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(More customer reviews)Let me save you the time in case you don't want to read this detailed review, then just hear this caveat out: "The PN58C7000 is the GREATEST deal you can possibly get for a new 3D HDTV".
There's so much detail for this review, I don't even know where to begin! It would be helpful to state a precondition that this plasma ultimately replaced a Samsung 42" 720p plasma, which was tipping the scale at 6 years old, but still had an incredible picture for its time. Within the last several months, I spent a lot of time watching 1080p content on my friend's TV, and started noticing the difference. If anyone out there is not a believer that 1080p will blow your old fabulous 720p set away, believe it as it will.
This was one heck of a quest. Let's rewind the clocks a bit as this all started back in December 2008, when I was visiting ABT checking out their newest HDTV lineup. I had been itching to get a new TV, and having had a plasma all these years, I was determined on getting a plasma replacement as the reviews usually include them on the "best HDTVs" list. Anyway, if anyone has been to ABT, then you'll know that by the furniture/appliance area at the entrance of the store, they have home theater seating to sample, and usually have an incredible HDTV on display. Well I remember looking at the regular LCD/Plasma "row display" (near the TV/Audio sections), and looked over by this area to see 3 TVs lined up on the wall. To say the least, those TVs had the BEST picture of any set in the entire store. As I approached, I could see the words "Panasonic" and "THX" enlarged on the wall. They were truly the most magnificent displays I had seen at the time, matched only by the Kuro (which they also had on display in the projector room). Well as it turned out, the TV series was the infamous Panasonic TH-PZ800U. They had a 42, 50, and 58" screen all in a row of 3. I instantly fell in love with the 58" model. I was shocked how much larger the 58" is compared to the 42", which is what I had.
Low and behold, the 800U from Panasonic was CNET's TV of the year, and the second highest rated TV ever, second only to the Pioneer Kuro. Now let's fast forward to January 2010. Since seeing that TV at that time, I instantly was a Panasonic fanboy; I had no choice really now that they were the largest manufacturer of plasmas. I followed the V10, G10, and Z1, all of which received serious accolades. I came close to pulling the trigger on the 54G10 many times, but decided to wait until CES 2010. Boy am I glad I did! With the release of 3DTVs and HDMI 1.4, I did not want to buy an obsolete model. Another major milestone I'll never forget reading about was the infamous CNET/AVS articles regarding the Panasonic "rising blacks" issue. More shocking was Panasonic's arrogance that this issue was expected with no fix. This totally destroyed Panasonic's reputation with me. An entire year of following Panasonic plasmas went down the drain.
At that point, I had given up hope on plasmas, and thus started a new quest: LED. I looked at the UN55B6000, B7000, and B8000 models. Recently I came close to buying the UN55C7000 (3D model), and had a chance to get an awesome deal; actually I would have saved almost $50 this route. Seeing the TV in person really changes you though, the flashlighting (in the corners) and image ghosting was noticeable in the store. The 240hz feature was unbearable as well (soap opera effect). To me, 240hz feels like someone is fast forwarding the scene 1-2x on a DVD. I have no idea why people are pretending they don't see it. I eventually came to terms to getting the Vizio VF552XVT, but something held me back. The picture looked okay in the store, but perhaps it was the design of the TV. I mean, it's really an ugly TV, how can its design even compare with that of Samsung? It's almost a whopping 5 inches thick, which in today's day and age, is just unacceptable. My 6 year old plasma is exactly 3 inches. I felt this would be a downgrade from what I already have as I wanted some appeal as well.
That was one part as to why I didn't want the Vizio. The other was 3D. I have been following 3D for quite awhile now, and originally didn't plan on being an adopter because of the lack of content. However, after seeing that the price deviation from 2D to 3D TVs had dropped to about $200, it was a no brainer. The hard part was choosing LED or Plasma for 3D. After reading numerous threads from owners of both LED and Plasma, I came to the conclusion that plasma was a better choice for 3D, mainly due to its response time. This made me ecstatic as I had originally thought plasma was totally dead. I mean, how could it not be? Check out this list of the only makers of today's plasmas:
1. Samsung = buzzzzzzzz
2. LG = gets mediocre reviews for its subpar quality, and has a mirror screen finish for antiglare
3. Panasonic (the king of plasma) = rising black issue; unimpressive designs (with the exception of the Z1)
I considered the LG PK750 (after reading CNET's review), but couldn't find enough positive reviews; I don't believe I've seen an LG plasma consistently listed on CNET's top 5 plasmas list, or even LED for that matter. I also considered the Samsung B860, as I saw this in person. The B860 was one of the reasons I kept hope alive with plasma. To me, the B860 has an excellent picture, being compared to various LEDs and the Panasonic V10. I even compared it to the PN58C8000 at Best Buy (the 8000 was on the bottom; B860 on top), and honest to god if I couldn't tell which model was which, I probably would've chosen the B860 for its deep blacks compared to the grays of the C8000. I also looked at the VT20/VT25 from Panasonic, but the price premium is exorbitant (close to $600 more than the Samsung). Plus I could care less for the 2 included movies that you get (Ice Age and Coraline). Besides price, seeing the marketing ad from Panasonic that their plasma is an "ultraslim design" at 3.6 inches, is a total joke to me. The Samsung PN58C7000 is 1.4" thick. Coming from a 3" thick TV that was 6 years old, and seeing Samsung's museum style models, ultraslim to me now means under 1.5 inches, or even the new Samsung LED C9000 at 0.25 inches! Panasonic needs to go back to the drawing board on this. Sony also suffers from this pitfall. Their new flagship XBR60LX900, which costs $4,500, claims "ultraslim design" at 3.625 inches. Seriously, who are they kidding???
In my humble opinion, if 3DTVs weren't becoming mainstream, I would have given plasmas an expiration date. I feel that 3D is a game changer for plasma. Panasonic won the Best of Show CES award for 3D, and the VT25 is listed as the top TV on CNET, and for 3D. Almost every review I have read comparing LED to Plasma for 3D, I have heard of the same issue: ghosting and blooming for LEDs. Plasmas have an unparalleled ability for response time, which is essential for fast motion 3D. I haven't heard one person NOT complain about image ghosting and response time with an LED 3D set. One of my friends has the UN55C8000 3D LED (which is the flagship Samsung LED that costs $1,000 more than my C7000), and even he admitted it has ghosting and artefact issues, as well as flashlighting. To say the least, prior to 3D and Panasonic blacks issues, I was ready to abandon ship on plasma technology. Then the Samsung PN58C7000 came along. This was it, and my quest was over. After 18 months of searching for the perfect TV, I now have it. The design is unparalleled, the image quality is spectacular (Avatar looks just as good as it did when I saw it in theaters), and the set is future proof with HDMI 1.4 and 3D. All packed together for a remarkable price of close to $1,800. We come back to my original statement: "The PN58C7000 is the GREATEST deal you can possibly get for a new 3D HDTV". Enough said. The price to performance ratio is just monolithic.
I should mention that this TV was bundled with the free glasses and C6900 BD player. That's right, FREE. It's almost as if you're getting paid to take a 3DTV off their hands. However, if anyone is curious, I would have done the combo deal with BD player and the free glasses. Why wouldn't I? The kit costs $350 on its own (glasses $150 each). You also can't find Monsters vs Aliens 3D anywhere except eBay, where the price can go up to an astronomical $100. You'd be a fool not to jump in on that deal. As far as I know, Monsters vs Aliens was the first 3D blu ray in existence, and is only included in the exclusive bundle from Samsung. Even if you somehow already own a 3D BD player (like the PS3 which to date does not have the 3D firmware...), you're still better off buying the BD player to get the free kit.
3D Glasses - they are very comfortable and sturdy (except for the arms which seem flimsy). They have a 1 year warranty, so I hope their durability proves the test of time. The nice feature I like is the glasses turn off when contact with the 3D emitter is lost and instantaneously reactivate when the emitter is back in focus (this happened when I was laying on my couch and turned my head away). They also power off when there is no 3D content playing through the TV, upconversion included. Since they are battery operated, this is important. Lastly, you cannot power them on at all until the TV is in 3D mode, which is a really nice power saving feature.
BD-C6900 - an awesome BD unit. The BD discs load up as fast as my old Sony reference DVD player. Also, my friend's first generation Samsung BD/HD DVD player is so old that it takes close to a minute to load up. That's how my old Toshiba HD-A1 (HD DVD) player was. Thank the Gods that you can load a movie in under 15 seconds! The audio is also excellent. I have the HDMI going directly to my TV, and am using...Read more›
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Samsung PN58C7000 58-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV (Black)Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN58C7000, with Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio makes sure every frame is saturated with dense, rich color. Samsung is also ENERGY STAR compliant so you are assured that your 58 -inch plasma HDTV is helping the environment by using less enery while saving you money.Accessories
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