Samsung PN51E8000 3D Smart Plasma HDTV Review

Design

Like so many of Samsung's high-end TVs this year, the PN51E8000 innovates in appearance, but stays conservative where port and on-set controls placement are concerned. The first thing we noticed about was that it's quite thin for a plasma, possibly the thinnest plasma on the market this year, and is not nearly as heavy as some of the Samsung plasmas we've tested in the past. Its stand is the same one that the ES6500 series uses: an X-shaped metal platform that serves to adequately balance the TV while innovating beyond the usual black rectangle. Beyond the stand's shape, the PN51E8000's inputs and ports are located within the now familiar L-shaped cutout on the back, left side of the TV, and its on-set controls are allocated to a jog stick on the bottom of the bezel.

We think it's a handsome TV, and there's nothing too wild about it beyond the cross-bar stand.