Samsungs technical spec sheet for the PS64E8000 has a bullet point which reads Digital Noise Filter available. Thats actually a little misleading; seeing as available suggests that its optional. The Digital Noise Filter on the 64E8000 is more than just available, it takes fairly drastic measures in order to turn it off. There is a label that reads Off in the main menu, but this is misleading at best, because it doesnt actually turn the filter off. Weve been reporting this issue with Samsung flat-screen televisions for the last few years, and while the company did fix it with firmware updates late last year, its returned for 2012. Thats frustrating, because it turns out to be the only major blip on the performance of an outstanding HDTV. (More frustratingly still, the American equivalent model, the PN64E8000, does have a working Off switch).
Most users who dont have their displays set up according to industry standards will probably not want to see any noise or grain (because even a light film texture can look harsh and noise-like on a TV thats still running in the default picture settings), so we understand why companies ship TVs with these filters turned on. We dont understand why Samsung dont let you turn the filter off (depending on which country you bought the HDTV in), especially on a big-screen, flagship plasma television that will end up in video enthusiasts home cinema setups.
You can avoid this and see full motion detail and an untampered-with look by using (and calibrating!) the Game Mode, although this means video enthusiasts (again, the type of people who will want to see an untampered-with image on a large-screen plasma in the first place!) will have to kiss goodbye to the 10-point White Balance calibration option. The panel driving process used in the Game Mode also seems to add a little extra panel noise (thats dithering introduced by the plasma itself, not noise or grain in the source), although its not hugely visible. The Game Mode can also put out a brighter image than the others although the standard Movie mode, at around 110 cd/m2 video white, is not exactly lacking in light output.
For calibrators, the lack of 10p White Balance isnt as big a loss as it might sound. We found that, in practice, the 10p White Balance controls could introduce coloured contouring artefacts into real video material, and avoiding this is obviously more of an issue than impressive-looking calibration charts. We did calibrate both ways, and didnt find that the Game Mode (with its 2-point precision) to be visibly problematic. The processing done by the undefeatable noise reduction filtering was more of a visible problem to our grizzled eyes than some slightly inaccurate Greyscale tracking.
Weve been met with disbelief in the past when weve said that the Game Mode can be calibrated for accuracy. This is probably because by default, it produces a blue-tinted, sharpened, ulra-vivid image thats more akin to a Dynamic picture mode. Its easily corrected by setting the Warm2? greyscale preset and setting [Sharpness] to the neutral state of 0, among other things.
You cant practically have it both ways and switch back and forth, though, because there is only one Colour Management memory for both the Game Mode and the non-Game Mode, and they both need separate corrections dialled in, especially to correct the luminance of red. The ideal option would be to use the Game Mode with an external video processor like the Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D, although thatll set you back an extra 1350. The better value option would be to go for the mid-range PS60E6500 (which doesnt suffer from undefeatable noise reduction anyway), and pair that with an off-board video processor if supreme accuracy and freedom from artefacts are your top priorities.
Moving on, the images put out by the Samsung PS64E8000 are a real joy to watch, all things considered. We preferred the Game Mode with its full motion potrayal for Blu-ray material originating from 35mm film; in this setup the E8000 presented a gorgeous amount of filmic detail. For all-digital productions, we were happy with either mode.
cant wait to c that monster....
