Our Verdict
Good TV for a mixed usage. The SJ8500 is pretty versatile and has some decent picture quality. Its wide viewing angle makes it a good choice if you have viewing positions to the sides of the TV.
- Wide viewing angle
- Very responsive for gaming
- Can reproduce a wide range of colors
- Blacks are blotchy and lack contrast
Mediocre TV for movies in a dark room. The SJ8500 suffers from important black uniformity issues causing dark scenes to have pale blotches and a dirty look. The blacks themselves also aren't very deep and look gray in a darker viewing environment.
Good for watching TV shows. The SJ8500 works well for afternoon watching since it handles reflections well and has a wide viewing angle. The WebOS 3.5 platform is also excellent, making accessing content very easy.
Good TV for sports watching. The SJ8500 has excellent handling of motion and little motion motion blur. Its screen uniformity leaves a bit to be desired though, causing corners and edges to darken a bit. There is no major blotches though, which is good.
Great TV for playing video games. The SJ8500 has very low input lag and motion blur, making it suitable for even more competitive gamers.
Good TV for HDR movies. The SJ8500 can display a wide range of colors without any major gradations. Unfortunately though, it could be brighter, and it doesn't have a very effective local dimming feature.
Good TV for HDR gaming. Input lag is low, and the brightness boost gives a decent effect.
The SJ8500 is suitable for use as a PC monitor. It supports the essential resolutions, as well as 1080p @ 120hz making a good choice for PC gaming. Its wide viewing angle helps as well.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Nov 10, 2017: LG's new Active HDR feature (Dynamic Contrast: Low) improves the EOTF considerably, so we recommend enabling it. Unfortunately Active HDR doesn't work in Game or PC mode.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Jun 20, 2017: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (55SJ8500) and expect, for the most part, our review to be valid for the other available sizes.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their LG SJ8500 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | Warehouse |
| 55" | 55SJ8500 | 55SJ850A |
| 65" | 65SJ8500 | 65SJ850A |
Update 11/27/2017: A reader has informed us that the 65SJ850V in Poland has artifacts when viewed from up close, similar to the SJ9500 (described here). This may make it slightly less suitable for use as a PC monitor, but is unlikely to affect other uses.
Popular TV Comparisons
The SJ8500 is a good LED TV, but it is quite expensive for the performance it delivers. Most of the time, you will be better off with a competing TV in its price range. See our recommendations for the best budget TVs and the best smart TVs.
The LG SJ8500 has slightly better viewing angles than the Sony X900E, and this is great if you have wide seating arrangements. The LG SJ8500 also has somewhat better inputs for use as a PC monitor and a bit better input lag, which makes it very responsive if you play video games. On the other hand, the Sony X900E has much better contrast and local dimming and better black uniformity that allows it to display deep blacks and improve picture quality if you watch movies or HDR movies in a dark room. Finally, the Sony X900E has better SDR peak brightness and can easily overcome glare which is great for watching TV shows in brighter rooms.
The LG SJ9500 is somewhat better than the LG SJ8500. The LG SJ9500 has better SDR peak brightness, which is important when you watch TV shows in a bright room. Also, the LG SJ9500 has a slightly better gradient and better black uniformity for HDR, which is great when you watch HDR content. The LG SJ8500, however, has lower input lag when you play HDR games, and better 4k input picture as its pixel dimming algorithm doesn't display the artifacts shown on the single color areas of the LG SJ9500.
If you've got a room with wide seating and many windows, then the LG SJ8500 is a better choice, but for a dark room with seating directly in front, then the Samsung MU8000 is better. The LG SJ8500 has better reflection handling and better viewing angles, which is good if you watch TV shows. The LG SJ8500 also has a somewhat better input lag that makes it very responsive for video games. The Samsung MU8000 has better contrast and better black uniformity that offers deep blacks when watching HDR movies in a dark room. Also, the Samsung MU8000 has a bit better SDR peak brightness and slightly better gray uniformity.
If you watch TV in a dark room with seating directly in front, then the Samsung NU8000 is a better choice than the LG SJ8500. It has significantly better black uniformity and contrast that allow it to display deep blacks thus improving picture quality. The Samsung NU8000 also has better SDR peak brightness, which is good for TV shows in brighter rooms. When it comes to gaming, the Samsung NU8000 has a better response time, it incorporates the FreeSync VRR technology, and has slightly better black frame insertion (BFI) to sharpen the image. On the other hand, the LG SJ8500 has somewhat better viewing angles, suitable for wide seating and better reflection handling for those rooms with a lot of windows.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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