Samsung's F8500 PDP owners thread with reviews

[Robert Zohn]

Okay boys, download ver. 1103, which has just become available and your fluctuating brightness with be nothing but history.

Enjoy!

-Robert

[HeavyHitter]

Hey Robert, it appears Sammy has released yet another update today. It mentions fixing pops which we know was done on the previous version...any idea what this update does? Thanks.

[punisher]

A great tv..finished first in my voting sheet last night at the shootout. Brilliant color and blacks. Whites are pure compared to a yellowish tint on the panny's. That is due to new larger pixel technology which is designed to provide the brightness equal to an LED tv. Don't like the base/stand...VE says it's a big selling point...guess kids can't knock over the tv so easy. Best of show IMO last night.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by punisher

A great tv..finished first in my voting sheet last night at the shootout. Brilliant color and blacks. Whites are pure compared to a yellowish tint on the panny's. That is due to new larger pixel technology which is designed to provide the brightness equal to an LED tv. Don't like the base/stand...VE says it's a big selling point...guess kids can't knock over the tv so easy. Best of show IMO last night.

Surprising! I knew the new Samsung was good but not THAT good!

[Enigmatical]

Hey guys
I have a few ?s for the owners of this TV. I saw it at BB today and have to say I was impressed with visuals vs the VT 60. THey had MIB3 on and it looked great. Ive also read the review on CNET.

1) I am planning on having this tv in our basement and using it for sports/movies. It will be dark for movies, but lights will be on for regular tv and sports. Have you guys had any issues with it being too bright for a dark room?
2) The remote seems to be obsolete based on reviews im reading. WE have Directv, so I assume that this will be the main control once settings are set.
3) This is from CNETs review, "The only way to achieve the correct film cadence of 1080p/24 sources, like most Blu-ray movies, is to engage the Cinema Smooth setting under Film Mode -- which lightens black levels somewhat." Does this mean you only get 1080p on one particular setting? Or is this in regards to the 24, which I have no clue what this means.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. IT was between this and VT60, this TVs picture just seemed so impressive.
Thanks
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[JimShaw]

Samsung F8500 picked BEST of 2013 at the 2013 Shootout with Panasonic VT and ZT taking second spot.



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[kesando]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

Samsung F8500 picked BEST of 2013 at the 2013 Shootout with Panasonic VT and ZT taking second spot.



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Will you be picking one up?

I was considering a Samsung PDP a few years back but was scared away by the peeling screen filter issue back then. With competitive black levels, actual whites and overall great picture, the Samsung looks great. Considering that you wanted the Elite LCD, this might be worth a look.

[Steelmaker]

One thing that I do find encouraging with the Samsung winning this year's shoot out with viewers is something that I have suspected for a few years now, and that is superior black levels is NOT be all/end all to what goes into making a quality picture. Is black level important? Of course it is but so is white level, contrast, video processing, sharpness, clarity, etc. I think what this shows is that there IS a "good enough" threshold with black levels that people have come to recognize and that just because one TV may beat another in black levels, doesn't mean that TV has better PQ by default.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by kesando

Will you be picking one up?

I was considering a Samsung PDP a few years back but was scared away by the peeling screen filter issue back then. With competitive black levels, actual whites and overall great picture, the Samsung looks great. Considering that you wanted the Elite LCD, this might be worth a look.

Yes I will. I was going to get the 70" Elite but I decided 70" would not fit where it had to go. Therefore, 65" is perfect.

I will be ordering tonight.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

One thing that I do find encouraging with the Samsung winning this year's shoot out with viewers is something that I have suspected for a few years now, and that is superior black levels is NOT be all/end all to what goes into making a quality picture. Is black level important? Of course it is but so is white level, contrast, video processing, sharpness, clarity, etc. I think what this shows is that there IS a "good enough" threshold with black levels that people have come to recognize and that just because one TV may beat another in black levels, doesn't mean that TV has better PQ by default.

The black levels between the VT, ZT and the F8500 are so close that anyone who does not have a dedicated dark room would not see the difference, IMO

The black level of the VT and the ZT were measured at .0013
Where as the F8500 at .0018

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

The black levels between the VT, ZT and the F8500 are so close that anyone who does not have a dedicated dark room would not see the difference, IMO

The black level of the VT and the ZT were measured at .0013
Where as the F8500 at .0018

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong. I wasn't trying to say the Samsung's black levels were bad. I was just saying that after a certain threshold is reached with black levels, you have to start looking at other factors besides just that! A lot of videophiles seem so hung up with this one individual aspect of a panel's picture that you'd think nothing else matters.

One thing I am curious about with the Samsung display is that I heard the Samsung's picture has a "cooler" look to it where the Panasonic's definitely seems "warmer." Can you confirm this and iif true, what is your opinion of the 2 different looks? Which did you prefer?

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

One thing that I do find encouraging with the Samsung winning this year's shoot out with viewers is something that I have suspected for a few years now, and that is superior black levels is NOT be all/end all to what goes into making a quality picture. Is black level important? Of course it is but so is white level, contrast, video processing, sharpness, clarity, etc. I think what this shows is that there IS a "good enough" threshold with black levels that people have come to recognize and that just because one TV may beat another in black levels, doesn't mean that TV has better PQ by default.

I think what makes the whites look not as good on the Panasonic's, especially in the shootout was because of the color temperature. They had them at Warm 2 which i myself cant stand. But I dont know what the level was on the Sammy.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong. I wasn't trying to say the Samsung's black levels were bad. I was just saying that after a certain threshold is reached with black levels, you have to start looking at other factors besides just that! A lot of videophiles seem so hung up with this one individual aspect of a panel's picture that you'd think nothing else matters.

One thing I am curious about with the Samsung display is that I heard the Samsung's picture has a "cooler" look to it where the Panasonic's definitely seems "warmer." Can you confirm this and iif true, what is your opinion of the 2 different looks? Which did you prefer?

I am not an expert one tiny bit. Today, just to make sure before ordering, I sat in front of the 64F8500 and next to it was the VT at Best Buy. Now, you realize, they were not calibrated and both in Dynamic mode. So my view of the set could be different if both were at the top of their game. But from what I was viewing, the VT was darker, the F8500 was brighter and to me the skin tone of the Samsung seem warmer.

I left BB and came home. I just sent off an e-mail to Robert of VE and ordered the 64F8500. Robert will go over the set with a fine tooth comb to make sure it does not have the problems a couple owners have mentioned.

Robert will break-in the set for 150 hours, wait for the next firmware update that is coming and then calibrate it for me and then ship.


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[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

I am not an expert one tiny bit. Today, just to make sure before ordering, I sat in front of the 64F8500 and next to it was the VT at Best Buy. Now, you realize, they were not calibrated and both in Dynamic mode. So my view of the set could be different if both were at the top of their game. But from what I was viewing, the VT was darker, the F8500 was brighter and to me the skin tone of the Samsung seem warmer.

I left BB and came home. I just sent off an e-mail to Robert of VE and ordered the 64F8500. Robert will go over the set with a fine tooth comb to make sure it does not have the problems a couple owners have mentioned.

Robert will break-in the set for 150 hours, wait for the next firmware update that is coming and then calibrate it for me and then ship.


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He actually does all of that? Sweet.

[kesando]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

He actually does all of that? Sweet.

Yup. He did the same thing with my Elite that I purchased from him. I also had the same exact experience as Jim shaw when the viewing the sharp Elite next to the VT50 last year except that they were both calibrated in a more controlled environment. Deep blacks are great no doubt but there is something to be said about pure white as well. I bet Hockey or Winter scenes will look stunning on the Samsung.

BTW, congrats on your new purchase Jim!

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

I am not an expert one tiny bit. Today, just to make sure before ordering, I sat in front of the 64F8500 and next to it was the VT at Best Buy. Now, you realize, they were not calibrated and both in Dynamic mode. So my view of the set could be different if both were at the top of their game. But from what I was viewing, the VT was darker, the F8500 was brighter and to me the skin tone of the Samsung seem warmer.

I left BB and came home. I just sent off an e-mail to Robert of VE and ordered the 64F8500. Robert will go over the set with a fine tooth comb to make sure it does not have the problems a couple owners have mentioned.

Robert will break-in the set for 150 hours, wait for the next firmware update that is coming and then calibrate it for me and then ship.


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What does the firmware update fix/improve?

[Enigmatical]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

I am not an expert one tiny bit. Today, just to make sure before ordering, I sat in front of the 64F8500 and next to it was the VT at Best Buy. Now, you realize, they were not calibrated and both in Dynamic mode. So my view of the set could be different if both were at the top of their game. But from what I was viewing, the VT was darker, the F8500 was brighter and to me the skin tone of the Samsung seem warmer.

I left BB and came home. I just sent off an e-mail to Robert of VE and ordered the 64F8500. Robert will go over the set with a fine tooth comb to make sure it does not have the problems a couple owners have mentioned.

Robert will break-in the set for 150 hours, wait for the next firmware update that is coming and then calibrate it for me and then ship.


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Wow, are there extra charges to do this? Or does he only do this for you?

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by Enigmatical

Wow, are there extra charges to do this? Or does he only do this for you?

Sorry. he charges $500

This is how I figured it. Amazon or BB would have cost me $3697 after taxes. I would get it calibrated for about another $450.00 making the total cost to me $4147.00. AND I would worry about getting a set that had problems and have to return it which I would hate.

Robert will go over the set looking for dead pixels, banding, buzzing all the known problems that a plasma could have PLUS have it broken-in, firmware up dated and have a pro calibrated and shipped for $3900 which to me was a no-brainier.

[5150z]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

Sorry. he charges $500

This is how I figured it. Amazon or BB would have cost me $3697 after taxes. I would get it calibrated for about another $450.00 making the total cost to me $4147.00. AND I would worry about getting a set that had problems and have to return it which I would hate.

Robert will go over the set looking for dead pixels, banding, buzzing all the known problems that a plasma could have PLUS have it broken-in, firmware up dated and have a pro calibrated and shipped for $3900 which to me was a no-brainier.

Umm...a calibration AT Value Electronics may not be the ideal vs. a calibration in the environment where the F8500 will reside at your residence. Brightness/Contrast come to mind...nice that he'll do that for you though...Good luck...

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by 5150z

Umm...a calibration AT Value Electronics may not be the ideal vs. a calibration in the environment where the F8500 will reside at your residence. Brightness/Contrast come to mind...nice that he'll do that for you though...Good luck...

I wondered the same thing but I was told it would not make a difference if the calibrator used the type of meter that attached to the panel which reads the TV only not the environment.

Believe me when I tell you I am not even close to even being a small time expert in this area. So, my words are paraphrased from what I was told by an expert.

I think a good example of what I am saying is: A calibrator will calibrate the TV for evening while doing it in the morning.

Are there any calibrators out there that could respond to what I was told???????????????????????



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