The good: The Samsung PND8000 series has outstanding overall picture quality, with excellent black-level performance, and the most accurate color of any TV we’ve ever reviewed. It can handle bright rooms well and exhibits the nearly perfect screen uniformity of plasma, as well as superb 3D picture quality. It includes two pair of 3D glasses, built-in Wi-Fi and a comprehensive set of picture controls. The Smart Hub Internet portal boasts more apps and streaming services than the competition, along with a functional Web browser, and is easier to use thanks to the included dual-sided Bluetooth keyboard with a screen and QWERTY keyboard. The PND8000′s design is one the most attractive of any plasma we’ve seen.
The bad: The relatively expensive PND8000 cannot produce full shadow detail or proper 1080p/24 cadence without sacrificing some black-level performance. Smart Hub lacks Amazon Instant, its search is next to useless, and its interface can be cluttered and confusing.
The bottom line: With picture quality that’s nearly the equal of the tough competition, as well as best-in-class design and features, the Samsung PND8000 makes a strong case for being the best overall plasma TV of 2011.
For the last couple of years it seems that our job as TV reviewers comes down to determining which TV is better: the best Panasonic plasma or the best Samsung plasma. In 2011 the vessel bearing the Samsung flag is the PND8000, and while Panasonic’s VT30 still deserves the overall picture quality nod in our book, the Samsung is good enough to match the Panasonic’s numeric Performance score of 9. The PND8000′s picture quality is superb, and we don’t expect any other TV aside from the VT30 to surpass it this year–although the less expensive PND7000 series, which we have yet to review, might equal it. The kicker, and it’s a big one, is that the 59-inch Samsung PND8000 we reviewed actually costs less than the 55-inch Panasonic, while delivering a better design and even more features. Unless you’re the pickiest of videophiles with the most unlimited of budgets, it’s tough to justify the cost of the VT30 over the PND8000.
Series information: We performed a hands-on evaluation of the 59-inch Samsung PN59D8000, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have identical specs and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality. That said, we’ve heard reports that the smaller 51-inch model may have worse black-level performance than the size we tested, although we won’t know for sure until we can evaluate one ourselves.
