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  • Tour & Design

  • Performance Features

  • Connectivity & Media

  • Controls, Menu & Remote

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparison

  • Tour & Design
  • Performance Features
  • Connectivity & Media
  • Controls, Menu & Remote
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparison

Tour & Design


The front of the LG 55LE8500 shows off the single-piece glass that runs seamlessly from one edge of the surface to the other. The bezel is actually composed of the same glass. Underneath, the LCD screen runs until about two inches from the edge of the glass. At that size, the bezel is a lot wider than the 8.5mm of the LE95000 series.

Along the bottom of the front are a series of onboard controls for volume, channel, source, menu, and power.

Please note that the front and the rest of the design seen here is not guaranteed to be the final production model.

**

Back**


The back of the LG 55LE8500 is plain, with the ports gathered on the lower right side. We weren't able to grab photos of the 55LE8500's back, so we took some shots of the 55LE9500 instead. They should have the same ports.

**

Sides**


From the side, you can see how incredibly thin the LG 55LE8500 looks. While it's not breaking any new records, it's still fairly remarkable. It will definitely catch the eyes of friends and neighbors.

**

Stand/Mount**


The stand for the LG 55LE8500 is proudly squat and angular, especially compared to the smooth, curved elegance of the 2010 Samsung line. That said, it looks pleasing to the eye and perfectly in accordance with the greater design. The material is a translucent acrylic with a smoky grey finish. Fortunately, it does allow you to swivel the TV back and forth.

**

Aesthetics**


The LG 55LE8500 is a good looking TV, but it's not going for the all-out wow factor the Samsung UN55C9000, which we reviewed yesterday. We've seen the likes of the LG 55LE8500 before, and we approve.

Most of the bezel looks like dyed black glass, with a unique tapering-off ink effect at the bottom. The glass goes all the way to the edge, and at the very edge of the whole frame, it's completely transparent. The bezel is about two inches wide. On the top-of-the-line 9500 series, the bezel is only 8.5mm.

Performance Features

Display Size & Technology


Most of the display technology LG 55LE8500 is carried over from last year. The new developments were all shoved into the top-of-the-line LE9500 series. The LE8500 TVs are not 3D and they don't have 480Hz refresh (not that we think it would make much difference).

The LG 55LE8500 does offer Full LED Slim, which is LG's branding term for back-lit LED. The alternate LED technology, edge-lit LED, is usually the found in super-thin TVs. But back-lit offers the distinct advantage of local dimming, meaning you can have deep blacks next to bright whites without losing quality in either. The 55LE8500's LED system is using a proprietary LG technology called Integrated Optical Plate (IOP), which arranges the LED packets in strips for 240 controllable zones. The previous generation of LG LED TVs had 96 zones.

**

Formats & Resolution**


The LG 55LE8500 is a native 1080p resolution TV.

**

Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio**


The black levels and contrast ratio on LG's 2009 LED TVs were not very impressive—at least not for the price—and we're hoping it improves. We expect the increase in controllable zones to result in better tunnel contrast, as well. Tunnel contrast measures how well a TV can maintain its black levels while that patch of black is surrounded by increasing amounts of bright white. This may also have a positive effect on the overall contrast ratio. However, we can't be sure of any of these things until we can get the TV into the lab.

**

Color**


There was no mention made about the color performance on the LG 55LE8500, other than to say that the technologies will be carried over from the previous year. Our review of the 47LH90 showed a solid performance.

**

Motion & Refresh Rate**


The LG 55LE8500 features TruMotion 240Hz, which is just LG's branded term for 240Hz refresh rate. The jury is still out on how much the human eye can distinguish a difference past 120Hz. We've heard arguments both ways from experts in the field, but our own testing shows very little difference.

The step-up model from the 55LE8500, the LE95000 series, features 480Hz refresh. 

**

Viewing Angle**


The viewing angle of LCD televisions is never as good as plasma, but you definitely see a qualitative difference between cheap LCDs and top-tier LCDs. Expect the LG 55LE8500 to clock in somewhere around 25-30 degrees, if it's anything like last year's model.

 

Connectivity & Media

Audio & Video Ports


The LG 55LE8500 and the rest of the 8500 series is WiFi ready, but they do not have integrated WiFi, like some of the top-tier televisions announced here at CES. To connect wirelessly, you'll need a USB dongle of some kind (not included). LG will be selling a device they're calling Wireless AV Link, a media hub that connects to your DVD, Blu-Ray, camera, or what-have-you, and streams everything wireless to your TV.

There is also a traditional jack pack on the rear of the LG 55LE8500. The photos below are not necessarily final ports that you can expect to see when the product comes to market, but they should be similar.

**

Media & Other Connectivity**


All the 2010 LG TVs with streaming content capabilities will enjoy an upgraded 'NetCast' package, LG's trade name for its collection of content partnerships. The package has been expanded considerably, and not includes Netflix, VUDU, YouTube, Napster, Yahoo Widgets, and several more. More exciting is the partnership with Skype. With the additional purchase of a camera (paranoids rest easy, the camera is not embedded in the TV), the Skype widget places the call and displays both you and your caller on the giant 55-inch screen. Yes, it's Jetsons time, folks. Get used to it.

Of course, the LG 55LE8500 is also likely to contain the media ports you've come to expect, like USB for movie clips, music, and photos.
**

Placement**


The port placement on the LG 55LE8500 is not necessarily final, but the LG televisions on display at CES definitely seemed closer to final production than those from other companies. In that light, the TVs we saw had all the ports on the back, clustered together on the right hand side. The frame is too thin to support any ports on the side.

As we mentioned above, with the additional purchase of the Wireless AV Link (should it come to market), you could connect all your media to a centralized hub elsewhere in the room, then stream it over WiFi to the TV.
**

Audio**


The audio features will not be upgraded over previous models.

Controls, Menu & Remote

Remote


The remote control that ships with the LG 55LE8500 is a bit slimmer than last year's, but is more or less an ordinary remote control, with a bunch of boring old buttons.

Far more exciting was the Magic Wand remote, an exclusive for the top-tier LE9500 series. It's essentially a Wiimote, minus the vibration. Unfortunately, the Magic Wand remote is only going to be available for a few series, the LE8500 series not among them.

 
**

Controls**


On-board the LG 55LE8500, you'll find a row of touch-sensitive buttons that run along the bottom of the TV's profile. At least on the models at CES, response time was slow and we frequently had to push more than once, but we're suspending judgment until we receive a full production model.

**

Menu**


The menu, at least the floor model at CES, was more or less the same as last year's models.

Conclusion

 

Series Comparison

LE8500 Series


There will be just two models in the LE8500 series of TVs, a 47 inch and a 55 inch. The feature sets are identical.

Meet the tester

David Kender

David Kender

Editor in Chief

@davekender

David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.

See all of David Kender's reviews

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