LG 47LH90 LCD HDTV Review - Audio & Menus

Audio & Menus Summary
Editorial Note: This is a review of the LG 47LH90. Test results are for this model, but should indicate the general performance of other sizes in the LH90 series. The LH90 series also includes the 42LH90 and the 55LH90.  Read here for more details on series differences.
• Middling audio quality that gets slightly better when surround sound mode is enabled. • Simple, intuitive menu structure. • Manual isn't very helpful.
	Connectivity	Page 10 of 18	Formats & Media

Audio Quality (5.5)

The 47LH90's speakers weren't bad. When the surround sound mode was off, the sound was a bit flat. It didn't have much bass and there just wasn't a lot of presence to the sound. Turning surround sound mode on gave a bit of depth to the overall sound, boosted bass quite a bit, and gave the high end better articulation. It didn't, however, do much to actually create a "surround sound" experience.

Also, one of the 47LH90's selling points is its hidden speaker system, which, in addition to adding a marvelous aesthetic, supposedly delivers a wonderful aural experience. We didn't notice a significant difference between this and past LG TVs.

Menu Interface (7.0)

The 47LH90's menu system is fairly intuitive. Pressing the menu button will let you chose from one of eight different items. Selecting one will bring up a second screen, where the eight main items run down the left side and the selected menu is expanded to the right.

The menu is just about the same basic menu we've seen on other LG HDTVs.

The menu system is very basic, but we really don't like the initial screen. Since you can tab through the main menu items in the second screen, there's really no functional benefit to the first screen other than to familiarize you with the icons. If the second menu screen had been larger and contained labels, they could have eliminated an otherwise superfluous round of navigation.

The menus and submenus are intuitive and easy to use.

There's also a quick menu. This is presented like a rotary dial: left and right rotate the wheel of menu items, and up/down alter its settings. This is tehcnically quicker for changing certain items, but the rotation animation slows the process down a bit.

Manual (4.5)

The 47LH90's manual really isn't great. The only thing it does well is pictures, which are very detailed and employed frequently, if they are a bit small. The table of contents is very limited, there isn't an index (although there is a brief appendix), and the pages aren't tabbed. The font size is a bit on the small side as well.

The main complaint we had, however, is it really doesn't answer a lot of questions. The manual is really only good for setting up the TV, not explaining how to use its features. We aren't entirely sure what features like Eye Care and Edge Enhancer actually do.

Other Models in the LH90 Series
This is a review of the LG 47LH90. The other sizes of HDTVs in this series should be similar in terms of performance and usability. For details about any differences, click on the image to jump to the Series Comparison page.
42LH90 42 inches	47LH90 47 inches	55LH90 55 inches