LG 86UM8070 86-Inch, 4K LED UHD Smart TV (2019)

4.0 out of 5 stars

By Chad Smih - Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2019

Great value, but with compromises

If size is what you're after, this TV obviously does the trick. I have a fairly big wall and was planning to use a projector, but ultimately landed on this TV instead as true 4k projectors are still very expensive. The room can get fairly dark, so an OLED TV would've been the best for it, but an OLED that size was prohibitively expensive. The Good: I got the TV from Best Buy during Prime day as they matched Amazon's price of $2,200 - so the price is pretty good for the size. The lit-picture (portions that aren't black) are great. Color accuracy seems good and it's generally pleasant to watch. If you had it next to an OLED in a store, it'd be more obvious that it's not a top-tier panel, but on it's own it looks pretty great. 120Hz refresh rate (I turn of the any motion-smoothing since it looks weird to me) is fine - can get a little choppy at times. This effect is likely more noticeable due to the screen size - your eyes can see things that would get lost in a smaller image. The anti-glare screen does a decent job of keeping reflections down. Netflix includes Dolby Atmos and Dolby vision (when paying for a 4-screen/4k subscription), which can be exported via the ARC HDMI port to an Atmos-capable receiver for Atmos (height) sound channels. This was a factor in my decision for this TV versus a comparable Samsung TV, which does NOT suppose this in it's Netflix app - odd, but ok. It includes the most common apps that most people would look for (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Plex), but app store to download additional apps lacking, more on that below. Setup was easy. I mounted mine on a wall with no issues - it's about 100lbs. I was able to get my mount attached firmly to 3 studs, but i think 2 studs would hold it without any issues. I connected it to wifi at first (which worked fine), but ultimately hardwired it to ensure 4k streams would never be an issue. The menus have a small learning curve, but are ultimately just fine. I can really speak to the speakers since I run mine through an 7.2.4 setup, but the signal from ARC HDMI to my receiver is perfectly fine. The Bad: Blacks levels. Simply put: they aren't good. During a full-screen picture, it's not such a big deal, but when watching wide-screen movie that still includes the black bars on the top & bottom of the picture it becomes painfully obvious. To add insult to injury, there is a fair amount of "light bleed" from the edges and this is even more noticeable when the black bars are there. When all of my lights are on, it's noticeable, but not incredibly annoying, but at night the lights off it's very pronounced and downright annoying. Lack of apps. While the major players are there (as noted above), the apps store is filled with apps that most people won't care about. My Samsung TV has all kinds of options from major cable channels (Discovery, AMC, ESPN, History, etc), but NONE of those are available on the LG. Seems odd. Of course hooking up a Roku can easily fix that, but it's nice to have everything in the same place. It wouldn't change my my purchase decision, but worth mentioning. Overall I'm still happy with it. When I get caught up in the lack of blacks, I remind myself that it's still a lot of TV for the money, and there's more good than bad. Colors still pop and sports look good. And it still has that wow-factor when people come into the room. It doesn't look THAT huge against the big wall that it is mounted on, which makes me happy that TV was as affordable as it was - anything smaller would almost be "too small". ***UPDATE 1/22/2020*** The TV is connected to my receiver via a 40' HDMI cable. I was experiencing a complete drop in sound for ~5 seconds at a time, every 1-2 minutes. I initially suspected it was an issue with the receiver, but I figured a factory-reset of the TV would be the easiest thing to check of the list of problems. After completing the factory reset, all has been good since. I researched the issue afterwards and found that when using HDMI ARC, there isn't a true "standard", so various issues are widespread. I was happy that I was able to quickly fix the issue, but of course now I fear it could happen again at any time.

1.0 out of 5 stars

By AvidReader - Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2019

Wrong choice

Bought for a school. Broken out of the box and LG refused every attempt to stand behind their product. PTA built a lighted box that now holds this junk with a nice sign saying, "Do not buy an LG TV! This 86" LG TV has a broken mother board from the factory and LG will not replace. Despite pleas, LG refuses to help your students achieve more." The school administrator is telling all principals at each conference to stay away from LG. Might be a great TV...when it works. Get ready for cold shoulders, otherwise.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By JSteves Prime - Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2019

LG 86" 4K Ultra Review

This is an excellent addition to my Family Room! I am upgrading from a Vizio 70" 1080p. This TV makes my 70" look like a 50". I've read others complaining about the black levels, but I find the blacks to be just right. I understand that there are different levels of black for shaded areas, but let's be real, you don't knock off two or three stars just because you think the blacks could've been "blacker". You have to weigh the price point of this TV against the features. If you want to spend an extra $2K for blacker blacks, then be my guest. This TV fits my price point and is a definite upgrade from 1080p. I was able to hook up my TiVo HDR, my Xbox One, my Firestick, and my soundbar/subwoofer - that's all I need. The screen is big. The picture is clear, and it has all the ports I need to connect devices. I probably won't even use most of the features that are included anyway. I would definitely recommend this TV to someone in the market.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By J.Wilson - Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2019

Great TV

Ok so the first TV that came was broken but was no fault by amazon 😩. Called customer service and they sent out a new one. It’s in perfect condition!! Beautiful, picture is amazing. Very easy to see from across my 21’ living room. Can’t be more please with this purchase. If you have issues just call customer service. They will work with you till you are satisfied.

1.0 out of 5 stars

By Alfonso Molina Serrano - Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2019

Broken

Arrived Broken

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Ara Kantardjian - Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2019

This TV is heaven...

I love this thing. Yes, i wish it was 8K because of its massive size, but 4K will due :). I sit about 10 feet from the screen, and its perfectly fine...but then again, i'd get a 200 inch if i could!

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Jeffrey Speegle - Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2019

It is what it is…

It is what it is... An 86” 4K LED set, for less than $2500! If you are searching for videophile quality, this isn’t the set for you. HOWEVER! If you are searching for a monster size screen, with great features, for the price of a 60” OLED, this set is worth taking a look at.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Oliver Graham - Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2019

Happy Happy - Joy Joy!

Smart TV - indeed smart - and super thin and responsive. Picture is like looking out your window. Be CAREFUL putting this together - I would consider a White Glove delivery just because of that. It went fine for us - just hate to risk the investment. That is what we will do whenever the 200 Inch screens come out : )