Customer Reviews

LG 42SL80 42-Inch Seamless 240 Hz 1080p LCD HDTV, Glass/Black

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first impressions...

For the past 2 months I've been researching and looking for a 40-42", and there were products from Sony, Samsung and Panasonic that were solid options. I was all set for a Panasonic plasma but passed by the 42SL90 LED/LCD on my way to the salesguy. I pulled up short and stared... and stared... and stared. That SL90 is a great looking TV but was priced above my budget. Salesguy suggested I take a peek at the SL80... I was still wowed! Spent an hour Saturday night comparing this set to 3 others watching HD on CBS and tweaking the screens. I needed to do some more research before making a decision.

Didn't find a lot online about the SL80, so went back on Sunday for another hour looking at the NFL pregame show, and some of the game, on broadcast HD. This time the Panasonic plasma and the SL80 were the finalists. Both screens had excellent picture quality, but it seems I'm an LCD kind of guy; I prefer my screens on the bright side. So I got the 42SL80.

At home, the picture quality was simply outstanding, the sound is more than adequate, and Comcast HD never looked so clean. Standard definition receives a thumbs up as well. Connecting my portable hard drive to the USB port on the TV, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could play my DVDs I had copied on to the drive. Not just pictures and music, but movies as well! A big plus in my book. Last night I viewed files from a TS folder, and will try other formats tonight.

Alas, it's not all smiles and sunshine... a lip sync issue emerged later on at night. The sound seemed to lag behind the video. This issue was also reported with their LH90 sets when viewing content through a set top box, and a firmware fix was quickly issued. I sent an email to LG Support and I'm counting the days until a response and fix. If not addressed soon.. that Panasonic will start looking mighty good once more. I'll be connecting my PS3 tonight to view bluray; hopefully the lip sync issue won't appear there as well.

If not for that... I would have rated the SL80 5 stars, but since lip sync can render programming and movies unwatchable, it's a substantial flaw until fixed.

Great Picture, I love the amount of customization available to change picture and sound settings. Set is very stylish and features simple easy to understand menus. The only real drawback of this set is that the screen is REALLY reflective and if there is any light behind the viewer (i.e. window in daytime, even with blinds drawn) it's like looking in a mirror.

Amazons shipping partner Pilot is pretty poor. It took 8 days to ship from PA to CA, and they gave me a choice of several 4 hour windows for delivery but all in the middle of day on weekdays. My only other option was to drive 60 miles each way to pick up the set myself.

I love the picture and build quality but have to agree with the other review that the glass front makes this TV too reflective - everything is there! The product shots really don't give you a good impression of this. So, this TV would work best in a media room where you can really cut out unwanted light. My plan is to fix with really light frosting film - if I can find something appropriate will post a follow up.

HD content looks fantastic. Blacks are very black.

I had lip sync issues initially with my Charter Motorola cable box but setting it to 1080i (instead of 720p) has fixed this.

Only audio output is optical. HDMI audio is switched to the optical output - so greatly reduces the number of cables you need.

LG need to post the manual on their web site.

Received the product seven days as promised. No problem with assembly. One problem; sound lags picture as many reviewed prior. Called customer services within 24 hours of receipt and promised service between 8:00 and 12:00, noon tomorrow. Very happy with the service thus far. It was indicated that I should have an update applied tomorrow that should correct the audio/vidio problem. This is the reason for the 4 1/2 construction quality.

Technician arrived approximately 24 hours from reporting my problem. He applied a program patch to the TV using the USB port. The fix was applied in about five-minutes. Perfect picture/sound. I would rate the TV five stars now.

I've only had my set a couple of days. It arrived on time. I like the picture and the sound.I have a few problems with it but am hoping most of them will be resolved soon.
One big problem for me is that there is no analog audio output, only an Optical,which I had never heard of before. I'm a senior and depend on my wireless headphones and have only found out by trial and error that I will have to get optical headphones or an adapter for optical to analog. When I e-mailed the LG company, I was told it was in the specifications. There are several pages in Amazon'n description and maybe it is there but it must be pretty well hidden. In a 1100$ plus machine one would not expect the absence of such a basic feature. One would at least expect a warning that it is not there.
The channels don't change as quickly as they did on my old RCA
The on screen menus are somewhat complicated and difficult but I guess they will be easier with experience.
I hate having only a CD manual but the company has agreed to send me a printed one I'm hoping I made the right decision in buying this set and may write another report later after using it longer.
MHB

This TV has a super clear picture with blueray and good with reg dvd, I was watching Terminator Salvation and the picture was the best ive seen ever better with trumotion on low, some reason with Terminator on blueray the tru motion was really good other movies it might look unnatural. 240hz for under a $1000, great deal. At first the trumotion was kinda weird looking once you get use to it, it looks great especially with gaming with xbox360 the graphics look more smooth like gaming with a hi end gamer computer. The blacks are excellent and it does make a difference cause dark blacks makes your picture look more clear and crisp, picture is bright so much better than my samsung DLP and sony xbr 6 new tech way better. If anyone has ever had the problem with older lcds that when you play games the picture is very dim and you have to turn up the brightness the LGsl80 has no problem hooked it up and good to go. People always complain about the sound being horrible but to me the sound is great for speaker that are small and not even half way the volume is loud enough full volume would be too loud. Of corse your not going to get surround sound with bass. About the lip sync problem none maybe you need HDMI 1.3 not sure though but i have no problems at all. Also the TV is super thin.

Here's the ups and downs we found with this TV:

- It just purely beautiful - even when it's off. LG just has a way of making things look better and this is genuinely a minimalist designer's sleek dream. Edge-to-edge glass, w/ a less than two inch width amd the glossy screen - some seem to hate- make this a "look-at-how-amazingly-great-I-am" statement that works in any room.

- Razor sharp picture with "smart" features that keep it that way combined with user-friendly controls.

It has more picture customization menus and feature than I could ever possibly use - even in my constant pursuit of increased geekiness. But, the menus are also intuitive and easy to navigate. One of its most helpful features is a "picture wizard" that has you set up with the everything you need in minutes. Combined with an ergonomic, easy-to-use remote - it's one of the more friendly high-tech investments you'll encounter . There's also built in "smart" features on it - so the picture and brightness adjusts itself to lighting effects,etc. (You can turn this off - but, why would you want to?)

- Highly energy efficient (if you're a real energy nut, there's even a button on the remote for accessing the energy savings features - that'll mostly just help keep making you feel good about the purchase).

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES:

- Still wish it had picture-in-picture.

- The big glossy question. Or do you want a glossy screen or not?
I recommend checking it out in a store before purchasing first to see if you like the glossy look. Currently we have it in a room with a window that's directly across from it, but also clear across a large room from it. It has in no way detrimentally effected viewing or that amazing picture for us. But, you also might want to think about where you're going to place it and test lighting against it in the store - even w/ a flashlight - if you're really concerned. I will say, I tend to like glossy finishes - I have a glossy cover on my iPhone I love that many have said they just wouldn't use. I think often you either are or are not a person that likes glossy screens, despite their increasing popularity. You'll lose some of the sleekness of the design and I believe the "crystalness" of the picture if you choose to go the non-glossy route - but to each his own.

BOTTOM LINE: A great, sleek TV with multiple easy-to-use functions and menus and as good as a picture as I've seen anywhere. But, you might want to see if the glossy screen is right for you by visiting a store first before purchasing.

Besides the picture quality my buying decision was primarily based on the appearance.

This is the one of the best TV out there for its price - for a sub $1000 LCD HDTV this is a great value. For the look, this TV is absolutely stunning, I was captured by the appearance of this TV. Due to space limitation I had to go with the 42" model, but there is a 47" (LG 47SL80) or alternatively with LED back-light (LG 47SL90) of course in a higher price range.

I have this TV set now for about a month and following is the short summary of my experience until now. Main usage of the TV is connected to HDTV cable set-top-box (FiOS), upscale DVD player and Wii game console (standard definition). Haven't tried the TV receiver capabilities, yet.

PROS:
-Great appearance ("frameless"/seamless design)
-Very thin design
-Easy set-up, easy built-in wizard
-Extensive but organized menu with very high number of settings
-Very good HD picture quality with smooth & crisp picture
-Relatively good sound quality for a very thin flat LCD set, would recommend external audio though
-User manual on CD (somebody prefers paper version, I like the search-ability of the electronic documentation, needed it only once)
-swivel stand
-good range of inputs

CONS:
-No analog audio output (e.g. for headphones or external sound-bar/speakers); only digital
-Somewhat high reflection of the ambient light on the glossy glass screen (that makes the appearance so great) - make sure that the room can set lower the light or use in a darker room with less direct sunlight
-TrueMotion is a marketing gimmick (comes in default setting as "Low", but I decided to turn it off as it's more distracting than help with the motion blurr)
-Standard definition picture quality not as good as competitors but still acceptable.

There have been reports of the audio/video lag problem of the earlier version of the TV's firmware, I haven't experienced any problems.

To achieve more natural cinema-like look of the movies and to suppress the "TV-like" feel I would also recommend to turn on the "Real Cinema" mode and set the color temperature options to "Warm". Of course these are personal preferences.

All in all I would recommend to buy this TV for it's appearance, very good high definition picture quality and a good value.

This tv looks realy good, it has great picture quality, and it is very easy to use. the thing that I didn't like, are that it doesn't has an regular audio output, it only has an a rare audio output that I had never seen before, and don't know how to use it. and that the frame look diferent in real life, than in the pictures. but every thing alse it is great tv for the money.

Out of the box the screen had dark blotches - "pixel problems". LG came out and replaced the screen and in the process bent the bezel on the front of the unit. A few months later the screen problem reappeared but I decided to just live with it. Fourteen months after purchasing the TV, and just out of warranty, the entire unit died and will not power up. It had been plugged into a high-end surge protector an electrical surge was not the culprit. It simply stopped working. Even while working properly the picture quality was average in my opinion and the sound quality well below average for units at this price point. A huge disappointment all the way around.