LG 47LV4400 LED LCD HDTV Review

Introduction

Design

The LG 47LV4400 features a lot of the smarter design ideas that HDTV manufacturers have developed over the years. We always hope to see at least a little bit of swivel allowed from a TV's stand, especially with a panel as large as 47 inches, and in this arena the LG does not disappoint. Another thing we tend to look for in overall design is aesthetic longevity. From a consumer standpoint, one of the most exciting things about purchasing a new (or gently loved) television is the finished, assembled product beaming out diode-rays across the recreational space of one's choosing. While super-thin bezels can be appealing, they can also lead to constant unsightly smudges and fingerprints unless one is very careful. You'll be happy to know the {{product.model}} does not risk this problem with bezel or stand innovations, so where it may not be incredibly stylish or original, it's still aesthetically pleasing while staying safely within the realm of the done-before (read: it's pretty boring, really). The only complaint we have about the {{product.model}}'s design is LG's bizarre choice to place the on-set controls on the back of the television. As you'll see in the tour photos, the small buttons allocated to power, volume, channel selection, etc., are tucked away near the recessed back ports. They are within reach of the left hand fingers, but without swiveling or leaning around the TV panel it is impossible to tell which buttons do what. Besides this strange oversight, the {{product.name}} has an okay design and a sensible layout.

Overall Design

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This TV brings nothing new to the table in terms of aesthetics or design except for some terrible "hidden" on-set controls. The bezel takes up 4 inches of space on the top and sides of the screen, which gives the whole display a rather unattractive shape in that it looks taller than it needs to be (because it is). The stand is heavy and clunky, adding to our opinion that while the 47LV4400 isn't really an ugly TV, there's also nothing to actually like about its appearance.

Front

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From the front, this LG inspires such raucous exclamations as "It's a TV, alright!" and "How about that, a rectangular screen!"

Back

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There's not much to see here, save for the AC in and connectivity ports. Oh, and the on-set controls...

Sides

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While not super duper thin, the LG is a little over an inch thick, which ain't too shabby.

Stand/Mount

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While we applaud the stand for its inclusion of swivel (20 degrees for either side), it's otherwise unremarkable, sort of big and clunky (optimists feel free to read that as "reliable").

On-set Controls

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The on-set controls are located on the back, left-hand side of the TV. While left-handed people might laud that this control layout is clearly set up in their favor, I think we can all agree that not being able to clearly and easily see where the buttons are or what they do is a huge pain in the abductor.

Remote Control

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The remote control for this model is pretty simple. We like the inclusion of a quick menu button, which allows for obtuse shifts in the overall setting of the picture, sound, etc. More customization is available in the Home menu.

In the Box

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In the box you'll find: the display, stand, remote control (with batteries), manual (in software form), stand assembly guide, 8 screws, and warranty information.

Connectivity

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While it doesn't have nearly the dizzying array of input/output ports as some higher-end models, or even models in a similar price range, it has enough to accommodate the basic requirements of most users. Still, if you're in the market for an HDTV that will allow for superior connectivity flexibility (as in, the base for an integrated home theater set-up), we can't recommend this LG in that regard.

The first set of ports are located on the left-hand side of the TV, and judging from their placement are meant to be the more commonly used ports for most users. The side ports consist of 2 HDMI inputs (2 of 3 total) and a USB 2.0 port for photos only. One oddity here, and this may only apply to our model, is the way the HDMI inputs are aligned can make them somewhat hard to plug into: they are not exactly flush. But again, this hopefully is not a universal feature, though it is very possible that LG is at fault for a bit of bad craftsmanship.

The back ports are settled in a recessed area on the back left-hand side of the TV, near the on-set controls. They consist of an RF in (Cable/Antenna), a third HDMI input, an AV/Component video input, optical audio out, analog audio out, and an RGB (VGA) PC input. The ports are oriented vertically downward, which we have our qualms about. While this puts less strain on the cables over time, it also makes it fairly hard to see the ports and plug them in where you want to without flipping the whole TV upside down.

The 47LV4400 follows a now fairly standard port placement scheme of putting more commonly used ports on the side of the TV and putting the less commonly used ports in a recessed area on the back. While this may be purely subjective opinion, we don't like the vertical orientation of the back ports, regardless of how often they are used.

Performance

The LG 47LV4400 is an entry-level HDTV to be sure, but you're still paying a grand ($999). We, along with most consumers, are going to likely figure that even with its limited connectivity and lack of extra features like internet, music/video playback, etc., the one thing you'll be getting is a no-frills TV with good performance. But the votes are in, and unfortunately it appears that consumers are getting a no-frills TV with very serious color accuracy and color temperature issues. While this LG's overall gamut performance is not awful, it really loses value in the details. It suffers from serious luminance issues, missing the Rec. 709 standard white point, and in turn devastating its ability to produce smooth color curves. This kind of performance is extremely lamentable for a TV that doesn't offer much else in the first place.

Overall, this LG had sub-standard screen performance. Amongst its highlights were a slightly above average total viewing angle (63 degrees) and arguably marginal screen uniformity issues. It supports all the HD formats (1080p/720p/480p), but has problems with overscan in its native 16:9 aspect ratio. It could have done better in our motion and uniformity tests, but there wasn't anything that jumped out at us as awful. In this same vein, there's nothing just flat-out great about the 47LV4400's screen performance either. We wouldn't recommend buying it if really good screen performance is your bread and butter.

All in all, the 47LV4400's performance can be broken down into some simple points:

** **Unacceptable color performance*
** **Below-average screen performance*
** **Poor audio quality*
** **Mildly expensive power upkeep per year*

Contrast

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The LG 47LV4400 has a maximum contrast ratio of about 1158:1, which isn't amazing, but overall is definitely good enough. A deepest black of 0.31 cd/m² is what ultimately brought its contrast ratio down. Generally, we like to see a luminosity of 0.1 cd/m² or less, and 0.31 cd/m² just isn't very dark when compared to similarly priced televisions. The 47LV4400's contrast ratio was boosted into acceptable range by a peak brightness of 359 cd/m², which is really pretty bright. More on how we test contrast.

Color & Greyscale Curves

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These curves showed us that all of the 47LV4400's shadow details and hues lack definition, with mild success through mid-tones which in turn ramp up too quickly and strip the highlights of their detail as well. More on how we test color performance.

Color Temperature

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After numerous color temperature tests, we discovered that what initially appeared to be an equipment problem was, in fact, this TV's massive color temperature error. This kind of error is definitely visible, and we frankly find it hard to believe, but the proof is in the testing. More on how we test color temperature.

Color Gamut

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Despite its massive temperature problems, the 47LV4400 performed well against the rec. 709 gamut, with almost perfect green and blue and slightly oversaturated reds. But it completely missed the white point, which explains why it did so poorly on our color curves and color temperature tests. More on how we test color temperature.

Picture Dynamics

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Perfect screen dynamics are always applauded, but are also very rare. The 47LV4400 wasn't perfect; it did not exhibit a largely noticeable amount of local dimming, but overall maintained a consistency of 0.23-0.25 cd/m² during our tunnel contrast test, regardless of the amount of white or black on the screen. We tend to prefer consistency over wild jumps in contrast performance. Likewise, its brightness only diverged by a small amount during our white falloff test, maintaining at least 355 cd/m² during mostly black screens. What this means is that, regardless of content, your brights will stay bright and your darks will stay dark, without any sort of noticeable auto-dimming or false brightness (and here we all thought this was only important within the realm of washing machines). The 47LV4400 is vigilant, if anything. More on how we test picture dynamics.

Resolution & Formats

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The 47LV4400 is a native 1080p television, and thus it also supports 480p and 720p formats. It has a number of resolution modes, with the most consistent being Just Scan. During our resolution and formats overview, we found that its native aspect ratio (16:9) often resulted in at least a little bit of overscan, even in the 47LV4400's native range (1080p), and that regardless of format Just Scan was the best resolution choice.

Viewing Angle

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The 47LV4400 tested with a maximum viewing angle of about 63 degrees from center (31.5 in either direction). While this number falls short of the viewing angles provided by plasma televisions in a similar or even lesser price range, it's also bad for an LCD. All of our comparison televisions had superior viewing angles, if only by a small margin.

Motion Performance

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If we had to summarize the overall motion performance on the 47LV4400 in one word, it would be "average." Occasionally we test a TV and it has artifacts all over the place, or terrible motion tracking, or lots of unsightly jaggies; and on the contrary, sometimes TVs test with outstanding motion performance--they are smooth and maintain color and picture clarity throughout the test. The 47LV4400 was neither of these things. It had some pretty noticeable artifacts showing up while a complex picture moved across its screen, with shape trailing (as in, a square becomes more of a warped diamond as its upper right-hand corner leads and its lower left-hand corner lags behind) and color trailing. But these are difficult tests for most TVs, which is why we consider the LG 47LV4400 to have performed at an average (okay, less than average) level.

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Screen Uniformity

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We run screen uniformity tests to determine how consistent a screen is across its entire plane. If it is too bright, just right, too dim, or anything else, we want to see that it maintains its display properties--for better or worse--with consistency. The LG 47LV4400 had its ups and downs. From bright whites to (sort of) deep blacks, the center area of the screen was smooth and consistent (as is often the case). Where the 47LV4400 suffered (like many LED backlit televisions) was at its corners, particularly during a dark or black screen. The diodes that power the light and color will often flashlight through the corners of the screen, showing up as unwanted splotches of bright where a screen should be entirely dark. Despite this, the flashlighting was not extreme, and smoothly faded back into black, as well as only affecting the lower corners of the screen. We all want perfect screen uniformity, but compared to many LED LCD TVs, the 47LV4400 was average.

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Audio Quality

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This LG has two 10-watt speakers, the standard speaker set-up for the majority of HDTVs. Its audio quality did not meet our standards: it was flat, compressed, and lacked good dynamic range (i.e., two 10-watt speakers). Unlike many of today's HDTVs, the 47LV4400 does not have a built-in pseudo surround-sound mode. While these modes often range from acceptable to downright undetectable, we find it curious that LG did not include one at all. They did include sound modes; like video modes, sound modes are factory settings of treble and bass adjustment meant to optimize the sound for different scenarios. The sound modes are Standard, Music, Cinema, Game, and Sports, and they set the treble and bass to optimize the audio quality of the sounds or music heard in those different settings, as one might expect. We do like that users have the option to manually adjust treble and bass to their preferences, but it would be more appealing if the speakers were any good.

Power Consumption

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The 47LV4400 is not the most expensive LCD we've ever reviewed, but it could stand to be cheaper. Considering LG has, in the past, made higher-end TVs with internet features that cost annually less than this one, we're not sure what happened concerning this model's power consumption. Naturally, the annual cost of a TV is going to vary from user to user, but in our experience, a TV that costs less than $10/yr is quite inexpensive, and anything around or above $20/yr is overly expensive. The table below spells out this LG's power consumption.

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Calibration

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As usual, we had to calibrate this TV to get the most out of its contrast definition and color accuracy. A lot of today's HDTVs are pre-set to Vivid video mode; this tends to oversaturate and even blow out the upper ends of some colors entirely (usually blue). We assume this is so that the TV looks bright and flashy on a retail show floor, but unless the user lives in a retail department (and there's nothing wrong with that), this pre-set calibration is usually not the best set-up for a living room, home office, dorm room, etc. To achieve the best clarification and consistency by sRGB standards, we bumped the backlight up from 30 to 100, left Contrast at 90, knocked Sharpness from 50 down to 0, and adjusted Brightness and Color to 49 and 47, respectively.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

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The 47LV4400 has 5 video modes: Vivid, Standard, Cinema, Sport, and Game. The manual states that these modes are "preset for the optimum picture quality at the factory."

Software & Internet

Menu Interface

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The menu interface is simple and set up in a standard fashion. It is easy to navigate, and opens/closes with a push of the Home button, without any tedious backtracking through sub-menus.

The quick menu is by far the best (and perhaps only) extra feature on this TV. It's an easy way to make overarching adjustments to picture, sound, and brightness while taking up a minimal portion of the screen.

Other Interface Features

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Note: This isn't an interface feature, but we wanted to warn consumers.

When we initially picked up this TV, it had a problem. After about 20-30 minutes, it would reset itself. If you had tweaked the audio output, set it to Game or Sports mode, cranked the sharpness all the way up or down--it would reset, to Vivid factory settings. This is due to certain retailers setting up the TV for in-store viewing, what is called "In-store mode." Users therefore have to reset the initial settings and change the mode to "Home" mode to save their settings (this can be done from the Home menu, under Setup). We felt it necessary to point this out because, after a brief survey of LG's support forums, this has been a problem for users and they have not received an explanation--leastways, we couldn't find one anywhere and had to diagnose the problem ourselves. We even took the time to talk to an LG representative about the symptoms and what to do about it, to no avail.

Instruction Manual

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Included with the 47LV4400 is a software CD containing an expansive and handsomely-arranged PDF file detailing the set-up, maintenance, connectivity, and use of the various TVs in the xxLV4400 line-up.

Value Comparison

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You can get either the 47LV4400 or the 42LG5500 for about $1,000. If you had to choose one, we would without a doubt recommend the 42LG5500. It has much, much better color accuracy, more connectivity options, better motion performance, and a larger viewing angle. There is no reason to get the 47LV4400 for its bigger screen; you might get five more inches, but it's a poorly wrought victory at day's end.

Blacks & Whites

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These sister models from LG have, as one might expect, very similar black and white performance. Both the 47LV4400 and the 42LV5500 tested with a deepest black level of 0.3 cd/m2, which still isn't great, but they both make up for it with strong results in peak brightness. The 47LV4400 tested a peak brightness of 359 cd/m2, with the 42LV5500 trailing only slightly at 342.03 cd/m2. This results in maximum contrast ratios of 1158:1 and 1140:1, respectively. These two LGs are nearly indistinguishable from one another when considering contrast.

Color Accuracy

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The 47LV4400 featured some pretty terrible color accuracy, whereas the 42LV5500 has phenomenal color accuracy. There's not much else to say about it.

Screen Performance

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While both TVs support all NTSC formats, the 47LV4400 had some native overscan issues, and also has a smaller total viewing angle than the 42LV5500.

Both LG's had decent motion performance, but where the 47LV4400 only performed a little above average, the 42LV5500 passed our motion tests with flying colors.

Connectivity

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The 42LV5500 has a lot of connectivity options that the 47LV4400 doesn't have, including WiFi, a wireless control port, an RS232C port, and 4 HDMI ports. If you're buying for connectivity, the 47LV4400 is not the way to go.

Value Comparison

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The Samsung UN40EH5000 has a smaller screen than this LG, but is superior in every other way, and at less cost. For MSRP $679, you get a solid 40-inch television with great contrast, accurate colors, and a pretty nice viewing angle. For MSRP $999, the 47LV4400 delivers a 47-inch screen with average contrast, terrible color, and very limited connectivity.

Blacks & Whites

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The 47LV4400 delivers an average maximum contrast ratio of 1158:1, owing to its sub-par black level (0.31 cd/m2) and fairly high peak brightness (359 cd/m2). While you won't get as much brightness out of the Samsung UN40EH5000 at 272.8 cd/m2, there's no beating its black level of 0.05 cd/m2. This results in a maximum contrast ratio of 5456:1, which trumps the 47LV4400 by a long way.

Color Accuracy

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The Samsung UN40EH5000 has some pretty outstanding color accuracy, with smooth curves and a decent color temperature (though not perfect). But the problems it does have are beneath mention in the shadow of the 47LV4400, which had some of the worst color accuracy we've seen in a while.

Screen Performance

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Probably the biggest tell of screen performance results between these two TVs is their individual viewing angles, and this is yet another area where the Samsung came out the winner. The LG 47LV4400 has a total viewing angle of about 62 degrees versus the Samsung UN40EH5000's total viewing angle of 71 degrees. This is about the difference between 4 and 6 people being able to comfortably view a TV together.

Whereas the Samsung outperformed its more expensive counterpart, the UN40EH6000, and had great motion performance overall, the LG 47LV4400 had only average results during our motion tests, with some problems in color trailing and artifacting.

Connectivity

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The LG 47LV4400 has very, very limited connectivity options, featuring only a single composite AV input, the standard audio ports, no WiFi or internet, and amongst USB playback, it only plays picture files. Despite this, it still has a few more options than the even more limited UN40EH5000, which only has 2 HDMI inputs, and has less audio connectivity than the LG.

Value Comparison

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For MSRP $620, consumers can buy the VIZIO E470VLE; they get a no-frills TV with minimum connectivity, no true extra features like 3D or WiFi, and 47-inches of pretty good color performance. For MSRP $999, consumers can buy the LG 47LV4400; they get a no-frills TV with minimum connectivity, no true extra features like 3D or WiFi, and 47-inches of [expletive deleted].

Blacks & Whites

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These two TVs have comparable maximum contrast ratios, both a little over 1000:1. Nothing mind blowing, but it works. The LG is just slightly darker, whereas the VIZIO is just slightly brighter. It's not enough to make much difference during viewing.

Color Accuracy

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The VIZIO E470VLE wasn't mind-blowing in terms of its color accuracy, but it did much much better during our color tests than the LG 47LV4400, despite testing it three times.

Screen Performance

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Neither television has an amazing total viewing angle, but the VIZIO's 70 degrees is a little better than the LG's 63. The VIZIO also does a better job of diffusing unwanted ambient light patterns.

For an entry-level television, the VIZIO's motion performance rivaled that of the more expensive LG 47LV4400, but neither TV was perfect. Still, for their price and color accuracy differences, the VIZIO offers consumers a lot more value, even by way of having just average motion performance.

Connectivity

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Both the VIZIO and the LG have very limited connectivity options; the only thing is, you expect it more from the VIZIO, as it's marketed to be a low-end, entry-level, bare minimum sort of television. The LG is about $400 more expensive, and considering its simplicity and terrible color scores, we feel it should at least offer a little more in terms of connectivity to justify its price tag.

Conclusion

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We went into our testing of the LG 47LV4400 with high hopes for the LV4400 series. LG have their ups and downs, but for the most part are a reliable manufacturer who make quality televisions. Where some users might find the limited connectivity and bare bones features of the LV4400 series to be a drawback, we definitely understand the appeal of a TV that does what it needs to in terms of simple set-up and maintenance, has easy to navigate menus, and--most importantly--delivers good picture performance. For around $1000, getting a 47-inch HDTV that looks and works in a quality fashion, without any frills or (gasp) gimmicks, is a very good deal. The problem is that the 47LV4400 just falls short of acceptable within the realm of picture quality.

While it's not a bad looking TV, and for what its meant to be has a fine contrast ratio and customization options, the problems with color temperature were so bad that we hoped we had a faulty unit. Be it cable broadcasts, your favorite DVD, or the sprawling tundra of Skyrim, it simply isn't going to look right on this television. While it did fine in motion performance tests and would look great in black and white, nothing that relies on color accuracy of any kind is going to look good on this TV. Considering how minimal this LG's options are, it's clear that the majority of your $999 MSRP has been determined by assumed picture quality and screen size.

The bottom line is, you can get a VIZIO of the same size for $350 less that gives you the same amount of options on top of good color accuracy, so why would any consumer pay $999 for the 47LV4400? The answer, of course, should be superior color accuracy, but that was not the case. Almost no TV is completely a lost cause; maybe the connectivity sucks or the picture's not great, but most TVs have pros and cons that (at least with an optimistic mind) can be balanced out. Unfortunately, the LG 47LV4400's color accuracy is just too terrible to ignore, and we can't recommend that anyone invest in this TV, no matter your motivations.

Model Series Comparison

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The xxLV4400 series has 42, 47, and 55-inch diagonal screen sizes. The series is lauded as an entry-level look at LGs products, and features three HDMI inputs and a single USB input with only photo playback. There are no smart TV or internet features, and none of these LCDs has 3D capability.

Photo Gallery

{{photo_gallery "Design Landing Page Photo", "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "3D Landing Page Photo", "3D Menu Photo", "3D Glasses Photo", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Software and Internet Landing Page Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Instruction Manual Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo", "Browser 1 Photo", "Browser 2 Photo", "Browser 3 Photo", "Apps 1 Photo", "Apps 2 Photo", "Apps 3 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

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