TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Attractive design
- +
Very cheap for a 42-inch TV with edge LED lighting
- +
HD pictures sometimes look great
Cons
- -
No Smart TV service
- -
No DLNA PC support
- -
No Freeview HD support
- -
Contrast isn't great
- -
Doesn't fit well into LG's TV range
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If there's one thing you can usually rely on LG to deliver somewhere in its TV range each year, it's groundbreakingly low pricing. The brand has already exploded the pricing of active 3D plasma technology with its PW450 series, including TVs such as the LG 42PW450T.
Now it seems as if it might be trying to do the same thing for edge LED, courtesy of the LG 42LV450U. This 42-inch edge-lit TV costs only a trio of tenners over £500, and is selling for slightly less than this at times.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that the LG 42LV450U might not be the bolt-on bargain it first appears. While it's a decent-looking, nicely built TV for the price, with its slender rear and glossy, glamorous bezel, it's certainly not overburdened with features.
When it comes to multimedia support, for instance, the absence of a LAN port means you're restricted to playback of photo, music and MPEG-4/DivX movie files from USB flash drives. There's no DLNA PC connectivity or access to LG's online features.
The lack of a LAN port also reveals that the TV doesn't even have a Freeview HD tuner.
It does have one or two tricks up its sleeve, though, including LG's so-called 400Hz MCI motion processing, and enough picture set-up tools to earn the endorsement of the Imaging Science Foundation.
Also available in LG's LV450U range are bigger brother the 47-inch 47LV450U, little sister the 37-inch 37LV450U and the baby of the range, the 32-inch 32LV450U.
If you fancy adding Smart TV functionality and a Freeview HD tuner to your LG mix, you're looking at stepping up to the LV550T range and the LG 42LV550T model.
Below the LV450U series are the LV355U models, which remarkably still use edge LED lighting despite being even cheaper. Even more startlingly, they also have a Freeview HD tuner built in. They don't, however, have the LG 42LV450U's 400Hz engine.
