Samsung PN51F8500 51-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV (2013 Model)

i've only had this tv a day, but so far i'm happy i got it. now i'm a huge panasonic fan, and still think they have the better picture. i really wanted the zt60, but the samsung had a few specs that fit me, plus i don't like that panasonic bailed on plasmas. since i'm not a panny fanboy, getting samsung wasn't hard. it's def an awesome picture, i can't say that the slim improvement the zt would be over the f8500 would really matter to me. the thing gets super bright. i accidentally turned off eco mode and almost blinded myself. i don't expect to need all that brightness, but it's good to know it's there or i can turn it up if i got the shades up for whatever reason. it's probably a polarizing feature, but i gotta say, i really like the stand. i'm gonna mount to existing wall mount once i get m8 bolts, but for now it's on stand. it's wide, but i think it looks very cool. the remote is also extremely cool. i think it's connected with bluetooth so line of sight isn't an issue(can also hook up other bt devices to tv, but i didn't try that yet). very minimalistic, which for me is more of a con. it does work very well, and it is quite handy for basic functions and for navigating through smart hub. but for play/pause or changing channels, no. i'll use my harmony anyway, but it's worth noting. the built in wifi is great too, and it's even on the ac standard. hooked up quick and easy and made updating firmware very easy. includes 4 pairs of 3d glasses, which is nice. they're comfortable enough. smart features worked fine, i only tested youtube. this is where remote lacks, when searching, but a bt keyboard would solve that easy enough.[update: it didn't really. i connected it and it works fine as a mouse and using arrow buttons, but doesn't seem to have same functionality as regular keyboard on a computer. at least when dealing with apps. browser is better, if you ever use that.]cons: as mentioned, the remote. though it looks cool and performs great, it's ease of use is lacking. sound sucks, but using onboard sound is offensive to this tv. i consider onboard sound only there for audible cues when setting up tv or testing or whatever, not for actual viewing. so for me i don't care. voice interaction didn't seem to work for me. it's supposed to do real speech, but didn't recognize anything for me. now i don't have tv fully hooked up yet, nor will i use voice ever, so i'll test again when it's all hooked up. if it doesn't work, i won't care anyway.[update: it works now, just had to finish setting up smart features]UPDATE (2/6/14): i'm gonna do updates as i remember things. one of the things i remember being an potential issue for some is the buzz that plasmas all have. i remembered to check the other day randomly, which obviously shows it's not an issue. i walked up to tv and could only hear a buzz if i muted the sound. so it's not an issue, for me. volume will vary from person to person, but i don't think it should be a deal breaker. even muted, i don't even think i could hear it in my normal sitting position, which is probably about 10' away or so.i also removed the stand and mounted the tv on my previously existing wall mount. fyi for everyone, it takes m8 bolts. my kit didn't have any that big, hence the delay mounting. home depot had em for just a couple bucks. i think mine were 35mm, which was too long without any spacer, but my kit did have spacers to use. if you don't, and don't have anything to use as spacer, get shorter bolts or you won't be able to tighten them down all the way. just 1/2" or so would be plenty, depending on thickness of mount plate.i finished setting up the smart features and setup the ir extender. i like it. i was worried about the ir because my cable box is just an inch or so from front of ent center, so wasn't sure i could get ir far enough in front to work. but i have it sitting just ahead of the box, not even aiming at it or anything, actually off it's side, and it works perfectly. i can even access my recorded shows. i'm not sure if i can set recordings and all that, but i don't really have any intention to use it for that. my shows are all setup. and the remote works without any mroe setup than is done with smart features, no codes or anything.and i'm really impressed at how easy it is to play files straight from tv. i've loaded music, videos, and even 3d movies onto my jump drive and the tv played em all. i've always had issues with devices not playing this format or that format, not here.ran into issue when trying to set up my settings. it seems that movie mode is the only default mode that can edit 10pt white balance. all the other it's not available. so if you plan to enter some yourself from the web, you'll have to unlock the cal modes. which if you're in the same situation as i am without standard remote, you'll have to program a universal to get into it since touch remote doesn't have required buttons.(update: i programmed my universal and accessed service menu, and i totally screwed up tv. fyi, DO NOT go into the ADC/WB menu and especially don't do the hdmi cal, that screwed up everything. if you do, download a 1080p checkerboard to put on tv and redo it. to turn on cal modes, go into options(i think, if not there check other submenus), then expert, then n/d adj, turn that on, then select all for sources. that'll add cal-day and cal-night picture modes and allow you to change all settings.)

5 Star picture quality2 Star Audio1 Star reliability and supportThe picture quality on this TV is excellent. I did not use it for gaming, but nearly everything else is fantastic. It may be the brightest plasma made, but it still suffers in extremely bright rooms. The LED LCD has a leg up here. Everything else picture quality wise is terrific. I don’t know how 4k content and HDR content would compare on a TV that can play those. Now the problems:Heavy – It is a PlasmaElectric use – It is a plasmaBuzzing – Some people notice it and some don’t. I can hear it when sitting 14 feet away with no sound. My wife never hears it – not a deal killerHeat - This set gets very hot. The back panel would get up 140 degrees in one spot while streaming content. Imagine the temperature inside, HOT! The competing Panasonic plasmas that produced less light had internal fans, this does not. Why?? Samsung didn't want to spend extra or deal with fan noise complaints?? Do NOT put this TV right up against a wall! Give it space and strap on some external fansReliability – This TV is not very reliable. This is probably due to the heat issue and the lack of fans. Perhaps with external cooling added the reliability would go up. Buy the extended warrantyParts Availability – If you go to Samsungparts dot come you will not find any internal boards, chips, capacitors, etc available for this TV. They stopped making them and sold out due to the problems with this TV. While they stopped selling parts retail, authorized repair companies may or may not parts left. Buy the warranty, the external fans and do not get attached to this TVSupport – Samsung left owners mostly high and dry. Good luck if you have a problemOtherwise, awesome TV it is too bad they did not stick with production

This TV has a LOT going for it, and if you get one without a loud buzz, I think that you'll be extremely pleased. Without a buzz, this would be a five-star review and a TV that I'd brag about it. With the buzz, it's a disappointing experience to me. Even though these are not discontinued, I wanted to write a review in case you are still trying to get one and maybe looking at the used market. Here's my main advice - make sure that you can return it if you aren't able to go check it out in person before buying. Good advice for any major purchase, but this TV has so much hype around it, that it's easy to get caught up in it. I sure did, but luckily Amazon has been simply amazing about helping me.I've owned a Panasonic plasma for over five years, so I know what plasma buzz is. My new Samsung has something different. It's louder and higher pitched, and it's clearly audible at normal listening levels. It's also highly directional, being fairly quiet if I'm not directly in front of the panel. If I'm perpendicular to the panel, though, it's quite loud even at my listening position about 12 feet away. I can hear it when I'm sitting off to the side, but it's not annoying or off-putting. Right in front, though...it's just bad. I went through all of the troubleshooting advice, and I attempted a couple of times to get a Samsung tech to come out and take a look/listen, but Samsung seemed to want to make it difficult to arrange that. I'd submit a ticket online, they'd call once, and if I wasn't by my phone, they'd close the ticket and tell me to submit another one if I still had a problem. Apparently, simply calling a leaving a message was thought to fix a problem. :D Another friend of mine bought the same size and model from Amazon on (I think) the same day, and his also buzzes. He actually got a tech to come out, and the tech told him that they wouldn't do anything unless the buzzing was 70+ dB. For reference, that's about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Mine is nowhere near _that_ loud, but it's louder than it should be.I hate noises like that. Hate them. So, this might tell you something about the picture - the picture quality is so good that I almost decided to keep this and put up with the noise. The 64" version cost me over $2700 including tax, so the picture would have to be great for me to even consider it...and I certainly considered it.Once adjusted, the image quality is great. Blacks aren't perfectly black in a dark room, but they are very close. With any light in my room at all, it just looks inky black to me. Consistency across the screen also seems perfect. On my Panasonic, solid white screens seem to have inconsistencies. I thought it was probably just my eyes until I got this set, where solid screens look perfect. Colors are amazing to me (I don't know if they are accurate, but they look great), and off-axis viewing from the side is perfect. Off-axis viewing from above or below the set is pretty bad, though, because of the light filter that Samsung put in. I was used to my Panasonic looking the same whether I was sitting near it, walking by it, or sitting off to the side. With this Samsung, it's noticeably darker and difficult to see if I'm sitting near it (so, at an angle below it) or walking by it.This was my first 3D TV experience, and it's pretty good. The glasses fit over my prescription glasses just fine, although they do feel a bit cheap. Because of the flat shape and distance from your eyes, it's easy for the 3D glasses to get glare on the edges from any light behind you. So, not a perfect experience, but pretty cool.The TV also looks stunning when it's off. The metal base is attractive and very nicely made, and the metal bezel is attractive and not distracting.I was impressed by Samsung's response time to my requests, but not impressed at all by how they would simply close out the request and tell me to submit a new one after attempting one time to call me. I figured if they treated me that way when I had told them that I was deciding if I should return the TV, I can only imagine how they'd respond once I couldn't return it. So, with some regret, I'm returning this to Amazon. They have been amazing about giving me more time to try and get a Samsung tech to come out, and they arranged to have the TV picked up. They've treated me so good that I ordered another TV to be delivered at the same time this one is picked up. I don't expect the picture of it to be nearly as good (it's an LCD TV), but I do expect it to be a lot quieter. I'm going to miss the image quality, and I'm happy for everyone who got a set without the buzzing problem because they got an amazing TV.