The LG 42LV4400 LED HDTV performs well overall, but lacks some important features you may see in competing televisions.
==Menu==
The menu is the same one LG has been using for a few years now. Pushing the "home" button brings up selections for changing picture/audio/parental/time/channel settings etc. These sub-menus are easy to navigate thanks to pictures and large text. While the organization of the menus are great, the breadth of the options available is disappointing.
==Picture==
The picture on most LCD's is rather good these days. The 42LV4400 ranks right up there with any mid-range HDTV. The blacks could be much better, but with some good tweaking in the regular menu settings, you can achieve fairly decent color accuracy and 'pop' (the sensation of depth and realism). As with most LCD's, the brightness is more than abundant, making it a good TV for any room. It also has a matte finish, which makes it difficult to see reflections.
==Aesthetics==
The bezel of the TV is 1" on top and sides but almost 3" on the bottom. The bezel and stand are a high-gloss black with very simple contours and slightly rounded edges. Overall, it looks plain but also attractively understated. It would be a good choice for a professional environment as well as a home.
==Build==
The LG 42LV4400 is fairly light, making it easy to setup by oneself. The stand seems sturdy enough, but a little more weight would have been comforting. The stand doesn't offer any tilt and doesn't swivel too well. The inputs are...streamlined: there is one component input and no composite inputs besides; no dvi. The three HDMI inputs are ample though and the USB port is a good addition. The buttons on the TV are not in the most convenient place, being recessed on the side by 2.5". The buttons feel cheap, but are responsive. Most people will use the remote anyway, which is more of the same. The remote feels cheap as well, but looks okay and works fine. Since there aren't a ton of features on this TV, the remote is simple enough. There is no ethernet nor wi-fi.
1. Don't believe all the negative reviews. The picture on this set is amazing, but not right out of the box. It needs some adjusting. Refer to J. Finkel's review for the exact settings. The picture is beautiful after 10 minutes of tweaking.
2. The sound has no bass. Buy a cheap PC subwoofer (under $20) and plug it into the analog line out. Then switch the line out volume to variable. Voila. I now have a great sound system. My wife said,"that is 100% better!" right after I plugged it in.
3. Sports on this TV is great. I watch a lot of NFL/NCAA football and the picture looks great. Just use the sports setting and if you have a good quality signal like HD cable or HD digital broadcast you will rarely notice any blurring. I was considering a plasma to avoid blurring for sports, but this TV is more than adequate for all the benefits it has over plasma (LED lamps will last forever, bright high-contrast no-glare screen, and this set only weights 20 pounds)
4. Gaming on this tv is the best experience you could hope for. Just plugged in my XBOX360 and set it's output to 1080p to the TV. Never seen anything prettier than Skyrim, Madden 12, Halo Reach, Deadspace 2, and Dance Central. These games are gorgeous in 1080P and play with zero lag on the Game setting. PS. 120HZ TRUmotion is not used for GAME setting and it is for the better...just like all other TVs with this setting, it prevents lag from processing the signal so your movements on the controller are quick and responsive. No loss in quality of the picture without the 120HZ TRUmotion. That's only needed for viewing sports.
5. Smart TV? No. Amazing TV? YES
Before you buy this TV you have to know what you are getting. It is a 42" LED edge-lit LCD 1080P TV. It is not a smart TV and it is not full of bells and whistles. It will give you a bright, beautiful display with accurate colors, plenty of inputs, a 20 degree swivel base, a great viewing angle and sound that needs upgrading for movies/gaming. It will not give you the ability to tweak black levels, but there are plenty of ways to work around that. Just read the other educated reviews. Just like a good marriage, it takes work but rewards far exceed cost. If I want a smart TV I can just plug in my internet connected XBOX 360 (or PS3), laptop, or just buy a Roku player for under a hundred bucks. No sense paying an extra $300 dollars for the "SMART" label.
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