LG 42LE5900

Review LG’s 42in 5900 is a very slim set, that produces a great photo. As the largest of the sets tested here, however, it does perhaps show up the failings of some standard-definition channels a little more.

The TV's menus are simple and easy to use and, as with other LG sets I’ve seen, there’s a picture wizard that makes it easy to adjust the set, even if you’re not au fait with the intricacies of calibration. It certainly smartened up the HD picture, though I’m not convinced it worked so well for SD, which still seemed a bit grainy. The lack of any Dolby Digital output from Freeview HD is also something of a disappointment.

LG’s EPG really doesn’t make the best use of the screen

The remote is easy to use, though a curious hump in the middle may put some people off, and there’s a quick menu button that makes common settings changes very straightforward. Annoyingly, though, the EPG shows very few channels at a time, and makes poor use of the screen.

Compared to some others, LG’s online services are a little limited

In terms of online functionality, there’s not really much to see: YouTube, Picasa and the Weather, and that's pretty much it. But media playback is much better, and beats even the Samsung in playing back my test files, including MKV, WMV HD, DivX, and MTS files.

Verdict

A great choice for home media playback, but a poor EPG and lack of decent online content count against it. ®