LG 42LS3400 LED TV Review

Introduction

Motion performance, viewing angle, and color quality were all pretty good on the 42LS3400. The only terrible thing about this TV is its bright black level, but the picture quality is impressive despite that drawback.

There are two models in the LS3400 family: a 42-inch model and a 32-inch model. We reviewed the 42-inch model which has a resolution of 1080p while the 32-inch model displays in 720p. Because of the different resolutions, this review only applies to the 42-inch model.

Design

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Boring and thick come to mind when talking about the LS3400.

LG certainly knows how to craft a beautiful TV. For proof, check out the LM9600 or the PM9700.

The LS3400 is definitely the black sheep of the LG family: it is uninspired and thick, with a stand that's just a boring slab of plastic. The connections, which are located on the right if viewing from the rear, are as basic as the design: two HDMI inputs, a component input, a USB jack, an antenna input, and a service port are all the connections available.

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Smart TV Features

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A simplified menu with a decent amount of options

The menu interface included on the LS3400 looks nothing like the smartphone-inspired interface on higher-end LGs.

Instead, this simple menu system has access to eight different categories: Channel, Picture, Audio, Time, Option, Lock, Input, and USB. I was impressed with some of the options offered in the Picture menu, such as the ability to change color temperature and adjust horizontal and vertical sharpness. While many consumers will not need to fiddle with these settings, having them included is a nice touch.

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Picture Quality

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When it comes to picture quality, the LS3400 shines.

Let's get the LS3400's main drawback out of the way first: the darkest black level that this TV can produce is lousy. Aside from that flaw, this budget LG TV does most things well.

The positives are plentiful: Colors look great, the viewing angle is wide, and motion performance is acceptable. While there is a bit of jerkiness to some detailed images moving across the screen, no other motion artifacts are noticeable. The same can't be said about some TVs that cost twice as much.

Conclusion

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There isn't much to dislike about the LG 42LS3400.

While it has it has flaws the LG 42LS3400 (MSRP $719) does well in a few important areas. It doesn’t have many ports and the audio is average, but it makes up for these shortcomings with its great color accuracy, wide viewing angle, and bright white levels. This TV even did well with motion performance despite having no fancy enhancement features like “TruMotion” or “CineMotion.”

The MSRP may say $719, but you can easily find this LED for under $500 online. If you are looking for a great 42-inch television and don’t care about the third dimension or internet connectivity, check out the LG 42LS3400.

Science Introduction

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The width of the LG 42LS3400's contrast ratio was poor. Other areas, like color, viewing angle, and motion, were solid.

Contrast

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A black level this bright is not a good thing.

The LS3400's black level of 0.28 cd/m ² is pretty bad considering that other budget LCD TVs, like the Sony Bravia BX450 and the Insignia NS-50L240A13, produced much better results. The peak brightness on the LS3400 of 302.39 cd/m² is very bright, but does not help the dismal black detail. More on how we test contrast.

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Color

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The LS3400 displays great colors.

The color gamut for the LS3400 matches up almost perfectly with the industry standard color gamut for HDTVs. This means that the range of reds, greens, and blues that the LS3400 can produce is almost exactly what film makers and other content producers want you to see. The only downside to this gamut is that its white point—which affects color temperature—is slightly off. More on how we test color performance.

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Other Tests

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