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81 of 95 people found the following review helpful.
The G2 is LG's Sweet Spot for 2012!! (George Jetson would LOVE this!)
By Marty Gillis
The LG 55G2 is a revolutionary product. Combining the very best of LG's well above average and mature software operating systems, top of the line IPS panel technology, attractive/futuristic styling and a knockout out version of Google TV powered by a powerful dual core processor, the LG G2 55 Inch Cinema 3D LED/LCD is an entertainment powerhouse!I couldn't wait to pop this out of the box and have a look. It is gorgeous and the 55 inch screen is just the right size to fully immerse yourself into a Blu Ray movie and especially a 3D movie.All my other LG's have been 47 inches and this is my first 55 inch screen. It really is impressive to see it in action. The brushed aluminum bezel and faux metal stand finish matches perfectly. It really does look cushty!The screen is semi glossy but not a mirror like a Plasma can be. I watch in a semi darkened room and it looks fantastic. The speakers are above average for a flat panel. Honestly though, if you spend this much on a TV I would hope you are planning to use at least a sound-bar and sub. But as it is the sound produced by the G2 is more than fine for everyday viewing.Featuring the very latest passive 3D technology for comfort and ease of use and a 1080p native panel resolution coupled with a 120hz refresh rate, you get outstanding video resolution that can easily make your TV shows , DVD's , Streaming Premium Services, Blu Ray discs and media collection look their best while completely immersing you in the action. Staying home never looked so good!(And of course LG has included SIX pairs of passive 3D glasses so you can start watching 3D content right away!)The G2 will look and function equally as well mounted or using the included stand. The stand, while heavy plastic designed to resemble metal, is extremely easy to put together and is the most stable of any TV stand I have ever had. It went together quickly and is solid as a rock. I wish it could tilt forward a bit as well as from side to side, but otherwise I like it very much. I am pushing 60 and with bad arthritis I was still able to unpack, set-up and place the television on my TV table by myself. A Phillips head screwdriver and a bit of patience and TLC are all that is needed. I had this TV out of the box and playing a Blu Ray disc in just about 45 minutes from start to finish.The actual on screen set-up went very quickly. You will need a Google account (they're free) so you can sign in and take advantage of many more features offered. I went ahead and set up the TV without signing in and everything went well. You can use the included IR blaster to control your cable box/DVR with the G2 remote or you can use your Harmony to do it the way you are used to. You have MANY options for controlling this beastie!For those of you used to previous LG models or even the newest models, you will soon notice that accessing the picture adjustment menus (or any other menu) is not quite as fast as before. You need to hit the "home" button on the remote and then point and click on the tool icon next to the input you are currently viewing. From there you get multiple menus that include sub menus. Once you get to the main menu you wish, scrolling up and down is easy, selecting your settings is quick (press and hold to drag settings icons) and if you get lost just press "back" to get back to the previous page. If you are at all computer savvy this process will be 2nd nature and a joy to use. For people of a certain age it may prove a bit more challenging.The best thing to do is give yourself a nice long tour of the software interfaces to get acquainted with things. This could take quite a long time, depending on how much you wish to know, as the menus and options are seemingly endless up to a point. I love it myself. You can pretty much bend this device to your will and customize things the way you want them to be. Again, if you are not tech savvy, this is probably not the TV for you but if you were raised on computers you will love it.I have recently written a few reviews about various new generation LG TV models I currently own and because many features are common to the latest software and display technology used here, I will paraphrase certain portions of my previous reviews when they apply to the very impressive 55G2.But with that said, the 55G2 is virtually in a class by itself and here are some reasons why:No amount of software or bells and whistles will substitute for a great picture. So HOW IS the picture quality on the G2? I had read an early review on CNET that seemed dire. I was NOT expecting much but after powering up and inputting my calibrated settings I use with my LG 7600 the screen came alive with POP and Crisp Clear Fine detail! I was starting to rock and roll! OH YEAH!!!The 55G2 incorporates the very best of LG's combined tech of the last 5 years with unique software interfaces controlling new and exciting home entertainment functionality that takes watching TV and home theater entertainment in general to the next level and beyond. WAY beyond! Take the G2 and add a 3D Blu Ray Player such as the LG BD670 3D Wireless Network Blu-ray Disc Player with Smart TV and a surround audio system and you will never run out of things to watch or do.Watching regular TV, both High Definition broadcasts and recordings from your HD DVR or SD content, the results are simply wonderful. For some folks, that would be enough, but that is just barely scratching the surface. The G2 55 also functions as a full functioning HD media player that can stream from local attached media such as your USB sticks or drives , wireless from your smart phone or laptop/MAC/PC , or any number of premium services. Just feel like surfing the web and updating your facebook status? NO problem. A full functioning Google Chrome browser is ready for your command. And by command I don't just mean typing in the web address with the included Qwerty keyboard remote, but VOICE command as well. Just tell your remote where you want to go online and it will go there. (yes you read that correctly) Honestly, the LG 55 G2 would fit right into The Jetson's living room.The panel itself is indistinguishable from both the new LG 6700 or 6200. In fact, the only real difference between this panel and my 7600 is the refresh rate. The G2 is 120hz and the 7600 is 240hz but in reality achieves the 240hz with a strobing backlight and is in fact a 120hz panel just like the G2! If you have seen or read about ANY of those displays, then you can apply that to the G2 as the end result is almost identical. Same goes for the included video processing but since the G2 does it's math with the aide of a dual core chip, it is even BETTER than my 7600. Honestly folks, I can SEE and appreciate the difference. I was not quite prepared for how GREAT this TV actually performs. This is television ON STERIODS!Speaking of the Dual Core processor, this allows the G2 to process your video at a much faster rate, resulting in glitchless video. Streaming Netflix has never been better and in fact ALL the premium content I viewed looked absolutely fabulous. (a lot depends on your web speed, I am using FIOS at their highest) I prefer a wired connection and have attached an Ethernet cable as an added precaution against stuttering video, but I HAVE tested the G2 with it's wireless connection and watched 'Shutter Island' from Netflix in perfect clarity and motion with minimal loading time. COOL! I can not say the same for my 7600 which sports only the single core which it shares for all processing chores simultaneously. The G2 is definitely the processing power winner here!About the ONLY two downsides I can see in the G2 is like both the LG 6200 and 6700 the G2 does NOT include control over Tru Motion at this time,. This MAY be addressed in a future firmware update but as it is the option is not there. Also, like the 6200 the G2 does NOT include LED Plus Local Dimming. The LG 6700 and above gives you that and of course the 9700 will give you a full array local dimming panel. (costing twice as much though) None of those two things are hampering my enjoyment of the TV. I watched the 3D X-Games sampler on ESPN 3D and it rocked with no motion blur. I also watched a recording from my HD DVR of last weeks Indy 500 and again, no blurring. As for the local dimming, even on my 7600 I have it set to LOW and have noticed it introduces it's own set of visual artifacts when used. Basically if you set your contrast and brightness and backlight correctly (MORE info on that in the comments section) you can extract a very very good picture out of the G2.Streaming a 1080p MKV from local media is also a seamless experience. The G2 can handle data rates from your local attached media up to 20 gigabits per second without a single hiccup or unwanted artifact and output up to Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 core from the optical output.If by any chance you collect and watch PAL video content (I have a large collection of British PAL titles) the G2 will allow PAL to be displayed at 50hz as long as you first upconvert it to 720p or higher.No frame conversion is necessary and PAL video renders beautifully on this LG.TO TRY and keep this review at a manageable length I have included more info on the comments section. Tips for calibrating this display along with observations and comments about flash lighting and other anomalies are covered. Check it out of you want to know even more! (click "comments" at the bottom of this review to see my post)The LG 55G2 (or 47) has exceeded my expectations and is totally set up to be the hub of your entire entertainment center. Content is endless with more to be added thru the app store and firmware updates. Picture quality is excellent for an edge lit LCD/LED and performance is fast and snappy. The whole package is wrapped up in a beautiful modern looking package that will look good in almost any room. This is an excellent Goggle TV system and a great HDTV as well. If you added up all the individual components that the G2 replaces and then add a good 55 inch LED/LCD, the price would be much more than the 2100 the G2 currently sells for. The integration of software and hardware here is well thought out and works seamlessly. Sure, there is always room for improvement, but LG has made a great start here and they do test their software extensively before releasing it which is a HUGE plus for a product like this!Highly Recommended!
59 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
Google - the answer to your tv's problems, or not?
By Brian A. Roush
If you're considering this tv set, the main question you need to consider is whether the Google TV features will outweigh the sacrifices you'll make in picture quality and other functions compared to a non-Google tv. I base this on the premise that at the time of this review, for the same screen size and price, you are choosing between this tv and the LG Cinema Screen 55LM8600 55-Inch Cinema 3D 1080p 240 Hz Dual Core LED-LCD HDTV with Smart TV and Six Pairs of 3D Glasses.For reference, I have both this set and the 47" version of the LM8600, which I've also reviewed. I chose to use the G2 in my main living room because for our family's needs, it's a better fit. We have just a cable box and a Sony blu-ray player, plus an xbox 360 and Wii. The G2 comes with IR blasters that let the Google remote control the cable box and blu-ray (with some caveats that I'll explain). We don't use a receiver, so all the sound is from the tv. This means that for most functions we can use just the LG's Google magic remote and not have to fumble with 2-3 different ones.Picture Quality---------------The picture quality is better on the LM8600 than the G2. Better blacks, higher refresh rate, and a seemingly more natural 3D out-of-the-box. The LM8600 is also a smart TV, so it still has many of the same apps as does the G2, but you lose the IR blasters and the QWERTY remote control.Don't get me wrong - this set looks REALLY nice and the default 120Hz seems more like traditional motion than the ultra-sharp, almost surreal look of the LM8600. For normal family viewing, this set is fine, but for major sports watchers, 3D content watchers, etc, you might want to consider spending your money on a tv with better TV panel specs vs. the Google features.Yes, I've been able to notice some color/brightness differences near the corners and edges, however I'm not the type to obsess over these. Additionally, while other sets like the LM8600 offer local dimming, from what I've read, many times the preference is to turn those features down or off completely once the set is properly calibrated. I usually do this, as I don't like seeing the set dynamically change brightness as the scene changes. To me that's more noticable than trying to pick out certain small details in shadows, etc.Google TV Functions:--------------------Google TV is NOT the end-game for Smart tv's. While it allows really easy search and web integration, the app support is limited. For instance, Amazon Instant Video is only supported through the Chrome browser and not a dedicated app. Even worse, Hulu and Hulu Plus aren't supported at all - not even through Chrome. Unlike the LM8600, I couldn't find an easy to access app market for the G2.Simply typing on the QWERTY remote instantly brings up search results, whether for tv listings, premium content (paid) listings, or web results. This can be really convenient to just type in a show's name and be able to quickly find when it next airs, on what channel, etc. When you set up Google tv, you enter your cable/dish provider so that it can search the local listings. Search results can also include rentable movies from premium services like Netflix, but you can choose to filter by free results only.The Chrome browser works really well and also allows most flash content to be played. Very nice.User interface & more thoughts on Google tv-------------------------------------------LG's main interface looks very similar between the G2 and LM8600, however the 8600 actually offers MORE flexibility in terms of apps, custom tabs for your favorites, moving items around on the home screen, etc. I find it very frustrating that the G2 will let you add favorites to websites and the like, but that you can't place them where you want. For instance, I added a favorite to the Amazon Instant Video homepage in Chrome. While this favorite shows up in my list of apps, I can't set it to be on the main home-screen of the G2's app interface. Neither can I add or rearrange the order of the tabs that organize the various apps (ie. Premium apps, 3D showcase, Favorites, or Most-Used).Along the bottom of the G2's home screen is a variety of icons, however mousing over them doesn't reveal what they are. You actually have to hit the directional arrows on the remote to highlight a particular icon in order for its text description to appear. And while you can rearrange the order of (most of) the icons, you're limited as to which icons can be placed on that bar.There's also a "Widget" view, however the only widget I've found is a clock - pretty useless.Google Magic Remote-------------------The remote is also a mixed bag. I love the keyboard on it - every "smart" tv should have one of these. It makes searching and using apps so much easier. The down side is the way it functions when controlling other devices through the IR blasters.Many features rely on you pressing two buttons at once - a "FN" (function) button and the appropriate keyboard button. You have to do this for things like controlling power to your cable box, changing input to TV, etc. But this brings some odd effects. For instance, with the power functions there's both an "Input 1 power" and "Input 2 power". As I said earlier, I have the cable box as #1 and blu-ray as #2. However, the power functions only work when you have the TV set to the input source itself. So for instance lets say all 3 things are on - tv, cable box and blu-ray. To turn them all off, you have to switch to the cable box's input then hit FN-Input 1 Power. Now you might think that you could just hit FN-Input 2 Power to shut off the blu-ray. Nope. You have to switch the input of the tv to the blu-ray, then hit FN-Input 1 Power (yes input 1, not input 2). So now both cable box and bluray are off and you can turn off the tv.Another odd thing is that the tv won't let you select an input that's actively producing a signal. Therefore, you can't use the remote to power on your blu-ray player, because it won't send the power signal to the IR blaster unless you have the appropriate input selected (which you can't do because it's off and therefore no signal is being passed to the tv). So it's an odd paradox.In the end, the IR blasters actually send all signals through both IR blasters regardless of which input you select as Input #1 and Input #2. Once set, these show up as "Controllable Inputs" in the tv's input menu, yet they're also available in the standard input list. I've had odd problems where if I select HDMI-1 instead of Controllable Input 1, then the IR blaster doesn't work to control the cable box.When controlling another device through the IR blaster, you often have to hit a directional arrow button before you can use the center "select" button on the remote. So when you load a blu-ray and it's sitting there waiting for you to select "Play" on the disc's menu, you have to hit right (then left) for the remote to go into "blu-ray" mode. Then you can press the center select button to actually start playing the show. Some features like chapter skip don't work for my blu-ray, either.On top of all this, the G2's remote actually does have an IR emitter (the tv's power function is only controllable through IR), but I'm guessing all the IR code sets are stored in the tv rather than the remote, and that's why you have to rely on the IR blasters to control your other devices.So after saying all that, just realize that the Google tv's remote for the G2 is as close as you'll get to having a universal remote that works with the Point-and-click features of LG's magic remotes. That being said, it has some odd quirks to get used to.Google TV IOS app-----------------It's not bad, but there are some times where you'll need to scroll back and forth between pages on your iPhone go go between selecting buttons and using the mouse pointer. One notable thing that it lacks compared to the LM8600's use of the LG Magic app is that you can't view live tv on your iPhone. I tried connecting the G2 to the LG Magic app, but it said that the G2 was unsupported.3D--3D is pretty good, and you can customize the 3D effects, but you have to put 3D into the User-Customizable mode instead of one of the pre-set modes. It took me a while to figure this out because the controls for 3D depth and things show up in the default 3D setting menu, but are greyed out. Only when you change the 3D mode to the user setting are they accessible.At 120Hz, this set is at the low end for passive 3D sets, and I prefer the 3D on the LM8600, though we're not huge 3D watchers. So for me, this wasn't a huge factor in which set to choose.The Google aspect doesn't add anything to 3D experience, so if one of your major uses is 3D, you may wish to look at other sets that put more of the cost toward the picture quality than the Google features.Conclusion----------So after that long-winded review, why 3-stars? I mean, I'm really happy with this tv, but I have to examine based against the LM8600, since they're both LG's and around the same price-point. I chose to use the G2 over the LM8600 because of the extra functions of the IR blasters and universal remote. Yes, it has its quirks and fails the most stringent "wife-tests", but for normal tv viewing it works pretty darn well. it's usable with other inputs, though not the best. You have to keep the other remotes around, but you can get by without them. We're not heavy sports or 3-D watchers, so the LM8600's enhanced picture quality wasn't enough to offset the convenience of the Google features. In all, it's a better "Family-Room" tv. We don't subscribe to Hulu or Netflix, and I only occasionally use Amazon Instant Video. And while AIV isn't a dedicated app, being able to bookmark it (even if it takes a couple extra clicks) is offset by the fact that I can actually browse for shows using the web-based interface and a full qwerty keyboard.If this tv was for a dedicated theather or sports room, I'd have chosen the LM8600 or other non-Google models as they still offer many premium apps, have a usable remote, but offer better picture specs for the same or less money.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Ditch cable, buy this
By T. K. Sung
I don't know if 8M:1 contrast ratio is any better, but the pics on this set is spectacular enough. And it has Google TV built in. You could get a cheaper plasma set and slap on a Google TV box for $99, but you won't get as nicer picture quality, and having the box built into TV is cleaner. I have my 100 mbps connection hooked to it and watching programs on Internet mostly. When I need local channels $19 antenna picks up 50 channels. Who needs cable?On down side, it seems to be slower than it should be. The spec says duel core processor, but it is slower than my 5 year old laptop over wireless. It takes longer to render nyt.com, for example. And it is clocked at 14 mbps download speed where as my laptop on the same 100mbps connection clocks at 60 mbps. (UPDATE: I ran the speed test more thoroughly, and the speed on the TV was same as the laptop. The initial test must have been a fluke). Google TV still has ways to go before it can claim to be an appliance too. (I haven't seen Apple TV, but I'll bet it's UI is cleaner and more intuitive). It's remote control takes some time to get used to also. You have to click several times to get to the last channel or one of your favorite channels. (menu->arrow down->last, menu->favorite channels->your channel).I'm still giving 5 stars because of the picture quality, and being able to use your 55" as your computer without slapping on anything is a kick. 3D is cool too.UPDATE: After 6 mo use, I'm taking a star away because some videos that work flawlessly on my 5 year old laptop frequently malfunction. NYT video sometimes runs at half the speed getting out of sync with sound, and Flash crash is so frequent that it is practically unusable. When scrolling, the images will lurch up separate from texts on some web pages. Not sure if it is the slow 1GHz L9 processor or Google TV software at fault, but forget about using it as a general purpose browser.
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