I have owned five HDTVs in the last 7 years (either upgrading or adding additional HDTVs to my home ... or replacing one that my infant son destroyed with a metal soup ladle). Out of all the HDTV brands I've owned I can say that LG has consistently impressed me and this LG 42LV4400 is no exception.

The biggest selling point for this particular HDTV is the LED back light behind the LCD panel. The LED back lighting allows companies to make HDTVs that are MUCH thinner and lighter than what has been possible before. To put it in perspective, I can "barely" lift my old 42-inch HDTV by myself (and I risk injury in the process) but I can lift the LG 42LV4400 without any problems. Heck, I could probably lift two of these TVs (one in each arm) if the TVs had handles. This makes the HDTV easy to unpack, easy to install, and easy to move again later. If you decide to mount the 42LV4400 on a wall mount (sold separately) then the thin LED design makes the TV sit closer to the wall so it won't stick out like a sore thumb.

In terms of visual performance, this HDTV really shines. The contrast ratio is great (black looks BLACK and not charcoal gray) and colors appear pleasant right out of the box (though I'm sure the color is "a little" more saturated than it would be in real life). The 120Hz refresh rate helps when viewing fast action without "ghosting" on the screen, and the faster refresh rate may (in theory) help prevent eye strain for some people watching this TV. Bottom line, picture quality is GREAT.

My only complaint about this HDTV is that the speakers sound pretty flat (little bass and no real "depth" to the sound). I had to turn up the volume pretty high to get decent sound levels but then you get sound distortion from the speakers pushing harder than they should. Most people probably won't notice the audio issues I described, but I am an audiophile and I enjoy watching classical concerts so I immediately noticed the weak performance of the built-in speakers. In short, if you want a rich audio experience then you need to buy a HDMI receiver and some good home theater speakers.

Overall, I think this is a great HDTV and it seems to give good value for the asking price. Most HDTVs don't have "amazing" built-in speakers so the weak audio performance shouldn't be a deal breaker unless you REALLY care about audio and can't afford to add home theater speakers to this TV.