LG SL90 Borderless LED TV

Q: Key Point 5: I am told this unit has a suggested retail price...

I am told this unit has a suggested retail price of Php119,990.

Abe Olandres February 5, 2010 · 2 min read

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LG Philippines lent us their latest LED TV, the borderless one in the SL90 series. The one that I got is the 42″ model. When they say “borderless” design, it means the glass screen extends up to the very edges of the set.

But that doesn’t mean the TV screen also displays video output up to the edges (I had that impression before — like an infinity pool).

LG SL90 LED TV
2.9cm thin (1.15â€³)
Full HD 1080p (1920Ã—1080 pixel resolution)
3,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
TruMotion 120Hz (100Hz)
AV Mode
24p Real Cinema (24p 5:5 pull down)
Expert Mode (ISF Ready)
Bluetooth
HD DivX
USB 2.0
Intelligent Sensor II
Invisible Speakers

If you look at the middle photo above, you’ll see the glass reaches up to the edges (the LED screen and the back panel are sandwiched evenly). This is a departure from previous designs where there’s a frame around the display that borders the glass. The TV is also slim at only 1.15 inches on the side (about 29mm) so you can also hang this on your wall.

lg sl90

I am told this unit has a suggested retail price of Php119,990. I’ve only been using this for a couple of days so the review will have to wait by end of next week.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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70 Comments

swordfish · 16 years ago

excuse me guys! we people really never learned of marketing strategies, don’t we?Companies have been using these tricks to fool us customers. Like Samsung when they lunched their LED TV. There is no such things as LED TV for christ sake! And samsung did explain this that their tv is not LED TV at but only the backlight is. Retards!!!!Lucky for LG, they made it clearly what borderless means. And somehow could quite explain it well. Unlike Samsung that really mislead people with their LED TV and even their salesman couldn’t actually explain it well.Dumb Fag!!!

noblewolf · 16 years ago

not now jess.. im not done with her yet.. toinks!

hahaha

joke…

pamangkin ng big boss ko yun. kaya…

behave ako.

Jes · 16 years ago

@noblewolf — I’m actually more interested to meet Vivian :D

noblewolf · 16 years ago

can somebody lead a suit against LG for a multi million dollar damage for misleading the public?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ANNFMfCnqI

check the video at 2:05.. that’s what i saw in the shop and the salesman cannot explain how to get to the tv’s settings and display a picture from edge to edge.. :D

Rayland · 16 years ago

they should call it “bezel-less” rather than borderless.. :mrgreen:

noblewolf · 16 years ago

to answer carl’s question, the tv has 4 sides, the speaker is positioned at the bottom side making it like “downfiring” speakers.. invisible in the sense that you cannot see the speakers when you are watching the tv or whether you check the sides and the back.. but perverts who are upskirting hardcores wont find this “invisible” in the real sense, so it’s not invisible after all.. as misleading as the “borderless” thingy.. :D

noblewolf · 16 years ago

i paid her S$1,700 for the tv.. around Php55,000.. thanks be to god for the tv! i always drop by her place “waiting for the delivery” of the tv kase sya ang naka-address dun as recipient. paid her few more visits over last weekend. then nung dineliver sa place nya quite far from mine, i told the delivery people that vivian and i already moved in to a different place and that they should deliver there instead of here, para makalibre na rin ako ng $50 charge for delivery.. hahaha.. carry din si girl.. she was laughing afterwards.

oh, im so sorry to LG for mocking on their cheapo-lever-switch.. according to LG, it is a feature called SMART ENERGY SAVINGS TECHNOLOGY…

… and that’s ENERGY SAVING MECHANICAL SWITCH right there, in case you dont want it to consume power while in standby mode!

LOL! even my son’s donkey kong robot has a power button, everything around us has a power button.. since when did it become a special feature?!

noblewolf · 16 years ago

one thing i noticed about the trumotion.. while watching the heroes season 5 episode 19.. the series looked like a homemade video because at times, there were shaky scenes like very natural and the movements really looked like taken by a videocam for a backyard video clip. haha.. maybe im not used to it, anyways, i always turn it off..

clear voice is a very good feature.. mas malinaw ang conversations.

the glass screen isn’t really scratchproof like advertised! another fail for LG for a misleading advertisement. glass cannot be scratched that easily, yes, but the screen has somewhat like a film glued into it. maybe a polarizing film or some kind of screen protector.. :D mine got a very good 1-inch parallel scratch right at the very center and i don’t know how it was scratched. if only i can buy a matte screen protector of that size (na parang pang-WM device) para mabawasan ang glare and hindi nakakadismaya ung gasgas pag naka-off.. hehehe

the tv is very heavy and dont try to assemble it yourselves.. alone. i had my tv console reinforced with 3×2 timber underneath. and with the tv’s weight, i am not quite comfortable with those 3 tiny screws holding the neck because those are what’s keeping the tv upright. maybe LG really designed this tv for wall mount installations.

and hey, i forgot.. the power switch! hahaha! it feels sooo-cheaapp-kinda-switch! it is positioned right under the set with the so-called mark-levinson-tuned-speakers.. while LG already came up with transparent keypad phones and touch sensitive control panels, this LG flagship TV that crosses the hundred-grand margin, is using a tiny lever switch that can be bought in radioshack for $1.50!

Jes · 16 years ago

@noble — so the girl is 50k richer. Baka alam nya na di talaga borderless kaya binenta nya ng mura? Ikaw naman, kasi gorgeous, bunot agad ng credit card! j/k :D

noblewolf · 16 years ago

sir abe, it’s not a defective unit haha.. im notorious here on being able to spot where the opportunity is. hahaha

it was our company dinner and that gorgeous girl who won that 42″ SL90 LED TV was sitting right next to me. 2days later, LG delivered the TV to my flat and the rest is history.. :D

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

@noblewold – maybe defective unit that’s why you got 52% off? :D

Jes · 16 years ago

@noblewolf — thanks for the mini-review. Curious lang ako, how were you able to get 52% off the retail price? ;)

noblewolf · 16 years ago

next is the contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1.. meaning blacks are darker by 3,000,000 times than whites.. it’s just a plain marketing BS.. no scientifically known program or procedure to justify that extents!

and the Trumotion 120Hz, why would they be using an old technology on their flagship model whereas they already used the 200Hz processors on the SL80! Higher (flagship) model, lower tech, still got to be higher price!

screen naman, this is an edge-lit LED TV, but the video on the shop shows a LED array on the entire backing of the screen. which is a crap dahil kung back-lit LED sya, it wont be this slim. there’s a leak on the edges of the viewing screen, which sucks because viewers will have to be all on the center area to get a decent viewing experience.

well, i can say this tv is not going to stay here in my room for quite a while. and if i paid about Php119,000 for this 42″ set, i should be banging my head on the wall by now for buying this. i bought it bnew for about 52% discount off retail prices with 3years warranty.

noblewolf · 16 years ago

and the mark levinson stunt! jezuzzz christ! one of the most sought after signatures by audiophiles… will tune an audio that sounds like that of SL90?!? maingay kase sa harvey norman so the mere fact that it got the mark levinson touch on it, it should sound awesome and i did not worry much.. only to be disappointed later on, mas maganda pa audio nung sony crt tv namin noong 1990s! it’s awful man! i already made any possible tweaks to make it sound quite decent. wala pa rin.. naiipit ang audio. nothing special, really. so it must be played along with my mirage unitheather soundbar para naman hindi magtunog cheapipoy.

on the positive side, i catch myself staring at the tv right on the console more oftenly rather than watching anything on it. haha. it’s gorgeous.

mark levinson FAIL!

noblewolf · 16 years ago

it’s entirely misleading talaga. my set was delivered last night.. nakita ko kase dun sa video demo sa shop na meron segment na ang video really extended up to the edges. pero oftenly nakikita ko meron sya border.. so i was thinking baka meron sya setting for that. and i thought LG wont call it borderless if it is not.

then BAM! may border nga.

on the positive side, it supports mkv files straight plug to the usb port so saved ka na bumili ng media center. kaso, bluetooth headset support doesn’t work on medias from usb’s, it will prompt you to disconnect the headset first before you can proceed. then you can no longer connect from there. hopefully maayos ito pag lumabas bago firmware.

Jes · 16 years ago

Misleading ad.

GreenGem · 16 years ago

â€œWhen we were creating the SL90, we had to break down numerous barriers in our minds”

â€œThis was the first time we used our Injection Compression Molding technology for a TV and we had to free ourselves to think of a new BORDERLESSâ„¢ design. The TV is free from physical borders and its ability to easily connect to digital media means that its entertainment possibilities are just as BORDERLESSâ„¢ as its design.â€

GreenGem · 16 years ago

I got this from their press release:

LGâ€™s home entertainment theme for this year, LIVE BORDERLESSâ„¢, will instantly make sense to anyone who sees the companyâ€™s TVs with BORDERLESSâ„¢ Design, which appear to be a single, uninterrupted sheet of glass. These are the first TVs to completely eliminate the seam between the screen and the surrounding bezel.

Ramkumar · 16 years ago

It has a fantastic resolution rate, but I still dint get the term “Borderless”. Could you please explain ?

Andew Mercado · 16 years ago

Amazing part is LED backlighting produces brilliant 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and it’s full HD 1080P. So, videos and pictures look extremely sharp.

sherwin · 16 years ago

isn’t it too glary for an LCD? the pictures taken shows glare of light that is totally distracting when you’re watching tv. is the LCD panel covered by a thin film of glass on that model like a plasma?

petken · 16 years ago

Sir yuga pasama naman sa magiging review mo yung Quality Video galing sa CableTV Feed galing sa Analog hindi yung sa Digibox ng Sky… Gusto ko sana bumili niyan from Amazon tapos ipaship ko dito mas mura kasi…

Jes · 16 years ago

Shame on LG for calling this borderless!

Kenneth · 16 years ago

I wish I could test that large TV too. :lol:

Edgar · 16 years ago

Yeah, semantics.

As for this TV, well – too rich for my blood actually. heheh!!

Ad · 16 years ago

Congrats abe bonds are up.

Carl · 16 years ago

Good day Sir Abe,

I have a question in my mind. What do you mean by the term “Invisible Speakers”? You have written it extreme down, under the specs of LG SL90 LED TV.

You may post your answer on my wall on my facebook account.

Thank you and God bless you.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

@onynz, jill – semantics. *hehehe*

@ad – yeah, fortunately I don’t do stocks. Just bonds.

Ad · 16 years ago

Hey yuga bloodbath again today,do you trade local stocks?

Onynz · 16 years ago

branding it “borderless” is misleading… they are not true to what they advertise…

this should just be called “frameless”

Cebu Tech Blogger · 16 years ago

That would be interesting, sir Abe… The specs are promising, but the price still hurts (smile)…

Jill · 16 years ago

They should not name it “borderless” then. If it is, then the picture should go all the way to the edges. The absence of a border frame doesn’t justify the applied term.