No Analog Audio Output | LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV

Glass panel front is VERY reflective | LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV

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	• LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV LG LG average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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Great LED TV

You know you have made a good purchase when your TV looks almost better off than on. The design of this thing is great. Slim and monolithic. The single sheet of glass design is awesome. It does produce some glare, although not horrible. The worst part about this TV is the speakers. They are just not up to snuff but then again there are few TV's that are. A simple sound bar solved this problem (SONY HTC-150). Love the streaming netflix. The image quality is amazing. The only way to compare it is like going from an iPhone 3G screen to the retina display of the iPhone 4.

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No Analog Audio Output

The picture is beautiful. The frameless glass frame is magnificent. The speakers are so-so.

We went to Best Buy to physically look at TV's, intending to buy a 42". Two things became clear. The best imaging technology (e.g., high contrast ratio, etc.) doesn't really kick in until the 47" models. I guess there isn't a big market for high quality / small size TV's. The other was the fameless frame on this model. Every other TV in the store, bigger and smaller, had a raised frame that surrounds (and protects) the glass front. The LG 478500 does not ... there is a single piece of glass that runs all the way to the edge. The glass just changes to black in color in a thin region around the edge. It looks more like a painting than a TV. My wife spontaneously yells out "that's magnificent!" and I understood my TV just got more expensive.

We bought the TV from amazon with enhanced delivery. I wasn't there to observe, but my wife said they looked like they had never set up a TV in their life. At one point they wanted to lay it on it's front, but with the absence of a raised frame, that would most likely scratch the glass. They did get the TV in it's stand and sitting on the table, but not "set up" in any electronic sense.

We bought an LG BD590 250GB Blu-Ray player to go with it. I had read about various incompatibility issues related to various versions of HDMI or different manufacturers' implementations. Given that the BD590 was among the top reviewed players, it seemed a safe bet. That's the only source I have tried so far. At the time of this review, we've watched Avatar and Cars. I also watched a Hero DVD to check the up-sampling.

The picture is stellar. It looked better in the store than everything else we took the time to compare it to (more detail in the bear's dark fur, more subtle tones on images of snow). Until we get it up on the wall, we're sitting pretty close (about 8') and you can not see a pixel. I don't have the experience of "watching TV" ... it feels more like we are looking through a window.

The up-sampled DVD looked great. It was obviously not as beautiful as the blu-ray disk, but substantially better than my gargantuan Sony Trinitron (the last of the pre-HD monster tube TVs) did with a DVD player.

The speakers sound like TV speakers. With such a beautiful image, I assume that LG assumes that people are going to add their own speakers.

Which brings me to my one complaint, but this apparently is a complaint about the industry, not just this TV. The rest of this review is more about dealing with audio for folks who don't have a home theater setup.

This TV has no analog audio output. Only an optical digital audio output.

My setup is simple. I have blu-ray player, a TV and an amplifier with speakers. That's it. No satellite. No cable. No AV receiver. What I used to do was plug the player into the TV, use the TV volume control with the audio output set on variable, and feed the audio signal to the amplifier from the TV. It was simple. One volume control did it for all sources.

That won't work with this TV. I called LG customer service (which answered promptly) and they confirmed that only a digital output exists and that, "all the new TVs are going this way". The first comment to this review confirms that.

What the industry expects you to do is buy an AV Receiver for a home theater system. Given that I just want good stereo sound, my problem with AV Receivers is that (a) the TV itself already accepts 10 different inputs and I don't need another box to accept 10 more, (b) it adds another remote control and (c) another volume control and (d) another input select function to watch a simple movie and (e) I'm paying for video up-conversion and other video features I don't need. My understanding is that the latest HDMI may solve the dual-volume issue.

Update: 8/10/2010
It's worse than I thought. From LG customer service: "Regretfully, the optical output is a fixed output on this unit, and it will not respond to the television's volume.". Thus, it is not possible to connect an external DAC to the optical audio output ... unless you like listening exclusively at full volume.

Update: 8/11/2010
If you want to use external stereo speakers without buying an A/V Receiver, here are the options that I have found:

1) Almost no-cost solution:
Use the headphone jack and run that to your amplifier with a mini plug to RCA adapter cable. It works, but the quality is about what you would expect ... very compressed sound. I had to turn the TV volume up to 100% much of the time.

2) Low-cost solution:
Use the headphone jack as above, but add a headphone amplifier. This is the solution I have chosen. I'm using a Creek OBH-11. It costs about $200 and is the lowest priced headphone amplifier that audiophiles don't absolutely scoff at. The Creek has an audio output that you hook into your speaker amplifier and a headphone jack, so you can still use headphones. This won't improve distortion or frequency response of your sound, but it will improve the dynamics.

3) Middle of the road solution:
I looked for an HDMI box that might do something similar to an A/V Receiver ... sort of an AV Receiver Lite with a single HDMI input, a pass-through HDMI output, and audio out. Really what I want is an "Audio Receiver" to decode HDMI audio without any video. The closest thing I have found is the Ambrry AU-HDMICP with the very long name of "HDMI LPCM to Analog Multi-Channel Audio Decoder With Amplifier". It's a unique product and it almost does what I want ... but has no volume adjustment.

The other option is a Beresford TC-7520. It's a headphone amplifier with an optical digital input and a manual volume control, and costs about $200. So ... this works. You would have to adjust the volume by reaching for the box, which I would prefer not to. Note one thing ... in the A/V forums this is a controversial product because of the very extreme claims of how fantastic it is and other people saying those claims are a campaign of hype. For $200, I would not expect a top-end DAC in this product.

So, in my opinion, there is no middle of the road solution. The middle of the road solution is to spend your money on an A/V Receiver and be done with it.

4) Audiophile solution
If you want to put your money into the best audio (stereo) sound and not spend a dime on video switching, you can get the Benchmark DAC1 HDR or Lavry DA11. They take optical digital input and produce RCA output for your amplifier. They have nice little remote controls. The specifications and reviews are impeccable. They are exactly what I want. Also ... they cost more than the TV. For $2,000 you could get a decent A/V Preamp, a more audiophile solution than A/V Receiver. I might have gone down this road except that some A/V forum folks suggested that in a few years, these kind of products will start accepting HDMI and do full, audiophile quality TrueHD decoding. That would be great.

So ... for now ... it looks like if you want to listen to the audio on external speakers, even in stereo, you are pretty much forced to purchase an A/V processor or use the headphone jack. So be it.

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Glass panel front is VERY reflective

The great picture and good viewing angles for an LCD/LED were the reasons I bought this for our living room. It did not disappoint with either picture quality or viewing angle. But the EXTREMELY reflective glass panel covering this beautiful TV made it virtually unwatchable even though it was angled away from the main window. The blacks were so black we could watch ourselves watching TV in the dark areas of the picture -- especially while watching movies, which tend to be darker than regular TV. Many of the plasmas I've seen in the stores are less reflective, which makes plasmas viable options if you think you can handle a glass panel. The TV has been returned and we're shopping for less reflective replacement.

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Much to love and yet much to be disappointed with

I am writing this after about one week of use.

Love:

The thinness of this TV is super. Impressive. Admirable.

When watching a high quality HD movie or show, such as that transmitted by HBO HD, the quality is stunning. Pleasing. Satisfying. Remarkable. And this is with the TV picture mode set to the standard default.

The menus are easy to navigate.

Nice that you can stream YouTube.

Being able to rotate the TV 20 degrees left and right.

Nice looking TV (except for the mirror-like reflection, of course)

Happy I was able to get it for $1,800 grand total.

Disappointments:

While the installation of the base is really easy, the screws are easily stripped. Using a typical screwdriver, the screw heads started showing stripping. Unacceptable. (I didn't strip the screw heads all the way, but there should be no stripping just to install the base on an $1,800 TV.)

The speakers. Come on, LG. If Vizio can put in 15 watt speakers, why would you give us 10 watt speakers on an $1,800 TV? The speaker sound is OK for programs like the news, but awful when listening to stations like the Music Choice cable music stations. I tested them with the beautiful instrumental music station and could not turn up the volume very high or else I'd get distortion and/or vibration. This is very upsetting. LG should be ashamed for this. And please don't tell me they expect everyone to connect the TV to an audio amplifier, etc. This is BS. Many people do not want to do this. And isn't $1,800 enough? And again: if other TV companies can offer a flat-screen TV with better sound, LG should be able. I don't have an amp or external speakers, etc. And I don't want to spend any more money. (I am not returning the TV in spite of this speaker complaint. I am just going to live with the disappointment for now. I am just hoping someone at LG will read these complaints and do the right thing in their next TV.)

I am disappointed with the quality of the picture when standard def or video via composite RCA cables is transmitted. I know this is to be expected, but I have seen better quality on other sets. If you are still using something like the ReplayTV DVR or VCR where you can only use composite cables, you might be unhappy with the quality of the picture.

The remote control does not have a qwerty keyboard. Not a dealbreaker, of course, but Vizio has a qwerty keyboard bluetooth remote with their 47" LED LCD TV. And their set is $1,400. (And their speakers are better.)

The glare of the screen. Highly reflective. If your room lighting is a certain way, you'll certainly get used to it and/or the glare will be less. (With the TV off in a bright room, the screen is a perfect mirror.)

Bottom line: I recommend this LG TV if you watch mostly High Def programming, as you will see a gorgeous picture. Nice black levels. Bright and colorful and crystal clear picture that will make you fall in love with watching television. You will never want to go back to a CRT again if this is your first HD experience, of course. (I would give 5 stars for just the picture and the thinness of the TV.) If the best sound quality is important, keep in mind you will need external speakers for that.

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Great TV set with amazing functionality

I got mine from a local store on sale for a little under $1600. That was about three weeks ago. And since then my entire family just can't get enough of it.

Picture quality is just great - and that's expected. But what amazes me is all the extra functionality with what this TV is packed.

1. Video streaming with Netflix. (It also has VUDU, YouTube, Picasa - but I did not try VUDU yet, and YouTube and Picasa work just fine, but I do not need a huge display to view some low resolution videos from YouTube). So Netflix movies available to watch instantly look great. Even those that are not HD quality. I must say that I have FIOS internet connection, so that must be also a component for high quality videos, but as far as this set goes - it does a great job.

2. This TV has 2 hi-speed USB2.0 input jacks, and it recognizes not just flash drives, but also USB external hard drives - even with NTFS file format. I tried both - FAT32 and NTFS, and also external drives with additional power source and without it, - this TV recognizes them all. It can play your video files (and other media too) directly from external hard drive! And it supports multiple video formats, including Matroska H.264. It also supports external subtitles for AVI files. I did not test multiple subtitles formats, but SRT works great. It supports standard Latin letters languages and Korean. No other encodings though.

I want also to add a few words about design. I use a TV stand that it came with, and it allows TV to be turned both sides about 20 degree - just enough to get to the USB jacks or to additional audio or HDMI jacks that are placed on a left side. The main ones are located on the back panel - which is also pretty easy to reach thanks to that rotating feature of a stand. The rotation is very smooth and requires no force at all.

I can't be more pleased with it.

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There's television and then there's something better with LG's INFINIA LE8500. With one TV, you can experience a dazzling THX certified Full LED Slim picture on a beyond-beautiful display, the unlimited possibilities of broadband TV, the freedom of Wireless HD and a host of other groundbreaking innovations from LG.

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