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LG 55UF850V review

 Review: September 2015  
 

Last updated October 2015

Rating: 4 stars

In a nutshell: The LG 55UF850V is a 4K TV, offering 55 inches of Ultra High Definition screen. It has stunning designer looks, excellent 3D viewing, and Smart TV. But there are compromises in picture quality and audio, so consider very carefully before parting with your cash.



 

Introduction

When it launched back in March 2015, the LG 55UF850V was priced sky-high at £2,000, making it a total irrelevance in the UK market. Now the price has fallen, and it's hard to ignore a 55-inch TV that offers UHD (4K) viewing, so let's take a good look at what's on offer from this beast.

Design & looks

When it comes to looks, the UF850V is one of the best televisions available. It's a superslim model with an ultra-narrow black frame featuring a metal lower edge below the screen. The all-metal matching ribbon stand lends it an air of elegance and distinction. All told, this is a stunning-looking TV. Just make sure you have an extra-wide pedestal to stand it on, as the footprint of the ribbon stand is making no allowances for space.

The TV comes with LG's magic remote control that lets you point, use gestures or even voice commands to control the TV. If you're old-fashioned, you can of course just press the buttons.

Picture quality

55 inches of TV can hardly fail to impress, and we're grateful that it's flat, not curved. The IPS screen is bright - very bright - so is excellent in a sunny, daylit room. Viewing angles are nice and wide, with very little loss of brightness or contrast when viewed from the side, making this TV a good choice for a family.

There's still not much 4K source material available, but when displaying 4K content, the picture here is superbly finely detailed. The TV does a very good job of upscaling HD content too. In fact it's better than many rivals, making this a practical choice of TV as we patiently wait for more 4K content to become available. Standard definition content is more of a struggle, especially on such a big screen, but that's a criticism of large screen UHD televisions in general.

LG is the only major TV manufacturer to continue to use IPS screen technology. While IPS has wide viewing angles, it just can't match the deep blacks of screens from Samsung, Panasonic or Sony. That leads to a lack of contrast, and the picture has a slightly flat and dull quality to it. It's possible to drill down into menus and tweak advanced options for an improved experience, but most users will find this intimidating.

The screen is intrinsically slow too, leading to motion blur and a loss of resolution during fast action. It's not such a good option if you enjoy sport, gaming or movies. LG has added various motion enhancement algorithms to the TV, but these struggle due to the screen having such a slow native response. The result is either over-processing and smoothing, or else jerkiness and ghosting. The Clear Plus option helps, but significantly reduces brightness.

3D picture quality

Here, the LG claws back some love. Many rivals TVs don't even have 3D these days, so if this is a feature that's important to you, the balance may well tip back in favour of LG. As this uses passive 3D, there are no problems with crosstalk, although some ghosting is in evidence due to the slow screen response. There's no UHD standard for 3D, but the 4K screen resolution gives you Full HD in 3D. The brightness of the screen helps when wearing 3D glasses, and we'd rate this TV highly for 3D viewing.

Audio quality

When it comes to sound, things go wrong again. LG may boast about the Harman Kardon speakers, but the sound is lightweight and lacking decent bass.

For soap operas, news and reality TV, you'll find this acceptable, as the audio range is geared to the mid-frequencies of dialogue. But we'd strongly recommend adding a sound bar or home cinema kit to complement the UHD viewing experience.

Smart TV

One area where this model does well is in its Smart TV functionality. This uses LG's WebOS system to deliver a range of Smart TV services. From catch-up TV to on-demand content and other apps, you'll find nearly everything you could want here.

The system is fast and comprehensive. Catch-up TV services include the BBC iPlayer and Demand 5. There's on-demand content from the LG Content store, Netflix 4K and Amazon. You'll also find a web browser, social media, YouTube, and access to apps from the LG Store.

All these services are easily accessed by clicking on the home button of the remote. You can access devices such as a Blu-Ray player, home cinema system, etc, from the same menu.

Connectivity

It seems that LG has actually downgraded connectivity compared with last year's models. Instead of 4 HDMIs there are 3, of which one is ARC compatible. Hmm. It's a disappointment, but not a deal-breaker.

In addition to HDMI, you'll find built-in Wi-Fi and ethernet to connect to the internet, plus 3 USB ports, and a wide range of legacy connectors, including SCART, component input, and a digital audio optical output.

The TV is geared up to sharing, with support for network file browsing, and Miracast wireless sharing with compatible smartphones, tablets and other devices.

There's also a built-in Freeview HD tuner.

Conclusion - good value, but compromised

The LG UF850V gives you 55 inches of UHD television, for a reasonable price. UHD scenes are vibrant, and HD upscaling is good. Viewing angles are wide, and 3D viewing is outstanding. It's just the slightly washed-out contrast that bothers us. Oh yes, and the smudgy motion control too.

But the Smart TV is excellent, and there's good connectivity too. And those designer looks - they're to die for. Well, maybe not to die for, but worth compromising a little in other respects.

So, to conclude, this may not be the perfect TV, but it's priced fairly, and is worthy of your consideration. Take a look as well at Samsung's 55-inch JU6400 model, and Sony's 50-inch W805C.


LG 55UF850V features include:

User questions

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How much it gona cost?I buy 2014 LG the same model by 49 inch but my screen is broken is it possible to get the screen?tnx

Asked by Daniel fantu from etiopian on 24th Nov 2018

Will any magic remote work with it?

Asked by Oskar from Uk on 23rd Nov 2018
My remote broke an im trying to replace it but i dont know which model to get. Can you help?

Can I buy a stand for this tv and how much?

Asked by tony from england on 29th Sep 2018

See all 7 questions

LG 55UF850V user reviews

Sorry - reviews and comments on this page are now closed.