Samsung PN51E8000 3D Smart Plasma HDTV Review

3D

Out of all the TV manufacturers we encounter during our trek to sort a year's harvest of televisions, Samsung and LG seem to have the firmest grasp on immersive, convincing 3D content. Samsung makes use of comfortable, lightweight 3D glasses--light enough to be passive, but with the fluid, quality 3D that comes from active shutter shades.

Don't get us wrong--3D still has a long way to go before it will be the preferred method of viewing content. In many respects, it's still a marketing gimmick. But Samsung's native, HD 3D is getting very close to being a top selling-point for their TVs. There are a few things we look for: immersive full 3D, a useful 2D-to-3D conversion option, and comfortable, wearable glasses.

Samsung's 3D picture is convincing, be it a full 3D signal from a connected HDMI device, or their after the fact 2D-to-3D conversion implementation. While their glasses are still a little hard to wear over spectacles, the flexible, detachable arms make it a little easier to customize them to your liking.

Finally, to seal the deal, any Samsung Smart TV is going to give you access to Samsung's Explore 3D widget, which features plenty of free, streaming 3D content, enabling users to make considerably more use of their 3D television if they don't have a stack of 3D Blu-ray movies to delve into.