Customer Reviews

LG 37LG50 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Updated June 17, 2008: This is our second flat-screen LG TV. We bought a bigger unit for downstairs and just picked this one up for the Master suite. We've hung it on the wall, using the HDMI connection. We love it.

Pro:
-Very light (~35 pounds) and super thin (~4")
-Remote is nice and feels good in my hand
-I like that the power button is on the front (cleverly hidden into a piece of the silver trim that runs along the bottom) and input, volume and channel can be changed from the right side/edge. This is handy when the remote goes missing or it's far away.
-Excellent black, and contrast. I personally think it produces the best (blackest) black, and doesn't wash out
-Rated for 60,000 hours of use (that's 2500 days if you left it on all day every day or 20.5 years if you had it on only 8 hours a day)
-3 HDMI connects, we are using 2, plus it does has USB 2.0 so it can power more advanced devices, presumably for things like "thumb drives" for viewing digital photos (although we've not tried anything like that yet)
-Fast and easy set-up/install (hung on the wall)
-Speakers are hidden
-In case it wasn't clearly described in the tech specs you've seen elsewhere, this is a 16:9 widescreen LCD HD 1080p TV (that's full high-definition)
-Warm up time is short, maybe 3 seconds or so
-Very wide viewing angle, looks great in a big space when seated to the side of the TV
-Good for Blu-Ray (although we don't have it... our DVD player does "upgrade" our DVD signal/picture, but it's not true Blue-Ray)

Con:
-Full sound, but in my opinion with the factory settings we didn't get as strong of a center channel as we would like, which usually contains the primary dialog. This led us to ramp up the volume to compensate and would not have been an issue if we were hooking into our stereo for surround sound. Since we did not do this, some trial and error with the sound settings was required for us to successfully mitigate this problem.

Neutral:
-Tip: when looking for a wall mount, don't pay more than about $75. This unit is light, and anything big and fancy is probably going to lead to a financial soaking!
-We haven't used the stand, sorry. It looks ok I guess, but can't review it since I haven't used it.
-Tip: I can't confirm this, however the HDMI cable box I got from my cable company responds much faster to channel changing that our other regular HD box did before we traded it in when we got our TV. The old box would randomly pause for 1-8 seconds as well. We've not had this problem with either HDMI cable box we've gotten.
-Tip: Play with your settings to get the best sound, don't rely on the factory settings.

Bottom line: The LG HDTV line is very good as a whole. This unit is no exception, it's awesome. We highly recommend it.

I have had my LG for about 2 weeks. I did about 2 weeks of research before purchasing it. I wanted to replace the 30" Olevia in my bedroom that is a little too small. I measured my armoire and had room for most 37" flat screens. My criteria for a new set was size and I wanted 1080P. My research included the JVC LT-37X688 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, the Toshiba REGZA 37RV530U 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and the Samsung LN37A550 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV. I decided on getting the LG mainly because of a couple of good reviews, LG makes many of the screens of the other manufacturers and because I could pick one up locally.

The actual unit is beautiful. It is shipped with off the stand. One complaint I have about the stand is that you stick it inside the bottom of the TV and you screw it into the back. The screws are set so deep that although I thought they were in, 2 have fallen out. It doesn't really effect the TV though that the screws fell out. This is the third LCD TV I have unpacked and it was the only one not shipped with the stand on.

Picture out of the box is amazing. There are several preset modes that you can choose that effect picture and sound. These can be tweaked by the user. It also has a mode called Real Cinema that displays HD movies in 24 frames per second like they are shot in.

I have a PS3, Dish Network HD and a Toshiba Laptop with HD DVD and HDMI out that I have used with the TV without a problem. I am watching Live Free or Die Hard on the PS3 now and it looks stunning.

Besides the stand problem, there is one other thing I don't like. Like all flat screens now, the speakers are hidden behind the plastic benzel. Rumbling sound effects and low frequency sounds cause it to vibrate sometimes. This is more noticeable the closer you get to the TV. Some reviews of the 37" Samsung model I was looking at also mentioned this problem. Ironically, this is the reason I did not get the Sammy. This is why I give it a 4 star rating. Of course, if you are hooking to a surround system this complaint doesn't matter.

ADDENDUM I wanted to add that this LCD has the flat matte screen. No shiny glare like my CRT RPTV with the plexi-glass cover make movie viewing so much more enjoyable.

UPDATE: I have 3 LCD TVs by 3 different makers. Of the 3, the LG is the one that has NOT had a picture problem. I have an Olevia with a weird wide vertical band that is darker then the surrounding picture. I have a Mitsubishi that needed a new screen because of a thin vertical green line (The part was made by Samsung btw). When the repair man came for the Mitsubishi, he explained the rattle in the LG. The speakers have a metal cover. There are rubber dampeners between the metal speaker cover and plastic bezel that can get dislodged. That is why there is a rattle on loud volumes and its amplified the higher you have treble and bass.

I did many weeks' worth of research online regarding HDTVs, since I was in the market for one. I have had this TV for a few weeks now and the quality is nothing short of absolutely fantastic. I bought a PS3 right around the same time and playing video games and viewing Blu-Ray movies is just spectacular. In the evening, if there are no lights on except for the TV, it's better than being at the movie theater!

I bought the 37" because with all the features included with it (and it supporting 1080p), the price really couldn't be beat. That and when I was at the store comparing them, it just looked more brilliant and bright compared to the similar Samsung 37" right beside it (plus it was $200 cheaper). When I took it back to my apartment, I was blown away by how large it really is; they don't look so large in-store when they're near the 46" and 52" TVs!

Setup is pretty simple. Didn't take too long, though the screws for the base of the TV stand are set a bit deep, so it was a little tough to fully tighten them in. Something else that left a bit more to be desired is the sound. If you don't have a home theater system already (which I don't), you may be cranking the volume up more than you normally would.

All in all, this HDTV is incredible. Be sure you do your research, but I doubt you'll be disappointed with this one!

We really like the LG TV. The swivel stand is great for our use. It was easy to set up. The only negative thing is that the plastic sides & top of the TV glare. The screen does not, but why have the sides and top shine and reflect room or outside light?

Great picture. Very easy setup with lots of options. Many ports, including 3 HDMI and 1 USB. Plays slide show and music from USB thumb drive. At 37" it fits where I could not get a 40" tv.

Speakers average and remote is good.

Great buy.

After 3 years my Plasma died. I was able to put this lcd on the same mount and it looks less obtrusive and is much lighter. It takes a little while for the picture to look less pixilated. I do not have the HDMI connector, since I have nothing that has that type of output, but with RGB components and digital cable it looks much richer than the plasma, and it doesn't get as hot.

The only negative is, I called LG's customer service and I was appalled at how unhelpful they were. I sure hope I don't need customer service for this TV.

I finally got the HDMI cables for it, and it is so close to the wall that there isn't much clearance for the thicker HDMI cables to make the 90deg bend. The picture looks fantastic and I love how you can set it so that the background light automatically adjust to the room lighting.

I can't wait to see what it does with Blue Ray.

I looked at the Scarlet series but for the price this was a great value. I really like the clear voice feature - it makes a big difference. Easy installation. I would rather have a matte surround because the glossy reflects light. The HD is fabulous! I would definitely recommend to friends.

While I didn't buy it via Amazon (sorry Amazon people), I purchased through a brick-and-mortar strictly because I haven't converted to making big purchases online. I bought this thing for two reasons:
1. I hadn't had a TV for over a year, I was overdue.
2. Picture quality. I searched high and low and stared at many, many HDTVs, in so many different stores, so much so that my eyes hurt. This was the best one (within the size I was looking for, 32-37" as this is what space I had/have allocated in my apartment). Picture clarity is key! That's the whole point of HD, correct?

So, first thing's first, I received a dud. Yes, a dud. It was working no more than a day before the brain of the TV just died on me (don't ask for technical terms, it's the part that makes the screen display a moving picture as opposed to lines moving across the screen). I don't know if anyone else ran into this problem, but it was a tad annoying. I do believe, however, based on many other reviews, that I was the unlucky one to receive a defective one.

The part was replaced, and now it's all good :). Clarity is there, haven't had any problems since (I'm on month three), and did I mention I love it?

Downside: don't sit too close, your eyes will definitely hurt. Quality is just that sharp--at least on HD channels.

Oh how I cannot wait until Feb '09 rolls around when the rest of the channels hop on board. My life will be very close to complete :).

I researched for months in making a decision of which Flat screen LCD to buy.
I saw how great the reviews were for the 37LG30 720p model, and came close to buying it because of the price.
I have learned over the years that you get what you pay for, and this made me opt to buy the better Full HD 37LG50 model.
I am glad I did.
After getting it and adjusting it to my own preferences it has a far superior picture then any of the sony or samsung 1080p models I had checked out at the local stores.
The picture clarity is fantastic just as a lot of the other reviews I have studied on this model stated.
Even with the high speed motion in my Smallville Dvd's I have never seen any pixel lag that other models are well known for.
This tv is exactly what I was hoping for, and was worth every cent it cost.
It and my Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu ray player make a perfect system.

We too, researched for about a month. We decided on the LG because of features (it was the only one of the several we considered in our price range that had a USB port to hook up your computer to), but then we went to a Best Buy to see it in HD Action and we were very impressed with the quality of the picture. It was very difficult to rate the sound in such an audial nightmarish place like Best Buy, but we were very clear that the Samsung's sound was total crap in comparison, as it was one of the sets we were comparing, along with the Sony and the Sharp.

To give perspective, we have had a regular, old school TV, no surround sound with a very reflective screen, so this TV is like a different animal. We are in the process of getting HD service through our satellite company, but don't have it yet, so I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the quality improvement of picture over our old TV. We bought a cheap Phillips upconverter DVD player and the quality of non-HD DVDs is amazing! Also, I do yoga to DVDs and I do it in the morning. With the sun coming into the room while I was doing yoga, I noticed that there was no reflective glare at all on the screen. (I know I must sound like a total neophyte, but I am and not ashamed to say so.) Also, while these companies are not putting too much into the stock audio on these sets as most people seem to use surround sound, the sound of this TV's speakers is very good, incredible compared to what we had had.
Learning how to use the features is easy and pretty intuitive. We had the TV set up and running in a very short time. And for the deep set screw holes for attaching the TV to the base: Use a magnetized screwdriver. We had no problems at all with this, as some other people mentioned.
I notice that the price has increased somewhat since we bought this TV, but even in the mid-$800's I think you will be very happy.