51" Samsung 51F8500 Plasma I finally got a new, closed-box unit, with an MRT (Mains Running Time) of only 8 hours.
AR Filter & UniformityAfter avoiding AR (anti-reflective) filters for as long as possible, I finally gave in and purchased my first plasma TV with external AR filter.
Plasma filters are high-tech films attached on the plasma panel glass internally and externally. The objective of the internal filter is to darken black levels while allowing the picture's brightness to pass through. On the other hand, the external filter blocks out external light, while also allowing the picture's brightness to pass through.
The problem with filters is that none of them works perfectly. Any amount of filtering will always worsen picture quality, since you're always placing an impurity between you and the picture. Thankfully, the AR filter on this TV works as well as can be expected, given the inherent limitations of any filter, and I'm happy with its performance.
Screen uniformity is excellent on my unit.
No dead/stuck pixels so far, thankfully.
I've read about vertical lines on Panasonics and horizontal lines on Samsungs, which are imperfections caused by automated rollers used in applying the filter film on the glass panel. My unit has no lines, although I've read about F8500 Sammys with very minor horizontal lines.
My old Sammy 51E550 had slight green and pink tinge, caused by a lower-quality internal filter. But on this 51F8500, I have no filter discolorations.
The major side-effect of this external filter, however, is darkening of the screen when viewed from an extreme vertical angle, an unavoidable result of louvre filters. It's not possible to view the screen at an extreme vertical angle from a regular viewing distance, so there will be no problems when viewing from maybe 6 feet away or more. But there will be screen darkening when viewing from the floor at a distance of about 3 feet or closer, so kids who like to sit up close to the screen will experience excessive screen darkening.
BI, IR, Phosphor Lag, PosterizationBI (burn-in) is a non-issue for plasmas these days, so there's no need to worry about it.
However, IR (image retention) is still an issue, and I immediately noticed quick-onset IR on this unit. It only takes seconds for IR to set in, but it also goes away very quickly.
I'm absolutely sure that serious long-term IR is possible on this model, since I've seen it myself on a Sammy 51F8500 display/demo unit sold to me by SM Megamall (now returned and refunded). Nevertheless, I'm still not too worried about long-term IR, since the unit I got from SM was set to store mode, where the unit was displaying Samsung logos during store hours at dynamic settings. With an MRT of 1,920 hours on that unit, it would have been torture for any plasma TV.
Green phosphor lag has been a non-issue on plasma TVs for a long time, and it's still a non-issue on this TV. Anyone who can see phosphor lag on this TV must have extremely sensitive eyes.
Posterization performance is excellent on this TV. Slight posterization on my old Sammy 51E550 appeared only on the most demanding scenes, but on this TV, I can't find any posterization whatsoever.
Dark and BrightBlack levels in a dark room are very good, thanks to its low MLL (minimum luminance level, reportedly at .001 fL); black levels in a bright room are also very good, due to the aggressive louvre filter.
I have no way of doing a side-by side black level comparison with a Kuro and a Panny ZT60, so I had to rely on foreign forum discussions. And on those forums, the consensus is that the Panny ZT60 beats the Sammy F85000, while the Kuro still beats the Panny ZT60.
While Kuro and ZT60 still have better black levels, that's about the only aspect where they're superior. The Sammy F8500 may have higher black levels, but it's only very slightly higher. Factor in this TV's extreme brightness, and contrast ratio becomes unbeatable --- better than any plasma TV ever made.
The advantage of the bright panel is that it makes this TV a very versatile set, perfoming well in total darkness or extreme brightness.
In my case, since my TV is in a dark room, I don't think the extremely bright panel will be of any useful advantage. In fact, what I'm seeing is a disadvantage, since I notice that in some predominantly dark scenes with small spots of brightness, the bright spots seem too bright, making the stark contrast look a bit unnatural.
At any rate, I'm now doing a 100-hour break-in after updating to the latest firmware, so I will still have to see if I'm going to have some improvement on that issue.
Motion Performance I'm very particular about motion performance, and I'm happy to report that motion on this unit is excellent, even if it has a minor quirk.
There is a known bug on this series, where turning off Cinema Smooth engages Motion Judder Cancellation, even if MJC is off. To disengage MJC, you have to access it and turn it off (even if it's already off). It's an easy workaround, but still a minor annoyance.
24p 96Hz works as well as on my old Sammy 51E550, which means it's still very good.
Users looking for smooth, judder-free motion at 24p 96Hz will be disappointed, since judder is still present. However, judder is supposed to be present on 24p 96Hz, but it's the "good judder" found on real 24fps film. So if you know how triple-shuttter 24fps film is supposed to look like, I assure you that you'll be happy with 24p 96Hz on this unit.
Color & SharpnessNo problems with color and tint on this unit.
Samsung plasmas have traditionally been better than Panasonic plasmas as regards color accuracy, so you can be sure that color is already excellent out of the box. Blacks are neutral --- none of the reddish black levels usually complained about on Kuros.
What is astounding about this TV is the sharpness. I've always liked a tack-sharp picture, but I'm also sensitive to the fake sharpness of edge enhancements.
I normally set sharpness very high, a little higher than half the setting range, as sharp as possible without causing obvious edge enhancement. But with this TV, a low sharpness setting gives you a true and natural clarity that convinces you that this panel was really built from the ground up rather than simply tweaked.
Conclusion I'll post more comments after my break-in.
From my experience, Sammy plasma looks better with age, initially looking a little too "digital," then later looking a bit more film-like.
For now, all I can say is that this is a cracking good TV.
Positives --- Brightness still can't come anywhere close to an LED TV's searing brightness, of course, but it's extremely bright for a plasma TV, without overblowing whites or crushing blacks. Great performance in a bright or dark room; highest contrast ratio; outstanding sharpness; accurate colors out of the box; excellent motion cadence on 24p.
Negatives --- The last Panny plasmas still had slightly better blacks; comes with only one hard-to-use smart bluetooth remote (no regular remote); comes loaded with so many features that I will never use; a bit less "film-like" than Panny plasmas; AR filter is too aggressive.
