Focus on 19LH20 LG
Posted by admin on
June 3, 2009
This TV’s overall value FAR exceeds the pricier brands!. I’ve had the 32LB9D for about 9 months now, and I have to say I am constantly amazed by its quality! Especially when comparing with my friends’ Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp TVs.
First off is the picture quality. Out of the box, the “Intelligent Eye” mode is quite interesting … for me LG 19LH20 sufficed for a few weeks, after which I delved into the more detailed picture adjustments. Do yourself a favor: get a copy of any DVD that has picture adjustment features (I used ratatouille) and take the 10 minutes needed to adjust brightness, contrast, and color. With these adjustments, this TV looks better than just about any other I’ve seen in any nearby price range (I got the TV for $600 at the time).
In addition, I often connect this TV as an additional monitor to my MacBook Pro via HDMI, and man is the quality amazing! All text is VERY clear to read even from across the room, and my friends are always commenting on how nice LG 19LH20 is to watch youtube videos & online TV shows on this TV.
Next up are the connection options, of which we all know this TV has PLENTY so not much more needs to be said about that. However, I have found one caveat. The digital audio output of the TV will only output Dolby signals; LG 19LH20 will NOT output DTS signals! I found this out the hard way: my Blu-ray player was connected via HDMI to the TV, and TV digital audio output to surround sound receiver. When I played a disc containing DTS audio, my receiver only reported getting stereo audio from the TV. Of course, the simple solution to that is to send audio directly from the component to the receiver, which is why I didn’t take off a star for this (I would take off 1/4 of a star if I could) 
Which leads me to the TV’s own audio system. To be honest, the built-in speakers are underpowered. If you rely on your TV as the audio source, you’ll find yourself raising the volume to very high levels at times, and even then the speakers will sound kinda blown. This would cost the TV another 1/4 star in my review, so I guess we’re down to what, 4.5 stars? 
One nice thing about the TV’s audio is the simulated surround sound that LG 19LH20 can do, which can be pretty cool to hear at times.
Overall, I’ve had no regrets about this TV at all. The lack of DTS audio output was a bit annoying at first, but any traditional home theater setup has audio going from the component directly to the home theater receiver anyway. The underpowered speakers aren’t that much of an issue either; they’ll definitely work in a medium sized room if you don’t have a better audio setup.
Bad tv, . Bad tv, i send LG 19LH20 back I have problems on the image I have a line from top to the bottom. dont get this tv
Love it!. I researched LCD TVs via Consumer Report, CNET, Amazon’s customer reviews, and technology blogs for over a month before buying this TV (LG’s 32″ lineup is curiously absent from CNET and Consumer Report). In the end, LG 19LH20 came down to two things: image quality and appearance of the panel; price was not a concern for this purchase. I went with 32″ based on the size of my room (I live in a studio apartment).
Picture
The case was pretty much settled as soon as I saw the LG in the store. True, Sharp and Samsung had deeper blacks, but Sharp’s became oversaturated and even their 1080p 32″ set lacked detail under bright light (my living room is very bright). Samsung had strong detail, but the response time on most of their 32″ models is 8ms and my eyes could see blurring. The LG had tight, crisp images with extremely accurate color and fairly dark blacks. There was no blurring or ghosting and dark scenes were rendered in excellent detail.
Design
Both Sony and Panasonic had comparable image quality to the LG and a few extra bells and whistles, but their casing had exposed logos, buttons, speakers, lights, etc. Furthermore, their panels were much thicker (the LG is only about 3″ deep). Since I don’t have a TV cabinet, an LCD has to be a piece of furniture in my living room and that tipped the scales in favor of the LG… thin, smooth, and shiny. It’s almost discreet and will not dominate a room.
Experience
I almost fell over when I plugged in a set of cheap rabbit ears(!) and picked up the local broadcasts in HD. I could see the pinstripes in the weatherman’s suit, the bag’s around the newscaster’s eyes, and Judge Judy’s frown lines. But plugging in my AppleTV made me a believer… the quality is SHOCKING and my friends tend to crowd around the TV to inspect the detail. The menu system is very simple and I figured I would have to calibrate the picture settings, but LG has an “intelligent eye” mode where a light sensor built onto the front of the TV detects the conditions in the room and automatically adjusts the brightness and contrast on the screen. So far, I have had no complaints about the TV’s judgement.
Value
The TV came with some welcome extras in the box. The remote is universal and works with almost any device (programming codes are in the manual). The base is detached by default for easy wall-mounting, the owner’s manual is on a CD and is searchable (I hope other manufactuers follow suit), and LG even threw in a wiping cloth to keep the glossy black frame clean. There is also a cable restraint and an extra cable to attach to your antenna/cablebox.
By far and away, I feel I got an exceptional value for my money and would highly recommend this panel.
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