LG 55LE5400 Reviews

I received a defective LG 55LE5400, had tremendous difficulty exchanging.
by Peter Rodick , 2010-07-25

I echo many of the pros that other reviewers have posted: Crisp picture, vibrant colors, nice apps and feature set. However, there is marked "cloudiness" around the edges of the screen, most noticeable on dark scenes (like closing credits). I thought it was a defect, so I returned my first unit and had TREMENDOUS difficulty exchanging (outlined below). However, the replacement has the same "cloudy", almost edge-lit look (but this is a backlit TV). Maybe I just got two bad units? LG claims I should not see anything like that on screen. In any case, I can't help but cringe anytime I see it, so now i must return this one as well. I guess I'll try Samsung this time around.

There's certainly savings to be had via Amazon; however, I would urge caution when making a big-ticket purchase such as this. I was a little wary of purchasing a TV online on account of the hassle of freight delivery schedules and the potential for added hassle returning the item if it wasn't to my liking. However, the local brick-and-mortar big box store priced this unit a couple hundred dollars higher, so I rolled the dice with Amazon. I lost. And all my worst suspicions were confirmed. Amazon initially sent me a defective unit ("cloudiness" in the upper corner of the screen). They promptly arranged an exchange of the item at no cost to me. The first delivery was through Pilot. No problems. The exchange was through CEVA logistics (whom I understand handle most of their freight deliveries). The exchange was a nightmare, and Amazon was unable to help.

First, the new unit sat in the CEVA warehouse until a week past the estimated delivery date. When I called Amazon, they called CEVA and informed me that CEVA would be unable to deliver it for yet another week. To Amazon's credit, they acknowledged that this was unacceptable and refunded a portion of the purchase price for my trouble. However, my trouble did not end there. CEVA neglected to schedule a delivery time for the date I was promised. When I called them, they said the earliest they could come wasn't for 4 more days. Then that delivery was cancelled and rescheduled for 3 more days later. At this point it was 3 weeks late. A delivery window from 1:00-5:00 was scheduled. No delivery. I called CEVA. No one answered, so I was forwarded to a call center. They had no answers. I called Amazon. They said they'd forward the matter to a different department. Finally, as I was leaving my house for the evening at 7:30, the truck showed up (they were already 3 weeks late; what's another 2.5 hrs.?). Lo and behold, my replacement had arrived.

Wish that "4.5 Star's" were possible??
by Norc Nesdam from St. George, Utah, 2010-07-08

I have read all of the reviews posted so far for this T.V. and after having owned this set for more than six weeks I went with a 5-Star rating for this one. I wish (as the title suggests) that a 4 1/2 star was available to me. But .....I also thought that the lower rating(s) given were not warranted either. So I just rounded up instead of down. The "lip sync" issue is my ONLY reason for not wanting to give a full 5 star's without any hesitation. This product gives me everything and more that I desire. I do wish that the PIP (picure-in-picture) was rescued in our products offered once again. That is a feature that I really do miss (not featured from most any manufacturer).

The audio problem (lip sync) did seem to improve after I bought and attached the wireless dongle. It found and ran the LG updates automatically. I love the use of the Netflix, Yahoo, YouTube, and Picasa widgets. I use all that are available to me (except Vudu) and I look forward to the many other(s) that I hopefully will see soon. The thin & lightweight feature as well as the many other options of this product are just incredible. I love the "Aspect Feature" & "Picture Mode" that this set has. The remote is smartly arranged and well thought out. The screen is bright and amazingly clean and sharp to the eye at most any angle that you could/would attempt to place it in. I am still learning all of the options and settings that this unit has available. The default settings are acceptable to me but I am amazed at the plethora of choices that are offered anyway.

I am so happy with this product that I am now looking seriously at the LG Blu-ray surround sound systems that (should) easily interact with the T.V. remote. I hope that I will be able to reduce the number of remotes that are needed to operate all my viewing desires. I would appreciate any comments with info/experience on this subject. I also have enjoyed NOT needing the LG support team so far. Because of this I (happily) cannot report accurately on this subject.

All in all the "LG5400" has the best value that any product has to offer anywhere close to this price point! I would NOT hesitate to purchase this product again......EVER!!

Great picture quality, acceptable sound, good features
by Sathya Srinivasan from Edison, NJ United States, 2010-07-06

Bought the TV a few weeks back from Amazon and have been impressed with the quality so far. I did reasonable research before buying this TV to replace an old 27" TV that I had for almost 11 years and wanted something that had good features.

I compared the LG with Samsung 6500 series TV at a local store and did not notice any significant difference between the two. Compared to a bunch of TVs next to this one, the brightness seemed a bit high (relatively less dark), but nothing concerning.

I ordered the TV through Amazon for a decent price and the service was good (Ceva). They delivered to the second floor but I had to setup the TV myself (no installation and check-up like a full-fledged white-glove service). It was not difficult but needs 2 people at least.

The picture quality is sharp and clear and the sports action (football) was quite good. The audio lacks punch, as can be expected from a 10w speaker. However, I wish they included better speakers by default. Also had to purchase a wi-fi adapter separately. Again, would've been nice if it were included with the system (hence 1 star less). That said, it is no different from its competitors.

The biggest reason I went for the LG compared to Samsung was the price (around $500 less for the same features) and the matte finish. The matte finish makes a huge difference if you are going to keep the TV in a well-lit room. In the store, I could see all the lights in the back reflected off the Samsung, while it was hardly noticeable in the LG. Same at home with large windows.

So far, I have not noticed any weird issues as mentioned in the other posts. The picture quality is good and the brightness, contrast, and colors are more than adequate for an average TV user.

If you are in the market for a 55" TV and if you have a bright room, this is definitely worth a consideration.

Pros:
- Excellent picture quality
- Standard set of Internet applications (Netflix, Picasa, YouTube, Vudu)
- Reasonable number of options to tweak
- Matte finish is great for a brightly lit room with large windows
- DLNA support works flawlessly to stream music from computer to the TV (haven't tried video yet)
- Input and Output ports are sufficient for most scenarios
- Very thin (around 1")
- Aesthetically pleasing

Cons:
- Speaker quality is average. A home theater system is strongly recommended for better quality
- Remote control is average. It's clunky to type using the remote
- Internet Widgets are slow, but functional. Not too many widgets. Removing widgets is not intuitive.
- Additional wi-fi adapter required for wireless Internet connectivity. Costs around $50-$80

Great picture, audio seems off sometimes
by T Mck , 2010-07-06

Great picture on this set, but the audio seems to be off sometimes. It looks like an old Bruce Lee movie sometimes, that has English piped in to dub the Chinese. The lip movement and the audio don't seem to match up?

Mixed Performance
by netbuyer , 2010-07-03

I've had the set for a month. The LG 55LE5400 provides all the features I wanted for viewing TV, internet or other media I have available. That is a plus. Most important, it the very thin profile that I wanted for wall mounting. The picture is sharp and bright when viewing HD sources, however other than HD sources look a bit fuzzy. That's disappointing but expected. High motion scenes in sports action, are blurred. The TV has 120Hz refresh rate which is suppose to help this situation. This blurring takes some getting used to and becomes less anoying over time. Otherwise I'm satisfied with the picture except for a quality issue that has yet to be fixed. The set has had a problem with the backlighting from day one. The lower right fourth of the screen is noticably darker than the rest of the viewing area. LG was responsive and sent a technician to the house to look at it. He said at least one of the LED backlights is not working (this is new right out of the box) and ordered a new screen since the backlights are an integral part of the screen. I'm still waiting for the new screen. If it takes much longer to fix this issue my opinion of LG and this set will change drastically.