Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
179 of 187 people found the following review helpful.
Near Perfection
By TheBigB
I've had this beast of a plasma for about a month now and I am truly still being blown away. Like other reviewers, I was on the fence about Panasonic versus Samsung. I also wanted something OVER 60 inches, and plasma was the way to go to keep costs reasonable. It was either a Panasonic VT65 or GT65 or the Samsung D8000 or D7000. I read countless point and counterpoint discussions on the AVForum site for months...And when I saw a great deal on this 64D8000 I jumped on it and am totally pleased with my choice.PICTURE: Unbelievable.. Out of the box, it was amazing. Midnight blacks and bright clean whites.. I mean watching the Boston Bruins play in the Stanley Cup was the first thing I saw when I had this on...the black shirts contrasted against the white ice was amazing. Close ups of the Bruins uniforms looked like the TV was powered off on that part of the screen. Really great. Blu-rays of course looked even better. Again the blacks stood out and colors really popped...TRON: Legacy looked UN-believable!!! Just when I thought I'd seen it all, I went into advanced options in the menu and entered a professional calibration result from a tester on AVForum. It took awhile entering in all those R G B settings, but it was totally worth it. (Saved me a couple hundred I'm sure) After my "calibration", I saw the true power of this Samsung. The colors came alive. And the contrast and flesh tones became more realistic. Blacks were inky (definitely a popular but very true word to describe these blacks) and even darker than before! So, before I thought the picture was amazing, but now it was near perfection! I honestly can't see how even the wildly popular, overpriced Panasonic VT series can beat this...(according to CNet reviews, they BARELY edge out this tv in picture quality). But you won't be disappointed with this Samsung. I'm no TV expert but I've had lots of HDTVs the last decade, and keep up with the latest. Plasmas aren't going away anytime soon... This is a big, bright, beautiful beast. Even more beautiful if you calibrate it, or "calibrate" it on your own.DESIGN: Very nice looking, when turned off. The dark titanium bezel is attractive (darker than the picture shown here on Amazon) with a nice glass edge to give it that classy look. The stand, I agree, is kind of ugly with it's chrome spider legs..but you gotta hang this thing anyway. This thing is meant to hang on the wall. Its surprisingly thin for a 64-inch plasma. The screen is a bit reflective so it looks nice when it's off, but plan accordingly if you want this in a room with lots of windows. The reflections will be noticeable. The remote has a nice Qwerty keypad for entering text, and I actually like it's flip design...although that keypad should light up! It's useless in the dark. There is an app to use on a smartphone that I have yet to try.3D: I've only watched Directv 3D channels, so I haven't gotten a lot of 3D experience yet (no Blu-ray 3D yet either even though I'm ready for it). What I have watched is nice. I got two free pairs of battery powered glasses and one rechargeable pair that I paid for extra. The 3D is fun to watch and clear in HD. It is still a gimmick in my book, and I can only watch so much of it before I get annoyed. Bottom line, 3D on this tv looks good (dimmer, but still clear and nice) but I bought this for its 2D picture... 3D is nice to have though, and I'm looking forward to trying out a 3D Blu-ray sometime soon..SMART TV: Like the 3D feature this is nice. But not necessary in my book. I still use a computer for Internet features and YouTube videos, not my TV. That being said, I think the layout of this Internet connectivity is nice and smooth. Not as smooth as a computer or iPad but it works well enough. And it has built in wifi, so I had to try it out. I was impressed, and I have occasionally gone back to this for sports scores or a YouTube video once in awhile. Samsung has done better than I would have guessed with this "Smart TV" thing...I imagine some people, not myself really, will get a lot of use out of this..NEGATIVES: okay, so this not perfect. There are a couple things I will point out that people will surely notice. First is the reflective screen. I notice it even in my window-less downstairs room when lights are on and the scene on TV is dark... This TV is meant to be viewed in a darkened room with minimal light. Second, if you've read up on plasmas then you've heard about "buzzing". Apparently, Samsung has had buzzing issues before. I tried to notice this right away but couldn't. Then during a quiet scene of a movie, I sat dead center in front of this tv and happened to turn my head away from the screen and heard it. Now, to be clear, this is not a loud "buzzing" sound and I'm not even complaining about it, but if you are dead center in front of the TV in a quiet scene and you turn your head (directing your ear towards the screen) AND you listen for it, you can hear an ever-so-faint "ticking" sound. I can't imagine many people would complain but I know some will... And lastly, again if you've read up on this model, you may hear about the anti-glare screen coating peeling away on the top corners. I have to say, that my two top corners are just BARELY peeling (or not completely sticking) at the tips.. It was like this when I got it and it doesn't even reach the actual picture or affect it in any way, so again I'm not complaining and I'm not messing with it. But if it happens to get any worse I would certainly be calling Samsung on this known issue. As it is now, it doesn't hinder my high opinion of this TV and is only noticeable if you get real close and look.OVERALL: I got this for a big, bold, picture and solid design and I'm not disappointed in the least. Blu-rays are unreal! Sports look better than I could have imagined. And 3D and SMART TV features are a nice occasional option. And despite those couple flaws which do NOT directly bother me at all, this is near perfection. 9.5 out of 10 from me.
66 of 70 people found the following review helpful.
Could not be happier
By coselect
My wife and I just purchased the pn51d8ooo about a week ago from Paul's TV. I would have bet that we were going to walk out of the store with a led/lcd model. The salesman was extremely helpful with explaining the attributes of the models we were considering. He eventually steered us towards this model for consideration. It seemed strange to me that since they work on commission at this store he would try to sell us on the plasma (less expensive than the comparable led/lcd), it soon became clear that this salesman (Nick)not only knew what he was talking about but wanted us to get the best product for the money. This model is more full featured than anything else out there. It has full web browsing capabilities (yes, that's right - you can actually surf the net, buy from ebay or Amazon, google anything etc., etc.) There is a built in wireless card unlike all of the others we saw which required you to buy a dongle or other accessory. The picture in the showroom was awesome. Although not as brightly lit as the led models, the colors seemed more natural to me. the blacks were richer (when viewing from an angle the led blacks turned more gray than black). We paid $2,069.00 which included the starter 3D kit (two pair of glasses and five 3D movies). The remote is awesome, a standard tv remote on one side but flip it over and you have a full qwerty keyboard and other keys which make internet surfing so much easier. I do have to say that my wife was concerned that we would not like the plasma as much as we would have liked the intense brightness of the led model.After getting the TV home we took a few days to set it up because we were waiting on a new console stand. I took that time to run a network ethernet cable to the tv location (wired is always faster and more reliable than wireless, but I'm sure that the wireless signal would have worked fine). Set-up was a breeze, stand mounts to tv easily, switching between apps, tv, and internet was very intuitive. We were concerned that we might need to have the tv picture calibrated (as recommended by other stores for $199.00 additional), but were thrilled with the picture right out of the box. There are four picture modes (Dynamic, standard, movie and relax), we are using dynamic which is extremely close to the brightness of the led models. The sound is more than adequate for us. With the wired internet, the set took literally 30 seconds to connect successfully. The netflix problems that I have read in one or two other reviews must have been resolved because I have not had even one glitch. The apps are great but there is a bit of a quirky apps account registration you have to get through. All in all we are extremely happy with our purchase. I haven't tried the 3D yet but it has full 3D and I'm sure we will love it when more 3D titles are available. Hope this long winded review helps. p.s. We purchased the five year service agreement just to have the peace of mind that it offers, we had a smaller lcd previously that we had to have repaired and it was a bit expensive.
58 of 63 people found the following review helpful.
After years of dragging feet, this TV made me JUMP to HD...
By Nathaniel Allen
...although I should thank Amazon Warehouse for first sending me a busted-up 50" version of last year's C8000 or I may never have experienced the awesomeness of the 59" D8000!The great (and exhaustive) information at AVSFourm lead me to this beauty, which I purchased from BuyDig due to Amazon Warehouse hanging me up on a C8000 replacement, and then Amazon taking forever to get the new 2011 Samsungs into inventory and listed for sale. I've got mine paired up with a Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Player using AmazonBasics High Speed HDMI Cable. I wall mounted the set with a Sanus Vlt14-B1 Super-Slim Tilt Mount bracket. I'm using Samsung's SSG-3100GB 3D Glasses that came as part of the Shrek/Megamind 3D Starter Kit, which was included as a promotional item with this set.Regarding picture quality: - Simply outstanding. Crisp definition. True colors that aren't overly bright or artificial. Inky black blacks. - No ghosting or shadows. Great with fast action and camera panning. Haven't tried video games. - No sign of jutter or film effect; the high refresh rate makes any motion smooth and realistic, especially noticeable in-store when comparing this side-by-side with a lower refresh TV. - Not so hot as a PC monitor with respect to reading tiny text.If you're worried about the size possibly being too big: - I thought I was pushing my luck after my wife commented that the broken 50" C8000 that showed up at our front door (but was never mounted) looked "too big." And I'll admit, this 59" TV is huge, but once we sat back to enjoy it, I don't know how we suffered (*cough, cough*) with out 32" Trinitron tube for the past 14 years. - With whatever up-convert happens between our DVD player and the TV itself, standard definition movies still look fine on this set. No, they're not as amazingly crystal clear as high-def Blu-ray content, but they're not at all blocky as I had expected. - You will want to take advantage of any HD cable, satellite or over-the-air broadcasts you might have available. Standard definition television picture quality will make you crazy after knowing the cleanliness of HD. (In our case, we're sticking with Comcast's most basic service but added their converter box, and are paying them about $28 per month.) - The VESA mounting pattern on the back is 800mm x 600mm, the largest size the Sanus mount I linked to supports. It's probably worth checking that whatever mount you select is compatible with this pattern.3D movies on this set are simply outstanding. So far, I've only got the Shrek discs that came with Samsung's starter kit to view, though I've got a couple more on the way. The big screen gives a really perceptible depth effect when viewed from my normal sitting position approximately 10 feet away. But we have a wide room and even from viewing angles of 45° the effect is still present with only very minor drop-offs in color and brightness (the picture noticeably dims once the 3D glasses are powered on, especially when the room is bright).3D setup and playback is a cinch -- the sync signal is bluetooth, so each pair of glasses needs to be paired the first time used. Pairing involves nothing more than turning the glasses on, and since the bluetooth signal is bi-directional, the television recognizes when the glasses are activated and provides a brief pop-up indication in the lower left corner saying so.After that initial setup, inserting a 3D disk and pressing play is all that's required to get the show going. The TV even automatically powers on and switches to the correct input when I power up my Samsung player and insert a disk.During the day I've watched my movies with the bright overhead lights on, and daylight lighting the room through two large windows. The anti-reflective coating on the screen is excellent! There's no apparent glare, and the brightness of the screen even at the factory setting (if I recall correctly, it's initially set at brightness level 48) is more than enough overcome this ambient light, without washing out the deep, dark black levels. (The 3D glasses reflect lighted surfaces located directly behind my head; in this case a darker room is preferred lest I need to fashion side-shades for the glasses.) In a dark room, the picture is simply jaw-dropping.Even the built-in speakers of this set do an adequate job of getting the sound out. Fine in a pinch, but I think you'll agree it's no match for amping the audio through an AV receiver to external speakers (in our case, a Denon AVR-3311CI which supports HDMI 1.4a and 3D pass-through.)Samsung's QWERTY remote is really a huge leap forward from a standard numeric remote, but is slow and slightly awkward in use. The two-sided remote resembles a conventional numbers-only device on one side, beaming our traditional infrared signals. The keyboard side takes advantage of the D8000's bluetooth, and is therefore only compatible with the television, and not the Samsung DVD player, nor any other device. The keyboard side of the remote even has a usable thumb sensor -- sort of like a track pad on a Blackberry or a thumb control on a laptop keyboard -- allowing easy cursor navigation of the built-in web browser and applications.However, try as they might, the remote + SmartTV web apps still leave a bit to be desired when compared to a PC interface. For instance, sites like Hulu and NBC won't play Flash video (which I was aware of prior to purchase). So instead, I connect my laptop via Siig's USB to HDmi adapter to watch broadcast TV shows, and will switch to a PC with a HDMI-out video card sometime in the future.The television's Netflix capabilities are solid. My one gripe is that once I locate and begin watching a movie, but then pause it and return to finish it on a different day, it has taken me quite a bit of searching to re-find it. But once I do, it resumes where I left off, and all of the expected pause, fast forward and rewind functions work as expected. However, once inside the Netflix app, I'm locked out of accessing the television's menu, so I lose the ability to adjust picture (and audio, if using the TV speakers).There are a number of redundant SmartTV features between the television and my Samsung DVD player, and if it were truly "smart," might it not somehow combine these Samsung web apps so that I'm only dealing with one Netflix, one YouTube, one browser, etc.? Because it sure would be nice to use the QWERTY remote on everything, including Pandora, which (I believe) isn't available as an application on the television. As it is, each application has its own login process, with the Netflix process being quite different from Pandora or YouTube, for instance.The YouTube app needs improvement. It doesn't make use of the remote's QWERTY keypad, and instead requires the user to use the cursor buttons to scroll around the on-screen virtual keyboard to conduct a video search. Instead, I use the TV's built-in web browser to access YouTube, which works pretty well, even in full-screen mode.The most desirable part of the Facebook app would be the photo viewer, which for some inexplicable reason won't take advantage of the full screen size -- even for photos that were uploaded at full resolution. This makes showing off baby and vacation pictures a bit of a yawner. The photos tend to be small and a little washed out, though easy to navigate between albums. The rest of the Facebook application is cumbersome to navigate, read and update, and never seems to fully load.One last comment, regarding some criticism I've read regarding the television's silver bezel: it really isn't a stand-out issue. In a dark room, you'll never see it. In a lighted room, it doesn't pop out to me like it does in the product shots shown here and on other sites. It really is a flat finish that doesn't reflect back a whole lot of light, it blends nicely with the glass overlay, and isn't something I'm ever conscious of.Samsung has put together a really nice television here at an attractive price, packed with lots of features and a stunning picture. I simply can't imagine anything to complain about and enthusiastically recommend anyone looking to check one of these out at a local electronics store to be wowed by its brilliance.
See all 211 customer reviews...
We returned the set. 3D was unreliable.
