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  • Introduction

  • Tour & Design

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Calibration

  • Remote Control

  • Connectivity

  • Audio & Menus

  • Multimedia & Internet

  • Power Consumption

  • Vs LG 60PK750

  • Vs Sony KDL 52EX700

  • Vs Samsung UN55C7000

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparison

  • Introduction
  • Tour & Design
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Calibration
  • Remote Control
  • Connectivity
  • Audio & Menus
  • Multimedia & Internet
  • Power Consumption
  • Vs LG 60PK750
  • Vs Sony KDL 52EX700
  • Vs Samsung UN55C7000
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparison

Introduction

Tour & Design

Front


The front of the LG 55LE5400 is mostly screen, as you might imagine on a 55-inch TV. The frame is extremely reflective, so you might see some ambient light gleaming from it. Along the bottom is a series of onboard controls and indicator lights. The LG logo in the bottom center is illuminated, but be turned off if you find it distracting.

Back


All the ports on the LG 55LE5400 are located on the back. Some face out, and some face the side of the TV. The rest of the back is just an expanse of empty space, with large ventilation spaces to help dissipate all that heat. For information about the ports on the back of the LG 55LE5400 see our Connectivity section.

Sides


The LG 55LE5400 is very thin. As such, there's no room for ports or controls on the side. For information about the ports on the sides of the LG 55LE5400 see our Connectivity section.

Stand/Mount


The stand is heavy, and feels quite sturdy – a comforting thought considering how heavy the panel is. The stand is covered with the same shiny plastic as the bezel, but there's a metal core. When you attach it to the panel, there's a metal yolk. That darker, shinier plastic you see on the back of the TV is just covering to hide the metal. Despite its size, the TV panel can swivel on the base.

 

Controls


The controls along the bottom of the LG 55LE5400 are all touch-sensitive areas rather than hard, push-able buttons. Because the plastic is so shiny, the slightest touch leaves a fingerprints. You may want to stick with the remote control.

Remote Control


The remote control that ships with the LG 55LE5400 is fairly good. It's thin and light, with comfortable buttons. A weird bump in the middle feels strange, but it does help differentiate it by touch. More details

 

In The Box*(5.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 ships with the stand, remote control, batteries, a cable holder, and an adaptor for connecting composite AV cables (red, yellow, and white RCAs) to the 1/8th-inch inputs on the side of the TV. Setting up the TV requires two people because the panel is so heavy. Go make friends so you can watch TV.

 

Aesthetics*(7.5)*


The LG 55LE5400 is a good looking TV, by most accounts. With a standard high-gloss, black plastic, it's hardly the ground-breaking design of the Samsung C7000 and C8000. Most people will appreciate the giant screen and thin frame. 

Blacks & Whites

Black Level*(5.28)*


LG has shown a consistent problem with black level. Every LG we've tested produced a black level far brighter than the average LCD display. The LG 55LE5400, in particular, had a black level of 0.35 cd/m2. As you can see from the chart below, the competition smoked that score. Note that the LG 60PK750 is a plasma display – and that's not even a good score for a plasma. (More on how we test Black Level.)

 

Peak Brightness*(9.71)*


The LG 55LE5400 produced a very bright white, brighter than any of the TVs in the comparison pool. The 60PK750 was the worst, by far, but it's a plasma display. (More on how we test Peak Brightness.)

 

Contrast*(6.43)*


With a tested contrast of only 1281:1, the LG 55LE5400 was clearly hurt by its poor black level. Even with the very bright white, the contrast ratio is just not great. Only the Sony KDL-52EX700 had a really good contrast ratio in this group. (More on how we test Contrast.)

 

Tunnel Contrast*(7.46)*


The LG 55LE5400 has no problem maintaining a consistent black level, regardless of whether the black is taking up most of the screen or only a little. Typically, we expected similar results from LCDs. Only plasmas tend to have problems. (More on how we test Tunnel Contrast.)

 

White Falloff*(9.81)*


The LG 55LE5400 had no problem maintaining consistent white levels, regardless of how much white is on the screen. (More on how we test White Falloff.)

 

Uniformity*(4.5)*


The LG 55LE5400 has readily apparent problems with screen uniformity. It's noticeable, even to casual viewers, and arguably more problematic than the poor black level. On this particular model in our labs, we saw brighter hotspots in the bottom center. When the screen was all-white, the corners were darker and yellowed. On an all-black screen, the corners were brighter. If screen uniformity is a crucial factor for you, move on, friend. Move on. (More on how we test Uniformity.)

 

Greyscale Gamma*(7.21)*


The LG 55LE5400 showed a good greyscale gamma, overall. Put simply, this test measures how well the TV transitions from shadows to highlights. First, we're looking for a smooth transition. The curve in the graph below indicates that the LG did indeed do this well. Secondly, we're looking for flat spots in the curve. The lower-left portion of the line – the shadows – goes horizontal for a stretch, which indicates that the TV simply can't differentiate any detail in the darkest parts of the shadows. Finally, we look at the slope of the curve. An ideal curve is somewhere between 2.1 and 2.2. The LG 55LE5400 has a curve of 2.67, a bit steeper than we like, but still decent. ( More on how we test Greyscale Gamma.)

 

Color Accuracy

Color Temperature*(7.72)*


The LG 55LE5400 showed some minor problems with color temperature consistency. As the signal intensity decreased, the colors warmed, as you can see in the chart below. However, the problem was not egregious. In fact, it only occasionally strays into the realm of 'human perceptibility.' (More on how we test Color Temperature.)

 

RGB Curves*(9.36)*


The RGB curve test determines how well the TV transitions from shadows to highlights in each of the color channels. On the whole, the LG 55LE5400 showed a strong performance. The curves are extremely smooth. LG has a history of excellence in color testing (though offset somewhat by the poor black level).

There's clearly some lack of detail in the shadows, but that's normal. There's also some very minor loss of detail in the highlights, which we call peaking. Again, though, the LG 55LE5400 did much better in this test than many TVs. (More on how we test RGB Curves.)

The strips of color below are digital recreations of the test data above, compared with the results from other TVs.

 

 

 

Color Gamut*(6.07)*


The LG 55LE5400 performed rather well in the Color Gamut test, which matches its performance up to the rec. 709 color standard. The red and green point align almost perfectly. The green point is a little off, as is the white point (the circles in the center). (More on how we test Color Gamut.)

The table below has all the details about the LG 55LE5400's performance versus rec. 709.

 

Motion

Motion Smoothness*(7.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 did well in the motion smoothness testing, though we needed to activate the TruMotion video processing feature in order to get the smoothest performance. With TruMotion off, there was some minor 'stuttering' in objects in motion, as well as loss of fine detail. With TruMotion on, there was a remarkable improvement in smoothness. However, the processing can create unintended consequences, detailed below. (More on how we test Motion.)

 

Motion Artifacting*(6.25)*


Motion artifacts include anything on the screen that is not part of the original signal. The LG 55LE5400 has its share of artifacts, to be sure. When the TruMotion feature is off, there is a noticeable amount of flickering, strobing, and jaggies. When TruMotion is on, a lot of that disappears, but the resultant effect makes for a strange look to motion. It's hard to explain, but common to most TVs with a motion 'enhancing' feature like TruMotion. With the feature engaged, things shot on film look cheap video – over-processed. 

 

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps*(10.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 has no problem displaying native 24fps video. (More on how we test 3:2 Pulldown and 24fps.)

 

Resolution Scaling*(5.97)*


The LG 55LE5400 has a native 1080p resolution, but most of the content you watch will be of a lower resolution. It's up to the TV's processing to upscale that video to fit the screen. Unfortunately, the LG 55LE5400 has very mixed results at this task. (More on how we test Resolution Scaling.)

480p

Looking at 480p content, the LG 55LE5400 had very few problems. There was a 1% loss of screen area on all sides, but the video looked alright otherwise.

720p

The LG 55LE5400 also had few problems with 720p video. There was no loss due to overscan, though we saw some troubles with the screen's ability to successfully display high frequency patterns.

1080i

The real problem area was 1080i video, which, unfortunately, is one of the most common resolutions for cable and satellite HDTV. There was a lot of problems with high frequency patterns, resulting in Moire patterns. It was also noticeably less sharp, to the eye, than 1080p video.

 

Viewing Effects

 

Formats*(10.5)*


The LG 55LE5400 has a native 1080p display, but is capable of playing all standard NTSC resolutions. 

 

Viewing Angle*(5.67)*


The LG 55LE5400 produces a good, wide viewing angle of approximately 86 degrees in total (or 43 degrees from center on each side). This is a very good performance for an LCD display. It beat the other two LCD TVs handily. The plasma LG 60PK750, however, bested them all. (More on how we test Viewing Angle.)

 

Reflectance*(8.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 did a good job staving off reflections from external light sources. At least, it's better than a lot of LCD screens we've seen, which frequently cause a lot of reflection due to the construction and materials in the screen array. When light is hitting the screen dead-on, there's a small, soft glow and direct reflection of the light. But if the light is anything less than dead-on, there's just the soft glow. (More on how we test Reflectance.)

 

Video Processing*(4.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 has several video processing features. We suggest you experiment with features and settings until you find the picture quality you like best.

 

Calibration

Calibration


We calibrate televisions before testing for best performance. [

](http://www.displaymate.com/)The LG 55LE5400 looked pretty good once we put it in Cinema mode, requires less tweaks than the average TV. Our settings are in the table below. If you don't see a video processing feature mentioned, assume it was in the 'off' position.

The TruMotion feature was left 'off' for all testing, until we performed our motion performance evaluations. At that point, we checked it both off and on and reported the results. We recommend leaving it off for most viewing.

 

Video Modes


The LG 55LE5400 has a handful of video modes. None are perfect straight away, but with some minor tweaks, you'll find something you like. We recommend Cinema mode for the most accurate color performance.

 

Remote Control

Ergonomics & Durability*(8.75)*


The remote control that ships with the LG 55LE5400 is pretty good. It's long and surprisingly thin. It doesn't feel particularly sturdy, but chances are you'll be using the cable box remote more frequently than the one for your TV. 

 

Button Layout & Use*(7.25)*


The buttons on the remote are large and easy to find with your fingers. There's a slight annoyance with key travel, which is the terms describing how far down you have to push the buttons to get a response. These soft, rubbery buttons require a lot more oomph than you're used to, which slows down the whole experience.

The d-pad in the center of the remote is made of a completely different material, a hard plastic that doesn't have the same key travel problem. You can speed through the menus fairly quickly, compared to the other buttons.

 

Programming & Flexibility*(1.0)*


The remote control can be used to control other devices if:

a) It is connected by HDMI to the TV, and
b) It has 'Simplink' compatibility.

 

That's definitely not a universal remote, but it's something.

Connectivity

Input Ports*(7.5)*


All the ports on the LG 55LE5400 are located on the back of the set, some facing out and others facing the side. LG is offering a lot of connectivity options. Notable inclusions: 4 HDMIs, 2 composites and 2 components, 2 USBs, and a LAN ethernet.

 

The ports on the side hug awfully close to the body of the TV, so you may have trouble fitting some plugs in there. In fact, the composite AV ports on the side require an adaptor to convert RCA cables to 1/8th-inch 'mini' plugs. LG includes one in the box, but it'll be easy to replace at any electronics store of appropriate nerdiness.

 

 

Output Ports*(2.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 has three output ports, though strangely, not the ones you normally find on an HDTV. There's a digital audio output, a wireless remote control port, and a headphone output. Normally, this last port is called an analog audio output. Presumably, almost any analog audio output could be used as a headphone jack. This TV simply chooses it to call it 'headphone.' 

 

Other Connections*(7.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 has an ethernet LAN port, and it's also WiFi-ready, which requires a separately purchased USB dongle. 

 

Media*(2.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 includes two USB ports, which can be used for thumb drives to play music, videos, and photos, as well as connect to a WiFi dongle for internet access.

 

Placement*(8.0)*


Because the TV is so thin, there are no ports on the side of the TV. Several of the rear ports face the side, which makes it easier to access for quick changes. However, the construction of the side ports requires thin cables, and not all HDMI wires and USB devices will fit.

Audio & Menus

Audio Quality*(6.75)*


The built-in speakers on the LG 55LE5400 were surprisingly decent. We're used to throwing our hands up in despair and simply advising people to buy a dedicated surround sound system. The speakers on the LG are definitely not of the same caliber, but they're better than the built-ins on a lot of TVs. The sound was fuller, with reasonable bass response for small speakers. The surround sound emulator didn't do the sound quality any favors. We recommend leaving it off. There are several sound modes, as well. We had the best performances with the Standard and Cinema settings.

 

Menu Interface*(7.0)*


The menu interface on the LG 55LE5400 is similar to other LGs we've reviewed recently. Rather than a horizontally or vertically aligned list of options, LG favors bold graphics arranged like buttons. It's pretty easy to figure out where your desired settings might live in a menu like this.

Once you select one of the above options, the menu changes to a more traditional, vertical arrangement. It can a little more frustrating here, because LG doesn't take advantage of the entire screen. They could be showing far more menu options at the same time. Instead, you have to do a lot more scrolling up and down.

The LG 55LE5400 also has a Quick Menu, a sort of 'greatest hits' collection of the menu items you'll need most frequently. It takes up less real estate of the screen, so you don't miss your TV show.

 

 

Instruction Manual*(3.0)*


The instruction manual that ships with the LG 55LE5400 is seriously packed with information. Stretching out to a leisurely 200+ pages, you find pretty much everything you need to know about the TV and its features.   You can find the LG 55LE5400's manual online here.

 

Multimedia & Internet

 

 

Internet Features*(8.1)*


The LG 55LE5400 has a limited but effective selection of streaming content partnerships. The only streaming movie offerings from LG are Netflix, Vudu, and YouTube. Sure, Sony has over 30 video streams, but it's easy to imagine that most people could pare the essential list down to Netflix and YouTube. LG also throws in Picasa for photo sharing and Yahoo TV Widgets for a bunch of... other stuff.

The Widgets menu appears at the bottom of the screen when you're watching TV. When you activate one of them, the pop up on the right side of the screen. There are widgets for Flickr, financial news, sports, and more.

 

Photo Playback*(3.5)*


The LG 55LE5400 can play back photos through USB thumb drives. The TV has two USB ports, both facing out the side so you can quickly swap drives. The interface is very simple, and you can create customized slideshows with background music also stored on the drive.

 

Music & Video Playback*(2.5)*


The LG 55LE5400 can also play back music and videos from USB storage devices. The interface is similar to the photo playback. You can create playlists for both types of media.

 

Other Media*(0.0)*


The LG 55LE5400 does not play any other type of media.

Power Consumption

Power Consumption*(9.09)*


The LG 55LE5400 is quite a modest power eater, costing an average of $18.14 per year. If that's too much for you, the backlight can be lowered further. (More on how we test Power Consumption.)

The table below shows how the LG 55LE5400 stacked up against the competition.

 

Vs LG 60PK750

Value Comparison Summary


The LG 60PK750 is a plasma display, and as such it has natural advantages and disadvantages over an LCD display like the LG 55LE5400. The PK750 has deeper blacks, but showed trouble with details in highlights. The PK750 offers a wider viewing angle, but we were surprised by LE5400's ability to stretch beyond a typical viewing angle for LCDs. Overall, we prefer the LG 55LE5400, due to the outstanding color performance. Sure, the 60PK750 is slightly larger and a little cheaper, but we think you'll like the LE5400. 

Blacks & Whites


The LG 60PK750, as a plasma display, smoked the LG 55LE5400. The LE5400 wasn't even that good for an LCD display. However, the PK750 showed the typical problems with peak brights. The LE5400, conversely, was incredibly bright. As a result, neither of the LGs has a tremendous contrast ratio. 

 

Color Accuracy


The LG 60PK750 showed a superior ability to maintain a consistent color temperature, but the overall color performance was lacking, due to the TV's inability to show sufficient details in highlights. The LG 55LE5400 has a little more trouble with color temperature consistency, but far surpassed the PK750 in its color displays. In fact, the LG 55LE5400 has one of the best color performances in recent reviews. 

 

 

Motion


The LG 55LE5400 and LG 60PK750 were both good in the motion performance tests, though the look of motion is inevitably different in plasmas and LCDs. We recommend going to your local electronics store and take a hard, side-by-side look to see what we mean. 

 

Viewing Effects


The viewing angle on plasma TVs is always better than an LCD, so the LG 60PK750 outperformed the LG 55LE5400, about 122 degrees versus 82 degrees. However, the LG 55LE5400 was significantly better than the other LCDs. 

 

Connectivity


Both LGs offer a lot of connectivity options, so they both make great home entertainment hubs.

 

**

**

Vs Sony KDL 52EX700

Value Comparison Summary


The Sony KDL-52EX700 is significantly cheaper than the LG 55LE5400. The screen is a little smaller, but the streaming content is much more robust. The Sony has a better interface, much deeper blacks, and a wider contrast ratio. The LG counters with better color performance, more screen size, and a wider viewing angle. We're tied on this one, and it may come down to your own brand loyalty. We'll bet that most people vote with their wallets and buy whatever can be had cheaper.

Blacks & Whites


The Sony KDL-52EX700 has an excellent black level performance for an LCD display, beating the LG 55LE5400 by a long shot. Combine that with a strong peak white score and you have yourself an excellent contrast ratio that outshines everything else here. 

 

Color Accuracy


The Sony KDL-52EX700 clearly had some issues with color temperature consistency, as you can see from the charts below. However, its color performance on the whole was strong. It did not manage to top the outstanding performance of LG 55LE5400, but it was very good. 

 

 

Motion


The Sony KDL-52EX700 has some of the best motion performance that we've seen in some time. While the LG 55LE5400 was a good performer, it was not without its artifacts. The Sony was better. 

Viewing Effects


The LG 55LE5400 offers a much better viewing angle, approximately 86 degrees. The Sony KDL-52EX700 has a viewing angle of just 52 degrees. That's about average for an LCD, which puts a spotlight on how well the LG performed. 

Connectivity


The LG 55LE5400 has more options for connectivity than the Sony. While both have the same core AV ports, more or less, the LG offers an additional USB, and (the dubiously useful) RS-232C and Wireless Control ports. 

**
**

Vs Samsung UN55C7000

Value Comparison Summary


The Samsung UN55C7000 is a beautiful looking TV, taking a big step away from traditional, boxy, black frames like the LG 55LE5400. The price difference between the two is also notable, a large chunk of which may be attributed to the fact that the Samsung is first-generation 3D display. We're still not sold on the whole 3D HDTV thing yet, and you'd better know what you're getting in to before you buy one. However, as a standard 2D TV, the Samsung UN55C7000's performance was excellent, matching or beating the LG's performance in several key areas. 

Blacks & Whites


The Samsung UN55C7000 produced a decent black level for an LCD, not the best we've seen. It was far better than the LG 55LE5400, however. The peak white did not match the LE5400's, but most people will think it's perfectly adequate. Overall, it has a better contrast ratio than the LG. 

 

Color Accuracy


The Samsung UN55C7000 had trouble with color temperature consistency, but showed a great performance in the RGB color curve test. That said, the LG 55LE5400 had the best color performance of the group. 

 

 

Motion


The Samsung LN55C7000 showed remarkably smooth motion, but there was a fair amount of artifacting that went along with it. The LG 55LE5400 performed well in the same tests, but the Samsung clearly has the better results. 

 

Viewing Effects


The Samsung UN55C7000 had the narrowest viewing angle of any of the TVs in this comparison pool, measuring only 44 degrees. We've certainly seen worse LCD displays, but both the Sony KDL-52EX700 and LG 55LE5400 were better.

 

Connectivity


The Samsung LN55C7000 has a remarkably thin frame. To accommodate the size, almost every single plug and jack has been reconfigured from its normal shape into some other shape that requires a proprietary adaptors. There are also far fewer ports on the Samsung.

 

Other Comparisons


The Samsung UN55C7000's big feature is 3D display, which the LG 55LE5400 does not have, and can never have. TVs are either 3D or they're not, at least for the time being as Active Shutter 3D is the technology of choice for home 3D systems. We think the jury's still out on 3D TVs, particularly the first generation models, which come with the inevitable 'early adopter tax.'

Conclusion

 

 

Series Comparison

LE5400 Series


The LE5400 series has four models, ranging pretty widely from 32 inches 55 inches. All four have the same core features and ports, detailed in the table below.

Meet the tester

David Kender

David Kender

Editor in Chief

@davekender

David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.

See all of David Kender's reviews

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