Samsung 64F8500 Plasma Discussion Thread

[longshanks]

I went to buy this TV yesterday (64F8500), but I was quite surprised to see the picture quality. The screen is bright for sure, but no matter which channel I watched (Tata Sky HD and SD) the faces of characters on TV were just weird. Also, the colours were too bright, there was a Panasonic AS700D right next to it and connected to the same Tata Sky box, the colours were really good on it in comparison, soft on the eyes and ultra smooth.

Of course I changed the view mode, can't remember the names, which resulted in some improvement but honestly the picture was just not soft. Coming back to the faces of characters I mentioned above, there was just too much contrast within skin tones, you could see the progression from dark to light, it just looked really bad. Furthermore, everything seemed slightly blurry. I have always bought Panasonic Plasmas in the past so I had already made up mind to continue with a Plasma, but was so disappointed.

I don't know why this was the case, can anyone shed some light on this?

As of now I ended up buying the AS700D, but still have a chance to switch my order.

Every single point you call as an issue looks more like an issue with bad settings, which is never an issue, F8500 is the 2014 HDTV of the year and AS700D is an LCD with IPS panel, in a showroom light environment this tv still should be super bright unless this was setup well to suit the place.

you tried changing the pic mode but don't remember the name? interesting, anyhow an IPS LCD TV is no match for a top of the line plasma TV, also when you say that you like softer picture and not sharper i am not even sure why would some one want that.

if you personally like an IPS LCD then you should buy it, for me personally any LCD TV glows like a bulb and has never been easy on the eyes, IPS only makes things more worse as they tend to have more brightness,even out of the box almost all the reviewers and calibrators have agreed F8500 has one of the best settings and the color accuracy was better than most of the Top end TV on the market today, post calibration it is on the same league of the kuro,zt60 and in a different league compared to any LCD tv on the market today.

 

[nvk]

Every single point you call as an issue looks more like an issue with bad settings, which is never an issue, F8500 is the 2014 HDTV of the year and AS700D is an LCD with IPS panel, in a showroom light environment this tv still should be super bright unless this was setup well to suit the place.

you tried changing the pic mode but don't remember the name? interesting, anyhow an IPS LCD TV is no match for a top of the line plasma TV, also when you say that you like softer picture and not sharper i am not even sure why would some one want that.

if you personally like an IPS LCD then you should buy it, for me personally any LCD TV glows like a bulb and has never been easy on the eyes, IPS only makes things more worse as they tend to have more brightness,even out of the box almost all the reviewers and calibrators have agreed F8500 has one of the best settings and the color accuracy was better than most of the Top end TV on the market today, post calibration it is on the same league of the kuro,zt60 and in a different league compared to any LCD tv on the market today.

Well my last two TVs were/are Panasonic Plasmas and hence I wanted to buy a plasma. I did my research about the F8500 before going to buy a TV and as you said it has absolutely amazing reviews etc.

I guess I was just out of luck or maybe it was the wrong settings or a bad HDMI cable or whatever; on that given day the results were just poor and not a single thing about that TV convinced me to buy it. Since I currently own two plasmas and I am certainly not new to configuring display settings, I blame the Samsung TV for its poor quality.

I think you misunderstood my point about soft vs. sharp, probably because I did a bad job of explaining it! Anyway, since I am used to plasma TVs, while the image is sharp its also "soft" on the eyes and whatever little bit of LCD viewing had done, the "fake" sharpness gave me a headache.

Anyway, I ended up buying the Panasonic AS700D, its a great TV for sure. However, since I am not used to LCD, its taking me a while to figure out how to get the deepest black. Its kinda annoying though, because last 6-8 years of plasma viewing have spoiled me. The PQ seems to be easy on the eyes, but its nowhere close to Plasma's PQ. The black levels are just worlds apart.

 

[BLASTO]

Thanks Shaiju, I will give it a shot. Stuck at work right now, sucks!

BTW, I have a lot of windows in the room I will be keeping the TV in, will movie mode work well in case the curtains are open?

No it wont. Buy another TV.

 

[nvk]

No it wont. Buy another TV.

Can you please elaborate?

 

[jbgude]

I guess I was just out of luck or maybe it was the wrong settings or a bad HDMI cable or whatever; on that given day the results were just poor and not a single thing about that TV convinced me to buy it. Since I currently own two plasmas and I am certainly not new to configuring display settings, I blame the Samsung TV for its poor quality. .....

BTW, I have a lot of windows in the room I will be keeping the TV in, will movie mode work well in case the curtains are open?

Seems a strange question nvk, since you already have owned Two Plasmas, and now have a LCD. Shaiju owns a Plasma- in fact the originator of this thread on the F8500, which TV you seem to have found, presumably one one viewing at a dealer, with no redeeming quality anyway, LCDs should not be affected too much by a bright environment.

I have to my dismay discovered a IR problem on my 8500 after almost 7 months of use. To my relief the image has washed itself out after a few minutes of watching a new channel. Strangely, the IR was caused on a channel that was certainly not viewed for more than 1 hr continuously.

 

[nvk]

Seems a strange question nvk, since you already have owned Two Plasmas, and now have a LCD. Shaiju owns a Plasma- in fact the originator of this thread on the F8500, which TV you seem to have found, presumably one one viewing at a dealer, with no redeeming quality anyway, LCDs should not be affected too much by a bright environment.

I have to my dismay discovered a IR problem on my 8500 after almost 7 months of use. To my relief the image has washed itself out after a few minutes of watching a new channel. Strangely, the IR was caused on a channel that was certainly not viewed for more than 1 hr continuously.

My question regarding placing the TV in a well lit room was for the F8500 and not the LCD. I just wanted to know how it performs in a well lit room.

I'm glad the image washed out for you, nothing hurts more than IR.

 

[longshanks]

IR happens in all displays, even LCD panels are affected by IR but they are not visible due to the back lighting, once the back lighting becomes weak you will notice IR in LCD, i notice IR on my 6 year old dell LCD monitor, when a picture is displayed pixels are burned so any static image means that group of pixels burn more causing the IR and IR is not a problem by any margin.

 

[BLASTO]

Can you please elaborate?

Though F8500 works great in well lit room, it will fall short in a room with lot of windows. If there is a window opposite to the TV, you are better off with a LED or OLED.

 

[nvk]

IR happens in all displays, even LCD panels are affected by IR but they are not visible due to the back lighting, once the back lighting becomes weak you will notice IR in LCD, i notice IR on my 6 year old dell LCD monitor, when a picture is displayed pixels are burned so any static image means that group of pixels burn more causing the IR and IR is not a problem by any margin.

Ah interesting.. I never knew that. I have never payed attention to LCDs, until now. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[vij]

Guys, I am devastated. My Samsung 64 F8500 has died on me just after warranty. Has sound but no picture.

1. It started around the 11th month where the TV would only give out the sound(no picture) once in a while - this happened once every 20 starts or so.
2. Around the 13th month, the TV wouldnt start once in a while(1 in 5 starts) but would eventually start within a min... This delay extended sometimes to 5 min by the 14 month.
3. Now, after 16 months, it just wont show picture and only give the sound. The weird part is that even the sound comes in after about a minute of the power light blink.

Here is the video I made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCna-TihxgY

Samsung India service asking to change panel and quoted 80k with the TV just out of warranty


I am screwed.

 

[just4kix]

Vij, I am really sorry to hear your story. I hope that Samsung does something for you.

 

[BLASTO]

Guys, get the 3 years extended warranty while you can.

 

[vij]

Guys, I hope all are using a good stabilizer.

Summer is going to be here and there will be power cuts and fluctuations in lot of cities. The TV has a peak of 600w - so you need to protect it from fluctuations.

 

[alljunkie]

Guys, I am devastated. My Samsung 64 F8500 has died on me just after warranty. Has sound but no picture.

1. It started around the 11th month where the TV would only give out the sound(no picture) once in a while - this happened once every 20 starts or so.
2. Around the 13th month, the TV wouldnt start once in a while(1 in 5 starts) but would eventually start within a min... This delay extended sometimes to 5 min by the 14 month.
3. Now, after 16 months, it just wont show picture and only give the sound. The weird part is that even the sound comes in after about a minute of the power light blink.

Here is the video I made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCna-TihxgY

Samsung India service asking to change panel and quoted 80k with the TV just out of warranty


I am screwed.

I bought it in Oct and have 2 dead lines on TV today going to call Samsung tomorrow thank god mine is in warranty. Will add 3 year additional warranty before the warranty ends and least its good to know they have replacement panel for it as I don't want to loose this TV PQ is just Mind blowing.. Attaching the picture of my TV.

 

[vij]

I bought it in Oct and have 2 dead lines on TV today going to call Samsung tomorrow thank god mine is in warranty. Will add 3 year additional warranty before the warranty ends and least its good to know they have replacement panel for it as I don't want to loose this TV PQ is just Mind blowing.. Attaching the picture of my TV.

Oh yes, stands out. Did Samsung replace the panel?

3 years additional warranty makes good sense.

I went to buy this TV yesterday (64F8500), but I was quite surprised to see the picture quality. The screen is bright for sure, but no matter which channel I watched (Tata Sky HD and SD) the faces of characters on TV were just weird. Also, the colours were too bright, there was a Panasonic AS700D right next to it and connected to the same Tata Sky box, the colours were really good on it in comparison, soft on the eyes and ultra smooth.

I think I know what you mean. Did the faces on some channels look like they are bit burnt? Just reduce the sharpness and don't use the warm modes. Combination of those 2 are bad. And those showroom guys just ramp those up. The TV is awesome - no 2 ways about it.

 

[George T]

A thought: is it possible that the tv sets being offered at these awesome festival discounts on the MRP are Factory QC rejects that have a 50:50 chance of working or not working?

 

[alljunkie]

Oh yes, stands out. Did Samsung replace the panel?

3 years additional warranty makes good sense.


I think I know what you mean. Did the faces on some channels look like they are bit burnt? Just reduce the sharpness and don't use the warm modes. Combination of those 2 are bad. And those showroom guys just ramp those up. The TV is awesome - no 2 ways about it.

Yes they replaced the panel but now its plagued with buzzing which it wasn't previously -_- going to call them again today.

 

[jbgude]

Folks, this TV has a supposed "UHD Upgradtion" slot: has anyone of ever contacted Samsung about this provision?
It would seem that in the next few months we will have around 5 UHD channels broadcasting, and perhaps Samsung will start importing the kit if there is enough demand from F8500 owners.

 

[sanjay0864]

Folks, this TV has a supposed "UHD Upgradtion" slot: has anyone of ever contacted Samsung about this provision?

I am quite sure that the 'upgradation' slot is not for UHD. The plasma panel is not capable of more than 1080p resolution. The slot is for the 'Evolution Kit' which merely upgrades the Smart TV features.

It would seem that in the next few months we will have around 5 UHD channels broadcasting, and perhaps Samsung will start importing the kit if there is enough demand from F8500 owners.

I seriously doubt there will be 5 UHD channels in the next couple of yrs, let alone in the next few months.

 

[sanjay0864]

Guys, get the 3 years extended warranty while you can.

How does one go about getting the 3 yr extended warranty? Who to call and how much is it? Thanks.