Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Review by Eric Mars for Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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From reading AVS forum I was ready to pull the trigger on a Panasonic G10. Then went to Best Buy to see them in person and this thing was just so much nicer in every way. I’m sorry Panny fanboys but the picture on the current models just looks dingy. The older ones were much nicer. Maybe they made too many compromises for the “eco” thing. And WAY reflective. Anyway, the Samsung came today, no more calibration that setting it to “movie” mode (will wait til after break-in for that). Watching a show about quasars & pulsars on DirecTV HD Channel (720p) and we are saying “whoo” and “wow” just like watching fireworks. The colors are vivid, but not harsh (like LCD’s can be). No banding, jaggies. Incredibly detailed, but smooooth. It’s just amazing. Flesh tones so natural it’s like you’re looking at a real person. This replaced a calibrated Samsung 56″ DLP, which I preferred to anything I’d ever seen before (had it’s caveats but LCD RPTVs were positively hazy at that time so I went with DLP since the rainbow thing was rare and didn’t bother me – kind of pretty actually.) But this just blows it away. It’s like the fog has lifted. Hot? Yes, it’s putting off some heat; but I live in a cold climate (SF) so no big deal. Buzzing? If you put your ear right next to it (the hard drive in my DVR is way louder) but then I’m essentially at sea level, supposedly higher altitudes worsen that. Reflections? Yes, but nowhere as bad as CRT or (ahem) the current generation of MacBooks. It’s glossy but subdued. For the first time I have an in-home viewing experience superior to a movie theatre. Just can’t emphasize how natural the picture is. I hope Samsung & Panasonic will continue this technology. I love LCD TV for the kitchen, it’s fine for watching the news, and great on the computer for static images, but this is a true videophile experience. Like MP3’s (which sound great) vs full uncompressed quality digital sound. I can see how (especially sports oriented viewers) might prefer LCD – it’s bright, sharp, vivid (especially if you’re looking straight on – not so great off center). But if you want to see subtlety in light, shadow, cinematography – this new tech plasma is the way to go. Maybe the key is you need a technology where the pixels are producing their own light. The last time a picture was so smooth, natural, detailed to my eye were the last generation of Sony CRT Trinitron Wega sets. Perhaps OLED will be the next step up but I’m very happy with this. And Amazon’s price, white-glove delivery, return policy can’t be beat.The guys from Pilot unboxed it and made sure it was working before they left. Hauled it up 2 flights of stairs. I can’t believe this marvel of technology was cheaper than a decent laptop.

Review by B. Burdette for Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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After years of enjoying my Mitsubushi WS55819 RPT I decided it was time to part. All my other equipment was paired with HDMI 1.3 and I could not take advantage of what HDMI offers (let alone the amazing advances in picture quality and energy savings) I spent a great deal of time researching and viewing several plasma and LCD televisions (I loath viewing televisions at big box stores. all the sets need to be calibrated to make viewing an objective observation). After research and observations I chose the Samsung PN58B860. By purchasing the HDTV thru Amazon I saved enough money to pay for it to be calibrated. I decided I had paid to have the best, it seemed silly not to spend a little more money to provide the best video output the television can offer. I had David Abrams from AVICAL calibrate my plasma tv. He has a long and impressive referance list. David charged $300 to calibrate and $60 for travel (I live 120 miles away from LA and it was on his tour schedule). To be sure it did need calibrating and I can tell you my magnificent picture became even clearer, the colors more outstanding, and the darks as dark as midnight on a moonless night. The telvision is paired with an ONKYO TX-SR876 Receiver (purchased thru Amazon), OPPO Blue-Ray Disc Player Model No. BPD-83 and an Oppo DVD Player Model No. DV-983 (purchased thru Amazon), Bright House HD Cable DVR, Paradigm Monitor 9 front speakers, CC-370 Center cahnnel, ADP-370 surrounds (side and back). I have no regrets about my purchase of the set and I know it will deliver years of entertainmnet to my family and friends…oh, and of course me!

Review by Steven Michael Hernandez for Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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First off, I got this TV for the insanely low price of $2,179 right here on Amazon.com. I just put the money aside and watched the price fluctuation until it dropped to the lowest price I thought it would go. Gotta shop smart on Amazon. Anyways, the TV is gorgeous and the fact that it’s only about as thick as an LED TV amazes everybody. I’ll start with the only two cons I have with this TV and that’s the fact that it does run a little hot. It will raise the temperature in the room. Also, the Yahoo! Widgets are so slow that I won’t even think twice about using them again. People complain about the buzzing noise, but the only time I ever hear it is when the room is completely quiet and there’s no sound coming out of the speakers at all. As far as picture quality goes, it looks amazing. If you’re like me, you hate the “soap opera” look of the 120HZ and 240HZ LCD and LED TV’s. This plasma gives you amazing picture clarity and color while still maintaining the cinematic look when watching Blu Ray movies. Burn-in is going to happen and it will happen rather quickly for the first 100 hours of use. However, it’s easily removed with the TV’s side scrolling burn-in remover. I play XBOX 360 on this thing for hours at a time and haven’t had anything stay on the screen permanently. In fact, I don’t think I’ve noticed any burn-in after playing video games. The only time I’ve gotten any kind of burn-in is after watching a movie or TV program where the image doesn’t take up the entire screen. The black bars on either the sides or the top and bottom will be noticeable, but easily removed.

Review by A. Lukridge for Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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While the picture quality of the TV is outstanding, our TV buzzed from the moment we set it up. Samsung sent out a repair guy that had to return to our house because he had no idea what part to use to stop the unit from buzzing. When the Samsung authorized repairman returned with the part, he blew out the panel of the TV because he was told to put the part in the wrong spot. That was over 2 weeks ago. We have made repeated calls to Samsung customer service to no avail. Samsung refuses to replace the tv and the repair shop is unable to fix the damage. We have been without a tv for over 2 weeks and, of course, we are out the money for the tv and Samsung refuses to replace the tv that their repair person damaged. Buyer beware.