Samsung PN51E8000 3D Smart Plasma HDTV Review

Performance

Samsung excels in the production of high quality LCDs and plasmas, especially those with price tags in the range of three- or four-thousand dollars. While the E8000's $3699 MSRP is bumped up by its included smart platform, smart touch remote, gesture and voice controls, and dual-core processing, it's also a solid performer in the more basic arenas of contrast ratio and color accuracy.

While its maximum contrast ratio was a little small for what we were expecting, it showed us good color temperature integrity, and an absolutely spot-on color gamut. It's also got the kind of energy saving technology that'll help to keep your electrical bill a little slimmer. It proved easy to calibrate, as well. The only drawback we found in the area of screen dynamics is that, like other 2012 Samsung plasmas, it has slightly blurry motion during complex, fast-action content.

The Samsung PN51E8000 is a strong performer beneath its various, spotlight-stealing extra features.