LG LW5700 LED 3D - Good purchase. Review on LG LW5700 LED 3D

For about a year I was thinking of buying a new TV. My home has been TV free for quite some time. However as Kids were growing up there were expectations to have TV at home at least for limited watching.

Must Have features:

. 1. 42” Screen Size

· 2. Low power consumption

· 3. Full HD(1080P) capable, viewing distance will be 8 feet

· 4. Aesthetic appeal(Though Subjective – something I need to like J)

· 5. Overall black body

· 6. Uniform screen illuminations(no light spill at corners or edges)

· 7. Mat screen(as TV will be facing front door and Window)

· 8. Large external hard disk support

· 9. 3 HDMI connectors, 2 USB connectors

· 10. Ethernet capable

Nice to Have features:

· 1. Wireless connectivity

· 2. Games

· 3. 3D

· 4. Firmware upgradable

· 5. Additional USB connectors

· 6. DLNA(Wireless management/connectivity)

Based on the criteria Plasma TVs were eliminated. For 42” the resolution was pretty week(720P only) and there was striking difference in picture quality as compare to LED/LCD.

After going through the list of TVs available it was apparent that I am inclining more towards “Smart TVs” as Ethernet connection is only available with smart TVs. I have option of going for something like Apple or Android TV, however due to lack of firsthand experience I thought of having Ethernet connectivity on TV itself.

As 42” Smart TV were over 70K, I was thinking of getting even 3D. After watching Avatar 3 times in theatre I was kind of 3D fan, however never thought a TV can give similar experience. However when I saw 3D movie on TV from closer distance in complete darkness with Onkyo home theatre, my opinion was different.

Only hesitation I had was the expensive and chargeable shutter glasses. With small kids at home we fear of breaking 3D glasses, would have compromised the fun of watching 3D moviesJ. Around same time LG introduced passive 3D where the glasses were very lightweight and inexpensive. Clearly I wouldn’t have bought shutter glass 3D after seeing this. I have seen the movies and resolution is not as bad as commercial comparisons are projecting, in fact it is very bright and clear as compare to active glasses 3D TVs.

So I was kind of sold on LG real cinema 42” TV. The problem as the price. It was close to 83K at time I checked in eZone. My budget was 40-45K. So I was patiently waiting for prices to go down for 4 months. I have never considered finance option as typchandru021y I don’t go for loans due to higher interest rates.

However I was in eZone @ ishanya mall looking for something else. A brilliant sales person was able to make the deal for 75K with 0% interest rate and we were through. They have worked out documentation and processing fairly quickly and without any planning I bought the TV J. Anyway this was something I was looking for and for 0% interest it was not a bad deal.

Installation was handled by LG service person brilliantly. Person has come to my home with all the required instruments and able to fit the TV at proper height with sturdy fitting. No hassles at all.

TV picture quality is brilliant.

MPEG/AVI/MKV files from External HDD connected over USB -

I am able to connect my 500GB Seagate external hard drive to TV and watch Movies embedded 5 folder levels below without any issue. The MKV or AVI files were playable and the post processing was better than my VLC player on computer. Most of the AVI files worked without any problem. It even remembers the last played position of the current video you are watching. There is optical sound out from TV, however I am sure most of the latest AV receivers are capable of playing videos from USB. Nonetheless, better to have options…

You Tube Player App –

Virtually useless application. I was in fact counting big time on Yourtube application from LG App store, but it’s one of worst YouTube client I have used. There is no way to link your YouTube/Google user ID to this application. All your channels/Subscriptions as well as favorites are useless. There is no content filtering. There was a porn video on the second page itself. Pretty risk stuff to operate when you have kids around. LG definitely need to work on this application. A BIG let down…

Games -

Games are little fun to play with the motion sensing remote that comes with the TV however nowhere close to wii experience. After the novelty value is over the magic remote goes in lowest drawer J

Satellite Dish –

After purchasing this, I bought Airtel HD(Maybe another review). Picture quality is awesome. 1080i HD looks great. Even the SD channels are looking fine. Only irritation I have is the aspect ratio of the SD channels. I guess problem is with the channel transmission than TV.

Sound –

Built in speakers are pretty weak and noisy, I guess more or less same case with any slim TV. Fine for news and infotainment channels, but music and movies need better setup. Any way I have plan get proper receiver to get the real sound. Definitely not LG home theatre, I had audition earlier and not very impressed with the performance. Will go for something like Onkyo or similar.

Picture Quality -

Picture quality is stunning. With IPS panel(guess kind of mandatory for real 3d cinema feature) wife can see the TV from kitchen which is less than 40 degrees angle to the TV panel. SD channels are properly shown and don’t realize it unless I am switching to SD channel immediately after HD J

3D –

3D is awesome. Even after a month novelty value is not faded, so its gonna stay and will use this. 2D-3D conversion will not give you that drastic effects, however most of the time you get the 3D perception inside the panel, good to see however its not impressive. However with real 3D movies/clips, the effects are amazing. I am happy and will upgrade to blueray player as well as satellite box with 3D capabilities when the content is available. I am delighted that I have gone for this option.

Overall Feeling –

Happy about the purchase. Good finance option from eZone has doubled the happiness. As of now I am not happy about apps offered, definitely looking forward to have more smart options and better apps. Fortunately it can updated… Hope LG will listen this…