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LG 32CS460
by blissman70
Everyone has one, or at least everyone has seen one during their life time. No, we're not talking aliens from the planet Uranus, who have taken us aboard their ships and probed our, well, our planets shall we say.......
No, I'm talking televisions. Those things that sit in the corner of a room and force everyone to stare at them in ... an endless Zombie fashion. Although there no longer boxes and they're no longer only sat in the corner of the room, some are sellotaped to the walls, some are popping out of the end of beds and some are even hanging from the ceiling. But none the less, they are still things that people crowd around in the hope of seeing something worth watching... which these days is not that often. There's more chance of being probed by those chaps from the planet with the humorous name.
When it comes to getting a television we all now that it is a task in itself. Not only do we have to think about where it is going to go, a small television for a small room, a larger television for a larger room... you get he meaning... But some people also think about what their friends are going to say when they come around to watch the FA cup final on your new television only to discover that the 16 inch one you opted for is not quite as 'viewable' as they hoped from the other end of the 20 foot living room that you're all sat in. "Did that television come free with a pair of binoculars?" one of them will no doubt ask.
So you have to be a little on the 'clued' up side when it comes to buying a television, and you have to ask yourself a few question.
Which I did when it came to replacing a television in one of the kids rooms after she had a slight, shall we say, mishap, involving a small rugby ball, a piece of wood and a lot of giddiness amongst her and her friends.
So after a lot of shouting from me, and threats of taking money off her for the rest of her life, I ended up giving in and buying a new television for her, more to stop her moaning at me for what seemed like every minute of the day and night.
The brand of television I ended up buying was from a company that I have bought television from before and have had some good quality goods from them, so when I found this television on sale I did not hesitate in buying it.
The television itself that I was soon installing in her room was in fact the LG 32CS460, which, from the first numbers in the name, tell you the size of the screen, in this case a 32inch. But I have no idea what the other numbers have to do with it.
* Firstly, I always like to do first is get the boring specs out of the way... so here we go...
As I mentioned this one has a 32" HD LCD screen, giving 1366 x 768 pixel resolution at 50Hz, with Built in freeview
It has what is technically called a Triple XD engine, which is not something you find in the latest Lamborghini, pumping out more horse power than the starting gate at Aintree. It is what powers this television giving it the quality it offers.
The picture quality is SD/HD/HD plus and DivX HD and there's something they call picture wizard 2, although I Haven't got a clue what that is but as the picture is top quality I'm guessing it means that it gives a cracking picture quality.
It has 8 modes of ratio correction, such as full, original, letterbox, 16:9, 4:3 and others.
It has two 5watts speakers which are on the underside of the unit and there's the good old Dolby digital decoder to give that Dolby surround sound.
Then, to make matters even better, it also offers different sound systems such as music, sports, game and others.
Audio compatibility is AAC, Mpeg, LPCM, HAAC, EAC3 and AC3.
As for the ports, these are...
On the rear.
Scart (only one though)
2 HDMI ports
AV video/audio
Antenna
On the side.
CI module, which is for adding paid for channels if and when you want to add them. Then under this there is a USB port
NOTE:
There is no VGI port so this can not be used as a monitor for your PC. Which can be a bit annoying as I thought that all modern televisions could double up as monitors these day. And, there's not even a headphone socket, which is a bit strange as well.
Plus, on the back, there are several screw holes so that you can attached this to a bracket and have it hanging from a wall.
* What exactly does it look like..?
A television. But not like the old fashioned ones that are built like a small car and can make mince meat of a wooden stand if you're not too careful.
But in more detail...
The whole television is about 794mm wide by 505mm high, although when you put the stand on the bottom you will add another 60mm onto the height, and it is a slim 74mm thick, weighing in at a mere 8 kilograms
On the front there is the screen, which covers the majority of the unit, with the black frame going nicely around it.
On the lower right side, as you look at the screen, there is the remote sensor, together with a few touch button controls. Those being the power button, input, settings, channel and volume controls.
The settings button gets you into the main menu and it also saves any of the setting that you have made to the television settings.
The input button changes what source is seen on the television, be that the aerial, through the Scart with your DVD, video or game system.
Then, when you look at the rear, you'll see the ports that I mentioned, which are all together in one rectangular section on the right lower side, as you look at it from the back.
The vents are well placed around the unit, all round the edges, giving the interior parts plenty of chance to stay as cool as Arthur Fonzarelli with the ladies, (remember him..?, leather Jacket and greased back hair? Now he was cool. I always wanted to be him when I was younger. Look at me now, leather skin and hardly any hair... ah well).
* Shall we take a look at the remote control... (caution... padding alert...padding alert...padding alert...skip this part if you don't like reading about remote controls...)
It looks like many other remotes, with the standard numbers 1 to 0 at the top end, just below the power button and tv/radio swap button, with an energy selection on the other side.
Below these top buttons they give you the guide button, which opens up the television guide for the next week or so. Next to this you have the information button, which tells you a little detail about what program you select through the guide option.
Then, you have the ratio button and the input button, for selecting the way the television screen looks and what connected unit you want to watch on it.
Then we have the number buttons which are used for quick channel changing and other functions.
Next, below the numbers, there is the cursor keys with the OK button in the centre and four buttons surrounding the cursor. Those buttons are the settings, which take you into the settings, obviously, then we have the Q.menu, which opens up a list of the channels you have been watching, flicking to the last channel on a single press, showing the others so you can flick through with the cursor keys, selecting what channel you want. Also, under the cursor keys, we are looking at the exit button and the back button, which hare used to clear the screen or to go back a screen or two.
Further down we have the volume and channel buttons, which are obvious to understand.
Then here is gets a little confusing with the button as getting more and more crowded, but we are the mute button, audio changer, favourite list option, colour buttons and controls for when you have the smart link or USB plugged in.
Finally, we have the teletext buttons that are sitting on the bottom right.
So that's the remote control and all its buttons, although I do have to say that you do need to a couple of batteries in order for this remote to work, either that or you could try will power and a quick prayer.
And, you really need the remote in order to use the television to the best of its abilities.
* Is there anything else worth mentioning..?
It also offers a parent lock and, for those that care about the environment, or the electric bills, this is under the C class range of eco-ness-ness, and it runs about 75w/h when running and a mere 0.3 when on stand-by.
* My opinion...
As I said I have used LG products before, such as mobile phones and televisions, so I was pretty confident in this one being as good as any other, and, bar a bit of a niggle, I've not been disappointed.
The initial set up is the hardest thing to do, and even this is a doddle and is just a matter of pressing a few buttons and following the on screen instructions. Just use the cursor keys to edge along to the 'set up' logo, the one with the satellite dish on it, then press the 'OK' button in the middle of the cursor keys. Then, carry on using the cursor keys and the ok button as you read through the simple to understand directions that comes up.
Everything plugs into place easily enough, it's a shame that there's only one Scart socket but as the games systems use the AV/audio inputs there's no real hassles with the lack of Scarts. Plus, if you're desperate for more Scart lead connections then there's always a multi Scart unit that can be picked up at a reasonable price from most electrical shops, and some super markets too.
Then, once the channels decided where they wanted to be, with the DVD player finding it's own and the game-system doing what it has to do, the television was ready for use in no time at all. Plus, the fact that, with this modern Digital signal and the fact that the television will no doubt need to be tuned in again when new channels come out and others change addresses, I know that tuning it in will only take a matter of minutes.
The sound quality is good enough with the different selections depending on what you're doing, be it watching a movie, listening to music, playing video games or what ever you're doing, there is a sound selection for everything.
Mine is set on 'normal' as I find that to be fine for every day use, although my daughter does tend to switch and change depending on what mood she's in.
The picture quality does the job too, although it isn't the best that LG have brought out for some reason.
Don't get me wrong, it is clear enough to enjoy what you are watching of course, but compared to some other televisions it does lack a little 'clarity' shall we say.
As I said, I have another LG in another room and the picture quality on that is second to none, so I'm guessing it's not the LG thing, more just this particular modal, which may be a bit of a let down but not enough to be upset about parting with my cash in order to get this from the shop to my house.
The stand, which you can use or, if you want to have it mounted on a wall then this stand can't be fitted. But if you use the stand then the stand may look a bit small but it manages to hold the television upright without tipping over.
You can turn the television around by up to 20° either way, letting you turn the television without having to move the stand itself, which is useful if you have screwed the stand into the unit it is stood on.
I like the black frame around the screen as it takes your eye straight to the screen without any distractions, even if the frame has a sort of gloss look to it.
What I mean by that is that when the television is on and the lights are down then the only thing you can see is the screen as the frame is black, so you can concentrate on what ever is on the television. I have had some televisions that have had a light coloured frame and the frame seems to light up from the reflection of the screen, which can sometimes take the eye away from the movie you're watching.
The remote control is simple to use, as simple as any other remote to be honest, so there's no hassles with getting used to this one, and it controls the television in every which way possible, which is a good thing for those that like to sit and rest after a hard days raiding the fridge.
So, is there anything else that I should say about this LG television..?
Well. I've been through the basics really, the picture, the sound, the shape, the remote and even the stand... I mean, what else is there to say?
It's a nice size television that's ideal for a bedroom or a smaller room that offers a good enough picture quality combined with a nice sound quality. So, overall, it's a nice little television without a doubt.
* And the price...?!!?
I managed to get this from a well known retailer, or that's how he likes to be known anyway... (good old Benny), and I paid just under £170, which is not too bad really considering that it retails for about the £200 (+) mark on a normal day.
(and no, Benny doesn't sell thing that have fallen off the back of a lorry, or so he says, although I have noticed that one or two of his items on the shelves do have a few 'strange marks' on the corners, as if they have taken a tumble... hmmm, maybe Benny's not as innocent as he looks. Ow well, a bargains a bargain).
Anyway, even for the price of £200 I'd still be happy with the results and feel that this television is well suited for a spare room or a bedroom.
The only thing is I would have liked it to have a VGA connection in case I wanted to add a PC to it, but you can't have everything can you?.
İBlissman70 2013
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