LG Infinia LV5500 Series 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV with Smart TV Review

The LG INFINIA LV5500 series LED backlit LCD Full HD (1080p) SmartTV has TruMotion 120Hz, DLNA and WiFi connectivity (adaptor included) along with energy savings features. The series covers the mid range sizes and includes three models; the 42 inch 42LV5500, 47 inch 47LV5500 and the 55 inch 55LV5500. Even without dimming the LV5500 models deliver an excellent dynamic contrast ratio of 5 million:1 which supports the excellent picture quality. The feature most shoppers will be looking for is described by LG as SmartTV. Using a simple interface with a wand style remote, users can access near limitless content including movies, customizable apps, videos and the Web.

LG Infinia LV5500 Series 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV with Smart TV

LV5500 120 Hz Refresh Rate

To minimize of any motion blurring, to which LCD displays are inherently susceptible, the LV5500 series has double the normal refresh rate (120 Hz). 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. The video processor is powerful enough to interpolate 60 extra frames between the original 60 to deliver a 120Hz frame rate. Higher frame rates are available from LG but, unless one is wanting to watch 3D or intolerant of any smear in action scenes or sports then the 120 Hz refresh rate is going to be more than acceptable.

LED Backlighting

LG’s LV5500 models have LED backlighting which makes the very slim profile possible and delivers improved brightness, clarity and color detail and greater energy efficiency compared to the rapidly disappearing fluorescent backlighting system of conventional LCD TVs.

The Entertainment Hub

Current HDTV shoppers are rightly looking for a HDTV which can act as an entertainment hub which includes Internet connectivity. The LV5500 has an Ethernet port but, more importantly comes with a USB WiFi adapter so you don’t have to run cables. The entertainment hub is operated from a central, easy to use interface. The new style Magic Motion remote has only five buttons as you make your selections by pointing it at the correct button on the screen – it’s just like using a Wii controller. While a keyboard is not required, a QWERTY keyboard app is available for download to iPhones or Android based smartphones.

LG Infinia LV5500 Series Smart TV Interface

Like other HDTV manufacturers, LG is steadily building the entertainment portal with current providers including:

VUDU – buy or rent from a catalog of more than 2,000 high-definition movies and TV titles (offers movies in 1080p)
Netflix – stream thousands of movies without a PC
YouTube – streams Web videos directly from the Internet
CinemaNow – stream purchased or rented movies and popular TV showsBrowse from CinemaNow
Hulu Plus – Subscription access to back seasons or full runs of some of TV’s greatest shows
Amazon Video on Demand – View more than 75,000 hit movies and television shows instantly
Live Streaming Sports (multiple providers) – stream professional sport in HD quality
LG App Store – download from hundreds of available applications

With LG’s Smart Share function content can be streamed wirelessly from a PC or other compatible device for viewing on the larger HDTV screen. Smart Share also includes Media Link, which adds useful additional information, such as cover art or liner notes, for content being streamed.

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) provides consumers with easy sharing of digital media through a wired or wireless network in the home. Sharing is possible with DLNA compliant consumer electronics as well as PCs running DLNA server software.

As with all LG SmartTV models, the LV5500 supports multi-media playback from a connected USB device including photos (JPEG), music (MP3) and video (DivX HD).

24p Real Cinema

If you have a 24p output capable device, such as a Blu-ray Disc player, you can watch films on a LV5500 HDTV 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 and reflections from the viewing environment have an affect (sometimes severe) on picture quality. As well as having a matte finish display to minimize reflections, the LG LV5500 models have an intelligent light sensor automatically optimizes not only brightness but other picture quality elements including contrast, color, sharpness and white balance. LG claim that the Intelligent Sensor can deliver power consumption reductions of up to 50 percent. All LED LCD HDTVs of LG’s 2011 range qualify for ENERGY STAR certification.

ISFccc Ready

LG LV5500 models have ISFccc (Imaging Science Foundation Certified Calibration Configuration) calibration options which allow professional calibration technicians to store their optimized viewing settings as ISF Day and ISF Night modes. Read our ISFccc technology guide for more detailed information.

Expert Picture Controls

The LV5500 has a wide range of expert picture controls including Dynamic Contrast, Dynamic Color, Skin Color, Noise Reduction, Digital Noise Reduction (caused by compressing video), Gamma, Black Level, Clear White (brightens white areas of screen), Eye Care (dims extremely bright pictures), Real Cinema or Film Mode (for eliminating judder effect in movies), Edge Enhancer, xvYCC (for richer colors) and Expert Pattern (built-in expert pattern for expert calibration).

Picture Wizard II Simple Calibration

Picture Wizard enables consumers to follow a simple seven-step calibration process (similar to that of a calibration DVD) to achieve optimized calibration settings without the expense of hiring a HDTV calibration expert. The process covers key picture quality elements such as black level, color, tint, sharpness and backlight levels. For one touch optimization of picture and sound settings to the type of content being played AV Mode II has three presets: Cinema, Sports or Game content.

LV5500 as a PC Monitor

Those considering using the LG LV5500 as a PC monitor should note that the HDTV 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.

Sound

LG’s LV5500 models have twin 10W speakers and can produce a virtual surround sound experience thanks to the included Infinite Surround technology. Speaker performance is enhanced though what LG call an invisible speaker system where speakers are strategically placed behind the front cabinet and use minute vibrations to turn the entire front bezel into the speaker system. The result is an increased increasing sweet spot giving a wider and richer sound field. The included Clear Voice II technology automatically enhances dialogue when rising background sounds (eg. action films) threatens to overwhelm clarity.