Samsung PN50C8000 Reviews

Still Undecided About Samsung Support and This HDTV
by Amazon Junkie from San Diego, CA, 2010-07-27

This is my second Samsung 50" plasma HDTV in less than two years. I purchased the 3D HDTV, Blu-Ray and glasses bundle. I made the mistake of damaging one pair of the 3D glasses while removing the battery cover and my experience with Samsung support and customer service was AWFUL. The person I spoke with fumbled to get the necessary information from me only to put me on hold and ask someone what to do. He came back on the phone and said sorry, since you caused the damage we will not replace them. I tried to explain it was accidental and the difficulty I experienced opening the cover was partly to blame and my loyalty to Samsung but he just repeated himself and would do nothing to try and seek an exception for me. I called the next day and the girl I spoke with seemed so bored, robotic and just wanted to get off the phone and take the next call. I also sent emails expressing my position and frustration and amazingly received absolutely no response. I'm so amazed Samsung is so apathetic and unwilling to provide any solution to help me replace the glasses.

Another Amazon member has also written a negative response regarding Samsung customer care and support relating to color and design issues for this model and at the time I read it, I thought he was being petty. Now I realize his frustration and comments are valid and I would seriously not recommend Samsung if service and support are a priority to you. Read his experience posted here and compare it to mine and then draw your own conclusions.

I've also noticed some idiosyncrasies with the picture that I did not experience with my previous Samsung, so naturally I'm watching these closley to rule out manufacturing defects. I have no confidence I would be able to reach anyone knowledgeable or who cared to discuss my technical concerns. I do have a careful eye and have been installing digital video for 9 years, but will reserve comment pending further observation. I'll modify my comments and review if anything develops worth mentioning.

Pleased after lots of research
by Erichb101 , 2010-07-19

I have been researching 3r plasmas for about 3 months. This has to be the best picture quality I have ever seen. I was debating between 3 3d plasmas. Panasonic v25, samsung pn50c7000 or 8000. Even the 7000 got an excellent rating on cnet. what kept it from getting a perfect rating is featured on the 8000. I consider myself a serious videophile and this one does not disapoint. The main diffrence between to 7000 and 8000 is fine tuing of color. and motion judder canceller. This tv has a 2,000,000 to 1 higher contrast ratio. For the price compared to the panasonic it is far better. More apps, and on par picture quality. I have this TV calibrated providing a incredible picture. these settings are below. Do not hesitate to buy this TV.
Color Space: Custom --Picture menu
Mode: Movie
Cell Light: 16
Contrast: 100
Brightness: 51
Sharpness: 0
Color: 47
Tint: G50/R50
Eco Solution submenu:
Energy Saving: Off
Eco Sensor: Off
No Signal Power Off: Off
Auto Adjustment and Screen submenus: [Grayed out]
Advanced settings submenu
Black tone: Off
Dynamic contrast: Off
Gamma: +1
Expert Patters: Off
RGB Only Mode: Off
Color space (custom)
Red: R-77, G-0, B-0
Green: R-0, G-24, B-0
Blue: R-0, G-0, B-52
Yellow: R-48, G-47, B-0
Cyan: R-0, G-27, B-50
Magenta: R-76, G-0, B-50
White Balance: [see below]
10p White Balance: On
Flesh tone: 0
Edge enhancement: Off
xvYCC: Off
White balance submenu
R-Offset: 24
G-Offset: 25
B-Offset: 24
R-Gain: 25
G-Gain: 25
B-Gain: 23
10p White Balance: On
Interval 1: Red 2, Green 0, Blue -2
Interval 2: Red 5, Green 6, Blue 8
Interval 3: Red 2, Green -1, Blue -2
Interval 4: Red -1, Green 1, Blue 2
Interval 5: Red 3, Green 1, Blue -1
Interval 6: Red 0, Green 0, Blue 1
Interval 7: Red -4, Green -4, Blue -5
Interval 8: Red -1, Green -4, Blue -3
Interval 9: Red -4, Green -4, Blue -5
Interval 10: Red 0, Green -6, Blue -4
Picture options submenu
Color tone: Warm2
Size: Screen Fit
Digital Noise Filter: Off
MPEG Noise Filter: Off
HDMI black level: Normal [grayed out]
Film Mode: Cinema Smooth (Use for 24p sources)
Motion Judder Canceller: Grayed out (When you select Cinema Smooth this option is grayed out)

Worthwhile TV.
by Ishmon from Ohio, USA, 2010-07-09

I bought this exact model the PN50C8000. One might get the impression that it is silver. I'd call it a dark grey brushed metal look. Which is fine IMO.

One thing that is not often publicized for some reason is the fact that plasma's are not even close to as bright as newer LCD models. This worried me a little.
But when I got it; it took some tweaking but I was able to get exactly the color/brightness I wanted for normal viewing and 3d viewing. All 3d glasses are tinted so it's good to have a very bright setting for when you view 3d.

Electronics review websites always talk about how plasmas can do extreme blacks. I set it to where the blacks are on the darkest setting. Honestly I was surprised that the blacks are not all that dark (note this is my first plasma I'm not comparing it with other plasmas). The 8000 series LED LCD Samsungs seem about the same when it comes to blacks, of course I have not seen both inside my living room environment so I can't make a perfect comparison. I don't actually care; either tv would be dark enough for me. I just thought I'd point this fact out.

The primary reason I bought a plasma over a 8000 series LCD has nothing to do with price or darkness levels, it was for superior 3d viewing. 1.) Less eye strain. I have read on more than one electronics site and electronics magazines that the 600hz viewing of plasmas (and the way the image is drawn on the screen) has been proven to provide less eye strain for 3d viewing. 2.) Viewing angle is always better for plasma over LCD. (This is important for 3d because loss of lighting and clarity is a big deal when you are already limited by the glasses.) 3.) Clearly there is a issue with mixing LCD tech with 3d since if you tilt your head the image splits apart. (This DOES NOT happen with the plasma) and 4. All the reviews I've read say plasma's have tested better for 3d viewing.

My complaints are minimal but I think they justify giving 4 stars instead of 5. One is that the TV decides to turn off 3d mode on it's own if you for example exit a Playstation 3 game or change to another input. I understand their reason for doing this but I prefer to just have manual control of it on my own. Also I couldn't get the red and white audio out ports to work, even when I selected to switch to alternate sound output. I suspect it was just something I was doing wrong but it shouldn't be something that requires much effort. I gave up on that because I also had the choice of optical or using the headphones port for my audio so it wasn't a big deal. Another minor complaint I have is the stand is particularly heavy. Obviously it's good to have a sturdy stand but they could have made it strong and much lighter weight and I don't think it would have made for any greater risk of the TV tipping over or something..

On a side note; when manufactures say that you should sit closer for optimal 3d viewing than normal viewing they mean it. I'm glad I didn't get any smaller than 50 inches.
For optimal 3d immersion I found I like sitting just 5 feet from the screen. For normal viewing I sit at about 8-10 feet from the screen.

NO Buzz
by R. Sheldon , 2010-07-04

Turnover of TVs for me is about an 8-12 year event and this is my first flat screen TV.

I was hestitant to purchase this TV because of some reviewers complained about a buzz. Not with mine--completely silent with TV on without any video input and no buzz with video/audio input.

Although I haven't purchased what would be needed for 3D or attempted to use certain other advanced features of this TV, I purchased this top of the line TV because of those features which I'll most likely use as time passes over the 8-12 years I expect to own it. I was able to locate it via Google shopping search at East Coast TV's for $1,709 with no tax and free shipping, an delivery the fourth day [a Sunday] after online ordering.

Completely pleased with this TV so far, and with the price I paid.

false advertising! Horrendous customer service.
by Matthew Troccoli , 2010-05-08

Ever since the CES show in Las Vegas this past January, Samsung has been advertising that the C8000 Plasma was to have a brushed titanium bezel (see Samsung's web page). Brushed titanium is also the bezel finish described on that same webpage for the C8000 and C9000 LED models. I purchased the 46"C8000 LED when it first came out because of the bezel color (we spent a fortune on the decor of our home and required the television not to be black). On numerous times I contacted Samsung (via telephone and email) to inquire about the release date and colors of the 50"C8000 Plasma and Samsung NEVER had the decency to contact me back. When someone did answer my calls they were totally oblivious to their product line and could/or would never answer my questions. They claimed ignorance to their products and stated that Samsung did not have a phone number to anyone within their entire massive corporation who was capable os answering my questions. They gave me an address to send a letter to which, of course, I never heard back from them. Now, upon release of that 50"C8000 Plasma I was totaly dissappointed to see it in person. First, the bezel color is very dark charcoal in color, nowhere near the brushed titanium finish of the C8000 and C9000 model color they advertise it as. Once again, when I contacted Samsung to see if there was a mistake in either advertising or the actual color of the bezel, the employees could not answer any questions, could not forward me to anyone who could, and could not care less about assisting me. Shame on Samsung as I presently own three of their televisions and was about to purchase a fourth. Imagine that, expecting their products to actually be that which is advertised?