Over the past few years the 32 inch TV market has been massively saturated. There are so many options out there that it takes quite a bit to stand out from the crowd.
LG have always produced fantastic televisions at this size so here’s hoping their latest offering, the 32LJ590, will continue that trend.
Like most 32 inch TVs, it looks as you’d expect. It’s slim, lightweight and with hardly any bezel to look at. The bezel you can see though does have a bit more of a premium feel though. It’s not just your standard black plastic here as a smart looking silver bezel is in its place which gives it a nicer look than its competitors in my opinion. One thing I must add is that the legs on the LJ590 are towards the end of the set so if you’re placing it on a stand, just make sure it’s wide enough. If you’d rather wall mount, then that’s simple enough with a standard vesa 100mm x 100mm fitting on the back.
Looking around the back of the TV there’s all your usual modern connections. Included are 2 HDMI and 1 USB. This handily does playback of video files as well as recording from the inbuilt Freeview HD tuner. They’ve even included an older component connection which is starting to disappear on most 2017 televisions. Oh and just in case you don’t fancy using the inbuilt speakers there’s an optical output to take it to a home cinema system of some kind.
Perfect as a second TV in another room or as a great value main set, the LG 32LJ590 is a flexible performer.
So once we’ve tuned everything in and connected up a Blu-ray player, let’s see how the picture is. The Freeview HD image is soft and extremely natural. It seems to be smooth enough and just what you’d want from the set. Even watching something in standard definition is decent and it is hard to fault the image. Planet Earth 2 on Blu-ray should really give me a better idea as to what this TV can do though so that’s my next step. Planet Earth 2 is now my go to test source to fully see what a TV can do and the 32LJ590 doesn’t disappoint here. I would say that the image could have been brighter and some people would prefer everything to pop a little more but I’m happy with the colours it portrays. Just like the Freeview picture, it’s all held together well and seems very soft. I try and tweak the contrast and brightness settings to see if I can make some of the lighter scenes that bit brighter but it doesn’t quite manage it. Still, the darker and softer scenes are really impressive. This probably has something to do with its direct LED backlight. Meaning there are LED in rows behind the set rather than just on the edge. In my opinion, this gives the image a more balanced and consistent picture.
Something you don’t find on many of its rivals. A real advantage considering this isn’t even a full HD set. The resolution is 1366 x 768 so again you may be able to get a bit more detail with a full HD set but in my opinion, it doesn’t differ too much at this size. Motion handling is also decent so any fast moving action shouldn’t be an issue here.
After establishing how good the image is it’s only fair to just talk about the smart side of things as this another big plus point for the LJ590.
The smart hub is really responsive and easy to use. Setting it all up was easy via Wi-Fi although you could hard wire it via Ethernet if you so wish. A major selling point is going to be its catch up services as the major 4 TV catch ups are all included. BBC iPlayer, ITV hub, All4 and Demand 5 are all available straight away which lifts this set above some of its competitors. Obviously, there are your usual Netflix and YouTube apps too amongst many others but there’s also something else. Freeview Play is available here for even more services and on demand content. Simply go to your Freeview guide and scroll back up to 7 days and select the programme you want to view and hey presto, you’ve got it. Especially handy if you’ve missed that show on BBC and it’s no longer on the iPlayer app.
I’m really impressed with everything about the LG 32LJ590 and I’m sure you will be too. If you want to come and see for yourself then pop into your local Richer Sounds and have a look.
Click to find out more about the LG 32LJ590.
Author: Bradley, Plymouth Store
