Customer Reviews

LG 47LX6500 47-Inch 3D 1080p 240 Hz LED Plus LCD HDTV, Espresso

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Length:: 0:31 Mins

==Updated Jan 20th==

My first impression was positive, the hardware is beautiful and appears well made, the interface too initially seems pretty good. The 2D picture is great and the price is very appealing.

That said... Be warned the 3D crosstalk on this television is TERRIBLE! We bought it with hopes primarily of enjoying a bunch of 3D games on our PS3 (Call of Duty: Black Ops and Gran Turismo 5) only to be confronted with staggering crosstalk and ghosting. It was bad enough that my wife asked "Is the TV broken?" I find that the 3D crosstalk makes playing some games dizzying, annoying and fatiguing. In particular scenes with black on a bright (usually white) background will have your eyes crossing and head aching. For the record, we've tried with both 1.3x and 1.4 HDMI cables to no avail.

(Note: As of Dec 8th the following seems to no longer be an issue) Furthermore after viewing 3D content on the PS3 and then returning to the XMB we'd be in a very messed up state where the LG UI was corrupted and remained so until another 3D movie was played. Really screwy stuff. Hopefully we'll get a firmware update on the PS3 or LG end soon?

Update (Nov 29th): Please see the user images above for examples of the crosstalk in 3D video.

Update (Nov 30th): We've called LG twice about the crosstalk, the first call consisted of a 45 minute wait before they insisted we end the call and try against another kind of 3D content (we did, the problem persisted). The second call resulted in a 60 minute wait, speaking to a person for 2 minutes to confirm my name and phone number, then a 10 minute wait before being accidentally hung up on... LG is _really_ not impressing me here.

Update (Dec 2nd): We just had the LG Tech over about the 3D crosstalk issues. He confirmed that the 3D glasses and IR Transmitter were all functioning properly. After insisting there was no problem by examining some low cross-talk videos (like under water scenes) we showed the tech the scene I attached screenshots of (to user images above) and he was finally convinced that the crosstalk was really bad. He then left to his van for a bit (I assume to talk to his boss) and returned insisting that '3D is in it's infancy and you can't expect the 3D to work very well'... What?! If you know it doesn't work, why are you selling it?! We suggested to him that maybe the white/black (or light/dark) refresh rate of LG LED TVs might not be adequate for 3D but he insisted that the refresh rate is perfectly fine for 3D (I beg to differ!). The tech finally offered to replace the IR unit in the TV but claimed he 'didn't think it would help at all.'

So we confirmed that the TV is fine, the glasses are fine, the 3D content is fine (and the LG tech insisted that the light/dark refresh is fine) but somehow because 3D is in it's "infancy" there is horrible crosstalk?! That doesn't make any sense.

Update (Dec 8th): So the LG technician came by again yesterday to replace the part (the one that he said had no chance of resolving the 3D crosstalk problem). He (and I) were right, replacing this IR board did nothing at all to effect the 3D crosstalk/ghosting issues. I've confirmed the same amount of crosstalk in the PS3 Sizzler video and in MotorStorm 3D Rift. The technician explained that replacing the part is all he can do and from here on out it's between us and LG support... I love it when an employee of a company absolves themselves of helping you... /sigh.

Update (Dec 13th): Minus one star because LG is making this whole crosstalk problem so painful for us. We just ended our 8th call with them and they're insisting on sending another tech to look at our TV rather than giving us a replacement.

Update (Dec 15th): I've done an analysis of the crosstalk on this TV with a high speed video camera, you can see it here: [...] I think this is very convincing evidence that this TV suffers from strong crosstalk.

Update (Jan 20th): So we've now made two dozen calls to LG and had six technicians check out our TV. Although every technician agrees with us that crosstalk is a major problem on this set LG is stonewalling us and refusing to exchange or replace the TV. In the executive service reps words "we don't deal with customer service issues" and "in eight years here I've never seen a replacement offered to an unsatisfied customer". I wish those were LG's official mottos because if they were I could have saved myself a lemon of a purchase.

The Good:
* The 2D image is really great in most situations (No complaints watching Avatar, playing GT5, COD:BO, etc. in 2D).
* Good value for the size and features.
* The firmware for this TV is being actively supported by LG.
* This is the only TV I've ever owned that doesn't letterbox when connected to my wife's Mac mini.

The Bad:
* 3D crosstalk/ghosting ruins 3D functionality for almost all movies and games.
* Terrible telephone support from LG.
* Horrendous flash-lighting on blank black screen (especially with auto-dimming off)
* Overall the brightness seems very uneven in dark scenes, with or without local dimming enabled.
* Local dimming is a joke, there appear to be only about 24 dimming fields. This is not enough resolution to be practically useful.
* The UI is mediocre, you will be shown an annoying pop-up every time you enable 3D or DLNA. I hate pop-ups.
* If you have any problems LG will be completely loath to help you, we're 8 calls, 2 tech visits and countless hours into dealing with them and have no resolution in sight.
* LG, admitting problems with the 3D technology in their LED TVs is moving to another, passive, tech for their next generation of 3D sets.

Note: DON'T BUY FROM ADORAMA unless you are VERY sure you are going to love your TV. Their return policy is "No Hassle" only in as far as it's no hassle for them since they will not accept returns.

I purchased the 47LX6500 bundled with the BX580 Blue-Ray 3D DVD player and 4 pairs of the LG 3D active shutter glasses. The 2D picture display was great right out of the box. You can cutomize the display but I went back to the standard settings. The first 3D viewing was not that great. I subscribe to Comcast and there is a limited amount of 3D content On Demand. These are olded 3D formats and there is significant ghosting. The only 3D Blue-Ray DVD I could get my hands on is Monster House. The 3D was much better but there was fast action blurring. I don't believe Monster House was created in 3D just upgraded. We watched the ESPN 3D broadcast of the Ohio State game and the 3D was tremendous! I've said all that just to say that the 3D experiance depends on the quality and format of what your watching. The TV can definantly display it. My only complaint is there are no standand RCA type output jacks for audio to connect to my stero system. It does of course have home theater digital output. I'm glad I've waited on the purchase of an HDTV and that this is the package I've got.

While there is a lot to like about this TV (and why I still rated it 3-stars [CHANGED TO 5-STARS! See update #3]), I will choose to focus my review on what I feel is (was) the only real issue with it.

(You can go read the other reviews to hear about how nice the image quality is, how thin the TV is, how well the DLNA works, how polished the menu system feels, and whatever people might think about the various apps.)

The reason I chose an LCD over a Plasma comes down to the 120/240 Hz smoothing. (Colors, black-level, and input lag [mainly for gaming] weren't high on my list of considerations.)

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IF YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WHOLE "LCD VS. PLASMA" THING AND JUST WANT TO READ MY THOUGHTS ON THIS SPECIFIC TV, SKIP THIS SECTION.
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Yes, I know plasmas refresh at 600 Hz, but it seems the manufacturers of those TVs have chosen to focus on delivering the 24/30/60 Hz source material as true to the original as possible. As such, you get your 60 Hz television feed as 60 discrete images shown to you over the course of a second. (Ok, I know it's like 59.6245 Hz, but we're going to go with 60). I do not like way that looks. That's not how the world looks and that's not how CRTs generally worked. And that's why I went with the LCD.

With an LCD, you do get some blurring between frames, but I kind of like that. I find it more pleasant to look at than the "chunk, chunk, chunk" look of "here's a frame, here's a frame, here's a frame" plasmas give. On top of that, 120/240 Hz LCDs now almost all (as far as I know) have the ability to "interpolate" (essentially "make up") new image frames to go in-between the frames it is being fed. (So, when you feed your TV a 60 Hz signal, it will take those 60 frames and actually figure out what the frame in-between any given frame will look like and show that to you, too.) This (combined with maybe a bit of the blurring) is what yields the nice, smooth images you seen on LCDs.

So, I think I found maybe one plasma TV that would do the 60 Hz => 120 Hz interpolation? Due to this, plasma did not seem like a viable solution for my needs.

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RESUME REVIEW
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Now, as far as the Trumotion (240 Hz interpolation) for this specific TV goes, here is what I have found (for cable TV and DLNA streaming):

*Whenever there is a panning landscape or a panning generally-static scene, the imagine looks fabulous! Trumotion makes such a huge difference. With it off, it's so blurry and awful.

*Whenever there's a generally static background with moving people/actors (like on a talk-show), the Trumotion looks great.

>>THIS IS THE PART I AM MOST UNHAPPY ABOUT<<
*However, when these two are combined (e.g. moving camera and moving people), lots of artifacting crops (i.e. little chunks of the image which just don't look quite right... This mostly occurs at the border between stationary and moving objects).
>>THIS IS THE PART I AM MOST UNHAPPY ABOUT<<

[As an aside: I bought my parents a Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-46V5100 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black for Christmas last year and never noticed any of these artifacting issues I am experiencing. Maybe I wasn't looking closely enough and they're there? Or maybe sitting a bit farther back helps? Or maybe their cable box helps smooth-out some of these issues? Please, feel free to leave some comments here about your experiences with this!]


I still have yet to watch any Blu-ray movies (or DVD for that matter), so I can't comment on that. [Will be sure to update my review for that.]

Also, I have had minimal exposure to 3D so far, but it has been mostly disappointing. All I have gotten to watch is split-screen left/right videos I've found online, and they have mostly had lots of crosstalk (i.e. the "ghosting" that shows up when your right eye sees a bit of the video meant for your left eye and vice versa). [Will also update my review for this when I get some Blu-ray 3D movies to watch.]

Lastly, I just wanted to point out that there was already a firmware update for my TV when I got it. It didn't make much difference for me, but others pointed out it helped in a few regards. So, if anyone from LG is reading this review, please work on some firmware updates for the Trumotion artifacting and 3D crosstalk issues!!!! I will certainly update my review for a new firmware which helps remedy these problems!



UPDATE 10/6/2010:

Just watched Iron Man 2 on Blu-ray. Still had the same artifacting issues with the Trumotion (anti-)Judder turned on... (FYI, I had my [LG] Blu-ray player set to 1080p/24.)

Also, was looking through the manual for this TV. It mentions in the Trumotion section that if the Judder control causes "noise" to set it to "off"... Basically, they're admitting that it's half-cooked? (FWIW, I checked the manual for the Samsung UN46C7000, and it basically says the same thing. However, I've never noticed this much noise on any other 120/240 Hz LCD TV...)



UPDATE 10/8/2010:

2D Video:
I realized that, while I've been trying to minimize the amount of image processing the TV does by turning off everything under "Advanced Control" (under picture settings), I bought this TV because of the "Trumotion" image interpolation. That there is a lot of image processing... So, I decided, "what they hey! Why not try the 'Noise Reduction' settings."

I'm going to have to experiment with "Noise Reduction" and "Digital Noise Reduction", but I have them both set to "High" and I like what I'm seeing. It seems like, instead of showing the image will all of the artifacting and noise, it just drops the framerate back down to the original source data. This is a huge improvement on what I was getting before.

3D Video:
So, I got my copy of IMAX: Under the Sea 3D in the mail today from the LG Blu-ray player promo. All I can really say is, it's a good thing I got this for the price I did and I really don't care too much about 3D! The amount of crosstalk is absolutely horrible. Clearly the display can't switch between black and white quickly enough. Here's hoping a later firmware update will help with this a bit... In the mean time, IF YOU'RE BUYING FOR 3D, GET A PLASMA!!!



UPDATE 10/12/2010:

LG must have just released a new firmware in the last day or two and, I must say, now I love love LOVE my TV! It fixed most of the Trumotion issues I was experiencing! So glad they made this fix. So, as soon as you get your TV, UPDATE THE FIRMWARE!

Also, just wanted to say, the 3D really isn't THAT bad... Last night I watched through IMAX: Under the Sea 3D since I hadn't watched more than 5~10 minutes yet. There were definitely some really obvious crosstalk issues when it's trying to switch between black-and-white for the left-and-right frames... However, I found it was largely watchable on the whole. So, I guess I'll just continue considering it a bonus and not something I bought the TV explicitly for...

The TV gives very good pictures for 2D content. I need to play with the settings to find a good configuration. The Eco sensor function is actually pretty annoying, and I disable it for all input sources.

The 3D effect is disappointing. There is significant leaking from one eye to the other, resulting in a blurry 3D effect, and probably a headache if you watch it for an extended period of time.

I bought this LG 3D TV due to its good price, the purpose that I bought this LG TV was want to enjoy the 3D, not 2D. But the 3D image of this TV is unacceptable, it has serious ghosting, even though I update firmware and adjusted the left/right function on the remote. It doesn't help.LG customer services can't help.So I returned it,thanks to Amazon TV return policy, then we paid more to buy a Sony NX810, the 3D of Sony is much more better than LG. We are happy with Sony.

I can't believe the poor quality of this LG TV. I was replacing a 3 year old Sharp LCD TV that I always liked. When I put the LG next to my old TV, the quality of my old 60hz picture was still better. The LG picture was course, the colors looked fake and the screen refresh was slow. I couldn't believe my eyes. I tried to watch a football game on the LG and when action happened and the camera moved quickly the LG couldn't keep up. When the camera was still the background was blurry and the colors where over stated. When my son connected his xBox to the LG TV the refresh rate just couldn't keep up with the game play and the picture was splitting up. 3D on the LG didn't work properly and was also hard to watch. The 3D image always had shadows. I tried different settings and just couldn't get a good picture. This LG TV was just horrible. The only saving grace to the whole ordeal was Amazon. Their customer service is amazing. First I got the TV on time from their delivery carrier. When I called to return the LG TV Amazon didn't make me feel uncomfortable about returning a high priced item, in fact they where apologetic that I was having such issue with a product purchased from them. The customer service representative asked what was the problem and then processed the return. The delivery carrier picked up the TV on time again and I was quickly credited back for the full price. EXCELLENT SERVICE AMAZON.

As soon as we turned on this TV, we were impressed by the difference in quality between it and our last TV (a 42" plasma, which has since been relocated to our bedroom). The unit itself is sleek and modern, and looks a great deal larger than we'd expected, probably due to it's slimmer dimensions. It's light weight enough that my husband installed it on it's mount by himself (although I would definitely recommend using two people to do so, just for safety's sake. He just couldn't wait to turn it on). It also seems very durable. Our cats are frequently trying to reach up and smack the screen (much to our annoyance, and at first, fear), but so far almost seven months later, there's not a single scratch, dent, etc in the screen or exterior.

Immediately, we were dazzled by the improvement in picture quality. Especially as we'd been using a plasma HDTV, and plasma is know for it's superior picture quality in comparison to LCD. However, our LG LCD definitely was the winner between them. Even just with standard digital cable, there was a large difference. We changed it to an HDTV station, and the change was HUGE. Blu-ray movies are gorgeous. Sound quality is great. With our plasma, we'd had to adjust the tv's brightness for many of our PS3 games. With this TV, I've only had to adjust it a few times (we bought it in Nov, 2010) and only for games that use less "lighting" than most. Definitely one of the best TVs I've seen, even with the 2D.

Now the 3D...It only adds to the aforementioned qualities. The visual quality stays clear and precise. The TV seems to keep up perfectly with the additional motion on screen, caused by the 3D, keeping the picture just as lovely as 2D, yet far more realistic. I know that some of the other reviews mention ghosting and lag, but I've had no such problems. Even with PS3 games (including Call of Duty: Black Ops), the flow seems just as good as 2D, and the game play is much more fun. There was no hassle with connecting our PS3 to this TV. You simply plug in the HDMI cable, and the PS3 and TV do the rest for you. When you play a game that has 3D capabilities, it will either automatically load in 3D (though you can turn the 3D off if you'd prefer to play in 2D simply by hitting a button on the remote), or the game itself will prompt you asking if you'd like to play in 3D or not. Easy.

In addition to the wonderful picture quality and 3D capabilities (which would have been enough on their own for me to purchase this TV) comes the little conveniences like Widgets (weather updates, stock updates, twitter, etc all able to be personalized by you) and Netcast apps (Netflix instant access, providing you have an account with them. A couple of apps that allow you to download movies (including some 3D ones) directly to your tv. An MLB app, and a few other apps). We use our Netflix account almost daily through our TV, and also make use of the movie download apps as well. All of them seem to work well and easily. You only need to sign into your account for the appropriate app, and the tv takes care of the rest for you. The Netflix app even pulls up your instant queue so you can sort through what you've already marked you'd like to watch, or you can Search or Browse, just like you can on your computer or gaming system (although I find it much easier to flip through on the TV than the other options).


Here are my only complaints:
1.) It has an Ethernet port, so if you can connect it to your wired internet, this point won't bother you.
This TV is NOT WIRELESS. Out of the box, it will only connect to the internet (internet isn't necessary for watching tv, movies, or games. You will only need the internet for software updates, which LG releases automatically periodically, and for use of the widgets and Netcast) directly through it's Ethernet port. But if you don't have an Ethernet jack in the room you're putting your TV in and you want internet on this TV, you're going to have to buy something to make it connect. It IS wireless READY. This means you CAN put it on a wireless network, HOWEVER you HAVE to have some additional accessory to do so. LG makes an access point specifically enabling it's TVs to do this (It looks like a USB thumbdrive). I bought a wireless range extension (Our's is Netgear, and almost looks like a wireless router, but the unit doesn't have to be connected to an ethernet port to receive internet signal). The extension wirelessly connects to your wireless router, gaining wireless signal for itself. You can then physically plug an Ethernet cable from the extension unit to your TV. It will automatically connect to your network as though it were plugged directly into an Ethernet line, putting you immediately online. Again, this is a hassle free process. You only need to plug the extension in (or the LG access point, or the actual Ethernet cable), and you're connected to the internet, with no other effort necessary on your part. We chose the extension because it also doubles as a signal boost (our TV, PS3, and computers are at the opposite end of our house, and Ethernet isn't wired anywhere except the room the router is in), so we can not only connect the TV to the network, but the same unit improves the signal the rest of our electronics receive as well. So really, it worked out better in our case because we'd be buying the extension anyway.
2.) I'd really like to see a greater variety in Widgets (maybe other networking sites for example, as the only thing currently available is Twitter) and Netcast Apps. When we bought this TV, I was very pleased with the Apps that came on it. But now that technology's changed a bit, there should be updates to increase the amount of Apps available. An App for Hulu specifically would be very much appreciated. There's no web browser available either, and though not a necessity, it would be a nice option if LG released an update to include it.

But those are my only complaints. My husband and I both love this TV, and use it a lot. My parents even come over specifically to take advantage of 3D movies.

Now, in regards to value... When we bought this TV, we were lucky enough to find it on a special that included four pairs of shutter glasses (which are a NECESSITY) included in the base price. But even if it hadn't included the glasses, it still would have been an incredible value. I spent several weeks researching different 3D TVs, and finally had it narrowed down a choice between this one, and a Sony 47". The reason why I chose this one, was very simply, the price. The specs were essentially the same, yet there was almost $800 difference in the prices. Now, at this point, I have to acknowledge that Sony is my favorite brand when it comes to electronics. And that was where most of my debate came from. I've never had any problems with the LG products I've owned, and I know people that swear by them (And I certainly love my LG washer and dryer). But I grew up with a parent that only bought Sony, and I am just more familiar with them as a company. But faced with the dramatic difference in price for essentially the same TV, I decided to go with the LG.
The best part about that...I didn't realize at the time, but apparently most 3D TVs don't come with the 3D receiver built in. THIS LG TV DOES. My father bought a Sony 3D TV about a month after we purchased this one (and he still paid about $1000 more for his, and it's a 42"). He STILL doesn't have the 3D receiver or the glasses to go with it (which in total is over $1000 more expensive, based on four pairs of glasses and the receiver). So he bought this new 3D TV (it IS a good TV though. Beautiful picture quality, but still no big difference from our LG. It does have a few more internet-needed Apps though), but can't actually make use of it's 3D capabilities. I have a friend who bought a Samsung 3D TV that has the same problem. You're saving between $100-$200 by buying this TV just by NOT having to buy the 3D receiver to go with it.

Overall, it's an incredibly impressive TV, that gives you excellent quality for an excellent price. It is definitely something you will enjoy.

This TV is amazing! The 2D images act like 3D - clear, crisp, bright colors even when watching Standard definition movies and shows. The espresso color makes it look very professional as well. It was definitely worth the price!

I haven't watch a Sport's game with it yet, but the setting I have for Tru-Motion is on Low and I do not see any blurring so far. There isn't any clouding on this TV and I honestly had to lower the backlight since I'm using it in a studio apartment and the TV is too close to the bed, so a white screen actually hurts my eyes on High settings.

This TV has widgets for internet apps, but you can't go onto facebook or hulu since this series isn't considered an Internet TV, it's actually considered Internet-Ready. I use Netflix and Vudu on it all the time and these are great. I even HDMI-connected my LED laptop to this TV and the picture is actually brighter than my LED computer screen. I'm going to upload a picture of this so people can see the clarity difference.

I don't have a 3D blu-ray yet, so I cannot comment on the 3D's images. When I do, I will update this review. So far, I'm 100% satisfied and happy with this television purchase.

This TV has one thing going for it: great color. Technical reviews have praised this TV for the measurable accuracy and quality of its color output. You can tell when you're watching it. You can even see the day to day difference in shades of orange on the skin of John Boehner and Snooki between their trips to the tanning salon. Everything else about this TV is disappointing.

Despite great colors, there is clear color banding. I have tried adjusting the picture settings to fix this, but the banding only stops when I turn the brightness way below where I want it.

I prefer having local dimming on, but it leads to weird effects. The screen is divided into sections, and, if one spot in a section is lit, the entire section lights ups. This is the idea behind local dimming, but the edge lighting here really detracts from picture quality. When there is light in a dark screen, it looks like there's a spot light illuminating it from the side of the screen. This enhances the effect of search lights in prison break scenes but is otherwise distracting.

I had a lot of trouble getting the Ethernet to work on the TV. After hours of adjusting MAC and IP addresses and restarting the TV and the router, one of the automatic set ups finally took after many reboots. I mainly wanted the Ethernet connection to get an update to fix the problems with 3D, which brings me to 3D.

I have had significant problems with ghosting when trying to watch 3D content. I watched a few of the on demand 3D movies from Comcast, and there were distracting amounts of ghosting. I hoped this was a Comcast issue, but I got my first 3D Blu-Ray and the ghosting problems are still there. Switching between left/right and right/left doesn't help with these issues. If you're buying this TV, you should be getting it for the 3D feature. If you buy this TV, you won't get much of a functional 3D TV. Don't buy this TV.

(BTW, the TV didn't recognize the Comcast content as 3D at first. I got a message that said the 3D content wasn't actually 3D. I noticed that, when I selected a 3D movie, the cable box switched to 480i output. Once I found out how to use the manual controls to overide the resolution output on the cable box, the TV accepted the signal and the 3D worked--except for the ghosting.)

I bought this TV less then a year ago and today the whole screen went grey. Completely grey and washed out while I was watching TV... Just happened out of the blue. Talked to LG tech support and they said to unplug it and then hold the power button down for 10 secs, then plug it bak in and turn it on... But it did not help. TV is still grey... Not just the picture but everything, even the menus, etc. Thank goodness it is still under warranty. They are sending a technician next week to look at it. Will post an update then! Really bummed since so far I was really loving this TV.. The picture quality is great but the contrast quality is not very good... Darks are too dark, with not enough details. You really have to tweak your settings to get good contrast detail in the dark areas.