Facing a problem with my LG LH90 (Attn prospective buyers)

jetak_k

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Hi Guys,

I am facing a problem with my recently purchased LG 47LH90 LED backlit LCD TV.

Once I got the TV, after playing around with picture settings of the TV quite a bit, I had found my optimal picture settings (these settings were derived from settings suggested by users in online forums of highdefjunkies.com and avsforum). Once I was satisfied with picture quality I saved these settings in a profile.

Now, the problem is, everytime I switch on the TV, the picture looks very bad - foggy, bluish etc. Now, I need to go to brightness control and bounce it by a notch ( i.e. say if saved brightness level is 52, I make it 53 and then back to 52 again). Then only the complete settings take effect and picture becomes right.

Effectively, everytime I switch on the TV, I need to do this circus before I can start viewing. (how frustrating!)

Same problem happens if I change inputs. My tata sky is on AV1, while my dvd player is on component1. So, I just switch to the other input, and picture becomes bad. I again need to bounce brightness level to get it back.

I made a complaint to LG. Their technician came over and saw the problem. He went back saying he needs to check with senior engineers. It has been two weeks now, and still no response or solution. Everytime I call them they say they will check and get back. But no getting back so far.

The problem does not happen, if I use the default settings - where in white level (grey levels) control, red brightness/contrast, blue brightness/contrast etc at default setting of 0. But, then the picture quality is not satisfactory to me at the default setting.

As many of you will be aware, one USP of LH90 is that amount of picture settings control that it provides. This is one of the primary reasons for it getting good reviews by cnet, avsforum etc as well as by all users.
This played a big part in me selecting this TV over others.

I am posting this information for the benefit of potential buyers. I am suspecting that this is a generic problem with all sets of this model. Most likely a firmware issue (or some hardware component issue?) such that settings do not get applied initially till brightness control is bounced. If it is a firmware issue, may be it would be possible to fix it - not sure though. I am not sure whether this is the only manifestation of the problem. May be there are other scenarios where this will happen.

Please be aware of this problem if you are considering this TV. I will update this thread if I hear back from LG.

For more detailed information on this problem, see below some relevant parts of the mail that I sent to LG support.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have my favorite picture settings stored under the name 'expert1'. (this has my customer brightness level, color, white levels
CMS etc set.

Now, everytime I switch on the TV somehow the settings do not take effect. The picture looks hazy, foggy, bluish etc. Now, I just to picture control and just modify brightness level up and down. (my stored brightness level is 52, so I just need to make it 53 and then again back to 52). Suddenly, now the settings take effect and picture becomes perfect.

So, in effect, everytime I switch on the TV, I need to bounce the brightness level once to get proper picture. Same thing happens
when change input source (AV1, component1, HDMI etc). Same problem with saved settings in expert2 also.

For your reference, I am giving below the picture settings with which I can see the problem. This is just an example. As I mentioned before, I can see the same problem with a variety of other settings.

Picture settings:
o Backlight: 45
o Contrast: 83
o Brightness: 52
o H Sharpness: 54
o V Sharpness: 58
o Color: 66
o Tint: R3
o Expert Control
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Noise Reduction: Low
Gamma: High
Black Level: Low
Real Cinema: On
TruMotion: Low
Color Gamut: Wide
Edge Enhancer: High
White Balance: Cool
Red Contrast: 20
Green Contrast: 9
Blue Contrast: 26
Red Brightness: 3
Green Brightness: 14
Blue Brightness: 16
Color Management System
Red Color: -5
Red Tint: 3
Green Color: -3
Green Tint: -4
Blue Color: -3
Blue Tint: 3
Yellow Color: 2
Yellow Tint: 0
Cyan Color: -5
Cyan Tint: -7
Magenta Color: -3
Magenta Tint: -1
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
 
For each input the settings under picture mode and expert control needs to be configured independently. It means one has to set Expert 1 settings you have optimized for TV,AV1,AV2,Component1,Component2,HDMI1,HDMI2,HDMI3seperately after selecting particular input. The settings are not automatically assigned to other inputs eventhough one selects apply to all inputs in menu. Now you seems to have different problem. The TV is not able to store the setting values Try setting each input independently.
 
For each input the settings under picture mode and expert control needs to be configured independently. It means one has to set Expert 1 settings you have optimized for TV,AV1,AV2,Component1,Component2,HDMI1,HDMI2,HDMI3seperately after selecting particular input. The settings are not automatically assigned to other inputs eventhough one selects apply to all inputs in menu. Now you seems to have different problem. The TV is not able to store the setting values Try setting each input independently.

I have saved the setting for each input. (the tv provides for saving the setting independently for each input).

However, I face the problem for all inputs. It is not that the tv is not able to store the setting - everytime I bounce the brightness, the stored settings take effect. However, the problem is, everytime I switch on, the settings do not initially take effect. I have to toggle brightness to get it take effect.
 
I have saved the setting for each input. (the tv provides for saving the setting independently for each input).

However, I face the problem for all inputs. It is not that the tv is not able to store the setting - everytime I bounce the brightness, the stored settings take effect. However, the problem is, everytime I switch on, the settings do not initially take effect. I have to toggle brightness to get it take effect.

Looks like a software issue, Have you contaced LG support, maybe a simple firmware reload would solve the issue.
 
Just in case you need to send them a legal notice and go to consumer court, I would suggest you keep a record of everything - from all paperwork (bills, receipts etc) to a record of when all you called them and what action, if any, they took. Names and phone numbers also help, and if they five you a reference number then nothing like it!

Meanwhile, start sending them polite e-mails about the problem, and the fact that despite being a premium product their service has been far from reliable.
 
I have saved the setting for each input. (the tv provides for saving the setting independently for each input).

However, I face the problem for all inputs. It is not that the tv is not able to store the setting - everytime I bounce the brightness, the stored settings take effect. However, the problem is, everytime I switch on, the settings do not initially take effect. I have to toggle brightness to get it take effect.

Just a possible workaround..

Try deleting the expert configuration and reconfigure again using same values and check.

Does it happen only in expert mode? Is the picture fine from the start in other predefined modes?

Also, Did you try to change the brightness settings to something else and save it? Say brightness = 51/53 instead of 52?
 
I have saved the setting for each input. (the tv provides for saving the setting independently for each input).

However, I face the problem for all inputs. It is not that the tv is not able to store the setting - everytime I bounce the brightness, the stored settings take effect. However, the problem is, everytime I switch on, the settings do not initially take effect. I have to toggle brightness to get it take effect.

Any auto settings (real time), if there, is enabled?
 
Thank you for all the inputs and suggestions.

Just a possible workaround..

Try deleting the expert configuration and reconfigure again using same values and check.

Does it happen only in expert mode? Is the picture fine from the start in other predefined modes?

Also, Did you try to change the brightness settings to something else and save it? Say brightness = 51/53 instead of 52?

It happens only in Expert mode (expert1 and expert2) since only in those modes white levels, red brightness/contrast etc can be adjusted. Only when they are changed from default value of 0, the problem starts.

Yes, I tried with a wide range of brightness settings. Same issue.

When the LG technician came, he tried resetting all the settings to factory defaults and starting all over again. Problem still remains.

Are you using powersaving option as default?
This may cause prob too.

Any auto settings (real time), if there, is enabled?

This was one thing which LG tech person also asked.
I have all of them turned off. And no auto energy control also enabled.

Looks like a software issue, Have you contaced LG support, maybe a simple firmware reload would solve the issue.

Exactly.
I have been writing software for embedded systems for last 12 years. And this sounds very much like a typical software issue.

Only issue is getting them to understand and realize this. If only they could just give out the source code, we can fix the problem in a jiffy :)

Just in case you need to send them a legal notice and go to consumer court, I would suggest you keep a record of everything - from all paperwork (bills, receipts etc) to a record of when all you called them and what action, if any, they took. Names and phone numbers also help, and if they five you a reference number then nothing like it!

Meanwhile, start sending them polite e-mails about the problem, and the fact that despite being a premium product their service has been far from reliable.

Yes, exactly my thinking. Thank you for the suggestion.

I had sent a mail to customer support email id given in LG site, explaining the problem and complaining that there has not been proper response from LG for last two weeks.

Somebody from Noida responded saying they are asking the branch office to take care of this issue. They also gave Bangalore branch manager's number. I called him and demanded action. He in turn got some engineer to call me.

Looks like they were sleeping on this issue so far because the engineer still had not enough information about this problem though I had given all the details to the technician who visited my place. (also in email)

Anyway, he sent the technician again saying they have found the settings which could correct the problem. (I could only laugh at this claim).

The technician came and again tried resetting the settings to factory defaults (which is what he did two weeks back also). That did not help as I expected.
He had got a new mother board for the TV with him. So he replaced the existing one with new one. Again, did not help.

After I gave a thorough dressing down to this guy and the engineer at service center (who was giving support over phone to this guy), they agreed to go back and check whether this problem exists on other TVs of this model. This is the first thing they should have checked anyway.

They requested me to kindly give them sometime before I call the manager again. Hopefully this time they will look into this issue seriously and give some solution. It seems, right now Bangalore show rooms are out of stock of this model because of which they are not able to try this on another TV.

Anyway, I keep my fingers crossed.
 
I was also contemplating to buy this set - however decided against when users on cnet and bestbuy complained about audio lag (lip sync) issue when they connect cable box, ps3 etc - fr sm ppl its only when the source is connected thru hdmi, for some its thru component connections also - not that, much of us use internal speakers, however the basic expectation is that it should be fit for purpose
 
I was also contemplating to buy this set - however decided against when users on cnet and bestbuy complained about audio lag (lip sync) issue when they connect cable box, ps3 etc - fr sm ppl its only when the source is connected thru hdmi, for some its thru component connections also - not that, much of us use internal speakers, however the basic expectation is that it should be fit for purpose

Not that I will recommend this TV after what I am facing.

But, this lib sync issue might not be a deal breaker.

Two things:

- A number of people in US got a firmware fix for this issue
- There is a control in service menu using which audio delay can be adjusted. For some people in UC, this change corrected the problem.

Having said that, I would suggest to stay away from this model. (atleast the Indian model). With what I am seeing, where in one the basic picture control menu item not working, I am not sure what kind of quality assurance system they have.
 
Hi Guys,

I am facing a problem with my recently purchased LG 47LH90 LED backlit LCD TV.

Once I got the TV, after playing around with picture settings of the TV quite a bit, I had found my optimal picture settings (these settings were derived from settings suggested by users in online forums of highdefjunkies.com and avsforum). Once I was satisfied with picture quality I saved these settings in a profile.

Now, the problem is, everytime I switch on the TV, the picture looks very bad - foggy, bluish etc. Now, I need to go to brightness control and bounce it by a notch ( i.e. say if saved brightness level is 52, I make it 53 and then back to 52 again). Then only the complete settings take effect and picture becomes right.

Effectively, everytime I switch on the TV, I need to do this circus before I can start viewing. (how frustrating!)

Same problem happens if I change inputs. My tata sky is on AV1, while my dvd player is on component1. So, I just switch to the other input, and picture becomes bad. I again need to bounce brightness level to get it back.

I made a complaint to LG. Their technician came over and saw the problem. He went back saying he needs to check with senior engineers. It has been two weeks now, and still no response or solution. Everytime I call them they say they will check and get back. But no getting back so far.

The problem does not happen, if I use the default settings - where in white level (grey levels) control, red brightness/contrast, blue brightness/contrast etc at default setting of 0. But, then the picture quality is not satisfactory to me at the default setting.

As many of you will be aware, one USP of LH90 is that amount of picture settings control that it provides. This is one of the primary reasons for it getting good reviews by cnet, avsforum etc as well as by all users.
This played a big part in me selecting this TV over others.

I am posting this information for the benefit of potential buyers. I am suspecting that this is a generic problem with all sets of this model. Most likely a firmware issue (or some hardware component issue?) such that settings do not get applied initially till brightness control is bounced. If it is a firmware issue, may be it would be possible to fix it - not sure though. I am not sure whether this is the only manifestation of the problem. May be there are other scenarios where this will happen.

Please be aware of this problem if you are considering this TV. I will update this thread if I hear back from LG.

For more detailed information on this problem, see below some relevant parts of the mail that I sent to LG support.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have my favorite picture settings stored under the name 'expert1'. (this has my customer brightness level, color, white levels
CMS etc set.

Now, everytime I switch on the TV somehow the settings do not take effect. The picture looks hazy, foggy, bluish etc. Now, I just to picture control and just modify brightness level up and down. (my stored brightness level is 52, so I just need to make it 53 and then again back to 52). Suddenly, now the settings take effect and picture becomes perfect.

So, in effect, everytime I switch on the TV, I need to bounce the brightness level once to get proper picture. Same thing happens
when change input source (AV1, component1, HDMI etc). Same problem with saved settings in expert2 also.

For your reference, I am giving below the picture settings with which I can see the problem. This is just an example. As I mentioned before, I can see the same problem with a variety of other settings.

Picture settings:
o Backlight: 45
o Contrast: 83
o Brightness: 52
o H Sharpness: 54
o V Sharpness: 58
o Color: 66
o Tint: R3
o Expert Control
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Noise Reduction: Low
Gamma: High
Black Level: Low
Real Cinema: On
TruMotion: Low
Color Gamut: Wide
Edge Enhancer: High
White Balance: Cool
Red Contrast: 20
Green Contrast: 9
Blue Contrast: 26
Red Brightness: 3
Green Brightness: 14
Blue Brightness: 16
Color Management System
Red Color: -5
Red Tint: 3
Green Color: -3
Green Tint: -4
Blue Color: -3
Blue Tint: 3
Yellow Color: 2
Yellow Tint: 0
Cyan Color: -5
Cyan Tint: -7
Magenta Color: -3
Magenta Tint: -1
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Hi jeetak i own a 42LH90 and after viewing this post i checked out de same settings which u have posted here on my tv and no prob at all wen i switched off and switched it on after half an hour. i think der is some firmware issue wit ur set,keep bugging LG guys until ur prob is solved...
 
Thank you for all the inputs and suggestions.



It happens only in Expert mode (expert1 and expert2) since only in those modes white levels, red brightness/contrast etc can be adjusted. Only when they are changed from default value of 0, the problem starts.

Yes, I tried with a wide range of brightness settings. Same issue.

When the LG technician came, he tried resetting all the settings to factory defaults and starting all over again. Problem still remains.





This was one thing which LG tech person also asked.
I have all of them turned off. And no auto energy control also enabled.



Exactly.
I have been writing software for embedded systems for last 12 years. And this sounds very much like a typical software issue.

Only issue is getting them to understand and realize this. If only they could just give out the source code, we can fix the problem in a jiffy :)



Yes, exactly my thinking. Thank you for the suggestion.

I had sent a mail to customer support email id given in LG site, explaining the problem and complaining that there has not been proper response from LG for last two weeks.

Somebody from Noida responded saying they are asking the branch office to take care of this issue. They also gave Bangalore branch manager's number. I called him and demanded action. He in turn got some engineer to call me.

Looks like they were sleeping on this issue so far because the engineer still had not enough information about this problem though I had given all the details to the technician who visited my place. (also in email)

Anyway, he sent the technician again saying they have found the settings which could correct the problem. (I could only laugh at this claim).

The technician came and again tried resetting the settings to factory defaults (which is what he did two weeks back also). That did not help as I expected.
He had got a new mother board for the TV with him. So he replaced the existing one with new one. Again, did not help.

After I gave a thorough dressing down to this guy and the engineer at service center (who was giving support over phone to this guy), they agreed to go back and check whether this problem exists on other TVs of this model. This is the first thing they should have checked anyway.

They requested me to kindly give them sometime before I call the manager again. Hopefully this time they will look into this issue seriously and give some solution. It seems, right now Bangalore show rooms are out of stock of this model because of which they are not able to try this on another TV.

Anyway, I keep my fingers crossed.

Trust me.. Other brands will not even come close to this level of service. If you had a philips, You might have known. The progress till now will be the customer care number will be ringing infinitely and you would have decided to throw the TV away.

Ask for a firmware update.. One other guy in the forum do not have this issue, so obviously it is not in all sets..
 
Hi jeetak i own a 42LH90 and after viewing this post i checked out de same settings which u have posted here on my tv and no prob at all wen i switched off and switched it on after half an hour. i think der is some firmware issue wit ur set,keep bugging LG guys until ur prob is solved...

Thanks a lot gopscreative! That is interesting to know.

Can you let me know the firmware version that your TV has?

( In case you are not aware of how to view this in service menu, let me know. I can tell you the steps)

Since you are also from Bangalore, let me know if I could just drop in at your place to have a look.

BTW, it is easier to recognize the problem when viewing a TV channel showing picture in cinemascope ( with black bars above and below).
With my settings, on switching on TV, the black looks grey (because og high brightness). Once I adjust the brightness, it goes back to proper black.
 
An update on this.

Another member of this forum (Sudhindra) who had bought 42LH90 is seeing the same issue. (Just spoke to him over phone now - I had given the steps through which I could see the problem. He is seeing exactly the same thing and is going to log a complaint.).

Called up LG engineer again. He is going to give a report to head office with this information. Also told him, my primary suspicion is firmware. Hopefully it is so and they can provide a fix.

This is totally shoddy work from LG.
LH90 is the highest premium product they have now (in terms of price atleast) and they screw up on the basic picture settings control!

Gopscreative,
I am just wondering, is it just that you did not realize the problem. I will PM you the exact steps through which the problem can be seen easily. It would be great if you can try the same.
 
How soon after you started using the TV did these problems surface? Was it right out of the box or after a few days or weeks? Do check your firmware version to see if you got an older release. I have been using mine for well over a month and have not faced this problem so far.
 
An update on this.


Gopscreative,
I am just wondering, is it just that you did not realize the problem. I will PM you the exact steps through which the problem can be seen easily. It would be great if you can try the same.

Can you send me these steps as well. I will also check on my LH90 and confirm.
 
Can you send me these steps as well. I will also check on my LH90 and confirm.

Please see below, the steps.

BTW, I was just wondering whether I am unnecessarily spoiling the peace of mind of all LH90 owners. The fact that somebody has not observed this problem after using the TV for more than a month means
- either the problem does not bother the viewability of that particular user
- or the the picture settings with default white level settings works for them

As for myself, I was not happy with the default white level settings and that is how I started exploring. Also, I saw some highly suggested settings by users on avsforum and highdefjunkies and wanted to try out them.

Anyways, here are the steps:

1. Save the settings which I have given at the beginning of the thread in expert1 or expert2.
2. Switch off the TV
3. Switch it on again. (at this point, for me the picture is bad with very high brightness)
4. Go to some channel where human faces are being shown. (It is just that the problem is more easily noticable with human faces) Better still, go to a channel which is showing picture in cinema scope, with black bars above and below. For me, these bars are sort of greyish.
5. Select picture settings and select brightness control
6. Press right arrow key. Now the brightness control will be shown at the bottom of the screen.
7. Looking the at the picture, either increase or decrease the brightness level by one notch.

For me, at this point picture becomes proper. The bars at the top and bottom becomes proper deep black now.

Also just note that the settings I have given is just an example. It happens anytime white levels ( i.e. red brightness/contrast, blue brightness/contrast, and green brightness/contrast are changed from default value of zero). The problem is more prominent with the settings I have given.
 
Yes, I found a similar issue in my set and have logged a complaint with LG. Lets see how fast LG can solve this.

Meanwhile, I just configured my Logitech harmony one to do this automatically.
 
I am having this TV for more than a month now and never had any problems. I have changed the settings under Expert 1 and Expert 2 number of times and they were in memory without any drop in picture quality after restart.
Maybe the firmware upgrade will solve the problem.
 
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