Televisions are overpriced. People spend thousands of dollars to buy the latest, fantastic TV with more features. For me it always comes down to picture quality and the price paid for it. This is where the LD450 beats all. Great picture, no features great features for a low price. I don’t particularly like LG as a brand since I’ve come across a dysfunctional DVD player some years ago. Because of the LD450 my opinion about LG has shifted.
You don’t get much in the box except a pretty good remote, a manual and of course the TV set with the stand. The design of the TV is pretty dull: a black slab of plastic around a big black LCD. There is however an indicator light in the lower right corner showing if the TV is on or off. This can be turned off, and that’s good. Buttons and connectors are all at the back and side; nothing can be seen from the front. There are two HDMI inputs in total and while that might not be enough for some, it’s enough for me. Sound is decent with the 2X10W of the hidden speakers. There is only one optical output for audio connectivity and that might be a problem for sound junkies.
Picture quality is superb even though this is a 50Hz set. Regular TV channels look good and HD is of course fantastic. The screen looks brighter than similar sized sets that cost $8-900. Setting up the picture is quite easy. I liked it as it was out of the box but if you want to set it for yourself there is a pretty straightforward wizard for that. There is an Eco mode to save the globe from certain doom which I instantly turned off because it dims the brightness of the screen. Input selection is done manually; unfortunately the set can’t see which input has a signal on it. The TV keeps waiting for the signal on the input that was used most recently. You can choose from several picture modes such as the 24p Real Cinema and you can set up your own picture settings and save them.
Another (the only) important feature is the USB input. You can plug in USB HDD or thumb drive and access pictures and music via the TV menu. Now if you are smart and get a simple universal remote you can enable video playback. Various formats are supported, including mkv. This means that all you need is an external HDD to watch HD movies on this set.
The LG42LD450 is a great LCD TV for an unbeatable price. It may lack some features but if you don’t like spending a lot of money and want to buy a new TV, this might be an option. With the added functionality to watch HD movies via USB this set becomes a fantastic deal that I can recommend to anyone. You can get it from Amazon for $566.
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