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With all this in mind, it's hardly surprising that when you look past the surface sheen a few cracks appear, such as black level and video noise issues. But while these cracks are wide enough to stop the set from being a true budget classic, they certainly don't stop it from being worth at least an audition, especially if you can find it discounted to an even lower price.
We liked
The price is appealing and more than fair for what's on offer with the 32LD490. Being able to play photo, music or video files via USB on such an affordable set is a boon, as is having a Freeview HD tuner. But even better is the fact that you can access material stored on your networked PCs.
In performance terms, the 32LD490 sounds better than most 32in LCD TVs, and scores highly on picture vibrancy and sharpness.
We disliked
The picture breaks down badly if you have to watch from much of an angle. The black level response is found a touch wanting during very dark scenes too, and colours lack a little subtlety.
Feature-wise, the only disappointment is the lack of content on LG's NetCast online platform, though LG could argue that any online features at all should class as a bargain on a TV as cheap as the 32LD490.
Final verdict
The 32LD490 isn't the prettiest, cleverest or highest-performance TV LG has ever made, but the aggressive price (considering the amount of spec) and eye-catching brightness and colour levels will almost certainly win the 32LD490 more than a few multimedia-loving fans.
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