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49/55UB8500 Owner's Thread

147K views 802 replies 157 participants last post by  toke 
#1 ·
I was unable to locate a thread specifically for these models, so I decided to start one. I know it is edge lit, but I have never had a problem with my 55lw5600, so I decided to give this model (55") a go. Ordered it for $1,748 shipped from Amazon. I paid 1,798 for my lw5600 in 2011. I should be receiving this model next week, so I will update after I perform some calibrations.
 
#2 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by keb33509  /t/1534402/49-55ub8500-owners-thread#post_24790701


I was unable to locate a thread specifically for these models, so I decided to start one. I know it is edge lit, but I have never had a problem with my 55lw5600, so I decided to give this model (55") a go. Ordered it for $1,748 shipped from Amazon. I paid 1,798 for my lw5600 in 2011. I should be receiving this model next week, so I will update after I perform some calibrations.

This review just came out: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/49ub850v-201406033786.htm

"Conclusion


The LG 49UB850V is not only the worst 4K TV we’ve tested, it’s also the worst-performing television we’ve reviewed to date in terms of image quality."



According to the review, LG’s UB850V is marketed as the UB8500 in North America.
 
#99 ·
Quote:Originally Posted by keb33509 

I was unable to locate a thread specifically for these models, so I decided to start one. I know it is edge lit, but I have never had a problem with my 55lw5600, so I decided to give this model (55") a go. Ordered it for $1,748 shipped from Amazon. I paid 1,798 for my lw5600 in 2011. I should be receiving this model next week, so I will update after I perform some calibrations.


This review just came out: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/49ub850v-201406033786.htm

"Conclusion

The LG 49UB850V is not only the worst 4K TV we’ve tested, it’s also the worst-performing television we’ve reviewed to date in terms of image quality."


According to the review, LG’s UB850V is marketed as the UB8500 in North America.
I can't believe you have had such a bad experience, I find the UB8500 one of the best all around TVs I've ever owned and I was a Panasonic Plasma user. This TV blows the image away from my last plasma TV. Blacks and motion are not as good but 4K details outstanding.
 
#3 ·
I'm from the UK and have the 55 inch set, I must say that review was very harsh, and much of the issues it stated I just don't have, the 3d in particular they said had massive crosstalk etc and yet I have not seen any hint of crosstalk on mine. Not sure if they had an early sample set or maybe older software, although one would have thought the first thing to check would be a firmware update but they don't mention what software version os on their set, it is feasible that the 49 is in some way different to the 55 inch, I don't think it should be as the specs are identical but I fail to see alot of the issues they seem to have.
 
#4 ·
Good to hear emporer. I have never been keen on reviews for televisions. I find that there are several different factors that can affect the way a set looks from person to person. One part of the review that stands out is their review of the 3D. They said that with their test pattern that they were unable to make out the horizontal lines individually. This may be due to the smaller size of the 49" set, and may not be prevalent on the larger 55" set. I guess I will see next week when I receive mine. Most of my TV viewing is done in the daytime, so black levels are not too big of an issue with me. Thanks for the input fafrd. I will keep it in mind.
 
#7 ·
There seems to be now two threads running on this. I posted my experiences with the 49 there as well.


To the point of the review, I too have not had any of the issues they mention and I really doubt that they are running the current version of the OS (since they state that the store and netflix didn't work).

Out of the box that was true of mine, but after downloading a substantial (312 MB) update, I got the store and the netflix app worked. I also noticed significant improvement in my OTA picture quality.

I suspect in their rush to be 1st! they may have jumped the gun and should retest.


I also have noticed that as seems to be a common affliction with fanboy mentality (I.E "if I don't like it, it's utter crap") , they seem to have it in for IPS tech and therefore will never be happy regardless of reality.
 
#115 · (Edited)
I am just sick that i missed out on this years MicroCenter LG 4K TV deals. This TV wasn't even on my radar until a day ago because I assumed 4K would be too expensive. I had/have been researching between the LG 55LB7200 which is currently down sub-$1000 @ Microcenter I believe it's $899.99 and the Samsung 55H7150 but the best deal I've seen for that one so far is $1,399 @ sears + around $300 SYWR points + 10% CB from Discover Card so still $1,400 out the door though the $139.99 from Shop Discover can be cashed out for real money. The SYWR have gone down to about half what they were before so that deal is dead at that original price

---> Then this TV came into my radar and except for only having a Dual Core Processor VS the LB7200 having a quad core handling the WebOS Smart apps (& I don't see any of you mentioning or complaining about it being laggy) this TV seems like it has more going for it than the LB7200. ESPECIALLY with the gray bars & Dirty Screen Effect that can be quite awful on the 7200's & a lot of these other lower LG LED TV's this year. Once I saw it (DSE in the corners + vertical bars more often than not) , I now find it very disruptive as I'm often sitting there looking for it rather than observing the rest of the actual screen which does seem when not a solid color background to still have a great picture.

I have been making pro & con lists but it always hurts when a rock bottom price falls in the mix paying more than that (more than others) always seems to go down extra hard for me.
There seems to be now two threads running on this. I posted my experiences with the 49 there as well.
Hey could you post a link to the other thread you are talking about (unless you mean the 2014 LG Thread), as I do have that one.
 
#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by emporer  /t/1534402/49-55ub8500-owners-thread#post_24791158


I found the 3d on this set just stunning, having previously had a 2011 LG passive 3d set which produced half resolution passive 3d this new set is a huge difference, so sharp and vibrant and the increase in resolution is very evident to me.

Which 2011 LG model did you own?


Aside from the improvement in 3D (and the step-up in resolution to 4K), are there any other significant improvements that you notice compared to you older LG?
 
#11 ·
My 2011 set was the 47LW450u, probably something different for you guys in the US, but it was only half res passive 3d and the UB850 is so much better, more vibrant and punchier.


I've not had too much of a play around but over the next week or so i'll be digging in more.
 
#116 ·
3D passive....

My 2011 set was the 47LW450u, probably something different for you guys in the US, but it was only half res passive 3d and the UB850 is so much better, more vibrant and punchier.
I've not had too much of a play around but over the next week or so i'll be digging in more.
Can't wait to get mine next week. I got it specifically for the 1080p passive 3D. Beyond that there's not really any great benefit to 4K on this small of a display and without actual 4K content.
Ok, so I don't mean to kick the nest here but I've seen a number of "professional" tests a couple years back that dispute the 1/2 resolution 3D claim. I also read the "professionals" like Joe Kane who gave the counter argument. I understand on paper each eye is seeing only 540 lines, and the professional camp is quick to point out this is not exactly like old CRT's with interlaced lines every other line being painted & then followed by the reverse done at a refresh rate that allows the human eyes & brain to usually seamlessly piece it together into a full and complete picture, but there is a correlation. When I look at LG passive 3D I do not see a loss in resolution (albeit my testing has thus far been in store only). I am wondering if people really do see a loss in quality not due to the darkening of the glasses, because I've gone over this so many times in the store. I do not see a degradation in resolution, I do however see a noticeable loss in image brightness with active glasses which is one of many reasons why I greatly prefer passive 3D. Now that 4K + 3D sets from LG are available I would like to see a revisiting of this with side by side testing; off the paper specs/real world examination of the real or perceived / influenced subliminal messages that it was inferior to begin with...
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by emporer  /t/1534402/49-55ub8500-owners-thread#post_24791424


Out of interest what was the software version before and after you updated?

didnt make note of the version that was on originally, but this is the version I have now

fw 03.23.08, webos 1.2.0-2708


I read somewhere else (though I cant recall where) that some people had luck getting the update by changing their region settings
 
#17 ·

I'm looking at getting this TV but the lack of reviews because of how new it is worries me slightly, it is a relief to hear this posted review likely has to do with early release software, but I really have to ask... For you guys that do own the TV how are the blacks? Could you take a picture with the no input signal like they did and show us the bloom?

 

It would really instill a lot of confidence in me, and it certainly would be appreciated!

 

My biggest concern after picture quality is input lag, I don't game a lot on my TV but the upscaling just slays TV in terms of delay (when 1080P was bad enough for most TVs, just try hooking up a PC and moving the mouse even on game mode and see the lag).

 

It looks like if you want 4K right now that your gaming performance on any display will probably be crap.
 
#18 ·
I will try to take pictures of my set before and after calibrations with my 5d mark 3. I game, but not much online, so lag doesn't bother me too bad. If I'm not online I can account for the display lag pretty easily. If anyone wants lag free gaming, use a monitor, not a tv.
 
#19 ·
Received my set last night, but didn't get much time to mess with it. First impression is pretty good. It should look even better after calibration. I will be hardwiring it in to my network, so I shouldn't have too many issues displaying Netflix 4k. It did have quite a bit of flashlighting at first, but the backlight was turned up to 80. Turned it down to 45 (may go lower because its still pretty bright) and it looks much, much better. More thoughts to come.
 
#20 ·
Just got mine yesterday and so far I'm liking it a lot. 3D is excellent (watched Gravity). It is very bright out of the box I put it in movie mode for now. I'll try running my HD Essentials disk on it soon. The magic wand remote was a bit of a pia at first but once you got used to it, it's alright. Not any better than any other remote I've used. I'd prefer a remote with a keypad on the back like my visio.


One concern I have is with latent image retention. After I upgraded the firmware and restarted it, I plainly could see an after image of the settings menu during the WebOS splash screen. It could just be due to default setting being so bright and saturated.


The manual also has some ominous warnings about burn in.
 
#21 ·
One concern I have is with latent image retention. After I upgraded the firmware and restarted it, I plainly could see an after image of the settings menu during the WebOS splash screen. It could just be due to default setting being so bright and saturated.


The manual also has some ominous warnings about burn in.

That was not burn-in. It did it to mine as well. I've had mine on a static desktop background for hours and it did burn in. It did that because it didn't clear the memory after applying the update. So, when it restarted it actually still had that page open for a moment under the applying update screen. No need to really worry about burn in, especially on an led-lcd, it is rare.

I love the set, it is very sharp and colors are great, but sadly I am replacing mine. My lower right hand side has some pretty bad light leaking and it is bugging the hell out of me. I can deal with a bit of clouding and whatnot, but its like someone is shining a flashlight at the corner of the screen. I don't notice it on full-screen images, but letterboxed videos are horrible with that light leak. Overall, it is a beautiful set and upscales very well. Netflix 4K looks superb. I am going to keep using mine until the shipper drops off my other one (straight swap). There is the possibility it could be on my replacement as well, but we shall see. WebOS is extremely fast once loading. The first couple times you turn your TV on and off it is slow, but after that it is very responsive.
 
#23 ·
It's all good. Everyone is always quick to say they hate a manufacturer because of it, but it can happen to any TV. I'm an amazon prime member and don't mind sending it back a time or two to see if I can get a better set. It is a great looking TV other than the light bleed in the corner. Especially for the price!
 
#24 ·
Now I've seen some bleeding now from the top and lower left but it goes away after i get a source. Just watched one of my reference 3D movies, Tame a drgn 1 3D. And it was awesome. Edge lit ISP has its f'lawes but it goes away when a good source enters the equation.What does one expect for a mere $1700. I know my 3D friends won't notice.and I can ignore it unless it;s constant, And its.something that tells me its not a display issue but an overprocessing issue, I've never seen bleed issues go like that. Usually it's endemic but in this case it's situational.
 
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