LG is the most recent company to really emerge as a major player in the world of consumer electronics. Although the company used to market televisions under the GoldStar brand, only in the last five years or so has LG come to be seen as a truly serious competitor to the likes of Sony and Panasonic.
LG’s recent history largely mirrors that of Samsung. The perception of these South Korea-based manufacturers’ product quality has steadily increased to the point at which, now, even many connoisseurs are starting to wonder aloud whether they haven’t caught up to or, in some cases, even surpassed their longer-established Japanese competitors. The gains in quality made by LG in recent years are made even more impressive by their reasonable prices.
When it comes to LCD TVs, LG’s signature, in addition to great overall quality and value, is thinness. LG offers some of the slimmest LCD TVs in every class.
LHX Series
The LHX model, which is currently available at 55 inches, is LG’s high-end LCD unit, with a 240Hz refresh rate, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and a wireless HD media box. The LHX has the additional advantage of being thinner than any competing model. The LHX also has a full LED backlight array, as opposed to the edge lighting employed by other thin LCDs. This allows for superior contrast under different ambient light conditions.
The LHX outputs in full 1080p high definition, with 4 HDMI inputs, and a suite of self-calibration features which are intended to simplify the sometimes painstaking process of calibrating your picture and sound.
LH90 Series
The LH90 is the next model down from the LHX in LG’s LCD television stable. The LH90 has almost all the same features as the LHX. The difference is that the LH90 isn’t quite as slim, and doesn’t have the wireless media box. However, the LH90 retails for considerably less than the LHX. So, if you like the basic features offered by the LHX, but aren’t sure about splashing quite the same amount of money on an LCD TV, the LH90 is a great bet. Also, the LH90 comes in 55-inch, 47-inch, and 42-inch varieties.
SL80 Series
The SL80 is a further step down in price, but it still has some of those top-of-the-line features. These include full 1080p, a 240Hz refresh rate, and many of the same extras offered by LG’s higher-end models like self-calibration, enhanced sound features that make the sound of the human voice come through more clearly amid background sounds, and ambient light adjustment. The SL80 has a 150,000:1 contrast ratio, and is available in 47-inch and 42-inch iterations.