Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this TV to replace a 42" LG in my master bedroom (which replaced a 40" Sony XBR6). (FWIW, both of those TVs were purchased from Amazon. I have purchased six 40-47" TVs from Amazon and have never had any shipping problems or damage.) I originally started with the 42" version of this TV which was returned to Amazon due to some screen uniformity issues (more later). Due to the LA6200's thin bezel, the 47" worked in my space. I've had it for 4 weeks and I'm quite pleased with it overall. If I could give half stars, I would award it 4.5. I can't and on balance I thought it was more fair to give it 5 than 4. APPEARANCE: This is an impressively styled display. The dark gunmetal bezel is quite attractive. I was glad to see LG left off the silver accents that are creeping into more of their models. I view those as unnecessary styling elements that detract somewhat from the overall appearance of the set. LG designers did a great job on the LA6200. Several have commented this TV is much thicker than some of the very thin models on the market. That is necessitated by the back lighting system LG utilized on this model line. All LED TVs have LCD panels. LCD panels, unlike plasma displays, are incapable of generating their own light...they must be back lit to produce a visible picture. The very thin TVs are edge lit. The LEDs are placed on the left and right or top and bottom of the panels and mirrors reflect the light onto the panels illuminating it to provide a picture. This configuration allows for a very thin TV, but there are compromises. The primary concern is called flashlighting. If there was a scene with a bright moon against a dark sky, the LEDs on the edge of the panel would have to light up the moon. As the light is being reflected, some displays will show a beam of light, not unlike the pattern of a beam of light from a flashlight, going from the edge to the illuminated object...in this case the moon. The LG LA 6200 series are direct lit meaning the LED lights are arranged along the entire back of the panel and not just the edges. A full array back lit set has a great number of these LEDs mounted relatively close to the screen. Full array sets are found in the upper tier models and tend to be quite expensive. The direct lit system LG used utilizes less LEDs. To properly illuminate the panel, they are positioned farther away from the panel resulting in that thickness. Direct lit sets don't have problems with flashlighting, but they can have issues with dark screen uniformity and light bleed. Both my 42" and 47" LA6200s had/have light bleeding...the 47 far less than the 42. This is why I would deduct 1/2 star, if possible. The issue actually seems to be getting a bit better as the TV breaks in and I'm only seeing it on some dark screens, not all. SET-UP: The TV was very easy to set up. Mine is mounted to a stand (VESA, M6 bolts) so I did not use the included base, but that looks very simple to attach. After you turn on the TV, you go through a brief set up...home or store use, zip code, time zone, etc. and then to Picture Wizard II. This is a calibration tool LG includes to help you adjust the TV for home viewing. After going through it's procedure and then later using the Disney Wow Blu-ray calibration disc, I was impressed how close to that mark the Picture Wizard II settings were. You definitely want to do this. TVs are set up in stores to be as bright as possible as studies have shown in a big box store setting customers are drawn to the brightest displays and perceive those to have the best picture. In a home setting, especially with controlled lighting, those store settings will look horrible. LG has already released a firmware update for 6200 series, so you'll want to update the software through the TV's menu system. REMOTE: The 42 and 47 come with ONLY the standard remote. It is well laid out, but unfortunately not back lighted. The correct Magic Remote is the AN MR400. It is fully functional with the 47, including voice functions, and makes it far easier to access the TV's smart functions. It is well worth purchasing in my opinion. SMART FEATURES: Relax, Amazon Instant is on the way. LG has been rolling out updated firmware in waves to provide this app. They started with 2011 models and have finished both 2011 and 2012 models. They are now working on updates for 2013 models, so it shouldn't be much longer. The only app I use now is Netflix....streams without buffering or other problems (Verizon FiOS - hardwired.) The LA6200 has full internet capability. It's workable with the Magic Remote, but I don't use this very often....not far enough along the learning curve, perhaps. PICTURE QUALITY: Other than the light bleed issue, it's very difficult to find any fault in the picture quality. Whether watching Blu-ray, DVD, Verizon FiOS or streaming Netflix, I have been extremely pleased, especially after I calibrated the set. Excellent clarity, accurate colors, realistic flesh tones and no perceived motion issues (even with Trumotion off as I hate the Soap Opera Effect). 3D: I'm not a huge fan of 3D, but I did want the capability for occasional use. LG's passive 3D is excellent, probably the best in the industry (it should be, LG invented it and licenses it to other companies). More manufacturers are dropping active in favor of passive (Sony, for example) with Samsung being one of the few major active holdouts. There is a very interesting article on Displaymate's website (they sell calibration software) where they came to the conclusion that passive technology actually offers a better, clearer and sharper 3D image. The active supporters like to claim that passive 3D offers only half the resolution of active sets. While true in theory and if you sit abnormally close to the screen, due to a phenomenon known as "image fusion", the human brain perceives the passive display to have equal resolution at normal viewing distances. If you purchase this set, spring for Avatar and The Hobbit on 3D Blu-ray and really appreciate the 3D picture this panel is capable of producing. AUDIO. The audio on the 47" is surprisingly pretty good. I suppose one benefit to the thicker frame of this TV is the ability to use larger speakers. I have a Zvox 220 in this room and haven't even bothered to hook it up yet. GAMING I don't play games or own a gaming console so I can't speak to that. MY SETTINGS: (Note: This TV is in my bedroom which has total light control. I have electric hurricane shutters on every window/sliding glass door. These settings will result in a dark picture in an environment with more light.) Energy Savings: Off Picture Mode: isf Expert 1 Backlight: 40 Contrast: 90 Brightness: 57 H Sharpness: 2 V Sharpness: 2 Color: 57 Tint: G9 EXPERT CONTROL: Dynamic Contrast: Off Super Resolution: Off Color Gamut: BT709 Edge Enhancer: Off Color Filter: Off Gamma: 2.2 PICTURE OPTIONS Noise Reduction: Off MPEG Noise Reduction: Off Black Level: Low Real Cinema: On TruMotion: Off (Note: Turn this off if you dislike soap opera effect) Nitpicks and Quirks: 1. Standard remote is not back lighted. 2. Screen uniformity issue described above. 3. When streaming with one of the applications such as Netflix, the Settings button on the remote (lower left) does nothing. If, however, you press the sleep timer button (lower right), you can not only set the timer, but select video, audio, size, etc. I found this a bit odd. 4. To get to the menu to turn off Trumotion while watching an app such as Netflix, you need to press the "My Apps" button on the remote to get into the menu AND you have to adjust the picture separately for EACH app. 5.On the standard remote the Smart activation button is extremely close to the up button. You need to pay close attention to their proximity when you are entering your account info for Netflix and the like or you'll kick yourself out and have to start over again. (I did this several times...yet another reason to buy the Magic Remote.) 6. The power cord is a bit short. If you search Amazon for a "Mickey Mouse power cord" (I am NOT kidding) you can find longer ones for a few dollars. 7. This is 60Hz refresh rate panel. LG, along with many manufacturers (Sony, Vizio, etc.), fudge on this number. "TruMotion 120" is a 60Hz panel that provides an EFFECTIVE refresh rate of 120Hz through a processor producing frame interpolation. This is where the infamous "Soap Opera Effect" comes from. On balance, I think this TV is an excellent buy for the money. If the panel uniformity issues could be resolved, it would be a solid 5 star TV. Please feel free to post any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. 7/10/13 UPDATE: Someone on AVS forum with actual calibration equipment calibrated a 47LA6200 at a B&M store. While my limited settings were obtained using the Disney Wow Blu-ray disc in a very light controlled bedroom, the settings below were obtained in a very brightly florescent lit store environment. His settings are far more extensive, including color management and 20 point grayscale settings. These will probably result in a picture a bit too bright for most home settings (f so, start with lowering the backlight level). By the way, this person indicated after calibration, the 47LA6200's colors were extremely accurate. He also thought black-level and contrast were a bit weak. Color management and 20 point grayscale adjustments are performed in the expert menu. (Posted with "Showroomcali's permission and with thanks to him.): LG 47LA6200 Direct Lit LED/LCD Target Gamma - 2.1 Actual Gamma - 2.01 dE- 1.98 Expert Mode 1 Backlight- 80 Contrast- 82 Brightness- 44 H Sharpness- 22 V Sharpness- 20 Color- 50 Tint- 0 (Neutral) Gamma- 2.2 CMS Settings (Saturation, Tint, Luminance) R= -2,4,7 G= 10,4,-6 B= 6,3,-4 C= 6,3,9 M= 3,0,3 Y= 7,3,2 10/20 Point Grayscale R/G/B 05: -3, -6, -22. 10: -2,-6,-28 15: 0,0,0 20: -7,-10,-16 25: -4,0,-3 30: -15,-7,22 35: 0,0,0 40: -27,-18,12 45: 0,0,0 50: -34,-20,16 55: -34,-16,0 60: -45,-31,8 65: -33,-13,15 70: -48,-20,20 75: -26,-16,10 80: -38, -28,20 85: -28,-16,10 90: -44,-29,24 95: -8,-2,3 100: 4,-14,2 Color Gamut: BT709 Color Temp: Warm 2 All enhancements: OFF Real Cinema: On