 First impressions of the LG 37LH55 240 HZ HDTV |
| Review Date: November 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Sundberg, Texas |
UPDATED: 11/28/2009; 12/31/2009.
Pros: Extensively customizable, plenty of inputs on back and on side, fits where our old 36" tube TV did, got a great price on Amazon (I think it was a steal!)
Cons: Extensively customizable, too many options for picture and sound to get a quick handle on them. There should be a course (maybe by that Vidoe Professor guy) on what everything means and how the different settings impact your viewing experience.
The TV was easy to set up once it arrived. The shipper (Pilot) was supposed to call us to schedule an appointment for delivery on 11/25 - but they never did. Instead, I ended up calling Amazon to get the shipper to fullfill their obligation in a timely manner. Others have said that the shipper unpacks the T.V., puts it together, and tests to ensure it works. No such thing here (Dallas area), but I was able to get them to take our old 36" behemoth tube TV out and off of the entertainment armoire's TV shelf. They just set it down on the floor, but that was 90% of the work.
There are so many options in setting up and fine tuning the TV, I don't really know where to start. So, as soon as we powered it up, there was a guided setup to get the clock and all of the local channels into memory. There are even independent settings to choose whether to show the Red and Blue power indicator lights during Power Off and Power On states! That makes no difference to me, but my son likes to have the room completely dark and those lights (on the lower right corner of the TV) were distracting to him. No problem, just turn them off in the options and everyone is happy!
For each input on the back, you can independently set and remember all of the picture and sound quality settings. So, if your DVD player outputs a little brighter than the DirecTV Satelite signals, no problem. Set the DVD Player's Input (Component 1 for us) brightness a little lower that DirecTV's Input (AV1 for us since no HD service from them yet). Every time you change between these two inputs, the TV will remember your settings and automatically adjust them. This really comes in handy when you throw in a more things like Playstation, VCR, Blu-Ray, PC, etc. Oh, did I fail to mention that you can view .JPGs and listen to .MP3s from a USB stick if you just plug it in to the USB 2.0 jack on the side? I haven't even tried that out yet as it is another thing I can already do through the DVD Recorder.
I knew there was no S-Video input, but I wish I had placed more importance on that. Most of our existing equipments' best video output is S-Video, as well as our AV receiver. They will all be replaced eventually, but in the meantime we either have to fall back to composite (current option), or purchase an S-Video to Component Upconverter (anywhere from $90 to over $200, plus shipping - use Google). These have the ability to split the color signals into component video for 1080i viewing! For many people, this will not be an issue unless like me you have become a slow adopter of technology.
At first, Picture Quality (1080i - off-air) was not quite what we had hoped for with 240 HZ "Tru-Motion", especially for football (but read on, this was resolved!!!). Every time the camera panned across the field there appeared to be moire on the yard lines and this was especially bad when the camera shot was from the end zone. It turned out to be my lack of experience in setting up for the correct picture quality and video source. I had been using the HD tuner and the Component cable input from the DVD Recorder to watch football because it also outputs audio to my AV receiver for sound. When I changed that to use the OTA HD signal directly into the LG's tuner (TV Input), nearly all of the moire went away. Subsequently setting the 240HZ Tru Motion to its "High" setting completely annihilated the moire and the picture was a thing of beauty from end zone to end zone! I felt like I was on the field! (UPDATE 12/31: Have connected HDMI from DVD to the TV and now the picture and sound from it are perfect!)
I believe you can output sound from OTA programs on the TV to an AV receiver or other amplifier with a digital fiber cable, but I just haven't tried that yet (Update 12/31: I now have AC-3 Toslink from TV to Receiver. It passes all audio sent into the TV from various sources back out to the amp. We're now getting Dolby Digital through the speakers from all sources that send it). I have opted to use the HD tuner from the DVD player for now and it already has such a cable connected. For quick viewing directly OTA the LG's speakers work well enough without the AV receiver, I would say they are "good" quality.
Some have mentioned the absence of a backlight in the remote. This has not affected me yet as I tend to keep a 20W or so light on, and I have already added the TV to the Logitech Harmony remote - which does have a backlight. That setup took some time due to all the activities on the remote, but it works pretty much the same as it did with the old TV, so no real learning curve there (yet), until I learn more of the programmable functions available on the LG.
Unlike others here, I had no hesitation in placing a screw into our TV armoire cabinet's shelf to ensure the TV does not accidentally get bumped over. It will just add "character" to the shelf in the future (at least that's what the "designers" on HGTV would say - LOL). The best part of our viewing enjoyment will come as we are able to view more content in 1080 (i/p) format, as formats we are receiving now from DirecTV(composite 480i) don't even have the quality that our former 36" tube TV displayed. |
A pleasant installation experience for Jim and Theresa
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| Review Date: September 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jim Sutton, Myrtle Beach, SC |
| This installation involved removing a tube-type TV and replacing it with the 37 inch LG flat screen. I did read the instructions two times before the TV was removed from the box. I used it again for set up. The on screen help was fine. I had to make some trials of various setting before settling. Nothing was very difficult. I am amazed how well thought out the on screen displays were. Some displays and language was unfamiliar, but with time they were understandable. I love having a TV with this much quality in my small viewing room. Thanks Amazon.com and LG. You made this 70 year man happy. The installation even impressed my girlfriend. |
first hd tv
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| Review Date: January 1, 2010 |
| Reviewer: MARK BURKDOLL, CLEARLAKE, CA |
First of all I want to say that I only finished five years of college. not enough to handle all the complexities of setting up HDTV, DVD, Home Theater and cable!!!!
The price from Adorama through Amazon.com was at least $200-$300 less than anywhere else I looked. Even shopping direct at Adorma did not get me as good a price, go figure!
This TV replaces an old standard tube tv in an entertainment center. Now the cats have plenty of space to hang out out of sight.
It was easy to setup but I had to wait for the cable company to switch out my old box for a hd box. Once I used the hdmi cable from the new cable box to the tv the hd channels looked AWSOME!! I am very impressed and feel the tv was a good value.
The sound from the tv stereo speakers is ok, with all the input options available I was disapointed that the only audio output options was the optical toslink cable ( that is on order now) once that is hooked up from the tv to home theater then my work will be done! |
Can't expect better...
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| Review Date: December 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mrinmoy De, |
| I got this TV in Black Friday deal and that the lowest price ever I have seen for 240Hz LCD HDTV. Initially the picture quality was disappointing.. but it as my fault. After the advanced setting the picture is amazing... particularly the HD channels and movies... it is like real. The sound quality is good but not as described by manufacture or other reviewers. Lastly it looks gorgeous and smart... and We like the TV very much. |
LG 37" 240Hz 1080 LCD TV
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| Review Date: January 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: PLS, Illinois |
| Love the TV and love Amazon. This was my first experience with Amazon and it certainly won't be my last! Amazon is so user friendly and informative. It was not a direct Amazon purchase but supplier delivered on time as promised and had no issue with the arrival condition. TV was very easy to set up and am completely satisfied. The HD picture is awsome!LG 37LH55 37-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black |
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denakokuroso
March 15th, 2010 at 12:16 AM
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Is there a secret to the LG Plasma TV? I have an LG 60PS60 60-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV in my living room. And my sister have discovered that keeping the Menu buytton has a secret to it. At start, it expands the main menu not fast, then it closes the window and exposes a password screen. Now interesting, the password set on the TV isn’t the password used here. Anybody knows what’s this?