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333 of 342 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent overall TV Jun 01, 2011
By Fred T. Belcher Jr.
The set up is fairly easy although I found the manual to be lacking in more detail, especially concerning a better explanation of some of the features.
The HD picture is just AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL. I did increase the "Sharpness" from 70 to about 90, but otherwise, left it on 'AUTO'. I thought the screen might be a little too big for my computer but I was totally wrong....it is just great! I do not have a HDMI connector for the PC, only the RGB, but it is still just outstanding. Hook-up was a matter of just connecting the plugs.
The sound is better than good, but not great. (Below, you will see how I was able to improve it)
I was going to give it 4 stars because the non-HD channels are just good, and acceptable; but, the more I look at it, I realize it is actually pretty good. So, it warrants 5 stars.
I have seen a number of HDTVs, especially in showrooms, and this one seems to be better than those. It truly has an amazing picture with HD and I am very pleased with the purchase.
UPDATE 07/09/2011: After tinkering with the set for a month or so, I have been able to improve the sound considerably.....and it was pretty good to start with. A few tips: Press "Menu", then "Audio". I then left the "Auto Sound" on "On". Next, I have the "Clear Voice II" turned "On". MOST IMPORTANTLY, I use the "MUSIC" mode..this produces a much more dynamic sound! I use it with Treble of 67 and Bass of 92.
UPDATE 02/05/2012: Hi...I just saw the 8 comments that were left concerning my review and I will comment on a few of them. Keep in mind, if you choose "INTELLIGENT SENSOR" for your Picture Mode, you do not have the options to adjust the picture. With this mode, you get a really nice picture without having to mess with any controls. I have erased what I had previously written on getting the best from the Video controls, and after I respond to the comments, I will share with you what I have now come up with for the BEST picture I have gotten so far:
1. Concerning reducing the SHARPNESS to 0, I tried this, and all I can say is, to each their own. Personally, I pefer using the higher numbers and I did adjust the 90 back to 85. And, the commenter was right, it does look softer, but again, to each their own.
2. On using or not using DYNAMIC CONTRAST, I toyed with going from HIGH (which is what I use) to OFF (which was recommended) for about 5 minutes.....switching back and forth, back and forth. Again, I have to stick with having it on HIGH....the OFF was better than LOW or MEDIUM, but compared to HIGH, it seemed softer and a bit darker. But, again, to each their own and I appreciate the comments and the imput....thank you.
Okay, this is what I have now done with the Video controls and the picture is AWESOME!...smiling, well, to me anyway.
1. Click on "Menu"
2. Select "Picture" and hit Enter
3. I leave the "Ratio" at 16:9
4. Scroll down to "Picture Mode"...Enter
5. Choose "Vivid (User)"...Enter
6. Contrast: 100 (all the way thru, you can toy with it & see works for you)
7. Brightness: 85
8. Sharpness: 85
9. Color: 85
10.Tint: I leave it in the middle
11.Color Temperature: I leave it in the middle
12."ADVANCE CONTROL"....hit Enter
13.Dynamic Contrast: High
14.Dynamic Color: High
15.Clear White: Low
16.Skin Color: 3
17.Noise Reduction: High
18.Digital Noise Reduction: High
19.Gammma: Medium
20.Black Level: High
21.Then hit the "down" arrow on your remote and you will see "Color Gamut": Wide
Then, "Exit" button on your remote.
Actually, as I said, the "Intelligent Sensor" is a really nice picture, but for me, this kicks it up a few notches. Enjoy, either way!
214 of 223 found the following review helpful:
Great TV For The Money May 19, 2011
By Moviegeek
I must preface my review by saying I didn't buy the LG 450 online, I bought it at a big box store because they had a better price:
I wanted an inexpensive TV for the bedroom and the LG 450 is a good choice, the picture quality is very good for it's price. I didn't need 120Hz so I saved $150 by buying the 60Hz model. The LG 450 has Expert ISF Settings so you can have it professionally calibrated or do it yourself, it has a built-in blue filter and calibration wizard. The ATSC tuner is very powerful because I get all the local stations OTA with an indoor antenna. This model is not internet enabled so you need a set top box to get Netflix, etc. As with all TV's the sound isn't great but it does have bass and treble controls. The USB port supports: JPG, MP3, MPG, MP4. The manual states other video formats are supported but they wouldn't work on my TV.
Inputs:
HDMI(3)
VGA(1)
USB(1)
Component(2)
Composite(2)
Outputs:
3.5mm headphone
Toslink optical
I recommend these basic settings(YMMV):
1. Turn off Dynamic Contrast.
2. Turn off Auto Energy Saving.
3. Turn on Real Cinema, if your Blu-ray player supports 24p then turn that on as well.
4. Select Just Scan.
5. In Sound Modes select Music or Cinema.
123 of 127 found the following review helpful:
A pleasant surprise May 27, 2011
By Danny
I honestly didn't know what to expect. I bought this TV on sale at Best Buy for 100 dollars off. I was in the market for a new TV, actually my first TV purchase.
After a week of use, I am very very pleased with my purchase.
The picture quality is fantastic. Every aspect of the picture can be customized- how warm the picture is, brightness, gamma exposure, etc. Let me say, out of the box the picture was great, this options are more for if you are very particular.
The sound quality is adequate. Not the absolute best, but it is a very solid TV. My dad's bravia's sound quality is a lot worse so I am thankful that this setup is good.
As far as features are concerned- it has all of the standards (sleep timer, auto-on/off, etc). It is missing picture-in-picture but this seems almost irrelevant for the size of the TV. I am throughly impressed with the number of inputs and outputs on this TV. 3 HDMI ports, 2 regular RCA (red, white, yellow) inputs, and the PC cord. The PC cord input even has a headphone audio input! This makes using my long cord very easy and converter free.
As a note, I use the TV with my PS3 and PC, and both look and sound fantastic.
I am very pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone.
69 of 71 found the following review helpful:
Awesome low end TV Jun 10, 2011
By Tan
I've been watching HD TV and movies from the LCD monitor on my computer for the last few years because I vowed I would not spend more than $500 for a boob tube, but now I've finally found something that I would be happy with for $499. This LG is a very basic, no-frills TV, but it's all that I need in a TV. The features are very base level and the specs on the contrast may make it seem like it has a phenomenal picture but it's really just average for this price range, which is to say that it's perfectly adequate. It's basically what you would expect from an IPS panel. You can move around the room and the image is perfectly viewable no matter where you sit. The backlight is adequate and turned all the way up is not glaring.
One of the first things you'll notice is that the power "button" is not a button, but a touch-sensitive area that requires no effort to turn on. That's nice because the TV is so light that pressing a conventional button on this TV would probably move it around a tiny bit. The TV takes a few seconds before you see an image but that's quite tolerable. Changing channels is about as fast as other recent TVs but definitely slower than a computer with a USB tuner. That's perfectly fine for me since I don't intend to channel surf with this TV.
It's nice that the unit offers a calibration wizard but I did not like how the recommended contrast setting made darker images lose detail. I ended up turning the contrast almost all the way up. There's really not much to say about the image quality. It's perfectly decent and I didn't find any noticeable flaws. So far I've mostly used it to play Lego Batman and there is no image lag that I've read about in other TVs. One thing I've noticed is that with computer to HDMI connections, the default is overscan mode so you have to adjust your video settings to decrease the image size to fit entirely within the TV screen. Once you do the image looks great. There is also VGA port, but that it does not handle full HD resolution.
There are two menu systems, a quick menu and a more comprehensive menu that gives you all of the controls that you would ever need. That's thoughtful of LG as I've always disliked having to delve deeply into a menu system to do something as simple as deleting an unwanted channel. It still takes a minimum of three presses though. It would be nice if they had provided a button just for that on the remote.
Like many TVs at this price point, it only provides optical audio out which is ironic since most buyers of cheaper TVs don't have stereo systems that have optical in. Fortunately, there is at least a headphone port that can be used to connect to computer speakers or even a stereo receiver. This is important because the performance of the built-in speakers are not proportional to the size of the screen. At 42" this is a decent size for a small home theater yet the speakers cannot provide that experience. That's OK--I didn't expect it to and I've got external speakers to take over.
Although they skimped on the audio out, they covered the video inputs well. There are component as well as composite inputs as well as three HDMI ports. And there is a conventional USB port instead of the more limited memory card reader. I played a couple videos through USB and it handled the job flawlessly. I was very pleased to find that it kept track of where you stopped a video last time you watched it. It's little things like that that make this TV stand out from cheaper ones.
I did a ton of shopping to find something with a good picture that doesn't break the bank. Many new TVs sold now are much more expensive and have a lot of buzzword features which this unit does not have. This unit is basically a brand new TV with last year's features. I'm fine with that as long as I get a bigger screen for the money.
45 of 46 found the following review helpful:
 Average 1080p LCD, dead pixels on our first set Aug 05, 2011
By M
The brown plastic strip across the bottom looks like a sticker and we feel that it actually makes the TV look cheaper than it is. Solid piano black would have a cleaner look. -1 star on "curb appeal".
The first set we received came with a dead pixel in the center but the second one is good so far. -1 star on having to replace first unit.
Other than that, this is our third HDTV and the details are what you'd expect from 1080p. Side by side with the Samsung equivalent (both tv's set to default settings) the colors are noticibly less vivid. Even when toying with the settings, it just doesn't have the same WOW factor. For almost $100 cheaper (listed $379 at time of review), ~25% at this price point, worth the minor sacrifice.
All in all, happy with the purchase and would buy LG again as long as they continue to price lower than the competition.
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