Ambilight because that's exactly where we need to start, it's the biggest reason to buy the PUS8500. The three-sided backlighting on the TV looks fantastic, especially in the evening. It creates atmosphere, masks contrast imperfections, and makes viewing simply more enjoyable. Even if the black isn’t perfect here, at high contrast the native VA panel is just good. On top of that, there’s really decent input lag and several gaming features like ALLM and VRR. Although there’s no HDMI 2.1 or 120Hz panel, casual gaming should be a pleasure. Especially since it plays responsively and without delays. Let’s add full support for audio formats – it includes both Dolby Atmos and DTS, so soundbar owners also have something to be happy about.
But let’s not kid ourselves – this is still a budget TV, and at times that’s quite obvious. Brightness is average – not so weak that you can't watch anything, but if you hit an exceptionally sunny day, watching under such conditions without blinds can be problematic. However, in our opinion, the biggest disappointment with the PUS8560 is the Titan OS operating system. Despite the fact that the system debuted some time ago, some things just didn’t work – for example, screen mirroring from a phone despite the manufacturer stating that this feature is present. There are fewer apps than the competition, and the system itself feels a bit clunky. Generally, it seems to do something already, but it clearly lacks refinement.
Of course, this isn’t a TV meant to compete with top models. But if someone is looking for something simple, with the cool atmosphere that the Ambilight system provides, it’s quite a fair proposition. You just need to know what to expect and accept the compromises, of which there are plenty here.
LG MRGB85 is a TV that suits gamers and people attached to the webOS ecosystem best. In that respect there’s little to fault. It offers plenty of benefits for gamers thanks to a very high panel refresh rate. Add a smoothly working webOS — which stands out on the market above all because of the convenient Magic Remote and a full set of features for traditional TV — and it’s easy to see its appeal. The problem starts when you look at overall picture quality and compare it with the price the manufacturer asks for this model. The MRGB85 launches at a level that, to put it mildly, is hard to call attractive compared with competing models. For a similar price you can find TVs offering much more extensive backlighting and, above all, better black level control. The most controversial aspect is the naming and the way LG positions this model. MRGB85 does use a three-colour backlight, but it’s edge‑lit. It’s therefore hard to call this a proper RGB Mini‑LED in the sense commonly used for TVs that employ a large number of independently controlled zones behind the panel. In practice the limitations of local dimming are very noticeable and in dark scenes they significantly spoil the viewing experience. That does not mean the MRGB85 is a bad TV. It handles everyday material well, offers decent colours, solid brightness and a very wide feature set. SDR content can look really good, and Dolby Vision partly helps mask weaker brightness handling in HDR. Still, it’s hard to shake the impression that the biggest problem with this model isn’t the design itself but its price and the overly ambitious positioning relative to the rest of the market. If someone is mainly after a TV for gaming, values the convenience of webOS and finds it on a big sale, the MRGB85 can make sense. At the current price it falls back, because the competition today simply offers more in terms of picture quality.
Direct comparison
