Samsung Series 8 (PS64D8000) 3D plasma TV

Samsung Series 8 TV review: Samsung's best plasma has 3D, Smart TV and a thin design

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This review is for the 59in Samsung Series 8 (PS59D8000) 3D plasma TV. The full review can be found here. The 64in PS51D8000 is larger and more expensive than the 59in TV we reviewed. We don't think it's any more or less reasonably priced than the 59in PS59D8000.

  • Expert Rating

    4.50 / 5
  • User Rating

    5.00 / 5 (of 1 Review)

Pros

  • Excellent picture quality
  • Great design
  • Impressive sound quality from a thin TV

Cons

  • The Series 6 might be slightly better value
  • EPG is slow to load and navigate

Bottom Line

The 2011 edition of Samsung's Series 8 plasma is, as we'd expected, an impressive piece of technology. Its sound and visuals are great, and the inclusion of various 'Smart TV' features makes the Series 8 a useful multimedia device as well as a traditional TV. The built-in Web browser isn't perfect and we'd definitely prefer a notebook if one was close to hand, and some of the features are a little imperfect, but the Series is is nonetheless a big step forward from the featureless TVs of a couple of years ago.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 4,299.00 (AUD)

The Samsung Series 8 (PS59D8000) is a 59in 3D plasma TV that builds on the high quality and impressive performance of last year's Series 7 plasma. It's got an excellent plasma panel and can display a great deal of detail from Full HD video, with almost no loss of detail in dark and bright scenes. We're still not sold on the 3D, but it's better than last year's attempt. Similarly, the Smart TV features aren't perfect but they provide a distraction to mundane digital TV.

If you're picking out a new television and want to work out what's best for you, read through our LCD vs LED vs plasma TV buying guide.

Want to learn about 3D TV? Take a look at our 3D TV buying guide.

Read the full review of the Samsung Series 8 3D plasma TV here.

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Joshella

5.0

1

Pros
PS64D8000
Cons
PANA/ LG
• • •

1)Black levels - outstanding 10/10. I think of the "artist" analogy when talking TV black levels...If a budding artist has a black canvas from which they can paint a red, green then blue stripe, the colours leap off the canvas...now imagine the colours on a mild/ dark grey canvas! the same R G B stripes look less vibrant against the greyish back drop. The PS64D8000 has the darkest screen/ canvas hands down. If contemplating this concept, do as I did and walk into any retailer and ask for your two prospective TVs to be turned off...have a look at the hardware before the software...have a look at the black levels on the PS64D8000 vs any PANA/LG and you will instantly see the meaning of a Black canvas.
2) Motion. 9/10 outstanding...you wont see motion judder..your mates wont see it and your wife will complain of the image looking too real.too life like..(because she has to pick on something). However, I cant say for sure this is the case for gaming as we dont let the kids near this tv for fear of image retention.
As a side note...Sport on Fox HD is un-freaken' beleivable on this TV..just like being there!!!
3) 3D performance. We chose the Samsung without testing the 3D features at the store as we will only really be watching 2D for 95% of the time. However, after having owned the previous PS63C7000, the 3D is a fantastic step up due to the bluetooth glasses not dropping out as frequently and would testify that the 2d to 3d conversion is prob as good as the 3d from a 3d source in last years model.

hope this helps!

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