Samsung PN60F8500 3D Plasma HDTV Settings

Settings

Unit-to-unit sample variations, the viewing environment, and the source might render these recommendations less than optimum. They are provided only as a potentially useful starting place.

The settings here that are most likely to translate reliably from one sample to another are those involving specific features with only a few setting options, such as Color Space, Gamma, and Noise Reduction. The ones most likely to be subject to sample variations are video controls offering a wide range of settings. This will be particularly true for white balance (gray scale) and color management (Samsung calls the latter Color Space).

We strongly recommend that you find the optimum basic video settings for your sample by using one of the many display setup DVDs that are available, such as Digital Video Essentials (DVD) or DVE HD Basics (Blu-ray). A full calibration, particularly of the gray scale and color gamut, is best left to a trained and properly equipped technician such as those certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) or THX.

Note: Some of controls listed here are not accessible in all picture modes and at all source resolutions.

2D 3D
Picture Mode: Movie Standard
Cell light 17 20
Contrast 89 100
Brightness 50 50
Sharpness 0 0
Color 50 49
Tint (G/R) G51/R49 G50/R50
Screen Adjustment As needed As needed
3D Advanced Settings All Default
Dynamic Contrast Low Low
Black Tone: Off Off
Flesh Tone 0 0
RGB Only Mode Off Off
Color Space 2D Auto
Color Space 3D Custom
R G B Y C M
Red 32 31 0 50 40 50
Green 6 50 0 53 50 0
Blue 6 8 29 10 53 55
White Balance 2D R G B
Offset 23 25 27
Gain 21 24 25
White Balance 3D
R G B
Offset 12 25 36
Gain 16 25 27
10p White Balance On 2D (3D N/A)
Interval R G B
1 0 0 0
2 –1 0 +1
3 –1 0 +1
4 –1 0 +1
5 0 0 0
6 0 –1 0
7 0 0 +1
8 0 0 +1
9 0 0 +3
10 0 0 0
Gamma –1 –3
Expert Pattern As needed As needed
Picture Options
Color Tone Warm 2 Warm 2
Digital Clean View Off Off
MPEG Noise Filter Off Off
HDMI Black Level Normal Normal
Film Mode: Auto2 Auto2
Motion Judder Canceller Off Off
Black Optimizer Dark Room (see text)
COMPANY INFO
Samsung
(800) 726-7864
samsung.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
robbi1121's picture
Submitted by robbi1121 on June 14, 2013 - 2:24pm

I would love to love this tv. But, until Samsung begins to even acknowledge brightness pops and the continuous gray bars in letter box washing out, I won't ever buy another one from them. I currently have the 59d8000, but I also have the panasonic vt60 64 inch. Probably the best picture I've ever seen with the Panasonic.

Robert Zohn's picture
Submitted by Robert Zohn on June 14, 2013 - 8:18pm

robbi1121, I was the first one to discover the brightness pops and personally reported it to Samsung engineers. Samsung was able to repeat and see the problem in their lab, acknowledged it and completely fixed the brightness fluctuations in early May with firmware 1102, last week further enhancements were released with firmware 1104.

Regarding the cropping bars I've personally seen more than 60 F8500s that we professionally calibrated and have not seen grey cropping bars. We put a Klein 10 meter on the CinemaScope 2.35:1 bars and the MLL was measured at .00167fL, which is very dark.

I agree that Panasonic's VT60 is an excellent display, but suggest you take another look at the F85000 that is properly set-up and in a good viewing environment, I think you will like what you see.

-Robert

Robert Zohn's picture
Submitted by Robert Zohn on June 14, 2013 - 7:58pm

Tom, love your review, very accurate and well written.

-Robert

Rob Sabin's picture
Submitted by Rob Sabin on June 14, 2013 - 8:12pm
Thanks for the comments on our review, Robert. I'm always fascinated when experts from different corners and media entities look at the same TVs and come to essentially the same conclusions. Gives you some faith in the world and really separates video from audio, where any given set of ears may hear the very same things but have a completely different opinion on whether it's any good at all. That's what I love about evaluating video -- it is what it is... and there's no arguing about it among educated eyeballs. At least THAT part of our job is easy. Now, if we can just get people to turn off the interpolation modes in their LCDs and understand that soap opera effect does not make an HDTV "better." Sigh... :-) -- Rob
coreying's picture
Submitted by coreying on June 18, 2013 - 3:17am

This may be a question for Robert Zohn or Rob Sabin, but does anyone know whether the PN64F8500, which competed against the Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 and TC-P65VT60 in the Value Electronics HDTV Shooutout, had the "Black Optimizer" enabled or not?

The "Audience" and especially the "Experts" rated the black level of the Samsung to be worse than the Panasonic's, and then when the Panasonic's were compared to the Kuro, it was noted there is still a way to go.

Yet Thomas in this review has stated that in comparison to his Kuro the black level ranges from "couldn’t quite keep up" to "essentially indistinguishable."

AlaskanAVGuy's picture
Submitted by AlaskanAVGuy on February 23, 2014 - 6:25pm

MODEL BLACKS WHITES CONTRAST

Samsung F8500 (0.0017ft/L) (214.74) = 126,317:1

Panasonic ZT60 (0.0011ft/L) (114.90) = 104,454:1

Panasonic VT60 (0.0012ft/L) (81.90) = 68,250:1

Thomas J. Norton's picture
Submitted by Thomas J. Norton on March 2, 2014 - 10:27am
It's been at least eight months since the Samsung and the Panasonic VT60 were returned, so I can't duplicate your findings. But there's a philosophical difference here. Our contrast ratios were all taken at approximately the same peak white output on all the sets, a peak white that we consider appropriate for comfortable viewing in a darkened room—30 to 35 foot-lamberts. A dark or nearly dark environment makes sense for movies, the type of program material most in need of good black levels. It also more closely approximates the theatrical experience.

No one argues that the Samsung isn't capable of a higher peak brightness than the Panasonics. If you do most of your viewing in a very bright room this might be important. But a brightly lit room will dramatically increase the measurable black level and make the contrast ratio that was measured in a dark room irrelevant.

BFlynn's picture
Submitted by BFlynn on October 13, 2014 - 1:44pm

First, I have to say thanks everyone for their insight.

My wife has ordered me this television, as a surprise. I'm looking forward to it showing up. I know these settings are calibrated for watching a movie in a dark room, but what should I change for optimal sports viewing? Most of our Saturday afternoons are spent watching football games, and our teams seem to always have the 3:00pm game.

Qwerter12's picture
Submitted by Qwerter12 on June 25, 2024 - 1:16am

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