Samsung 64F8500 Plasma Discussion Thread

[manzb]

Shaiju.. am not sure .. just an observation.. Saturday I went to Samsung exclusive store.. there both the 64F8500 and 51F5500 were on display together. Yes, 64F8500 is a monster of a TV. Alien Vs Predator was playing and the moster was coming alive on the monster

But when I switched to SD, the PQ was so bad that 5500 was looking great. Actually the SD channels broadcasting is so bad that it is looking bad almost on any big TV there, but the bad PQ was accentuated to beyond imagination on the MONSTER. Frankly it was my personal observation. May be a little bit tweaking with calibration might help, but I think it should better be used 99% for HD viewing only.

BTW 51F5500 is a really VFM set at under 70K with 3D!!

 

[akasmarty2003]

Shaiju.. am not sure .. just an observation.. Saturday I went to Samsung exclusive store.. there both the 64F8500 and 51F5500 were on display together. Yes, 64F8500 is a monster of a TV. Alien Vs Predator was playing and the moster was coming alive on the monster

But when I switched to SD, the PQ was so bad that 5500 was looking great. Actually the SD channels broadcasting is so bad that it is looking bad almost on any big TV there, but the bad PQ was accentuated to beyond imagination on the MONSTER. Frankly it was my personal observation. May be a little bit tweaking with calibration might help, but I think it should better be used 99% for HD viewing only.

BTW 51F5500 is a really VFM set at under 70K with 3D!!

if your watch flatscreen of two different screen sizes with sd feed from the same distance the bigger screen will always look worse.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Shaiju.. am not sure .. just an observation.. Saturday I went to Samsung exclusive store.. there both the 64F8500 and 51F5500 were on display together. Yes, 64F8500 is a monster of a TV. Alien Vs Predator was playing and the moster was coming alive on the monster

But when I switched to SD, the PQ was so bad that 5500 was looking great. Actually the SD channels broadcasting is so bad that it is looking bad almost on any big TV there, but the bad PQ was accentuated to beyond imagination on the MONSTER. Frankly it was my personal observation. May be a little bit tweaking with calibration might help, but I think it should better be used 99% for HD viewing only.

BTW 51F5500 is a really VFM set at under 70K with 3D!!

I have tweaked SD channels to the level it looks similar or better compared to smaller sizes. There are few noise / mpeg reduction settings that are very handy for SD (DTH in general).

SD channels are clean after the careful adjustments are done.

I was watching few scenes from The Amazing Spiderman BD. The picture somehow did not look vibrant as I expected it to be. In fact, I had a similar feeling when watching it from a projector. The other BDs were spectacular.

 

[manzb]

Actually I switched to Sports Channel, and F1 broadcast was going on. The driver details with timing etc that was showing alongside was hardly readable on the bigger screen. The bigger, the worse it was to read the list. If the problem, as Shaiju is saying, can be managed to an acceptable level it will be better. As you know for atleast few more years, most of the sports channels, regional channels and kids channels are going to remain in SD.

 

[ihkhan]

Actually I switched to Sports Channel, and F1 broadcast was going on. The driver details with timing etc that was showing alongside was hardly readable on the bigger screen. The bigger, the worse it was to read the list. If the problem, as Shaiju is saying, can be managed to an acceptable level it will be better. As you know for atleast few more years, most of the sports channels, regional channels and kids channels are going to remain in SD.

Manz you are really scaring me,, I have paid some advance to purchase a F8500 and plan to watch it from 10 feet.. But your comments scaring the shit out of me, for 80% of the stuff we watch at home of SD.:sad:

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Lol.

I can feel the trouble in your voice. Don't worry, SD is not bad. At greater than 60" there are displays you can throw up on while watching SD. F8500 is not in that category. Yes, the image is stretched out and you'll not see the details but the colors are vibrant plus image is sharp and clean.

Just curious though. You'll spend so much to watch 80% SD? By SD you mean DTH or DVD?

You SHOULD get a BR to enjoy large full HD display.

 

[ihkhan]

by 80% SD i meant, the Cable STB... will shift to HD STB next week.. but most of the channels that are watched are SD..

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Okay.

I haven't seen a display as large as 64" perform better in SD compared to 64F8500. If SD is what you are going to watch most of the time then I suggest you take a demo.

You may be disappointed not at 64F8500 but for the fact that no > 60" displays can improvise SD.

Garbage in, recycled garbage out.

 

[manzb]

Sorry ikhan, but it's true. if your main usage is going to be SD, that too a cable tv, you are in for a major disapointment. Btw it's not only this but any large size (above 40") will all be not really god w.r.t. SD. This big size full HD tvs are meant for HD viewing or atleast something of dvd quality input.

 

[vakharia]

@ikhan: I am on SD (Dish TV) on Panasonic 50ST60. It does not look good after you watch 720P stuff on the same TV.

Unfortunately, you have hardly 30 channels in HD on most service providers. My cable wala offers 17-18 HD channels - I had a brief demo at their office and the PQ was good. Thinking about that or upgrading to Dish TV HD with 27 HD channels (lowest pack for Rs. 400).

But, overall, at 50 inches SD is just watchable, but not that great. I cannot imagine how it would be for 64 inches.
Note: I have not tried any noise reduction magic so far. Will do that in few days if possible.

 

[ihkhan]

Lol.

Just curious though. You'll spend so much to watch 80% SD? By SD you mean DTH or DVD?

You SHOULD get a BR to enjoy large full HD display.

I do have a PS3 which can double up as a Bluray player,, plan to get HD STB from the local cable guy, do not like DTH that much. Prefer the convenience of a local Cable wala. (but unfortunately he has only 10-12 HD channels at the moment)...
How good is the upconversion of SD to HD if I buy any Good quality AVR?

Will there make watching SD channels more fun? or is the upconversion of SD by the F8500 enough?

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

F8400 scaling is sufficient. If you really need to go higher then try the Darbee Visual Presence Darblet Video Enhancer. Use it only for SD though. F8500 is sharp enough, in fact, a Darbee in it's own right.

http://www.hometheater.com/content/darbee-visual-presence-darblet-video-enhancer

 

[just4kix]

I have Denon 1910 AVR at home that upscales. But it is no good because the quality of SD feed (even TataSky) is just not good enough.

 

[viper08]

If you really need to go higher then try the Darbee Visual Presence Darblet Video Enhancer. Use it only for SD though.

Darbee Visual Presence Darblet Video Enhancer | Home Theater

As per the above link this edge enhancement device may not be suitable for SD content.

Moving onto other sources wasnt quite as dramatic though. Standard definition material didnt gain as much benefit. The Darblet would definitely help out detail a bit, but if the source already has a lot of issues the Darblet can enhance some of the bad things, too. DVDs riddled with edge enhancement or compression noise actually looked a bit worse, since some of the artifacts became more pronounced

Darbee Visual Presence Darblet Video Enhancer Page 2 | Home Theater

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

It's only that much that you can get away with SD. The enhancer will add edge definition and remove the softness. The reviewer meant there will be no magic on SD as compared to HD.

Why spend on tampering with HD? There are dedicated forum threads that discusses the SD benefits.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Cinema Smooth (CS) has a bug.

I switched it off for BR and the Soap Opera Effect (SOE) was unbearable. Cycling through the Motion Judder Canceller (MJC) Off -> Standard -> Smooth -> Off resolved the issue.

Btw, did not find any visible difference in blacks with CS on or off. I tweaked the picture a bit by changing the Colour Space from Auto to Custom and the extra red on faces are gone. Am happy, at least for now.

 

[just4kix]

Cinema setting is basically about two things:

- setting the correct black level to get the proper shadow details without making them too dark or too bright
- setting the hue and gamma to get the accurate skin tones

 

[bigron]

@ shaiju - Congratulations on the tv. If you can re collect I posted a few days ago inquiring about the Sony w950 LED. However , i am unable to convince myself that I am going to pay more money for a screen that is 10 inches smaller. Not to mention the fact that this plasma has got rave reviews across the board. So all said and done I am gonna pick this tv up.
Now a few questions regarding the set. How bad is that temporary IR that every reviewer talks about on this tv ? Secondly What is your viewing distance ? Mine should be around 10/11 feet . Lastly , how much dent did this thing cause you and lastly are you overall happy with your product with nothing substatially negative about it.thanks

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

@ shaiju - Congratulations on the tv. If you can re collect I posted a few days ago inquiring about the Sony w950 LED. However , i am unable to convince myself that I am going to pay more money for a screen that is 10 inches smaller. Not to mention the fact that this plasma has got rave reviews across the board. So all said and done I am gonna pick this tv up.
Now a few questions regarding the set. How bad is that temporary IR that every reviewer talks about on this tv ? Secondly What is your viewing distance ? Mine should be around 10/11 feet . Lastly , how much dent did this thing cause you ? thanks

Thank you.

I agree with your views. Unless you are plasma-phobic there is not much reason why plasma shouldn't be the choice for large screen sizes. The viewing environment and lighting conditions does matter though F8500 has levelled these in favour of plasma.

Truth be told, I don't see any IR on F8500.

I had a LG 50PK550 which I did baby sit for 100 hours. Slowly got tired of baby sitting when LG decided to replace the TV 5 times, every time with a new one. There was definitely IR on LG but it vanished after 5 minutes of watching mixed content.

Last December I got a Panasonic 50GT50D. Worst in terms of IR. Even the TV menu refused to go after 30 minutes of screen wipe. I would term that as stubborn IR. I returned it for a refund in March.

On F8500, there is hardly trace IR. A scepticism surrounding the model before the launch and Samsung's bright-as-LED- claims was on IR. However, nothing to fear at least in my case. That is commendable for a plasma with so much light output. Most of time I keep turning down the backlight and the F8500 is left with so much headroom for cranking up the light output.

I haven't measured the exact viewing distance but should be roughly 12-13ft. Along with viewing distance also consider the space on left and right of the TV. Additional space will improve your viewing and not make large TV stand out like a sore in the room.

All the best.

If anyone in Mumbai wants to take a demo is welcome to my place. Just call me a few days in advance as I have a travel coming up.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Life Of Pi.

The image is much more warm and has loads of detail that I could not capture. I hope to get better with each capture and post the pictures closer to what F8500 shows.

Note that these images are overexposed and with varied white balance setting on camera.