LG LD520 Series 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Review

LG’s LD520 series of LCD HDTV delivers all the life-like detail of Full HD (1080p) to the living room. Action movies and sports broadcasts look far sharper with the included TruMotion 120Hz blur reduction for clearer motion. The LD520 LCD display has a high 100,000 dynamic contrast ratio for an impressive picture and deeper blacks. LG’s Picture Wizard II screen calibration system makes it easy to ensure the HDTV is calibrated for the best result possible. Also, improving the picture quality is an automatic room light sensor to optimize screen brightness for the room. The LG LD520 series has a high-gloss black bezel and come in four display sizes; the 55 inch 55LD520, 47 inch 47LD520, 42 inch 42LD520 and 32 inch 32LD520.

LG LD520 1080P LCD HDTV

120 Hz Refresh Rate and 2.4 ms Response Time

For minimizing motion blurring the LD520 models have a 120Hz (doubled) refresh rate. A higher refresh rate smooths out fast moving on-screen motion and combats any smearing or blurring of fast moving picture elements as common to sports broadcasts and games. For clear action images without motion blurring an LCD display needs a fast response time (minimal latency) which for the LG LD520 is a comparatively fast 2.4 ms. Response time especially important for motion-intensive applications such as gaming. Plasma HDTVs still have a fastest response time to the order of a thousand times faster.

LG’s 24p Real Cinema

If the attached video source, such as a Blu-ray Disc player, is 24p output capable, then with the LD520 it is possible to watch movies at the 24 fps they were shot at (5:5/2:2 Pulldown). If video deriving from film is not viewed at 24p (3:2 pulldown), inserted frames can cause some lack of smoothness (judder). To gain a good understanding of movie playback options read or technical guide comparing 24p and 3:2 playback.

LG Intelligent Sensor

Ambient light can have a significantly adverse affect on even the most high performing display and conversely having the display too bright can waste power. To optimize screen brightness for the best viewing and the least power automatically the LG LD520 series has an intelligent light sensor. Without any input from the viewer, the LG HDTV automatically optimizes not only the brightness but contrast, color, sharpness and white balance. LG claim that the Intelligent Sensor can deliver power consumption reductions of up to 50 percent.

My Media Multimedia Playback

For multimedia playback the LG LD520 has My Media which can be accessed via the control menu or simply by inserting a USB drive. The media type (movie list, photo list and music list) is selected first then the device to open files from.

MyPhoto List

Files are navigated onscreen and JPEG images can be viewed as a slideshow with background music if desired. The LD520 will handle a wide range of video file types including .asf, .wmv, .divx, .avi, .mp4, .mkv, .ts, .trp, .tp, .mpg as well as a suitably wide range of associated codecs.

Picture Controls

LG have provided both simplified picture controls tailored for commonly encountered video content as well as advanced picture controls allowing those confident or experienced enough to adjust some of the advanced video features.

Picture Modes for quick factory preset picture optimization settings include; Standard (general use), Vivid (strengthens contrast, brightness, color and sharpness), Cinema (movies), Sport, Game (faster response) and User (manual video quality settings).

Picture Improvement Technology (or advanced controls) allow adjustment of some advanced video features such as.

Dynamic Contrast: contrast adjusted according to screen brightness.
Dynamic Color: enhances hue, saturation and luminance so that red, blue and green white look more vivid.
Skin Color: detects skin area of video and adjusts it to express a natural skin color.
Noise Reduction: reduces video noise.
Digital Noise Reduction: removes video compression noise.
Gamma: to adjust the brightness of dark areas and middle gray level areas of the picture.
Black Level: sets black level.
Clear White: for whiter, brighter white areas.
Eye Care: dims extremely bright pictures.
Color Gamut: maximizes the utilization of colors to increase color quality.
Edge Enhancer: for clearer, distinct edges that look natural.
x.v.YCC: for richer colors from x.vYCC compatible sources.
Color Filter: use the RGB filter to set color saturation and hue accurately.
Color Temperature: adjusts the overall color the screen by changing the white baseline.

ISFccc Ready

The LG LD520 series has ISFccc (Imaging Science Foundation Certified Calibration Configuration) calibration options which allow professional calibration technicians to store their settings as ISF Day and ISF Night modes. Read our ISFccc technology guide for more detailed information.

Picture Wizard II

Picture Wizard II is an interesting new LG technology enabling easier owner calibration using on-screen reference points for key picture quality elements such as black level, color, tint, sharpness and backlight levels. It’s a technique common to calibration DVDs.

LG LD520 as a PC Monitor

At the rear of the LD520 is a 15-pin D-Sub (RGB) input that allows you to use it as a high-resolution computer monitor. Any HDMI input can also be used with a computer. The TV can be set to automatically adjust to the video signals received, or you can use the setup menu to adjust the screen’s Position, Size, and Phase. The LG LD520 comes with Just Scan which is a 1:1 pixel matching facility for removing overscan. For other monitor use factors that need to be considered read our technical guide on using a HDTV as a PC monitor.

LG LD520 Audio Features

The LG invisible speaker system is an unusual arrangement of speakers embedded in strategic spots behind the front-cabinet using minute vibrations to turn the entire front bezel into a large speaker. The result is a clean, polished look, and enhanced audio by increasing the “sweet-spot”, giving a wider and richer sound field. The speaker is capable of producing virtual 5.1 surround sound using sound processing technology which LG calls Infinite Sound. As with picture controls, there are quick factory present options for different video content including; Standard, Music, Cinema, Sport, and Game and there is also a User Mode for manual adjustment of Bass and Treble. A feature we like with the LG HDTVs is Clear Voice II which enhances and amplifies the frequency range of the human voice for clearer dialogue against background noise. To smooth the volume jumps during commercials there is the very handy Auto Volume feature.

Connectivity

Side Inputs and Outputs

AV In 1 (w/gender)
HDMI/HDCP Input (V.1.3 w/Deep Color) 1
USB 2.0 (JPEG/MPEG-4/DivX HD) 2
Headphone Out 1

Rear Inputs and Outputs

RF In (Antenna/Cable) 1
AV In 1
Component Video In (Y, Pb, Pr) + Audio 1
Digital Audio Out (Optical) 1
HDMI/HDCP Input (V.1.3 w/Deep Color) 2
RGB In (D-Sub 15pin) – PC 1
PC Audio Input 1
LAN 1
RS-232c In (Service Only) 1

The LD520 models come with built-in ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM tuners.

LG’s SIMPLINK technology allows other HDMI connected LG AV devices to be controlled from the one remote.

LG’s LD520 Review Summary

LG’s LD520 LCD HDTV series is a solid performer as backed by user reviews from online retailers such as Amazon which are overwhelmingly positive with star ratings close to 5/5. It’s also a very popular series appearing high in the Amazon BestSelling HDTV list. Along with the lifelike detail of Full HD top features are the Trumotion 120Hz, Intelligent Sensor and excellent picture controls including the Picture Wizard II screen calibration system makes it easy to ensure the HDTV is calibrated for the best result possible.