, a USB port for display of digital photos and playback of MP3s, and the 4th HDMI port.
Design
The LG 47LH50’s stand swivels and matches the panel with a glossy black finish. LG’s remote has a group of similar buttons around the cursor control, which can be a bit confusing without constantly glancing at the remote. Lighting those buttons would have made all the difference as well. It is easy to find the buttons for Netflix and Widgets though. There’s even an Energy Saving button that admits the user to an energy saving graphic. Its menu system is quite thorough, so the quick menu LG provided for picture and sound modes, the timer, aspect ratio, and other functions helps out a lot.
Performance
The LG LH50 has excellent color but has trouble with its black levels. It also has an issue when working with 1080p/24 sources. LG does provide users with an overkill of picture settings, which is why the set has such amazing color accuracy. Its Picture Wizard feature can be a great help to users new to picture controls.
Black Levels
The LG 47LH50 puts forth a lighter shade of black than most other LCDs, including the Samsung LN52B750, the Sony KDL-52XBR9, and the Panasonic TC-P50V10. In dark scenes the images look less lifelike, though the Sony XBR9, the Samsung B650, and the JVC LT-P46300 all have the same issue. While its shadow detail was concrete, its thinner blacks disadvantaged the practicality of the LG set’s shadows.
Color Accuracy
The LH50’s picture adjustments assure its ability to give users the most accurate color, except its black level. The LG’s color points, grayscale, and color-decoding accuracy beat out the Sony KDL-52XBR9 and XBR9, as well as Samsung’s LN52B750. Though LG does have slightly lower diffusion than most of those other LCDs.
Video Processing
The 47LH50 has several problems compared to many other sets with similar refresh-rates. The set’s dejudder can reproduce film-based sources to resemble video a bit too often at times. Strangely, the LG 47LH50 doesn’t handle 1080p/24 sources quite as well as most 120Hz sets. Using the set’s Real Cinema feature, users will find images grasp and falter haphazardly enough to render a source unable to be viewed. Disabling Real Cinema stops it, but a minor stuttering motion characteristic of 2:3 pull-down remained. Disabling Real Cinema and 1080p/24 output of a Blu-ray player seems to fix this issue. The LG LH50 brings 300 and 400 lines when dejudder processing is turned off and around 500 and 600 lines when switched on. There’s also no way to separate dejudder and anti-blur processing, a common issue with LG sets.
Standard definition
LG’s 47LH50 keeps jagged edges to a very low count and does well in noise reduction. Also, its 2:3 pull-down detection is efficient in killing off moiré in some imagery.
Glare and Reflections
The LH50 series has matte-screened displays, allowing it to work well with ambient lighting than the glossy Samsung LCDs and plasmas. It even outdoes Sony and JVC’s matte-screen displays. The matte does well in conserving black levels in luminous conditions.
Conclusion
The 47LH50 has plenty of features that consumers will be raving about, but the picture quality might tip the scale toward the negative a bit. With a myriad of interactivity like the obvious NetFlix streaming capability, as well as Yahoo! Widgets that can check weather, sports, and more, users will feel their finger on the pulse of today’s media. LG’s Yahoo Widgets seem to respond much better than Samsung and Sony’s, making them easier to work with. The LH50 series also integrates a custom built client for YouTube LG’s that allows users to sign into their YouTube account for browsing most-recent, top-rated, and most-viewed videos, as well as conduct a search with an onscreen keyboard using the TV remote. The LG 47LH50 can also stream photos and music from networked PCs and thumbdrives with USB port and the set is equipped with four HDMI inputs for great connectivity. With all these great features, it’s too bad that LG didn’t solve the other issues before putting out this set. Besides missing an S-video input, a popular omission lately with a lot of brands, the set has trouble with 1080p/24 sources, and its Real Cinema feature renders images almost unwatchable. Its black levels are also beat out by the Samsung LN52B750, the Sony KDL-52XBR9, and the Panasonic TC-P50V10. Processing withstanding, it’s still a solid LCD TV with a broad range of interactivity that will make a lot of buyers happy.
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