Type : LED     Resolution : 720p     Refresh Rate : 60 Hz

The LG LH516A is a basic HD Ready TV. It is priced low among the competing 32 inch models and looks exactly similar to LG LH576D but without Smart features. Picture quality is moderate and colours look washed out because of poor contrast ratio. Sound quality is not very good but better compared to the models in the similar price range.

Advantages:
  Low price
  Wide viewing angle
  Solid IPS panel
Disadvantages:
  No Smart features
  Rear inputs hard to access if wall mounted

Design

Curved : No

The LG LH516A has a basic design with plastic borders and stand which doesn’t give a deluxe look. There are some models costing slightly more having much better looks. There is a LED indicator in the middle at the bottom of the TV.

Stand

Table stand comes in the form of 2 legs and takes a lot of table space. They are black are in colour and are made of good quality plastic which supports the TV quite well.

Back

The back is made of shiny black plastic and if wall mounted, the ports at the back will definitely be very hard to reach.

Borders

Top & Side Border : 0.6" (1.5cm)
Bottom Border : 0.8" (2cm)

Borders are made of plastic and are moderately wide.

Thickness

Max Thickness : 2.75" (7cm)

TV is very thick from top to the bottom.

Picture Quality

The LG LH516A is a budget model with mediocre picture quality. It has an IPS panel with wide viewing angle but poor contrast ratio, therefore colours look washed out and thus TV does not perform very good in a dark room. Also the TV does not get very bright and therefore not able to handle the reflections well, resulting in sub par bright room performance. Also there are very few options available to adjust the picture settings but with little changes, picture quality really improved a lot.

Contrast

Black : 0.095 cd/m2
White : 122.031 cd/m2
Contrast : 1280:1

Like other low end LG TVs, contrast ratio is low due to its IPS panel. Blacks are not pure and looks greyish if viewed in a dark room.

Black Uniformity

The black uniformity of LH516A is not very good. There is flashlighting visible on the top and bottom left hand corners of the screen and also there is a some backlight bleeding visible at the middle.

Peak Brightness

Peak 2% Window : 232.0 cd/m2
Peak 10% Window : 232.1 cd/m2
Peak 25% Window : 232.1 cd/m2
Peak 50% Window : 232.1 cd/m2
Peak 100% Window : 232.0 cd/m2

The TV doesn’t get very bright and also the brightness is constant at different levels because of the lack of local dimming feature. As a result, the picture quality is not very good in a bright room and reflections from the back from a sunny window will be clearly visible on the TV screen.

Gray Uniformity

They gray uniformity is below average. Edges are much darker compared to the center of the screen. Due to this, bright colours specially while watching sports will not look uniform on the screen.

Motion Interpolation

This feature is present by the name of Motion Eye Care and it helps to reduce motion blur.

Viewing Angle

The LH516A, like other LG models, has an IPS panel and thus viewing angle are pretty good on this TV. Thus, you can enjoy the same picture quality whether you are sitting at the front or on either sides of the TV screen.

24p Playback

The TV is not able to play the exact 24p content and thus movies played will show some judder but it’s not easily noticeable so won’t be a major problem.

Input Lag

Game mode : 26.5 msec
Outside Game mode : 26.8 msec

There is not much difference in lag within or outside the game mode. Also the input lag is average and is similar to TVs available in this price range.

480p Input

The 480p content looks good but lacks sharpness. Colours are particularly good.

720p Input

The TV native resolution or 720p looks similar to 480p but has better sharpness.

1080p Input

1080p content looks almost similar to 720p.

4k Input
Reflections - Bright Room

The LH516A has a semi gloss screen and below average peak brightness therefore reflections will cause problems while watching TV in a bright sunny room having strong reflection from window at the back.

Reflections - Dark Room

The reflections cause problem in dark room as well and as a result picture is not clearly visible in a dark room when there is reflection from the back.

Calibration

Pre Calibration

White Balance dE : 13.11
Color dE : 8.38
Gamma : 2.19

The TV is set to Standard picture mode out of the box, which doesn’t looks good and white balance and colour dE are quite off pre calibration.

Post Calibration

White Balance dE : 5.91
Color dE : 3.88
Gamma : 2.18

There are no advance controls to alter the picture quality. But with little adjustments, picture quality became much better and grayscale and colour de also improved a lot.

You can see the recommended picture settings in the next tab.

Inputs

Rear Inputs

Power : 1 Port
HDMI : 1 Port
USB : 1 Port
RF Connection (Cable/Antenna) : 1 Port
Component In : 1 Port
Composite In : 2 Ports
Analog Audio In : 1 Port
SVC : 1 Port

Side Inputs

There are no inputs available on the sides.

Sound Quality

The TV has below average sound quality. Sound loses clarity when raised to higher levels. Low priced external speakers or sound bar will correct the sound issue.

Miscl.

Power Consumption

The readings are taken after calibration.

Power Consumption (Standby)
Remote

The remote is a basic one similar to those found in basic LG TVs.

In the Box

- Remote
- Screws
- 2 Batteries
- Power Adaptor & cord
- Cable Tie
- User manual & quick setup guide
- Table Stand

Conclusion

The LG LH516A is a budget TV. Although the TV has a mediocre picture quality but it’s much better than the TVs sold by small brands like VU, Micromax, Intex etc. in the similar price range. There are some models by Sony having better picture and sound quality but then they are atleast 20-25% costlier than this model.

In short, LH516A is a good choice for a basic budget TV with very good durability.

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