LG 42LV5500 LED LCD HDTV Review

Overall Design

The LG 42LV5500 is an attractive TV, on the whole, all smooth lines and beveled edges. The glossy black finish is highly reflective, which may bother some people, and not only for its near-magical predilection for picking up fingerprints. There's the additional distraction of a light on the lower right side that blinks every time you push a button on the remote. We tried to disable it, but to no avail.

Front

Back

Sides

Stand/Mount

The LG 42LV5500 has a low, flat, base made from the same glossy material as the bezel. It feels plenty study when you screw it in, so there's little chance of it tipping over. The base also allows the TV panel to swivel back and forth about 20 degrees in either direction.

Controls

The LG 42LV5500 has a series of controls that run along the lower right edge of the bezel. Rather than buttons, these are touch-sensitive areas. Sure, they look sleek, but there's no haptic feedback when you push and they leave fingerprints everywhere.

Remote Control

The LG 42LV5500 ships with two remote controls, a more traditional type of remote and the new Magic Motion remote. The former is nothing special, but well designed for what it is. The buttons are well-positioned and made of a soft, rubbery material that makes it easy to use. It also offers a backlight, which is really great if you find yourself groping around in a dark room.

The Magic Motion remote is quite different. It functions like a pointer. When you aim at the screen, a little icon appears and tracks your motion. Unlike a Nintendo Wii controller, when you point off-screen, the cursor does not fly off the edge. Rather, it stops at the edge of the screen, even if your hand continues to move past that point. As a result, you're constantly recalibrating the cursor as you wave it around. There's a certain novelty to it, but the overall interface is too slow to make this your primary remote.

In the Box

The LG 42LV5500 ships with the stand and necessary screws, the standard remote control and batteries, the Magic Motion remote, an instruction manual, and assorted documentation. There's also an adapter for the component and composite AV inputs (the TV also has inputs for component and composite AV inputs with standard RCA-type sockets).