LG 42LV5500 LED LCD HDTV Review

Connectivity

The LG 42LV5500 comes ready to connect to a multitude of devices, both old and new.  There are four HDMI ports for modern AV devices like your DVD player or gaming system.  There are also two USB ports for mass storage devices, one of which supports connecting to an external hard drive allowing you to play that terabyte of “legally” acquired songs and movies right on your TV. Both USB ports support USB mass storage devices like thumb drives.

We congratulate the LG 42LV5500 for not minimizing the amount of analog ports. There are two component and two composite connections in the back. One of each uses the traditional RCA-type sockets and one of each uses a 1/8th-inch socket. LG includes adapters for the latter.

There are outputs for both analog audio and digital audio, which allows you to connect to both old and new home theater sound systems.

You get more than just the standard HDTV ports with the LG 42LV5500.  Around back you will find an LAN port, an RS-232C socket and a place to plug in your wireless control system for home theater universality.  Also, included in the box is a thumb-drive-sized device that gives the LG 42LV5500 the ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network in your home. Normally, TV manufacturers charge extra for this little USB WiFi device, so consider it a $100 bonus with your purchase.

Placement

You will find all of the connections on the left side of the LG 42LV5500, arranged in an L-shape. This allows the engineers to keep the display skinny by positioning many of the ports parallel to the screen. At the same time, some of the ports on the bottom part of the “L” can be difficult, especially when connecting the VGA cable and the optical audio out down there. The stand swivels enough to allow easy access to the back for times of rearrangement.