Customer Reviews

LG INFINIA 55LE8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz Full LED Slim LCD HDTV with Internet Applications

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First, I just received my second set from Amazon today. The first set had an issue on the inside of the GLOSSY glass screen. I couldn't tell if it was a thread or a small crack in the screen. It obviously wasn't supposed to be there, and Amazon swapped it out for me. I'm on my first couple hours on the second set, but I haven't see the same issue with the second set yet. This does support a couple other reviewers suggesting quality control may be an issue with these sets. This contradicts the weight of the TV suggesting it should be very well built.

The TV is stunningly simple to look at. There isn't a lot of extra bezel or showy manufacturer's name plates. I love this, as I'm usually driven nuts at having to look at a constant advertisment of a product I've already purchased. The "LG" that lights up at the bottom when the TV is turned on, can be set to be off when the set is on. This effectively means in a dark room (as mine is), the ONLY thing you see on this TV is the picture...exactly as it should be. The only exception is a small set of lights along the bottom that are only powered during power on and off to inform the viewer of this.

My general impression on the picture quality is mostly very impressed. I'm not a display expert so I'll only state what I notice as a slightly more "techy" than average viewer. These sets do seem to have a screen uniformity issue. Large and bright, white or very light colored sections of the screen will show light horizontal bands. These bands are light, but can be distracting depending on the viewer. It seemed to get better with more hours on the first set, but it could have been the firmware issue. Either way, know that if you watch a lot of content containing mostly white screens, you may want to look at another TV. Some people claim to not be able to see this. Others state they see even more of it during panning scenes. Perhaps there is some difference from one panel to the next. Either way, I have seen it on two sets, so anyone looking at purchasing the set should expect it, unless there is an update (software or hardware) to the set at some time.

I looked at a backlit/local dimmed set like this for one big reason though...CONTRAST. Buying this set to watch solid bright screens would seem to be a waste. Where this particular set really shows it stuff is in the black level it can achieve. Movies are beautiful. I thought my old RPTV had a nice picture, but the sharpness and clarity of the 55LE8500 really put my old set to shame. As mentioned above, when you turn off the LG logo, all you see is the picture. Even if there is letterboxing, you will only see the picture. The rest of the screen will be as black as the bezel, and in a dark room, you won't notice it as letterboxing at all.

Colors are vivid and natural looking. The settings from the factory are pretty decent, but count on using the two extra ISF settings that can be customized to your liking. Having a knowledgable Tech to come over to properly set up the TV would be wise if you can afford it, but it's not neccesary to achieve a nice picture. There is even a built-in menu system to aid you in doing so.

Summing it up
Pros:
Awesome blacklevel
Sharp picture
Great colors
No flashy labels or lights to be bothersome
Automatic updates if you connect it to the internet
Tons of access to change viewing settings
discrete codes for most anything you might want for a customized remote.

Cons:
screen has uniformity issues
possible quality control issues
maybe a bit too heavy
screen is a bit too glossy
no 3D support

Overall, this is probably the best 2D TV released in 2010. If you can control the lighting in your room, and you don't watch lots of source material with large patches of very light scenes, this is the TV for you. Amazon is a great source for the set, but know the wireless media kit was offered free with the set last week, and the price has been changing dramatically (down and up and back down again). I gave it 4 stars because it could have been a bit better, and probably should have been.

I had my 55LE8500 delivered last Wednesday and after spending some time with it I know I made the right choice for a new television. The picture is really stunning when displaying HD programming. Bluray titles even more so. I am also extremely happy with the quality of standard def programming, ie non hd cable channels and avi files.

The black level performance is amazing. This tv has full array LED backlighting with local dimming and does not suffer from clouding or flashlighting problems that are present in other products.

The glass front is both an image improver lending a crystal clear look to the picture, but it is also very reflective so you will need to be able to control light sources in your viewing room. For me this was not difficult, however, if you have a room with many large windows and also lamps it could be a challenge.

You may also enjoy the internet features available after connecting the television to your network. You can update the firmware when available, there are movie choices from Vudu and Netflix and many more options.

This product is an expensive item, but the build quality shows and the display technology is among the best out there this year. My first choice had been a Panasonic 54VT25 plasma; its screen is not so reflective, but I am worried about image retention and burnin so I went with the LCD.

If you want one of the best HD displays and can control the light sources in your viewing room, you won't regret owning the LG LE8500.

Got the LG55LE8500 TV about 3 weeks ago. So far I am very happy with the TV. anything HD looks great and blu ray is just amazing. black is black on this tv and colors are quite accurate. as great as this tv is, it does have its cons. analog cable tv does not look very good at all on this set. the screen is a borderless glass screen which can be quite reflective during dark scenes especially if you have a very well lit up room. also you will see some horizontal banding(lines) across the screen on bright blue background scenes at times. some people are going to be annoyed by this, others wont care or even notice it. overall, this tv is supposed to be the 2nd best model of LGs LED tvs and it lives up to it. its not the cheapest of TVs but price compared to equivalent Samsung models, its well worth it as far as build and picture quality go.

I've been using this TV for almost one month now. Overall, I'm very pleased with it. There are only three items that I'm less than satisfied with:
(1) Banding in the video. I notice, especially when there is a solid color on the screen, there are what appear to be "bands" of lighter and darker areas. I notice it often now because I look for it even though I try to stop noticing it. This effect is, apparently, due to the local dimming feature. LG didn't quite get this set perfect because of this issue.
(2) The "down" button on the remote control is too close to the "widgets" button. Often my finger slips off the down arrow and onto "widgets", and messes up what I was trying to do with the arrows.
(3) The "favorite channels" button only brings up a menu list of favorite channels, rather than flipping through them. I wish I could press the "favorite" button and have it select the next channel in my favorites lineup for easier surfing. I end up having to use the channel up/down button and surf through channels I don't want to waste time with.

In general, the video on this display is excellent. Great bright areas and dark areas. Great contrast. There are all kinds of video adjustments, which make it possible to change most aspects of the image quality (except the banding issue).

After an exhaustive search over the internet, through expert reviews and customer reviews (as scant as they were), I narrowed my search down to the Sony KDL-52XBR10, the Samsung UN55B8500 & the LG 55LE8500. There were some complaints that the media kit wasn't working so well with the Sony XBR10 and the price on it was higher than the Samsung and the LG, so I eliminated it. I could get the Samsung 8500 and the LG 8500 for exactly the same price. However, viewing angle is a significant issue in our television room & it's an issue with the Samsung. Also, the internet features on the Samsung were reported to be very slow. Finally, the Samsung 8500 was not available for a reasonable price on Amazon. I read review after review of the Samsung 8500 on Amazon. The thing that impressed me most, aside from the rave reviews of the Samsung 8500 itself, were the great reviews Amazon got on its delivery of the TVs. In the final analysis, I chose the LG 55LE8500. It might come in second in the overall reviews, but viewing angle and safe delivery of the TV to my television room were important factors.

I could not be more happy with my choice! Delivery couldn't have been better. The TV is absolutely stunning. The blacks are truly black; the grayscale is excellent; and the colors are great on THX Bright - even though I haven't had the TV calibrated yet. Blu-ray movies are superb; high definition television is excellent; and standard definition television is good. I was concerned about standard definition - as I watch quite a bit of it, but, I was pleasantly surprised. The screen is very reflective, but I can honestly say that it is not an issue in our television room. However, it is not a bright room. I can see how it might be an issue for those who have uncovered windows directly across from the television. Also, one definitely needs a sound system - the built-in sound is mediocre.

Perhaps I should have waited awhile longer before writing this review. I have watched quite a few movies and several blu-ray films. I have not noticed any issue with horizontal banding or blooming. There hasn't been anything of concern to me. The picture quality has been so wonderful that I can quite honestly say that I haven't regretted my decision for a moment. I don't know how I could have been any happier with the Sony or the Samsung. The only thing that is of concern to me is how well LG customer service/technical support will be to deal with, should an issue arise. But then again, I don't know how well Sony or Samsung customer/technical support would be to deal with, either.

Did a lot of research (Consumer Reports, Internet reviews, other magazines, etc.) before purchasing this TV. I was replacing a 50 inch DLP hi-def TV that had to have projection bulbs replaced yearly. At $200 a pop, that was ticking me off. Anyway, this TV is awesome. Picture is the best I have seen. Viewing AVATAR with a blu-ray player is absolutely stunning - detail, clarity and colors are amazing and will blow you away. I have the TV connected to the Internet via wi-fi (had to purchase the LG AN-WF100 Wi-Fi USB Adaptor). My wi-fi and computer setup are Apple based, but I had no problem whatsoever connecting the TV to the internet in order to use Yahoo Wigets, Netflix, U-Tube, etc. Not surprising, the sound leaves much to be desired, but when you think there are two speakers contained in a cabinet only 1-inch thick, it could be worse. Most people will connect this set to their hi-fi surround sound system anyway, so this is no big deal. Only problem I had was connecting the base (I did not wall mount the TV) to the main unit. The TV weighs about 90 pounds and you have to lay the main unit face down on a soft surface and elevate the bottom (I used big pillows) of the TV about 15 inches in order to screw the base to it. Once attached, the base is quite sturdy and it swivels, so I have no fear it will topple over easily, but be sure to keep the young kids away. Yes, like plasma televisions, this LCD/LED TV has a glass front, so in a very bright room, there are reflections, but because the picture can be set to compensate for this, I have not found this to be a drawback. The led backlighting instead of edge-lighting on other brands makes a real difference on contrast levels. I recommend this TV.

Well I finally did it after probably 5 years of humming and hoing ... I went out and got the 55 inch bad boy LCD. I thought I was set on the 55" LGLH90 (going out of production) - but the spec on the 8500 was so much better and it has full array LED backlighting and also serious wireless and online capabilities - that I had to spend the extra for the newer model. Another bonus is that in my opinion the 8500 is a better looking TV - the flat one piece glass front with only a thin black border is stunning and easy to keep clean as no dust traps. TV was easy enough to assemble to stand but you do need 2 people to handle a 55" safely. Once assembled and powered up the TV setup was easy and eveything worked perfectly out of the box. I was a bit worried about the reflectivity of the glass front screen as the TV is in my family room which is very bright with 9 windows - but I set the TV high in the room above the fireplace and this really hasn't been a problem day or night. Because of the amazing colors and contrast it is like being AT the ballgame. The black is very deep and the colors vibrant. Our room is 28 ft across so we sit anywhere between 12 and 20 ft from the screen. Sound is pretty good from the built in speakers - I will be processing through audio equipment soon for surround sound. Also did not get / go wireless yet but intend to do this - right now everything is hard wired. The picture is mesmerizing in it's quality - I have fios HD and it really is another world - there could be no going back from here.

So far so good then - I am delighted with this TV. True proof of the pudding will be in reliable operation over many years as we keep things a long time. We personally did not care about 3D although we know it's the latest thing. This picture is so real it looks almost 3D much of the time. Watching old movies (HD pay per view) on this TV makes them new like we didn't see them before. Sports are amazing - huge baseball fans but now also looking forward to football as the pre-season games prove that this TV displays fast pace sports action no problem. I thoroughly recommend this TV.

We bought this TV with high hopes.

Shortly after purchase we noticed that for high definition programs thin black lines would momentarily appear on the screen and then disappear.

In other words, the screen would be divided up into vertical segments.

You can of course watch the program, but it is very distracting and not what you expect from a high end provider.

We wanted to return the TV, but were just about a day outside the return date.
So we called LG.
They contract with a local company.
They sent around two servicemen (after failing to show three times).
They failed to fix it (indeed had no idea) and concluded "it's just the TV."

So I guess now we're stuck with it.
We're calling LG to complain about the TV and the crappy service.
We have another hi-def plasma TV by another manufacturer.
We had none of the problems with that one, and the picture is perfect.

After diligent research on Full LED tv, the LG LE8500 was comparable to none. The TV is just like advertised and more. For the price paid, it is a good investment. However, the amazon customer service was horrible for about two whole weeks because i financed my LED TV through the 24 month promotion on amazon store card. Later, two knowledgeable customer service employees were able to fix the problem and shipped the product expeditiously. The TV features are awesome to say the least. The Netflix feature was so assessable and easy to set up. I don't care to much about 3D (wearing glasses is boring) thus, i believe i bought the best TV for a 2D.

I did as much research as I could on line, I went to several stores
but being a new issue ,I was not able to view the Infinia. I read a lot of the comments on this TV plus techncal reports on LG TV's.
I love everyhting about this TV. From the visual design to picture
quality. The one negative comment I was concerned about was the internal speakers. I actually don't think they are that bad considering the TV is only 1 1/2" thick. I only turn on the surround
sound for movies etc. I highly recommend this TV.