Customer Reviews

LG Infinia 55LW5600 55-Inch Cinema 3D 1080p 120 Hz LED-LCD HDTV with Smart TV and Four Pairs of 3D Glasses

5 star:		(320)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I wasn't even in the market for a 3D TV, but when my Sony HDTV blew yet another bulb, I decided it was time for something new.

Initially, I planned on getting one of the new Sharp 60" Quattron models, and headed to a nearby big box store to check out the selection. Picture quality was most important to me, where I was willing to accept a plasma if it blew me away, but I was definitely siding towards LCD or LED. I wasn't too shocked to find that while plasmas were nice, they weren't "that" nice, and settled in to the Sharp.

On my way out, I thought I'd check a couple of the 3D displays, just to be 100% sure I wasn't making a purchase I'd regret as soon as 3D content became more widespread. I looked at a couple of Panasonic models with active shutter glasses, and found that the 3D looked acceptable, but the glasses weren't comfortable on my head or to my eyes. A DirecTV rep all but insisted that I look at a high-end Samsung model connected to a DirecTV receiver, and I immediately noticed that getting the thing to display 3D apparently required messing with the DirecTV remote, the Samsung remote, and continually re-syncing the active glasses. "No, thanks." I thought.

Then I noticed an unloved LG display, with a bucket (yes, an actual bucket) of scratched passive glasses. No way was this going to look good, but it wasn't like I didn't have a few minutes to spare.

I was absolutely blown away. By far, the best 3D experience I've seen. Standing about six feet from the screen, there was a scene from an IMAX documentary where a fish seriously looked like it came out about halfway between where I was standing, and where the TV was. And I could see parasitic fish on the nose of that fish, moving around. It was incredible, clear, and I knew it had to be pretty expensive. Much to my surprise, it was in the same league as the Panasonic models. I had to have it.

Doing more research online, I saw that Amazon's price was even better (better, in fact, than a national warehouse club sells the non-3D version of this TV for). I ordered on a Monday, and scheduled my (free) shipping for Thursday afternoon. The delivery people came 15 minutes from the start of my four-hour delivery window, with no hassle at all.

Out of the box, the picture quality on this TV is pretty awesome. Better than I remembered it being in the store, for sure. But, I did notice that motion seemed really... weird. I wasn't sure if it was my satellite receiver, or the TV, but things just didn't seem to move naturally. After spending some time adjusting the dejudder and deblur settings, I was able to make the motion normal. But then, I figured, I might as well calibrate everything. Using a combination of the calibration feature on the Life Blu-Ray and recommended settings on various forums, I was able to achieve an absolutely stunning picture. Seriously, this thing looks like it cost hundreds upon hundreds more when it's calibrated.

1080i / 1080p content looked absolutely brilliant. SDTV, on the other hand, isn't the best I've seen. It's certainly acceptable, and arguably on the better side of what's commonly found on LCD / LED models, but I'd probably consider getting something different if most of your viewing is going to be sub-DVD quality content.

Then it was time to break out the 3D. I snagged a copy of Tron: Legacy (Four-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) and spent most of the movie sitting with a dumb smile on my face. The picture quality and depth were outstanding. Don't fall for the "active / passive" hype. Watching 3D content with the LG's passive glasses is certain to please anybody who can see. And going back to my memory of the Samsung set, when the LG detects 3D, a box pops up that tells you to put your glasses on. That's it. No messing around endlessly with modes to get it working.

I then decided to play with the 2D-to-3D function on some HD channels and standard Blu-Ray discs, and was actually pretty surprised. More often than not, the TV seems to process the image as you'd expect to see 3D. It's not something I'd want to do all the time, but I have to say, watching Moulin Rouge! [Blu-ray] with 2D-to-3D was actually pretty awesome.

The built-in applications were kind of a mixed bag. Getting the TV on my WPA2 wireless network was pretty simple, and the Wii-inspired remote worked better than I had expected. The Netflix and Amazon On Demand apps were both very solid -- arguably better than what you'd find on a Roku, and miles ahead of the ones built in to my Sony Blu-Ray player. The other apps were less than impressive. Bringing up the weather app is more time consuming than just tuning to the Weather Channel, for example. The included web browser is fine for "Hey, look what my TV can do" showing off, but you're probably not going to want to fire it up to look at IMDB in the middle of a show.

All things considered, this is probably the best value around. While I lost 5" of screen real estate over what I planned on buying originally, the difference in picture quality alone was a decent tradeoff. Getting 3D was gravy, to say the least. Unless this thing sets my house on fire, I'd be hard pressed to recommend anything else within a couple hundred dollars.

NOTE: See UPDATE below. We've edited this review because all the initial concerns we had about this TV have been addressed and corrected with a few simple steps. So, feel free to skip down to the bottom to see what we did to make this TV look AMAZING! :-)

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I just learned a couple of things.

First of all, I learned that bigger is not always better.

We had purchased the 47" version of this TV ([...]) and were absolutely blown away by the image quality... it is PRISTINE! (Easily a 5-star+ set.) In fact, we were so pleased with that unit that we thought we might want just a slightly larger TV instead. So, we ordered the 55" model and planned on returning the 47" one. Well, amazingly, we're sending back the 55" TV. The image is noticeably less pristine (grainy/pixelated/dull - even on the highest resolution blu-ray content... and even more surprisingly, the 3D was making us sick. (So strange, since we totally LOVED the 3D on the 47" model.) Too bad... because we were really excited about the larger size... but we'd much rather have quality over quantity.

Interestingly, it was my wife (who claims to not notice the "soap opera effect" of the new LCDs) who was most disturbed by the quality loss. It was glaringly obvious to her (as it was to me... though I didn't want to admit it, since I really wanted the larger model). If my wife notices the difference, trust me... it's there. I later did a side-by-side comparison between the 55LW5600 and the 47LW5600 which confirmed our suspicions.

Here's a little more detail:

IMAGE QUALITY:

On this 55" model, image quality of even the highest resolution blu-ray discs was noticably less sharp, more pixelated/grainy, and overall just more dull. I played extensively with the settings but could not overcome these issues.

Alternatively, images on the 47" model and crisp and GORGEOUS. My hunch is that the resolution on both units is identical, but it is spread over a greater screen area on the larger unit, resulting in the ability to more easily see image flaws. I have not found specs to confirm this, though. We sit about 10-12 feet away from the TV, and we did notice a significant improvement in our perception of the image quality when moving back about 5 feet. But, the arrangement of our room does not allow us to sit this distance from the TV... so the 47" is the obvious choice for us.

I would say that you should not consider the 55" version if you intend on sitting closer than 12 feet to the TV. Further out than that, you may have a better experience.

3D EFFECT:

I also learned that 3D can (under certain circumstances) make us sick. Strange, because we've always enjoyed 3D in the theater... and we absolutely LOVED 3D on the 47" version of this TV. But, on this 55" model, there were some strange fluttering effects, especially in fast-motion video. We also noticed some kind of strange boxy/pixelated effect during quick scene changes, or when going from bright to dark (and vice versa) scenes.

None of these 3D issues occurred with the 47" version. In fact, not only was the image impeccable, but the 3D looked absolutely gorgeous (and appeared to be fully HD quality with no noticeable resolution loss).

So, if you're debating (like we did) about whether to go with LG's 47" version (47LW5600), or to go a little larger with the 55" model... I'd suggest sticking with the 47" TV unless you will be sitting a fairly significant distance away from the set.

So, what else did I learn? It turns out my wife's a videophile! Who knew?!? :-)

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UPDATE - ISSUES FIXED:

We have found ways to make adjustments that have COMPLETELY ELIMINATED the issues we spoke of earlier!! So we have now changed our star rating from 2 to 5. (Yeah, it's that much of an improvement!) :-)

2D IMAGE FIX: Just wanted to let everyone know that I was able to improve the 2D video quality of this 55" model SIGNIFICANTLY by using the settings given on hometheater.com [hometheater+dot+com]. (Just search for "LG 55LW5600 3D LCD HDTV".) Blu-rays now look extremely good... and MUCH better than the default settings.

3D IMAGE FIX: Additionally, we found a setting on the TV that allows you to adjust the 3D image in such a way that it positions the image further back into the screen (essentially virtually giving us the additional 3 feet back we felt we needed to eliminate eye-strain and nausea). To access, simply click the quick menu button *while 3D content is onscreen*. Then, select the top option to adjust the 3D settings. From there, the bottom option allows you to send the 3D image further back (to the left) or you can also bring it further forward going the other direction. We found the setting of "-5" (about half way to the left) to be a good compromise, improving the 3D image for us immensely (so that we no longer felt nauseous when viewing) and still kept us from seeing ghosting. (Going all the way to the left introduced some faint ghosting and didn't seem to be necessary since adjusting it half-way seemed to alleviate the sickness we felt when watching 3D content.)

So, with that, and the video settings we found at hometheater+dot+com (Amazon keeps removing my link, hopefully my pseudo-URL will work for now), we have now fallen in love with the 55" model.

Our FINAL VERDICT, then, is that the 47" model is better out-of-the-box. Plug it in and WOW! However, while the 55" model requires a little more work, it can eventually look every bit as good as the 47" set. It is truly STUNNING! So, we are keeping the 55" set after all, and are extremely happy with it. It took a little extra work, but it was well worth it.

Hopefully our trial-and-error helps someone out there. :-) Enjoy!

Summary - This is a good buy if you are looking for a LED Television with 3D and internet capability.

Background - This television is mounted on the provided stand and placed on top of a media chest. The television sits above the seated viewers. Replaces a 5 year old 40" Sony Bravida LCD panel. Connected to a HD TiVo and a Sony Blu Ray.

Set-Up - Fast and easy. The manual is adequate, but not excellent. The "Pro" video set-up is a nice feature and gets the picture looking its best quickly. The HDMI cables come out of the back of the television at a right angle on the left side rear. Placement is not optimal since HDMI cables have a tendency to be stiff and sharp bends are not recommended. There is enough room to make the gentle bend and align the cables, but tie wraps are a must for more than one cable.

Stand - Basic. Swivels right to left, but a tilt feature should have been included. See comments about 3D for explanation. A cable management slot on the stand would also have been nice to clean-up the cables for those who are not wall mounting.

Picture - Sharp and clear. No motion artifacts. Superior to the Sony it replaces, but this was expected due to the technology improvements since the purchase of the Sony.

Sound - Decent for ultra-thin panel televisions. If you are looking for audio quality, I recommend an external amplifier and speakers. For normal viewing, the sound is acceptable and voices are clear.

3D Blu ray - Comparable to my expensive active 3D television without the flicker and associated issues. Although the picture quality is not as high, I challenge most viewers to tell the difference. As stated in other reviews, there is some ghosting if the television tilt does not point the television straight at the viewer (A tilting stand would have been a nice feature for LG to add, but alas, it only swivels!). To the right and left of the television, there is no degradation of the 3D experience.

2D to 3D - This television does a superior job of converting 2D into 3D. It seems to excel when the film has depth of field and the less action, but the overall experience is very good. Based on my prior experience with my Active 3D television, I expected far less and found this to be a compelling 3D experience.

Internet TV - Linked to Amazon.com quickly and easily. Netflix was also excellent. Some buffering issues left me wishing that the television stored more of he content locally as the video streamed. Web Browsing was less than adequate and I did not find it a useful experience, with the television not always responding to the commands of the remote. Apps are limited and it made me wonder why someone does not develop an Android based television or a iOS based television so that there could be more Aps to access.

Remote - The standard remote is decent and well laid out, but unless you own LG components, you will have to have multiple remotes. A learning remote would have been a nice feature. Key back-light is dimmer than I would like.

Magic Wand Remote - Think Wii controller for a television. Similar to other people, I had trouble with the response of the remote and found it worked best when I was sitting straight in front of the television. I felt that the software could use further optimization and I don't see this currently as product differentiation and I would not buy this television for this capability alone.

Recommendation - I would recommend this television and I am satisfied with the purchase.

I hope this helps someone.
So, with my TV already ordered and on its way, I stumbled upon the "Audio down-converting issue". If you search through the reviews both here and elsewhere you will find many people having an issue with the surround sound signal coming from their source (STB, DVD, PS3, Etc.) being down-converted to 2 channel by the TV. Makes sense if using the TV speakers but if your like most people, you want to use your surround receiver. You would think that you could simply turn off the TV speakers and allow the full audio signal to "pass through" the TV and out of the optical audio port. Unfortunately, the TV does not allow it to fully pass through the optical audio out and instead it stays a 2 channel signal. I called LG multiple times and it is very obvious that this is something that they are fully aware of and can't/won't really help with. In fact, I have seen where previous models have had it for quite some time and some 2012 models will have it again. LG could fix this by way of an update for this model but said they will not. Sounded like it was due to cost. One LG person told me of a procedure that could be physically performed by a tech that could allow AC3 surround to pass through but they couldn't guarantee the result ? This is why I could only rate the TV at 3 stars for picture only.

So, after receiving my TV, I tried to run video to the TV by way of the source HDMIs (my receiver does not have HDMI to pass through) and the source optical audios to my receiver. This has worked fine for me with my other TV for years with no issues. However, now this created a syncing issue between the sound and the picture on the LG 55LW5600. In my case, the sound was slightly ahead of the picture. I understand now from my extensive thread readings that this is actually a fairly common problem for people with this configuration and in many cases, the reason they were unhappy with the TV. I really liked the TV's picture and the 3D is way cooler than I expected. I did not want to return it, but there was no way I wanted a beautiful 55" picture with 2 channel audio. I began to consider buying a new receiver with HDMI/3D pass through to hopefully fix the problem and allow me to keep the TV. When speaking to an audio salesman at a well known company, he asked why I didn't adjust the audio timing in my existing receiver ? Although I saw the "audio adjust" responses here and there in threads, I just figured that it must be something new and didn't know that my receiver even had it. Turns out that my 7 year old Sony receiver actually had a feature under the "custom" set-up that slightly retards the audio output. The manual even states that it is for this type of issue specifically. It lacks the adjustability that some of the newer receivers have (just a preset millisecond on/off adjustment), but it worked great. I have gone through my channels and checked several DVDs to confirm. The reason I am writing this is because I spent alot of time reading through forums to find a solution to this and for the most part only saw the complaints. Apparently many Dolby Digital and DTS capable receivers have this adjustment. Thanks to Amazon, I still have plenty of time to keep an eye (and ear) on this, but I am thinking I have an acceptable solution.

I should mention that LG did say that the digital optical out would support surround when streaming with net flicks, etc. Did not try it myself.

No Flicker / Wider Viewing Angle / Brighter Picture / Cheaper Glasses / No Recharging / More Fun with more Friends

Active 3D is already obsolete. If you don't believe me do a side by side comparison at your local electronic store. Yes, you do have half the resolution when viewing in 3D, but you will not be able to tell. The pixels are spilt in half from 1080 to 540, but you see both halves of a 540 image at the same time giving you that full HD illusion. It's amazing! I have 20/20 vision and sit 7ft away from my TV and I see no jagged edges. I have heard the bigger the TV the worse the picture looks in 3D with passive technology. I was sold after looking at the 55" at the electronic store. It is every bit of the 3D experience you'll find in an active 3D set if not better and more natural like the theaters. Check it out for yourself. I purchased this 47" lw5600 and am very pleased.

However, there is some negatives about this TV which is why I gave it 4 stars.

1) The magic motion controller is to horrible for browsing the web. It's worthless, think about having to point at every single letter of a word you want to spell out. Don't even get me started on scrolling down a page. I almost developed turrets syndrome trying to use this thing. I've given up trying, so I just connected my laptop to the TV so I can use my wireless mouse and keyboard to surf the web. -1/2 STARS

2) The stand is cheap. It looks good but the TV will wobbles when you move it. Don't worry its not going to break but LG could have just put a little more effort in this TV's stand. However, I do like that it swivels. -1/4 STARS

3) This TV must be at eye level. 3D images will start ghosting if you looking down or up at this TV. This is no big deal considering you have a huge viewing angle and you can view 3d when lying down. Also, It can be mounted above or below you if angled correctly -1/4 STARS

The passive 3-D works quite well, but you will want to be eye level with the set. (No above the fireplace mounting here) There is almost no ghosting at all, even on content which contains crosstalk on my 3-D plasma. Resolution IS reduced (I can easily tell) but it isn't that bad and as long as you sit far enough away from the set, you won't see scan lines. The 3-D from blu-ray 3D is bright and of course the polarized glasses are lightweight and easily replaceable. Directv's 3-D channels are bit softer on this set but still acceptable.

Is it as good as my active 3-D set? Not quite, as the active has better picture quality, but the passive set comes out on top even over the plasma as far as lack of ghosting/crosstalk goes. I think most casual 3-D viewers would be quite pleased. 2-D to 3-D conversion is probably the best I've seen also, though I would rarely use this feature.

I wouldn't call active obsolete (after all, 3-D content works on either kind of set, just as you can choose between LCD, plasma or DLP, you can choose active or passive) but if they can get the resolution to be better (full 1080p in both eyes) I would expect the market to go in the passive direction.

2-D picture is excellent, and the various apps and internet features are well executed.

Hope this helps. I ordered on amazon from PaulsTV on tuesday. no bs on friday 9am it was on in my living room. I set it up saturday morning. It looks great In 2D and with limited 3D sources I was surprised to find that it will upconvert any 2D into 3D. some not alot, adds a little dept to the images .still sweet. I also put there claims to the test. I was able to see 3D from any angle except laying on the floor, but i have a swivel and tilt mount that with 10seconds to adjust will tilt if i wanted to lay down. Note- the mount was overkill as it looks heavy duty and rated to hold 167 lbs. Tv only weighs 50 something punds. But off craigslist for 100 bucks was good deal.

I have not been through all the features but it is obvious to me that this is the latest in tv technology at a reasonable price. also the glasses dont feel weird or make me feel sick. at 15-35 bucks for extras it is worth the price of the tv. there is a better version but not available yet and comes in at 3500 bucks(last I checked I could be wrong).

With 3D Hd content was to be at half resolution but I have not noticed a drop in clarity. picture looks high definition all the time. If you were to notice a picture not as sharp your probably looking too hard for flaws.

I researched for months before I decided to Buy a 3D tv. I found LG to be leading the way in new technology. Samsung is not far behind . both call each other names but make good products and there competition is dropping prices for us. thanks South Korea. sure next year they will cost less and a better model will come out,but keep holing out and you never enjoy 3D At home.

Over all this Tv is awesome. Recommend the protection plan (it is new tech. and may have bugs) and you will not regret it. +BONUS no sales tax online.

So I've owned this set for two whole days now and I can say WOW, I have 3D in my living room!
I plan on writing a more detailed review as I do more with the TV, but for now:

First up the 3D
It's awesome! Just like in the movies. It leaps out at you. I bought the Canyon DVD and the water bubbles just float in front of you and water splashing made me blink! We also bought Step Up 3D and it was just like seeing it at the movies. The picture is very bright and looks beautiful. If you are concerned that you will not see "full 1080P" because of the technology don't be. I watched that same Canyon DVD in store with the active shutter glasses and saw zero difference in quality.

I played a little bit of Call of Duty Black Ops on my PS3 to see what the gaming side looked like and it seems to only work with the story mode, but woah 3D gaming is wicked. It's like playing a video through a view master.

The 2D picture
Is excellent. We had a 50" Sony LCD 1080i and this picture is far superior. There's a certain realism that comes through. We noticed it first at our local Best Buy store. Some TVs looked as if the content was taken like from live TV and we were pleased to see this TV also producing this type of picture.

As for the 2D to 3D, I tried it on a show being shown in HD and saw no difference. I will experiment more with it now that I see others having success with this feature.

It has a bunch of other goodies like Netflix, YouTube etc. The USB internet "card" (like a thumb drive device) plugs in the back and the TV recognizes it. Going to the Network set up I easily connected to my home's WiFi and had my Netflix account up in a flash. You can go on Youtube, but I saw no way to log in to my account so if you have subscriptions or your videos this is not your best way to check those out. The browser works fine, but doesn't have Flash and I'm not sure if it is or will be supported. The TV comes with two remotes, the smaller works like the Wii controller so you have a mouse-like interface, pretty cool. There are other apps and games, but I have not played with those yet.

Negatives so far
One thing that was disappointing to me is that there is no RCA (Red/White) audio outs from the TV. Just an optical audio out. My surround sound system doesn't have an optical in so I can't use it with the TV.

Also the remote doesn't have separate source buttons to quickly jump from one input to another (Cable to DVD for example). You have to press the one "Input" button which takes you to a screen that lets you choose. One nice touch however is that it seems to sense when you turn something on. For instance, if Im watching Cable TV then I turn the DVD/Blueray player on the TV "sees" this and switches to the new source (DVD player) automatically.

These are my initial (and lengthy) impressions so far. In short, I'm really impressed with the quality picture of this TV and the technology it uses. I'm very relieved that I don't have to use (and buy) heavy, battery operated and expensive glasses to see amazing hi def 3D right in my living room!

I have to say I was really impressed by this set when i first saw it being demoed. I love 3d but have never wanted to own a set because the active shutter 3d makes me dizzy and sick after about 10 minutes of watching it. The passive 3d offered by this system is great. No sickness, little to no eye strain and a great 3d image. People have complained that the way the 3d is created halves the resolution, this is not noticeable at all with 3d blu-ray. I did notice lining in the image when i was very close to the tv, closer than I would want to sit comfortably. One complaint I have, though it is a small one, is that 3d gaming is noticeably lower in resolution. I have only tried this with one game(killzone 3) and only with this 3d format so cant really compare weither the other 3d format(active shutter) offered would be better for gaming. Still an amazing gaming experience regardless.

I researched online for months comparing plasma, DLP, LED, LCD, and passive vs. active 3D. I finally decided that the LG 47LW5600 was the best TV I found, not even considering the price (which is a steal in my opinion!).

I went to a certain major box store to compare this set to some other active 3D sets, and enjoyed LG's passive 3D hands down. Not only are the glasses more comfortable and MUCH cheaper, but the 3D on this set just seemed to have much more 'pop' to it. The active sets were ok, but the glasses I tried were uncomfortable, and on top of it all, active 3D just didn't seem to have the same depth to it. I had also read about passive 3D losing the HD quality and some people noticing resolution lines. That's the primary reason I wanted to see it for myself. What I noticed in store and at home is that if you sit within a few feet of the screen, the lines do become slightly apparent in still shots. However, as I backed up to a normal viewing distance for this set (7-12ft), I no longer noticed any diminished quality. In addition to content produced in 3D, this TV will also convert 2D content to 3D, which I first thought would be marginal at best. After using this set for a few weeks now, I have come to enjoy this feature much more than I imagined I would and often don my 3D glasses for Netflix, cable, and non 3D-encoded movies. While not as good as 3D encoded content, the TV does do an amazing job of converting. Finally on 3D, make sure you get an HDMI 1.4 cable for 3D content, and should you need more than the included 4 glasses, pick up a few more for cheap!

Yes, the 3D is great and I just spent a good long paragraph praising it, but the other features and overall picture quality also deserve similar praise. Brightness, contrast, black levels, and just about everything else are superb. The LED's allow the TV to produce quality blacks with no graying, no flashlight effect, and just an overall good, crisp, clean picture. The picture wizard does a great job of allowing you to adjust the settings for an optimal viewing experience for your room. The smart TV features are good, but could certainly use some improvement (hopefully more apps to come in the future). I mostly just use it to Netflix, but you can YouTube, check the weather, and other things I haven't explored. The TV includes an Ethernet port for internet, as well as a wireless dongle should you prefer fewer wires poking into the back of your TV.

Overall, I would recommend this TV to anyone, hands down. If you have any doubts about it I would recommend you see this TV in person and compare it to others before buying and I think you'll be as impressed as I am.