यह एक अति-लंबी समीक्षा होने जा रही है, इसलिए अपने आप को तैयार करें। वैसे भी, मैं कभी भी एक महान टेलीफिलिक नहीं रहा। मेरी दिलचस्पी आमतौर पर कहीं और होती है, लेकिन मैं कभी-कभार बैठकर अच्छी फिल्म देखना पसंद करता हूं। जिसका शायद मतलब है कि एक स्मार्ट टीवी मेरी मजेदार सूची के स्पेक्ट्रम के बारे में है जैसा कि आप कल्पना कर सकते हैं। बहुत ज्यादा स्मार्टफोन और टैबलेट की तरह।
हालाँकि, मैंने अपने मनोरंजन पोर्टल को बोलने के लिए बढ़ाने के साथ-साथ स्मार्ट टेलीविज़न के तकनीकी पहलुओं का पता लगाने के लिए एक खरीदने का फैसला किया, खुले विचारों वाला और वह सब। बुद्धि के लिए, आपको यह सुपर-लॉन्ग, सुपर-गहन समीक्षा, डेडोइमेडो के सर्वोत्तम तरीके से, दुनिया में व्यापक रूप से इस बहादुर नई सामग्री के बारे में मिलती है। मेरी परीक्षण इकाई, LG 42LN570। चलो दोस्तों!
एलजी 42LN570 स्पेसिफिकेशन
हम शुरुआत करेंगे कि यह उपकरण क्या कर सकता है। खरीदते समय, मैंने एक सरल उपकरण पर विचार किया, जिसमें कोई बड़ी नेटवर्क क्षमता नहीं थी। अंत में, 300 डॉलर के अंतर के बावजूद, मैं अधिक सक्षम मॉडल के लिए गया। और कृपया, अमेरिकी लोग, अपने सस्ते बाजार से तुलना न करें। कार तुलना याद रखें। आपकी Audi A6 की कीमत दुनिया के बाकी हिस्सों में Audi A1 जितनी है, इसलिए मुस्कुराएं, संतुष्ट रहें और उस प्राइस रेंज को नज़रअंदाज़ करें जो शायद आपको मिलने वाली प्राइस रेंज से दोगुनी है।
मेरा डिवाइस एक 42-इंच फुल एलईडी (डायरेक्ट एलईडी) फुल-एचडी 1920x1080p टेलीविजन सेट है, जिसमें 120 हर्ट्ज ट्रूमोशन रिफ्रेश रेट है, जिसके बारे में हम जल्द ही और अधिक विस्तार से चर्चा करेंगे। कुल मिलाकर, इसका वजन लगभग 15 किलो है, और यह एक सुपरसाइज्ड कंप्यूटर मॉनीटर जैसा दिखता है। या यदि आप कुछ हद तक Apple iMac की तरह इसकी स्मार्ट क्षमताओं को देखते हैं। डिग्रियों की बात करें तो, टीवी हर कोण से, आगे और पीछे, ऊपर और किनारे और तिरछी नज़र से बहुत चिकना और सुंदर है, साथ ही एक अजीब स्क्विंट-आई भी है। यदि आप अपनी आईकेईए जीवनशैली के साथ अतिसूक्ष्मवाद पसंद करते हैं, तो आप यहां गलत नहीं होंगे।
नोट:उपरोक्त चित्र, lg.com के सौजन्य से।
टीवी डुअल-कोर प्रोसेसर और 4GB की इंटरनल स्टोरेज के साथ आता है। इसमें सात चित्र और छह आस्पेक्ट मोड, रिज़ॉल्यूशन अपस्केलिंग, फैंसी ऑडियो और अभी भी बहुत कुछ है। नेटवर्किंग क्षमताएं सबसे प्रभावशाली हैं। आप या तो वायर्ड या वायरलेस नेटवर्क का उपयोग करके इंटरनेट से जुड़ सकते हैं, साथ ही आपको वेब पर जाने के रास्ते में आपकी सहायता करने के लिए प्रीमियम सामग्री और एप्लिकेशन मिलते हैं। एक टन कोडेक्स और प्रारूप समर्थित हैं।
लेकिन रुकिए, हमने तो अभी शुरुआत ही की है। अब, सभी विकल्पों और क्षमताओं को यहां डंप करने के बजाय, हम उन्हें धीरे-धीरे एक्सप्लोर करेंगे क्योंकि हम समीक्षा के माध्यम से प्रगति करेंगे। आइए हम अभी तक आपके दिमाग को मिटा न दें।
सहायक उपकरण
स्टोर में, एक बहुत उज्ज्वल विक्रेता से बात करते समय, उसने एक यूएसबी कनेक्शन सॉकेट का जिक्र किया, जो गलत लग रहा था। ऑनलाइन पढ़ने और आधिकारिक साइट की जाँच करने पर, मुझे पता चला कि LG 42LN570, यहाँ वास्तविक आकार महत्वपूर्ण नहीं है, इसमें इनपुट और आउटपुट की एक विशाल सरणी है। यह कंपोनेंट वीडियो, RF इन, AV इन, LAN/ईथरनेट, एक डिजिटल ऑडियो आउट, तीन USB और तीन HDMI इनपुट के साथ आता है। अब, यह और भी पसंद है।
सेटअप और पहला उपयोग
यह बहुत आसान है। आपको मैनुअल पढ़ने की भी जरूरत नहीं है। डिवाइस को बॉक्स से निकालें, फ्रेम से पतले प्लास्टिक प्रोटेक्टर्स को हटा दें, स्टैंड में स्क्रू करें और टीवी को जहां चाहें वहां रखें। यदि कोई हो तो संबंधित केबलों को जोड़ें और उसे चालू करें। बटन डिवाइस के नीचे दाईं ओर स्थित हैं।
टीवी को मैजिक रिमोट कंट्रोल द्वारा नियंत्रित किया जाता है, जो आवाज की पहचान का भी समर्थन करता है। यह छोटी सी चीज बहुत सुंदर और कोमल और उपयोग करने में मजेदार है। आप पॉइंटर दिखाने के लिए इसे हिलाते हैं, और फिर यह लगभग एक मानक कंप्यूटर माउस की तरह होता है, जिसमें सॉफ्ट-क्लिक अभी तक उत्तरदायी तीर कुंजियाँ और एक स्क्रॉल व्हील होता है। You don't get a million ugly buttons, just a handful, and you remain in the stylish zone.
If you have cable or similar, the TV will scan all available channels and frequency and auto-tune them for you, or connect directly to HDMI devices and such. If not, you will only get static snow, and then you will have to click on the SMART button on the remote to access the more interesting features.
The main view is one of several decks of icons, with little arrows to move left and right. You can see a small-scale screen of whatever is currently showing in the top left corner, Premium content in the center, games to the right, and then, further right, still more applications, and your SmartShare, which allows you to connect external devices to your television set. We will touch upon that very soon.
At the bottom, you have a panel of shortcuts, including inputs, settings, an Internet browser, TV Guide, Time Machine, which allows you to record TV programs, user guide, plus several other useful applications. All in all, the layout is fairly clean and visually pleasing. The exact layout of icons will differ based on regional offerings.
Premium content
The word premium sure has a nice ring to it, and it is supposed to add glamor to your box. I believe this will have most value for people in the USA, where you do get a lot of HD streaming content. Elsewhere, you will find some value, but not to the full extent of what the television set can do.
LG 42LN570 comes with a regional arsenal of premium software, so what you see in my screenshots may not reflect your reality, at all. I had Picasa, Skype, vTuner, viewster, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and a handful more. Some of these require extra setup to get working correctly, and you sure need ample and fast bandwidth for a seamless experience.
Youtube
This is the most interesting application, I think. You get all of Youtube, right there. And if you know how to search for high-quality content, you can find it. For instance, most of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns are available in 720p. Then, there's a whole bunch of great British comedies, all for free. Anything you can find in a standard browser is there, but now with a 42-inch screen, your focus shifts a little. Still, the core principles remain.
Using the Magic Remote can be a little tedious, so you might want to consider a wireless keyboard. Still, with suggestions turned on, you will find your way around rather quickly. Not bad at all, and this is one premium item that really justifies its name.
Skype &camera
You do need extra hardware to fully utilize your TV. For example, if you want to Skype with other people, you need a microphone. If you want to use the camera application, you will need a dedicated TV camera for that.
एप्लिकेशन
Don't forget your TV is a super-sized tablet with no touch capabilities. But it's a computer in every sense. You have applications and games, and you can purchase and install more, if you want. Now, the repertoire does not compare to a full-blown store like you get with Android, for instance, but it is good enough for the living room fun.
Internet
You have a full-blown browser for your Internet escapades. It comes with tabs, bookmarks, search, history, everything you need, although not all sites will cooperate, especially if they have embedded content with various esoteric media plugins. Now, you may not find this too convenient for use, especially with the TV preview in the right bottom corner, but it can be removed. You can also search using voice recognition, and it works really well. It has a fairly high quality of matching, and I find it more accurate than similar capabilities on the few Android devices that I own.
Network connectivity
This is probably the most important and interesting part of any smart TV. LG 42LN570 comes with a huge array of connectivity options. It supports your standard network via cable or radio, but it can also do Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast or WiDi, MHL, DLNA, and still more. We shall proceed with caution.
Wireless networking
Worked fine and without any issues. The only cumbersome part was using the Magic Remote to control the on-screen keyboard to provide the password for my WPA2-enabled access point, but after that, it was all dandy.
DLNA
For this test, I used my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. I allowed file sharing with nearby devices, and then I received a prompt to allow a Linux 3.0.13 thingie. There you go, Linux. Bingo. And you can see the full name string, including the kernel version, the LG SDK version, the TV name, and the firmware used. Neat, no.
And you will see a similar prompt on the TV itself:
Then, through the SmartShare, you can enjoy the connect available on your paired devices. I browsed a handful of images and listened to some music stored on the tablet. Then, I also tried to play a full-HD Big Bucks Bunny video, but my network connection signal was not strong enough to allow for a flawless streaming. Both the TV and tablet were about six meters from the access point, and the playback stuttered until a new chunk was buffered. Not ideal, but good enough. Oh, not all image types are supported, by the way. The LG Smart TV did not like PNG files really.
However, network capabilities aside, the image was crisp, and the audio quality was rather good. Surprisingly good, and I am saying that as someone with limited musical skills. Well, my one and only character flaw, because I'm perfect otherwise.
Intel WiDi
WiDi - Wireless Display - sounds like a cool concept. Alas, it proved too difficult to get working. The actual instructions are far from trivial - you need to install your graphics drivers, your Wireless drivers and the software itself. I tested three different boxes, without much success. Two laptops, T400 and T410 did not have the necessary chips. My latest gadget, an Asus VivoBook had the needed processor for this kind of fun, but the Wireless card was not supported. It's an Atheros, where WiDi only supports Intel and a few Broadcom devices. To be continued.
WiFi Direct
Worked just fine. I managed to pair the TV with Samsung Galaxy S4 without any problems really. First, I powered on the smartphone and turned on the correct options, and then, made sure that the TV was also configured properly. No worries.
3D video &MHL
At the moment, I have no videos, nor glasses to test this. Soz. Moreover, not really sure how to demo 3D in 2D in a Web article. What kind of thingie do you expect to see exactly? बिल्कुल। Still, for the sake of OCD, we will test when appropriate.
I still have not tested MHL either, so stay tuned. But basically, it's just HDMI, so it's not really that interesting. However, since I cannot leave any stone remain unturned, we will probably revisit this in some future review or such like.
External devices
LG 42LN570 lets you connect external disks. Fairly simple really. Just plug in a USB device, and let it be auto-mounted. This smart TV did not struggle with either FAT32 or NTFS file systems. Once you have the device listed, you can search through videos and music files, recent lists, and so forth. Quite handy and simple.
Connection to external shares
This is something I have not yet figured out. The LG Smart TV can connect to other devices using DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct, but I did not find a simple way of using Samba shares on other computers. This means you cannot stream video over Wireless just like that. Furthermore, this also limits how much TV shows you can record using the Time Machine, because the internal storage is very limited. Maybe I am missing something, but perhaps there is a simple way to point the recording software to use external media for storage.
Video playback
The real reason why you would buy a TV in the first place. I must admit I was most pleasantly surprised. I have yet to find a file that this device won't play. Whether it's an ancient movie from ten years back or a brand new HD clip, they all played. Moreover, the resolution upscaling really works well, and there is not that much difference between non-HD and HD content. You get everything you need, plus neat controls.
In my testing, LG 42LN570 handled all of the following without a hitch - MKV, AVI, MP4, and MPEG containers, with an assortment of MPEG2, AAC, MP3, H.264 and many other more or less exotic formats. Subtitles (SRT) are automatically read and loaded, including content embedded inside MKV, which you can toggle on and off in the quick menu. Jolly great.
Recording videos
This sounds like an interesting concept, but the internal storage is tiny. You only have a small portion of the 4GB available for your stuff, and without an obvious option to redirect the recordings to a different device, might not be truly ideal. I have to yet figure this one out in greater detail.
Soap Opera effect!
And this was the big and nasty surprise I encountered at first. We go back to our earlier mention of the TruMotion capability. The thing is, like most other smart TVs, LG's box interpolates frames above the standard movie-recording 24fps to match the refresh frequency of its screen. This means you get more content than originally intended, resulting in over-realistic, over-smooth playback, which makes it all feel too close, too soap opera like. For me, the initial experience was one of shock and disappointment. Here I was, using this expensive HD set, and everything looked cheaper than early 80s pr0n. ठीक नहीं।
I spent some time reading about this. Eventually, I figured it out. In the Settings menu, under Picture Mode, you can change the default profile to a different one. The best option is to use the Game mode, which removes all picture interpolation. This restores your normal, expected movie-like experience. Now, please do note you must configure it separately for your TV channels and for your media content. You can also fine-tune the experience with other settings, including sharpness, dynamic contrast, gamma, and more. You can also turn off TruMotion for any one selected mode individually.
LG TV Remote Android App
Now, here's a cool thing. You can control your LG Smart TV using an Android phone, as long as the two are connected to the same network. The application is available in Google Play, grab it, provide the six-digit pairing key that pops up on the TV screen, and start controlling the device using a smartphone or a tablet. Fairly simple.
Software updates
This is Linux, remember. And like any ole operating system, it gets updates. My device came with a very old firmware version, dated almost a year back. So I let it search for new versions, and then update itself. It went fast and true, however my customization to picture settings were gone. Make sure you write down your values before updating.
Customization
There is not a great deal of customization you can get here, really. You can shuffle the cards, and add new, personalized ones with your own icons, but you can't really move aside any of the hardcoded content. So you do get a small degree of freedom, kinda, but not as much as you might expect.
Final looks
And how it all plugs into the ambiance:
निष्कर्ष
LG 42LN570 Smart TV is a very interesting, colorful and capable device. It's a computer is every sense of the word, with premium content, applications, great support for video and audio, tons of peripheral connections, excellent network, and more. Really nice, and worth its price. Some of the stuff takes extra hardware and a good Internet connection, but that's more of a bonus really.
To make this review even more complete, do note I have purchased myself a Raspberry Pi. I will be assembling my own media center, and then we will see how the little thingie handles the smart TV and vice versa. XBMC, plugins, still more video and connectivity options, it ought to be really interesting. बने रहें। For now, if you're looking for an intelligent telly, this one looks like a good candidate. At least, I'm pleased, from my own pseudo-conservative stand point as a would-be dumb user. Grade we must, and so this box gets its well-deserved 9.5/10, mostly because of its great video support and supreme network features. Well done overall.
प्रोत्साहित करना।