I bought this TV a few weeks ago after reading many nice reviews about it, and while it's nice, I found its features disappointing.
To start with the good part, this TV indeed looks great both on and off: its no-frills design is very elegant and will make it look good in every living room, its picture quality is amazing. I can't really comment on the sound since I don't have good speakers, but I'm not even missing them with the built-in speakers. Its TV-related functionalities and interface is also nice, with zillions of options to set the picture and sound to your liking.
However, the selling point of this TV is supposed to be the built-in software for online applications (called Netcast), and Netcast on the 42LD550 is a major letdown. At the time of this review LG doesn't have model-specific information on the Netcast features available, only a generic all-promises page with the fine print "features vary by model and product category". Now, Netcast in principle has at least three different video-on-demand services built-in, as well as internet radio, and many other great features -- but this TV has almost none of these included! (I'm using the latest software version, as it updates itself automatically.)
Netflix is included (that's the one extra star), and there is a dumbed-down version of Vudu, which only includes the movie rental features, but nothing else. (For example, there is no Pandora, even though it is included in the "real" Vudu application, it's only left out of the LG version). The rest are useless "apps" and a few selected Yahoo Widgets (all the good ones are missing, the best is probably Weather), Flickr, Picasa, Youtube and Twitter (twitter on a TV??), and that's pretty much it. But there is no Amazon On-demand, no TV On-demand, no internet radios, and I am listing only missing features that are available in some TVs with Netcast or Yahoo Widgets, but are not on this one.
Another (minor) quirk is that this "wireless-ready" TV requires an extra USB wi-fi adapter (LG AN-WF100) to actually go wireless. This is also made pretty clear in the specifications; the only problem is that it's not easy to find this adapter anywhere! (At the time I bought the TV it was only available from a third-party vendor through Amazon marketplace, and it wasn't cheap.) So if you want wireless, check first if this adapter is available.
At the end I'm not sure why would most buyers get this model. If you just want a sleek TV with great picture and sound, then there's no use paying for the internet-related features, and you can get a better or larger TV for much less money. It's perfect if you are considering buying a great TV with no internet features and a Netflix box - it may or may not save you money, but you get everything in one package, saving you the set-up or cable issues. But you may have cheaper options using a Netflix box, or if you already have a video game console, or by connecting your PC to your TV and using some media center software.
If you expect all the bells-and-whistles from your internet-connected TV, then you have to get another model, because this one is really just a beautiful TV with a built-in Netflix box.
