New Technology Reviews!.: impressively

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<img alt="Review: LG 42LV450U" class="aligncenter" height="212" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20200/HCC200.gt.lg_main-470-75.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20200/HCC200.gt.lg_main-470-75.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="282" /></div>
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The LG 42LV450U is a classy-looking, slender set that is equipped with edge LED lighting. It's nice to find, too, that there's a USB port available for playing back photo, music and video (including DivX HD) files from USB storage devices.</div>
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But this is basically where the interesting specs end. There's no Freeview HD tuner, something LG has always been quick to introduce further down its TV range. There's no sign of any of LG's Smart TV online services, either. Indeed, there isn't even a LAN port to access the internet or files stored on DLNA PCs.</div>
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Unfortunately for LG, these missed out features are going to crop up fairly regularly elsewhere on rival TVs at this price point...</div>
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The 42LV450U does retain the impressively logical and well presented onscreen menus found further up LG's range. It also retains the endorsement of the Imaging Science Foundation, meaning that this independent calibration organisation believes the 42LV450U has enough tools to allow for professional calibration. These include colour and gamma management.</div>
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However, I don't really understand LG's logic here. Surely the mass-market audience the 42LV450U is aimed at would prefer a Freeview HD tuner or some Smart TV functions, rather than professional calibration features they won't use?</div>
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Pure light</h4>
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Thankfully, the 42LV450U starts to make a compelling case for itself with its picture performance. Predominantly bright HD scenes, such as those on the recent Blu-ray release of <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">The Incredibles</span>, look really sumptuous, with plenty of detail and crispness, rich and dynamic colours, and a startling level of raw light output for such a cheap set.</div>
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Motion causes respectably little judder or blur, and colours can be made pleasingly believable in tone after only a little work in the colour management system.</div>
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However, while the 42LV450U thrives with bright HD, it isn't nearly as fond of either dark or standard-def material. The nighttime scenes in Venice on the recently release <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Don't Look Now</span>Blu-ray betray a marked lack of black level depth versus most of its rivals, with blacks looking grey and shadow detail in short supply.</div>
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Nudging down the set's backlight and brightness settings can reduce the grey 'pall', but to overcome it you have to go so dark that images start to look dull and devoid of shadow details.</div>
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As for standard definition, while the 42LV450U doesn't lose colour accuracy with broadcasts, it's less successful at upscaling them to the screen's full HD resolution, leaving them looking soft and noisy.</div>
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Joining the hit and miss visuals is a similarly inconsistent audio performance. On the upside, trebles are portrayed with almost scary clarity and the mid-range is reasonably open. Predictably, though, the trade-off is a lack of bass to counterpoint the high-range sounds, amounting to a 'lopsided' and harsh soundstage.</div>
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Overall, the 42LV450U feels a bit lost and pointless even within LG's own range, given that you can get the far better specified 42LV550T for only a fraction more money.</div>
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Review: LG 42LV450U

The LG 42LV450U is a classy-looking, slender set that is equipped with edge LED lighting. It's nice to find, too, that there's...