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Resolved Question

UN55D7000 Vs. PN51D7000?

Dec 30, 2011 1:31AM PST

I am in a pickle. I cannot decide between a few options from Samsung and i'm naturally an undecisive person, which compounds this.

I am looking to buy either a UN55D7000 (LED) or a PN51D7000 or 8000 (plasma).
I have read a lot of the positive and negatives on both with the plasma having better uniformity and was sure I was leaning that way. After visiting Best Buy my initial reaction was I liked the LED better. I don't know if it was because it was brighter or looked better aesthetically but the plasma looked darker and not as appealing.

If you know of the difference between these 2 televisions or have experience please point me in the right direction. On one hand I want a bigger screen but on the other I want the best picture I can get for sport, bluray, and PS3 gaming.

Any opinions, help, experiences are greatly appreciated!

Discussion is locked

eboettne has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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UN55D7000 Vs. PN51D7000?
Dec 30, 2011 1:43AM PST

eboettne -

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UN55D7000 Vs. PN51D7000
Dec 30, 2011 3:55AM PST

1. I would be considered a casual gamer (online sports games usually, every once in a while a shooter)
2. Ambient light will be regular

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UN55D7000 Vs. PN51D7000
Dec 30, 2011 7:39AM PST

eboettne,

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Final Decision
Jan 1, 2012 9:50AM PST

Yes thank you! That information is very helpful. Circumstances have made my decision for me as the LED I was looking at has gone up in price by $700 the night before I was going to purchase it (Major Bummer!). I have decided to go with the plasma by default but I believe it will be a good decision as I really like the look of a football game on the plasma vs. the LED in the store. The motion seems to show more trouble on the LED. I wonder if that is a result of the 600hz refresh rate on the plasma vs. 240 hz on the LED.

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Final Decision
Jan 2, 2012 3:54AM PST

eboettne,

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HDMI Cable
Jan 2, 2012 11:42PM PST

So yesterday I went to my local Best Buy and purchased my UN51D8000! I am very excited to have it delivered to my place on Thursday. One question I have that I encountered is regarding HDMI cables for the television. This is one area I have absolutely no idea what is best for me.

I have heard many different opinions on cables. Some people say they it doesn't matter if it's $5 or $500, an HDMI cable will provide you the same quality. On the other hand, I've read that if you are looking to do gaming, watch bluray, and 3D (which I am) that you should choose for a higher end cable.

I did not purchase one because I wanted to do my research rather than blindly purchase the $150 cable the Magnolia salesperson recommended to me.

All this being said, what is the best cable to buy for the things I plan to do with this tv? I'd like to get the best quality I can since I am getting a top of the line Samsung TV, but at the same time $200 seems to be quite a bit for something so simple.

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What I use
Jan 3, 2012 12:48AM PST

Amazonbasics HDMI 1.4 cables. Under 20 bucks.

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Final Decision
Jan 6, 2012 1:02AM PST

I finally got my new tv all set up in my living room and wow it looks incredible! I love about everything about this television. I watched Avatar on bluray last night and the color jumped out of the tv like it has never done before.

Now I do have another question and it is about picture settings. I have been reading around different forums who calibrate their tv's and do not like the dynamic setting on the tv. I was flipping back and forth between dynamic and standard last night and dynamic was my favorite setting because standard seemed so dark and subdued. However, I am worried that my chance of burning an image in the screen increases with dynamic settings. What is your recommendation for the picture settings? Is there a good inbetween that I could adjust that would be between standard and dynamic?

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Final Decision
Jan 6, 2012 5:19AM PST

eboettne,

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Final Decision
Jan 12, 2012 2:15AM PST

Yes this does help very much. I've started to tool around with different settings on the tv and have even used Cnet's calibration on movie settings. I tend to lean towards the standard setting because it feels more like high definition than the settings cnet put out there. There setting makes the picture appear less crisp to me and more blurry. I feel as if it is almost getting closer to standard definition. As you said though it's going take some adjusting the tv without putting in torch mode.

Do you think I would be dissapointed with a calibration? I have thought of getting one done because my sister works for BBY and can get me a discount but have heard mixed reviews. If it's going to be similar to the settings I use for CNET it's probably not worth it but if there are other important adjustments that I cannot make then it seems like a good idea.

I feel like I'm being really picky with my settings being as I don't like CNET's settings but I can't control what I prefer I guess. I just don't like it as much as the standard look. Thanks for all your help.