LG 32LH20

Ergonomics & Durability (6.85)

Unlike some of the other remotes we've seen the LG 32LH20's remote is small and simple, which we like a lot. It sits comfortably in your hand, with a curved back and an indentation for your forefinger to sit in. It would have been nice to see some padding or soft touch finish, but instead you get hard plastic all around, which does make it a bit easier to drop. The balance is excellent, with the remote balanced perfectly with your hand at neutral and your thumb over the directional pad. What's more the small size and weight man that even if you shift your hand a bit to access other controls you don't lose your balance. The button on the remote are made of soft plastic, and provide good key travel, but they could use a bit more tactile feedback. There's also no backlight for the buttons.

We have to say that we found ourselves liking the LG 32LH20's remote quite a bit. It's obviously a remote for a lower-end television, but frankly LG could do a lot worse than adding some features like a backlight and soft touch finish to this basic design and using it for all their televisions.

Button Layout & Use (7.20)

To complement a good overall design the LG 32LH20's remote also does a good job of laying out the controls. With your hand at neutral you have easy access to the directional pad, menu button and volume and channel controls. Thanks to the remote's overall small size even those with small hands should have no trouble accessing these buttons. To access the number pad and buttons above it you do need to shift your hand a bit, but once again the small size is in the 32LH20 remote's favor as the shift required is minor. The labeling on the controls is clear and easy to understand, and we were happy to see that the remote could control the television from a very oblique angle.

Programming & Flexibility (1.0)

Unfortunately the LG 32LH20 cannot be used as a universal remote. It does support LG's proprietary SIMPLINK technology, which allows the remote to control other LG devices connected to the 32LH20 via HDMI. We're not big fans of such proprietary technology, and are only awarding a single point for it.