Home > Consumer Reviews > LG 42LG30 42-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

i had sony pravia befor this one but i like the LG much
great pic great sound awsem HD
it's the best TV ever

Pros:
*Able to hook up my laptop through HDMI cord.
*DVD's look great.
*3 HDMI ports.
*Large and cheap.

Cons:
*Black levels are not the best.

Other thoughts:

* The shipping was awesome. The delivery guy set up the tv and made sure that it worked correctly.

I bought the LG-42LG30 about one month before Christmas last year, as the price dropped below $750. I use a Radio Shack antenna on the roof (80 inch VHF/UHF model) and the antenna signal goes through a splitter so I get FM radio signal for the receiver, a converter box for an old VCR, and the TV. After checking out the "antennaweb" site, I aimed my antenna as per the location of the broadcast towers, and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and three public stations including the high-def ones. I also got some religious stuff that I promptly deleted from the channel list.

The TV gets great High-def broadcast signals so we watch all the prime time shows that we like, plus the classy public stuff like Masterpiece Theatre and Nova. I also bought a factory-refurbished Harman-Kardon 355 surround receiver that drives two Large Advent speakers at the front, and a pair of Smaller Advents as the surround channels. I have an Oppo upconverting DVD player that allows you to have hi-def compatible signals using ordinary DVDs, and the picture I get is every bit as sharp as the broadcast hi-def. I recently watched "Wall-E" and enjoyed it even more than I did at the theatre. The surround system balances up perfectly and is just amazing. No subwoofer needed.

But even with the receiver turned off, the LG TV speakers are clean, uncolored and smooth. They only lack the deepest bass but not a problem for 95% of the program content.

The Oppo DVD player is a great item, and it has excellent audio outputs including discreet channel outputs which work in the HK direct channel inputs. It plays every type of audio and DVD disc except Blu-ray. But I won't be getting blu-ray anytime soon, as the Oppo gives a great picture that looks high-def to my eyes, especially since I am over ten feet from the screen. One more thing-When I am watching hi-def broadcasts, the TV's digital audio out goes directly to the HK receiver via an optical cable, and the receiver automatically switches to "Dolby Digital" so you get pure surround audio with the picture. Can't beat it. I am a cheapskate but I don't like to compromise, so do yourself a favor, save some money and buy this TV!

Very impressed. My roommate recently moved out and took his 50" Samsung DLP with him. Fortunately, this TV was not only cheaper, but also MUCH higher quality than the Samsung. The entire Southern wall of our apartment is a sliding glass window, and this TV shows absolutely no glare. The viewing angle is amazing! The contrast is beautiful - I have never seen a TV that looks this sexy.

I would STRONGLY recommend this TV to anyone looking for a 42". 720p looks 100% the same as 1080p for this size TV - you'd be paying more solely for bragging rights (but anyone who knows better will be laughing at you).

My only complaint about this is the speakers. For any AV input, the speakers are plenty loud and I set the volume to 15 out of 100. However, for cable the sound is greatly diminished and I have to turn the volume up to 60 or higher. You don't want to be using a T extensively at near maximum volume because the speakers will eventually tear. I have some loud computer speakers, but unfortunately there is no Audio Out jack that size on this TV, just the red/white RCA cables jacks. No problem though, I'll just have to throw down a few bucks for a conversion cable.

Overall 5+++ stars. I bought this TV from [...] with an amazon card I simultaneously opened. I got 6% back just from using the card, and $[...] off my first purchase, so the TV only cost me around [...]. Shipping was free, and [...] got the TV here in less than a week in perfect condition.

I purchased this model after extensive research and viewing comparible models at my local Buy More (or was it Best Buy?). This particular model was side by side with a 42" plasma and I could not tell the differance. Initially I was leaning towards Plasma because of it's reputation of less motion blur and better viewing angle, but I have to say that that reputation is outdated. I saw no motion blur in fast action sequences and the picture quality did not change until I was almost direct beside it.

What made me choose the LCD was the much lower power consumption of the LCDs (2 cents per killowatt hour vs. 9 cents for for the Plasma) and the brightness since it will used in a room with south-facing windows.

Whan I used it during a bright afternoon, it was even easier to view than the old 32" CRT TV. The LCD screen seems more non-reflective than the old glass CRT screen.

Sound-wise it is excellent. I'm an old-school audiophile who enjoys good sound, and this sounds great with just a smidgen of bass increase in the settings. Since the sound is reflecting from the table-top and the wall behind it, the sound pacement can really matter. If for instance you wall-mount this model, the sound quality may be less pleasing and may require auxiliary speakers - that's probably true for for ANY flat screen TV.

All in all I'm extremely pleased.