Official LG xxLD550 xxLD520 xxLD650 Owners Thread - Page 3

Note: Post #1 and #2 have more "Calibration Aids".

Here are the spread sheet (in notepad form) picture calibration tables for the LG 42LD550 I own. I will add tables for each input I have adjusted. This is a lot of work and hours of run time and adjusting using a Spyder 3 Pro, and later an i1 Display 2, with light meter and color charts; as well as the Avia DVD , and final viewing using several personal reference DVDs, "Seabiscuit" being a favorite for it's color balance and mono chrome picture content. I feel confident that these settings should work for the xxLD520 as well.

I have settings for normal viewing in daylight conditions, night time, and for HDMI DVD inputs ,a warm setting, as well as a bit cooler than 6500K setting for people like my wife who prefer that picture color temperature.

Again, I will add the tables as I complete them so check back as I edit and add them.

Again, there are slightly different settings for each of the Expert1 and Expert2 settings I have provided so you can choose which you prefer for your various lighting and viewing conditions. As always, there may be slight adjustments to each of the values I have provided based on your particular TV and viewing conditions, especially in Backlight, Contrast, and Brightness settings. For DVD playback, I suggest you set the TV up to one or both of the Expert settings, and then make any video adjustments that your particular DVD or Blu-ray player may have. That being said, I hope these serve at least as a baseline for much better settings than the factory "torch" settings they use on stores.


For first time owners, a very quick picture setup using Cinema picture mode is a few posts down (#65). It will get you familiar with the menu and help provide a little better picture than the factory setting in the Cinema mode.

*EDIT* These settings were updated on 1-1-2011 and include new possible ranges of adjustment to allow for user taste and hopefully still provide a decent image. As always, these are baseline settings and your TV and lighting conditions may vary.Check post #314 for Preset (User) picture mode settings.

 

LG 42LD550 HDMI 3 Input ISF EXPERT2 LG BD550 COOL 4-5-11 Usable Range.txt 1.578125k . file

 

LG XXLD550 HDMI CINEMA (User) PICTURE 12-4-10 Usable Range.txt 0.8876953125k . file

 

LG 42LD550 OTA_Cable ISF Expert 1 Warm 12-1-10 Usable Range.txt 1.3505859375k . file

 

LG 42LD550 HDMI 1 ISF EXPERT 1 Warm 12-19-10 Usable Range.txt 1.4609375k . file

 

LG 42LD550 OTA_Cable ISF EXPERT2 Cool TXT 12-1-10 Usable Range.txt 1.2578125k . file

I'll do my best with what I know after 2 weeks of ownership and adjusting.
I will tell you the picture quality is outstanding for a TV in this price range, especially after adjusting.


None that I know of. According to the LG website the LCD panel is also 2.4ms in both the 550 and the 520.


I have my 42LD550 connected to the internet as well as an HP s5560f computer used as an HTPC. So far I have not noticed any latency issues with either the direct (wired CAT5) connection to the TV or using an HDMI connection with my HTPC. I do not have a game system so I cannot comment about any gaming performance.



Am not sure what you wish to know about "pass through". Are you specaking of connecting a source first to an AVR and then to the TV via an HDMI cable, or first to the TV and then from the TV digital optical output to the AVR?
AFAIK, according to my status lights on my Boston AVR7120, the TV will pass through Dolby Digital II and Dolby Digital Plus, using the digital optical output. I don't know of any TV using an optical output, that will give you 7.1 TrueHD since it would be a bandwidth issue. This set only has standard analog R+L outputs, besides the digital optical output, no HDMI out. Can anyone else help with this one?

For those who wish to just get the TV up and running with minimum adjustment, here are a few settings in the Cinema (User) mode that give a reasonably good picture without the high backlight and other issues.

TV OTA(Antenna) or Cable Input

Cinema (User) Settings Range

Energy Saving Off for daytime. ( Try the Minimum or Medium setting at night with back light set at 40 - 43.)

Back light 40 ( 25 - 43 ) (Use back light at 43 & Energy Saving button set at Minimum for night time viewing.)
Contrast 85 ( 75 - 89 ) Higher will likely White Clip
Brightness 53 ( 50 - 60 )
Sharpness 67 ( 50 - 70 ) Higher than 50 will cause "halos")

Color 43 (42 - 50 )
Tint G1

Color Temperature W50

Advanced Control
Dynamic Contrast Off ( Or Medium for a little pop. Low or High cause excessive "black crush")
Dynamic Color Off
Clear White Off
Skin Color 3
Noise Reduction Off

Dig Noise Redt. Off
Gamma Low
Black Level Auto
Eye Care Off
Real Cinema Off
Color Gamut Standard (Wide will give higher saturation)

You are very welcome. Please let me know how the settings work for you. I think my 42LD550 is tops also. I have varied the settings I've come up with to see how they might perform in both bright and darker room lighting. So far I am very impressed with the results.

I did not include settings for Judder and Blur, since I need to view more Blu-ray and DVD source material, but for now I have set Judder at 1 , and Blur at 5. I did notice that if a DVD is 24fps, judder should be off. At least with the DVD I tried it seemed that way.

Glad to hear your results for gaming use. Based on the specifications for this series of TVs from LG, I would think it performs very well as a gaming display, as well as use with a HTPC.

I see no information on changing the optical output to PCM. LG doesn't seem to specify what the optical output specification is in detail, and I see no options in the audio menu for selecting digital audio options.

How about this for $75?

http://cgi.ebay.com/YAMAHA-HTR-5140-...item2a09b52b36

That's all I do in my bedroom. In my previous home I had a 5.1 system in the bedroom and liked it, but mostly for playing music. I rarely used it for movies or satellite TV. Now I just have a simple compact 2.1 system with audio in from satellite and the DVD player. I save the crash and boom sound effects for the main home theater system.

Also, I have found that a lot of the time a 5.1 Dolby sound mix sounds "fuller" than the few 7.1 mixes out there, and even the several forms of DTS. I used to get nuts about the "latest" sound encoding/decoding technology. Now I go for pristine picture quality and good, full, well balanced sound. Sometimes more speakers does not translate to better quality with sound tracks, in my humble opinion.

What specific model in the "LD" series do you have?

Try turning "Judder" to "0" . If that doesn't work try turning " Blur " to "0" also. Also try turning "Real Cinema" off or on depending what the default was for the input you are using. Lot's of variables, you don't supply much information to get a proper answer.

What about the "Real Cinema" setting I mentioned?
Sorry to hear you are having issues. I have no problem with ABC Prime Time shows or any other network programming.

What is the signal path for your normal TV reception, your game connections? It sounds as though you are putting everything through an AV receiver. With internal processing, especially with HDMI connections, many times it will introduce a delay. You may need to select a "pass through" option on your AV receiver. Sometimes signal processing from one piece of equipment interferes with another.

You need to provide more information to solve an issue. I know there were lag issues with the LED "LH" series of sets, I have experienced no such lags with even my HTPC connected up with HDMI watching HuLu, etc.
Perhaps you need a qualified technician to help with your connections and setup.

There is a game mode in the video selection menu. The first thing to do is check output options on your game system. It may be set at a "default" value that works best with one kind of TV, but not another. It is imperative to know what signal processing options the TV, input source, and any AV receiver you are using may be set for.

I don't mean to be deriding, but when it comes to game system issues it always seems a user assumes the TV is at fault. This is the digital age and HDMI just went up to 1.4. It's kind of like DVDs or even CDs. There are ALL kinds of protocol and format options in these two media that still cause issues with some DVD or CD players. HDMI is even more complex.

Good question! Hey I've only had mine 2 weeks, but I would guess the 520 could use a download on a USB flash drive on your home PC. My older Mitsubishi was updated in this way, as was my really old Phillips 26" HDTV. I guess we could check the LG website? I have seen "updates" flash on my LD550 screen twice now, but I assume it was just for the network firmware features... but maybe not.

Something else to research.....

I still would take the video receiver out of the connection path and see if you have a problem. I have no such lag or stuttering over network TV programs. What is your signal source for network TV to the receiver? Cable or OTA. Lot's of variables. If you had the same issue with the Samsung, that should tell you something. Connect the TV up to the antenna or cable directly. If there is no "stuttering or lag then, your receiver must be doing some processing you are not aware of. Also, again, you don;t state what your signal source and path is. I understand your frustration, but it is difficult to diagnose a problem without complete information.

Or try resetting the TV back to factory default. Also, when you first powered the TV, did it a produce a menu that had selections for "Home" or "Store" mode? (make sure it was set to Home). I would also try a complete reset . If not you may have gotten a return with a problem in it. Others don't seem to have this problem and in stores I saw no lag or stuttering on the several sets I viewed in stores before I purchased the TV.