With standard-definition TVs, the rule used to be that viewers would feel comfortable watching a set from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size in inches. With HDTV, the resolution is so much better that you can sit closer to a larger TV without noticing the pixels. So with HDTVs, the rule tends to be you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size (in inches) for the best experience. If you know the size of the room you have already, where you want to sit, and where your new HDTV should go once you get it, you can figure out the size HDTV you should get. Minimum size = Viewing distance/3 Maximum size=Viewing distance/1.5

LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV Review

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 0 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 0. 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 0, 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 ,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. You can buy Cheap LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV Online!