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"Fantastic design and picture" on by ljtdds
Pros: Great picture quality and sound.
Cons: Moving from one channel to another is slow. Sound adjustment is slow as well.
Summary: Only have had this for a week and it is a great TV. A bit pricey but worth the money.
Great picture but channel changing is slow.
Updated on Aug 26, 2009 -
"The new SAMSUNG plasmas are defective. Can you say BUZZ" on by zpop
Pros: These plasmas are all show and no go. While the aesthetics, picture and feature set are excellent they are unermined by a loud and annoying buzzing sound emitted constantly even with the sounds turned off.
Cons: These TVs buzz constantly! Totally unacceptable for a $2,000 TV. Check out the thread at avsforum. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1144869
The Yahoo widgets are slow as molasses too!Summary: I can't believe David Katzmaier neglected to include the buzzing defect in his review. Escpecially since there are multiple threads about the buzz problem on CNET.com including the following:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-13973_102-0.html?threadID=349119
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-13973_102-0.html?threadID=344409
Buyer beware!!! -
"No more going to the theater for me." on by jrock2703
Pros: Style how thin it is. NO Glare that was one of my biggest issues due to a very bright living room. The Color is crazy good. if you are debating like me you must buy it.
Cons: Due to it being a plasma I am kind of taking extra precautions of breaking the tv in, but I know it will be well worth the wait. dont rush it
Summary: When i was looking for a perfect tv a few months ago I looked at all makes of tv. when I starting looking at cnet for guidance knew I wanted a Plasma. BUT the lcd and led look great also. I kind of looked past the lcd knowing I wanted something richer in color and deeper blacks. Not to kick lcd to the curb there are some sweet looking ones out there but none that caught my eye. The Samsung LEDs looked cool especially how thin they were. BUT there off viewing angle sucks. My buddy has a LED and if you are looking dead on it looks good but that is where his chair is. All the other seats in the living room are off center and the picture looks washed out. I want a tv that every seat in my living room has the best seat in the house. Also this is fist generation of the super thin led tvs, you never want to buy a fist generation there are always bugs that they dont find until second generation. I wanted something that has a good solid track record with great looking pictures. PLASMA.
There are alot of bashers out there saying they run too hot, drink to much energy, and bun every image into the screen. Come on that was 10 years ago they have come a long way. And if you are worried about the Plasma taking in to much energy well then ride a bike to work. lol
I have been debating on the Samsung 860 vs the Panasonic v10 for months now. I have read almost every review possible on almost every website. I have talked to guys at American tv and Best Buy. Have gone countless # of times to both retailers to view the tvs. I feel its my duty to write a good review for all the other guys like me who want the best of the best tv out there. This is a big purchase.
I will break down some issues I wanted to clear up when I was looking at both tvs.
Glare, its hard to look at the tvs at retail stores to get a good sense of how the tv will look in your house. a good way to judge glair is to get close to the tv, turn the set off ,get out your cell phone or if you have a small light (key chain light) and shine it at the screen. I did that to both the v10 and 860. For this review I was only able to get my hands on the 58in tv. The v10 has a single pain of glass witch looks clean, I took out the light and bam I saw a double reflection of the light. the reflection was soo bright that I could see the # on my key pad on the cell phone. On the 860 I could kind of see a reflection on the screen but it was very dull and diluted. point to the 860
style its up to you, you are the one looking at it but you can only be amazed at how thin the 860 is.
Picture quality, its a draw both looked really really good. I felt that the samsung looked richer in color but that was my opinion. both have cinema smooth, but the v10 has THX which is just cool to have. I will say that the v10 does have deeper blacks but that is not saying that the 860 is weak in that department. the 860 look great also.
Not to many people talk about this on there review but I did listen to both sets with the volume on, not external speakers but the speakers built into the set. I liked the v10 a little deeper but the 860 was a little louder. both sets are very easy to max out due to how little power they push. Its also hard to get a true sense when you are in a huge store. But I do have the 860 at home and the speakers are not bad I can watch tv at a reasonable volume and not feel short changed.
Finally the buzz noise, lol a few day before I got it delivered I was freaking out it I was going to get the buzzing tv but when I received it, I hooked it up and I was so engulfed into the tv I didn't hear a buzz but when I said to myself do i hear a buzz, I did. Honestly its not a problem its soooo minimal. is there a buzzz yes, is it louder that the speakers on the tv on normal to low viewing NO. during break in the tv I have the tv running and the volume all the way down. When I walk past the living room I kind of hear it, the buzz gets louder and softer during different scenes on the set. but overall nothing to worry about it. also if you dont like the buzz then return it, well that is if you got it at a local retail store like I did.
last big talk was heat coming off the tv. at the retail store they are in full out burn mode to suck you in to but the tv. the sets there were warm, not hot. I have run My 860 for well over 12 hours straight on normal settings and it barley gets warm. I dont know about the v10 I can only imagine its the same.
Overall I am very please with the 860 its a great tv, its thin, no buzz, and very low glare which I am happy with, and the PICTURE IS AWESOME. Both the v10 and 860 are great but the big selling point for me was how thin the set was. I am going to be putting the tv on the wall in kind of a heavy traffic area so I needed something close to the wall.
Good luck with your search for the perfect tv for you. Dont always listen to what the guys say at the store they want to make the sale do your own homework. -
"Great TV, EXCEPT for the buzz." on by Duuplex
Pros: Beautiful picture, elegant product design. Great sound quality. Menus are easy to use.
Cons: TV does emit a noticeable buzzing sound, similar to some fluorescent lights. The buzzing sound varies in intensity depending on the tonality of what's onscreen. Not extremely loud, but can be annoying.
Summary: I'm on my second unit, which buzzes as the original unit did. Not extremely loud, but loud enough to annoy at times, which is disappointing for a TV of this caliber. Original unit had a bad pixel, so I had to replace it. Good opportunity to see if all of these units buzz. Based on my experience, I'd say that it's likely they all buzz to some degree. I may keep the TV, as the picture quality and design are both excellent, and I've invested time and money. My advice to those want a 50" plasma, but haven't made the purchase yet, do not buy the Samsung PN50B860 if you are sensitive to noise.
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"Great Picture with Some Buzz" on by hudder23
Pros: picture quality in SD & HD outstanding, slim and looks great, menus, 4 hdmi
Cons: some buzzing, not many rca inputs
Summary: I originally bought this TV as a store demo and do not recommend doing this. Stores set their demos on "store mode" which immediately puts out the brightest, most vibrant picture that can burn the phosphors prematurely which can cause burn-in. Also, the store model buzzed...loudly (will explain below). So I returned it for a Samsung LCD LN52B610 and a Panasonic Plasma TCP50S1 - both of these TV's could not even come CLOSE to the picture quality of the 850. So I went and got a brand new 850 for the same price as the original store demo I bought, by chance it happened to be on sale.
The picture quality and looks on the 850 are second to none at this price point. SD and HD content are unbelievable, no pixelization on SD like on an LCD. Hockey/Sports is flawless, BluRay even better. I do not understand how stores push the LCD/LED over Plasma. They may run cheaper and cooler, but IMO plasma (this one anyway) has unmatched PQ.
The menus are easy to use and seem to have endless picture options, 4 hdmi mount sideways to keep the ultra-thin profile. Not many rca inputs, my Wii takes up all 5 but with a TV this thin you have to sacrifice something =) Speakers are weak but I have it hooked up to a Bose Cinemate for my main floor setup. You will need an external speaker system and I would recommend a Harmony remote for one-button on/off. Glare is not too bad in a bright room, but I'm sure LCD is a bit better on this front. I'm not home during the day to watch TV anyway so it's not a concern for me.
I have noticed some buzz but it is not as bad as the original store demo I had. Work your plasma in properly, run it at 50% contrast / brightness, lower the colour and put the picture mode to standard or eco (not dynamic), put the picture size at screen fit (so there are no bars on the side on SD channels). Set your pixel shift at 4 horiz / 2 vert every 1-2 mins. This will work the phosphors in properly and not burn them out prematurely. This will also reduce the buzzing substantially, and you may get used to the picture this way, I already have and I still think it looks amazing. Glad I bought a new set so I could work it in on my own. I highly recommend this TV if you can deal with some buzz that plasmas inherently have, you will not be disappointed with the picture quality, that I can GUARANTEE!!
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