Besides greater contrast, plasma technology's other big advantage over LCD is superior off-axis image quality. If you plan to put more than three people in front of your HDTV, a plasma panel ensures that even those seated furthest from the sweet spot still see a great picture.
There is no visible difference between the head-on photo and the 45-degree one. Light output, detail levels, and color are unaffected when you sit off-center.
The top-down view is another matter entirely. Looking at the screen from a 45-degree angle above-center, the image is almost completely invisible. This behavior is not typical of other plasma displays. When we asked Samsung about it, representatives told us the F8500 has an additional polarizing layer added to help reject light reflected from the ceiling. Fortunately, side-to-side quality isn't affected, and at normal viewing distances the extra layer doesn't pose a problem. Just use common sense when you're installing the TV so the screen’s centerline is either at eye level or directed that way.
Screen Uniformity: Luminance
To measure screen uniformity, zero and 100-percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. First, we establish a baseline measurement at the center of each screen. Then the surrounding eight points are measured. Their values get expressed as a percentage of the baseline, either above or below. This number is averaged.
It is important to remember that we only test the review sample each vendor sends us. Other examples of the same TV can measure differently.
First up is black field uniformity.

As size increases, manufacturing perfectly uniform screens becomes more difficult. LCD technology is at a disadvantage because its backlight is on the edges, requiring equalization with carefully placed diffusors. Plasma should fare better since its pixels emit their own light.
With that said, Toshiba should be proud that its 65-inch screen bests a 51-inch plasma in our test. Still, the F8500’s score of 13.96 percent isn’t too bad. Our measurements show slight hotspots in the upper-left and middle-right zones.
Here’s the white field measurement:

Plasma clearly wins in the white field test. Our reference Pioneer is still king. Samsung isn’t far behind. And we’re not surprised to see LG's computer monitor sneak into third place. NEC’s V801 finishes in a distant sixth place, mainly due to its 80-inch screen size. That’s a lot of area for an edge-backlight to cover.
Screen Uniformity: Color
To measure color uniformity, we display an 80-percent white field and measure the Delta E error of the same nine points on the screen. Then we simply subtract the lowest value from the highest to arrive at the result. A smaller number means a display is more uniform. Any value below three means a variation that is invisible to the naked eye.

Color uniformity is equally affected by screen size, so we wouldn't necessarily expect Samsung to run away with first place. Most 24- and 27-inch computer monitors measure under two Delta E. For the F8500 to demonstrate the same strong performance is a pleasant surprise.
- Samsung PN51F8500 51-Inch Plasma HDTV Review
- Packaging, Physical Layout and Accessories
- Setup And Calibration Of The Samsung PN51F8500
- Real-World Testing: Movies and 3D
- Real-World Testing: SmartHub
- Measurement And Calibration Methodology: How We Test
- Results: Brightness and Contrast
- Results: Grayscale Tracking and Gamma Response
- Results: Color Gamut and Performance
- Results: Viewing Angles and Uniformity
- Results: Pixel Response and Input Lag
- Video Processing and 3D Crosstalk
- Samsung PN51F8500: We Still Love Plasma

@n3cw4rr10r It's not overpriced at all, but rather an outstanding value (though not as good a value as the sorely-missed Panasonic P50ST60). The image quality is tremendously better than any 4K TV, even with perfect 4K source content, even if they sold the 4K TVs for $1500 or less. The difference in contrast(dynamic range) is the most important, and it is huge. Side-by-side with the plasma, no one would pick any 4K LCD.
I got a Panasonic VT60 at the beginning of the year, just as stock was running dry. I'm still amazed by the picture quality.
Actually OLED is arguably already there or getting there. Some people were able to pick up LG's 55" OLED TV for $2000 (not a typo) via in-store at Microcenter.
For a more universal price-point, it's newest revision is now going for $3500.
Most HDTV's have a "GAMING MODE" option which disables video processing inside the HDTV for a particular HDMI input such as your game console might use.
Having said that, burn-in issues have never been completely solved so I wouldn't game on a Plasma anyway (seems an important thing to mention doesn't it?).
It's a very important factor for plasma and OLED screens, particularly for anyone who wants to use them for gaming. Permanent burn-in is almost nonexistent with modern plasmas, but a bright spot from a network logo or HUD element that takes dozens of hours to clear up is a major deterrant to buying a plasma or OLED screen. And some plasmas handle this much, much better than others do.
I'm still on a 2005 Sony flat screen I got for $15 last year. I don't know how to express this properly, but it's one of those TVs with a... big back? It's not one of those thin TVs.
My only regret is being talked into paying $195 for an extended warranty at Circuit City which was never used...but this was still new tech back, then. My only complaint is that it sucks a lot of power and produces a lot of heat (short winters where I am)...hence the reason for only being used at night and for a limited duration in the bedroom anymore. I know the newer ones run cooler and are more efficient but I would never pay $1800+ for a 50"+ 1080p HDTV ever again unless it's OLED.
With that said, it's great to see sites like Tom's still taking the time to review plasmas!
It's got a nice, good quality image and it says it's assembled in Poland. To be quite honest I did find it provided the best bang for buck and since I wanted plasma anyway ( I think it's better than LCD for TVs ) I'm super happy.
Didn't even know LG made plasma TVs but I wouldn't be surprised if the actual screen is made by Panasonic or something.
Yes, I'd really like OLED but OLED would be great as a smaller PC monitor first and then for a large TV. For a TV I think plasma is fine but even though I got a good IPS LCD I'd just love an OLED 23-24 inch monitor.
It's got a nice, good quality image and it says it's assembled in Poland. To be quite honest I did find it provided the best bang for buck and since I wanted plasma anyway ( I think it's better than LCD for TVs ) I'm super happy.
Didn't even know LG made plasma TVs but I wouldn't be surprised if the actual screen is made by Panasonic or something.
Yes, I'd really like OLED but OLED would be great as a smaller PC monitor first and then for a large TV. For a TV I think plasma is fine but even though I got a good IPS LCD I'd just love an OLED 23-24 inch monitor.
I bopught my 50" Plasma last year. I just bought my LG 65" 4k TV this year because while 4k may not be prime right now i got a steal on it. My 4k is equipped with one of hte best IPS displays (after calibration) that I've encountered so far. The picture quality on this set easilty surpassed the other 4k TV's I was looking at in the electronics store probably because the display gets so dang bright.
Side by side with my Sammy 1080p content in my basement is a hit or miss. Blu-rays look great on both so its hard to say which one is "better". The upscaler on the 4k does a hell of a job processing the image because even up close I can't detect pixels. However on the Plasma with 1080p content I can see obvious pixelation while standing right in front of the television. Dark space scenes look better on my plasma thought w/o a doubt but only when the room is dark. Any amount of light seems to bring the IPS 4k display back in range with the Plasma.
Now on to 4k. Native 4k content on this TV is breathtaking; and takes the viewing experience beyond what my Plasma could ever offer. The clarity, sharpness, and amount of detail is simply stunning and I'm not wowed easily.
So will a good 1080p Plasma offer better contrast levels In a dark room than a good 4k LCD? Yes, Yes it will. Does that benefit translate into a better picture than a good 4k display showing native 4k content? Not in my viewing experience. Not even close. It's debateable @ 1080p as it is with my 2 TV's.
Also, as far as I recall, 2.2 gamma and the sRGB gamma are not exactly the same.
Image retention would have been useful to see as part of the testing. I have a 2008 Panasonic Plasma and although it has no problems at all with television and movies it has drastic IR with games. I don't know if it has something to do with me using a DVI to HDMI converter, but it is completely unusable with PC gaming because of IR and that is with the set even set to minimum brightness.
Also, as far as I recall, 2.2 gamma and the sRGB gamma are not exactly the same.
Image retention would have been useful to see as part of the testing. I have a 2008 Panasonic Plasma and although it has no problems at all with television and movies it has drastic IR with games. I don't know if it has something to do with me using a DVI to HDMI converter, but it is completely unusable with PC gaming because of IR and that is with the set even set to minimum brightness.