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| Samsung PN58C7000 Plasma HDTV Quick Review |
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| Written by Kevin Miller | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 22 June 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Pros: At about $2,500, the
PN58C7000 is a
relatively good value in big screen plasmas. Good feature set with very
good
connectivity. 3D ready.
Cons : Blacks are not as good as the best Panasonics (Especially the VT25 series). Color decoding continues to push red slightly rendering skin tones too pink. To Buy Or Not To Buy? A good performer overall with slightly better blacks than last year’s flagship models the PN860 series. While not quite as good as Panasonic’s best THX certified models, the PN58C7000 is a credible performer. Recommended.
Samsung’s new line of C7000 series plasma panels are
quite a bit more impressive in terms of picture quality and performance than
their Edge lit LED LCD cousins. The PN58C7000 specifically is a good overall
performer with better black levels than last year’s flagship 860 series panels.
Blacks are not quite as good as on Panasonic’s VT25 series soon to be reviewed
here, but they are good enough to give the panel solid contrast ratio. Color
accuracy is mostly good except for the nagging little bit of “Red Push” in the
color decoder that makes skin tones too pink looking. Video processing is also
relatively good although I am not sure how much the 600Hz Subfield Motion
feature brings to the table.
Contrast Ratio: By virtue of improved blacks over last year’s plasma panels, the contrast ratio is relatively good on the PN58C7000. Gamma is also excellent. I measured a 2.3 gamma curve in the 0 setting, which is nearly ideal for a darkened theater like environment for movie watching. 2.4 is the ideal number for that type of viewing, and 2.2 would be more appropriate for viewing with some but not too much light in the room. Bottom line: 2.3 is a happy medium, and the panel will deliver excellent shadow detail as a result. Color Accuracy: Overall color accuracy is mostly good. However, I do have two complaints on this front. First off, Samsung’s color decoding on both the plasma and the LCD line continues to push Red, which makes skin tones appear too pinkish. Unfortunately, this problem is not fixable without significantly de-saturating color. Secondly, at least on the PN58C7000 I calibrated in the field, the luminance of Cyan was way down making the Cyan in a color bar pattern look wrong even though it measured correctly after calibration. I have had this issue with other Samsung panels with Green and other colors depending on the set. This sometimes completely negates the positive aspects of using the CMS (Color Management System) to fine tune the primary and secondary colors. In this case, it was not severe enough to make me put all of the CMS controls back to the factory default. Video Processing: Relatively solid video processing with good 2:3 pull-down for film based video sources on cable, satellite, and SD DVD. This feature can be found in the Film Mode settings where it should be set to Auto 1 for the best results. It also has a Motion Jutter Cancelor Feature, which is intended for 24p Blu-ray movies, but I found it worked poorly giving motion that odd Soap Opera look that similar features on LCD panels create. It is too bad as all Samsung has to do is offer a setting that processes to a multiple of 24 like 48 or 72 Hz, which would be usable provided it worked properly. Panasonic had problems with this until just last year when they finally implemented a 96Hz feature on the THX certified panels that worked properly. Wrapping Up: Overall the PN58C7000 is a solid performing panel. I do wish Samsung would fix the color decoding issue, and provide a usable processing setting for 24p Blu-ray playback.The step up 8000 series offers Cal Night and Cal Day picture modes , and a Real Black Filter feature that promises to improve blacks. I am looking forward to getting my hands on one to see how good the blacks really are. In any case considering the price for performance ratio the PN58C7000 is a TweakTV recommended plasma panel. From the Manufacturer(March 2010)Samsung's new C7000 Series Plasma flat-panel HDTVs deliver stunning performance, unparalleled design, and several innovations that expand the HDTV experience with its new 3D feature. Samsung's new E3-Panel combined with our Clear Image Panel technology provides a stunning high-contrast picture at any angle. The Ultra Slim cabinet measures 1.5-inch deep and is designed with a rich-looking brushed hairline black bezel. Samsung's HDTV innovations include a powerful Internet@TV connectivity package for customizable access to Internet content, home-networking capability via the DLNA standard, playback of your camera and camcorder via USB, and 3D HDTV processing with optional Samsung 3D glasses. Samsung's Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC standard) technology makes system control of compatible A/V devices a one-touch operation. Combine a beautiful design, advanced Internet@TV functionality, the new 3D HDTV experience capability – Samsung's new C7000 Series Plasma HDTVs are designed with this in mind.
Key Features
Connections
Dimensions
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 June 2010 ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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