LG 65UH8500

LG has wowed us in the past with its ultra-high-end flagship televisions that use organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology rather than LCD panels, like the Editors' Choice OLED65G6P. As fantastic as OLED televisions are, they're obscenely expensive. Fortunately, LG offers a much more reasonably priced alternatives. Super HDR is LG's term for LED-backlit LCD televisions that are capable of displaying high dynamic range (HDR), ultra high-definition (UHD, or 4K) content. LG's UH8500 series isn't cheap, but it provides impressive value and earns our Editors' Choice for its performance and features. The 65-inch 65UH8500 we tested retails for $1,999.99 and offers a gorgeous picture accessible through a well-designed and feature-rich webOS 3.0 interface.
DesignLG continues to emphasize minimal bezels and slim profiles for its high-end televisions. While it isn't as thin as the OLED65G6P, the 65UH8500 is very sleek and stylish, with a bezel-free screen that sits just in front of a curved, silver-finished frame. The active part of the display takes up the majority of the pane, with just a small black edge flush against it, completely free of bezel. It's an attractive design that isn't immediately flashy, but will impress anyone who looks at it up close.
While the screen is flat, black glass, the back of the television is curved, white plastic. Three HDMI ports and three USB ports sit in a small recess on the back, facing left. These ports, along with the back-facing 3.5mm composite and component video inputs (for use with the included 3.5mm-to-RCA adapters), optical and coaxial audio outputs, Ethernet port, and antenna/cable connector, sit over a foot from the left edge of the television, making access to them a bit of an inconvenient reach. The fact that there are only three HDMI ports on this fairly expensive television is a notable disappointment when even budget 4K televisions usually offer four.
The panel sits securely on a crescent-shaped metal base that juts out a few inches in front of the screen. It holds the television steady, but doesn't allow any angle adjustments. A small snap-on cover on the back of the stand lets you run cables down to your devices without letting them dangle behind the screen.
The included Magic Remote is a slightly curved, button-heavy black wand with motion sensors to control an on-screen pointer like an air mouse; just wave the remote and the pointer will move across the screen. It's dominated by a large, round navigation pad with a clickable scroll wheel in the center, used to jump between menu options and select with the on-screen pointer. A number pad, volume and channel controls, and a power button sit above the navigation pad, while playback controls, four color buttons, and the Input button are below.
WebOS 3.0 and FeaturesLike all of LG's current connected televisions, the 65UH8500 uses webOS 3.0 for its smart features. WebOS has remained pretty consistent in design over the last few years. Commonly used inputs and apps appear in a row on the bottom edge of the screen, and scrolling to the right lets you browse every available service on the television. A live TV guide is built into the system, and you can add your favorite live channels to a quick selection menu on the home screen. It's an attractive, fairly intuitive interface that offers quick access to commonly used features without cluttering the screen.
While the app selection isn't as robust as Android TV or Roku TV, webOS 3.0 still has plenty to offer. The major streaming video providers are present, including Amazon, Google Play TV and Movies, Hulu, Netflix, Vudu, and YouTube, and as a Netflix-recommended TV with HDR support, the Netflix client can stream Dolby Vision HDR 4K shows like Marco Polo. The services don't get much more granular than that; the television only offers a dozen Premium apps (subscription services), which, besides the aforementioned video services include MLB.tv and Spotify. If you want really specific genre or regional selections, consider getting a Roku device.
Outside of the third-party content available, webOS 3.0 is a full-featured smart television interface. It supports screen mirroring with Miracast, content screaming with LG's Magic Mobile Connection (which requires installing the free LG TV Plus mobile app), and has a built-in Web browser that is fairly functional thanks to the Magic Remote and its air mouse control.
The 65UH8500 is capable of displaying 3D content, and comes with two pairs of passive 3D glasses. Because the television uses passive lenses instead of active shutter glasses, you can easily pick up additional pairs for around $13 each.
PerformanceWe test televisions with a DVDO AVLab 4K test pattern generator, a Klein K-10A colorimeter, and SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software. After a basic dark room calibration, the 65UH8500 showed a peak brightness of 304.41cd/m2 and a black level of 0.04cd/m2 for a 7,610:1 contrast ratio. It isn't as blindingly bright as Sony's XBR-X930D series(550.12cd/m2), and it doesn't have the perfect blacks of the OLED65G6P, but it's still a strong performer and far less expensive than both.

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