LG 32LE5300

The specification is identical on all five models.  They are all full HD, so they come with 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolution.  They are also edge LED technology, so they are extremely slim panels.  Because you have got light just running round the edge of the panel illuminating the screen, you get a much slimmer panel.  So you are looking at a panel here which is only 3cm in depth.  But also, with them being edge-LED, any LED product gives you an extremely bright picture but a very good overall contrast level.  You have got a contrast ratio on this series of 3 million to 1, giving you a really good black level.  Because the black level is so good, you achieve a really good natural colour palette, great depth of field, and good detail in the darker areas of the screen as well.

It is also 100Hz scanning.  Now, if you just take a normal TV which scans at 50Hz, meaning there are fifty pictures per second making up your image, this particular range are 100Hz - so you have got 100 pictures a second make up an image for you.  So it is going to control any fast movement really well - whether you are watching sports, or any fast action in a movie.  So 100Hz scanning so there is going to be no delay or drag in the image.

As I said before, extremely slim panels - only 3cm in depth.  You have got an array of sockets on the rear of this TV, which we will have a look at now.  So we have three HDMI sockets to the rear of the TV.  There is also an optical output here, so if you want to feed the sound externally from this TV through an amplifier you can do so via the optical socket.  You have also got the PC input here which is the VGA socket.  Next to that you have got the composite video socket, which is the yellow, red and white.  A lot of games consoles like Wii consoles use that socket so you have got a socket on there as well.  Next to that you have just got one scart - but to be quite honest with you that is all you need now; the scart socket tends to be drifting out.  If you buy a modern DVD player, Sky HD Box, Virgin HD Box, they are all using HDMI now, not scart. But you have still got one scart on there.

You have then got the coaxial input for your aerial.  Down the side you have got a USB input, so if you want to plug your memory stick into it you can do so.  You have also got another HDMI, making four HDMI inputs in total.

There is a headphone socket just here as well.  You have also got next to that Component.  Now, because this panel is so slim, Component would normally be a separate red/green/blue socket, similar to the yellow, red and white one here.  What you get with this is basically this adapter lead, which is the red/green/blue connection that plugs in through this 3.5 mini jack.  That just plugs into the side of the TV there, and then if you have got maybe Xbox or any DVD, or whatever it may be, that uses Component, you plug it into this adapter lead and that just adapts the TV for Component use as well.

So let’s have a look at some of the menu systems then on this TV.  On the LG remote control you have a button here that says “Menu”.  You press the Menu button - quite a good Menu system on the LG.  You have got the different boxes on here.  If you want to adjust anything in the Picture Menu, you have got Up, Down, Right and Left on the keypad here, and OK in the centre.  We just click over to the right and illuminate the picture box; press OK, and it puts us into the different Picture Settings on the TV. 

What we have got, then, is basically, first of all you have got things like Picture Wizard which helps you to set up the picture itself.  But you have got a full manual override on those facilities as well. 

If we just come out of that just for a second, we can come down to any of the adjustments on here.  First of all we have got Standard which is ticked there at the moment.  You have also got different options in there for Cinema, Sport, Game. Then you have got the Expert Settings on there as well. 

As we click through those different settings, you can probably see the different options changing onscreen.  And if we come out of that back up to the Picture Wizard Settings as well, in the Picture Wizard Settings it takes you through various different aspects.  It is difficult to demonstrate this on the camera itself.  It will give you three boxes on here, on which you will see Low, Recommended or High.

Now I can see from this here that this is just a black box - on this box in the centre it is grey round the edges with a darker black box in the centre.  And then you have got one, two, three different grey scale adjustments here - grey, a darker grey, and then to black.  It recommends that we should have this one, which is grey, with black in this box up here.

Now, when you adjust the setting on here, it will adjust this box at the top of the screen.  You can probably see that adjusting there.  But it is difficult to demonstrate this on the camera because you have to be fairly close to this to set this up.  But you alter that image until it matches with the image in the centre.  Once you have done that, you would press OK on the remote control and it takes you through other settings where you need to set the centre box up to this setting up here - and yet again you would alter the setting onscreen to try to get that looking like the top box up here as well.  You make the adjustments, then when you think you have got it correct, you just click on through.  And it takes you through the various different settings.

However, as we were just saying, you have got full manual override on that.  So you can adjust those settings to how you want the picture to be.  So you can go into the backlight; and just by pressing Up or Down on the remote control you can alter the backlight settings.  You can probably see the bar changing here.  As you go through there you have got the Contrast - and you just tweak the picture up to however you want it to look.  So we can alter the Contrast, we can bring that down.  And you can take that through the Brightness settings and the Sharpness, and the Colour - these various different options that you can adjust.

If we come out of that Menu for a moment, and just come out of there again, and go back to the Menu, you have got some Expert adjustments on here as well.  And when you access those, you have got what we call a full ISF calibration mode.  If we come down from there, come out of Vivid, and come down to these other settings - you can see the Contrast and Brightness changing as we click through. 

If we go into the Expert mode on there and click that, we have got the usual backlight, contrast and brightness adjustments.  As we come down this scale, you have got things like Horizontal Sharpness or Vertical Sharpness.  As we come further down there you have got the Expert Control Adjustments where then we have got a whole raft of different adjustments you can make to the image.  If we scroll down those, you have got things like Dynamic Contrast, Noise Reduction Systems.

If we come further down there you have got individual adjustments for things like the Red Contrast, Green Contrast, Blue Contrast.  You have also got separate adjustments for the brightness levels for the red adjustments, green brightness, blue brightness; and then all the individual colours, for red tint, green colour… There is a whole raft of adjustments you can make to this image to tweak it up to exactly how you want it.

I have not come across a TV with this many adjustments that you can make.  So if you really want to play around with the settings, you can do so.  There is also a Reset mode, so if you get completely lost in it you can always go back to the reset adjustment as well, which will set it back to the manufacturer’s reset for you as well. 

If we just come out of that just for a second, go back into the Picture Settings, back into the Expert mode, and then if we drift up from there, as I said, we have got all these preset modes such as Games, Sports, Cinema, Standard and Vivid which are all set by the manufacturer to varying different contrast and brightness levels.  So just access any of those and they are preset for you.

As well as the picture adjustments, if we just click over to the left, you have also got adjustments for the sound on the TV.  If we just click down to the Speaker setting here and click over.  You have got adjustments then for things like Clear Voice - which if you are watching a movie and there is lots of background noise on there, if you access the Clear Voice menu you can bring out the vocals better.  You have also got adjustments then on the sound for treble and base.  And you have also got, if you go into Sound Mode, which is standard there, you have also got various different presets for Music, Cinema, Sport and Game mode, depending on what you are using the TV for.

So you have got a TV range here which are full HD, they are LED edge-lit so they give you extremely slim panels; 100Hz scanning so they are going to cope with extreme fast movement well.

What I would say, if you would like more details please give me a call - my name is Chris - on 01204 861 861.  If you go through to our website, which is www.soundandvision.co.uk, you will find video demonstrations not just on this LG range but on many other TVs as well as speakers and amplifiers as well. 

If you call into one of our stores, either in Bolton or Leeds, you will find the TVs on demonstration there.  If you are watching this on some video link, there may be a link at the side of the screen that you can click through that will also take us through to our website.

So please call into the store or give me a ring - as I said, my name is Chris - on 01204 861 861.

Thank you.