Test Report: Samsung PN60E8000 3D Plasma HDTV Page 3

Extended Test Bench

The Samsung PN-60E8000’s Movie picture/Warm 2 color temperature presets delivered the most accurate grayscale performance. Before calibration, color temperature averaged around 6,316 kelvins. After calibration, color temperature averaged 6,540 K, with a slight blue bias to darker images. Primary and secondary color points checked in very close to the HD standard out of the box; modifications made using the TV’s very responsive color-management system adjustments allowed me to dial them in near-perfect during calibration.

 

Spectracal’s CalMan Professional monitor calibration software was used during the calibration and measurement process. See the PDF below for a complete report with detailed pre- and post-calibration results.

Gamma in the Movie preset’s default 0 setting measured close to the 2.2 dim room target throughout the set’s full brightness range, while the -1 setting measured close to the 2.4 target (recommended for viewing in a dark room). The set’s black level measured 0.004 footlamberts (ftL) in Movie mode — an impressive performance that matches that of the Panasonic ST50 plasma model I tested in S+V’s June/July/August issue. Combined with its 33.1-ftL maximum brightness, contrast ratio was 8,275:1 — pretty impressive for a plasma. As is typical for plasma technology, off-axis picture uniformity was excellent with full-field patterns at all grayscale steps.

The set displayed full picture resolution for all signal formats delivered via HDMI and component-video connections. Motion-resolution tests revealed a full 1,000-plus lines.  The set passed virtually all of our standard- and high-def film and video deinterlacing tests when the Auto 1 Film Mode option was selected. The one exception was the mixed 3:2 pulldown with video titles test from the HQV disc, which the Samsung did manage to pass when its Auto 2 mode was enabled. MPEG and Digital Noise Reduction settings proved effective at all steps, but both also introduced slight picture softening in all but the Low setting. — A.G.

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