Customer Reviews

Samsung PN58C680 58-Inch 1080p Plasma 3D HDTV

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since no one has posted a review on this wonderful set, I thought I would post something to give everyone an idea about the set. Just a quick disclaimer: this TV replaces a 3 year old Sharp Aquos 37" LCD which has performed admirably and I plan to place it in the guest bedroom.

There just isn't much online about this particular set since it has not been widely released yet. In fact, there is really no information on this set even on the samsung site although you can look up the pn50c680 on the site to find similar specs. In short, it is a wonderful TV at a wonderful price/performance ratio which has enough features for me... I don't really care about app support since I own both an Xbox 360 and PS3 which should have me covered on any apps that the more feature loaded TVs may include.

I've had this TV for roughly 5 days now and I've been putting it through its paces. The TV is wonderful and provides an absolutely stunning picture when properly calibrated. Colors are accurate and black levels are excellent! With my pioneer 1020 amplifier/Orb satellite/Anthony Gallo Adiva Ti/Hsu sub powered sound system, I really have a nice Home theater setup now! I will definitely be going to the theater less now with my current setup.

I used these settings for a dim/dark room environment:

White Balance Settings:
Red-Offset: 22
Green-Offset: 25
Blue-Offset: 12

Red-Gain: 33
Green-Gain: 25
Blue-Gain: 33

Picture Settings:
Picture Mode: Movie
Color Temp: Warm 2
Brightness: 56
Contrast: 90
Cell Light 8
Color: 53
Tint: G35/R65
Sharpness: 10
Black Tone: Off
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Gamma: 0
Colorspace: Auto
Flesh Tone: Off
Edge Enhancement: Off
Digital NR: Auto
HDMI Black Level: Low
Film Mode: Auto

Of course, many people are probably looking at purchasing this TV for its 3d capabilities and let me just say it is impressive! My wife has been very impressed with the effect and all of my friends who have viewed the effect at my house have been very "Wowed"! I have a PS3, Xbox 360 (both of which are capable of 3d) and have played a few games on the PS3 since there is just 1 xbox 360 game which take advantage of the tech currently (the very bad Avatar game). We received the 3d bundle w/ the TV which includes 2 active shutter glasses and the monsters vs. 3d movie which implements the stereoscopic effect very well! The TV exhibits literally no ghosting effect which has plagued some of the LCD/LED backlit TVs out there. Plasmas tend to fair better due to their high refresh rates. I also purchased it from an online vendor other than Amazon and got a very good deal on an amazing TV/3d glasses bundle. However, if Amazon had a similar price, I would not hesitate to purchase from Amazon.com. I have been very happy with their service and am largely loyal customer to the site when the price is right.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with this purchase, my previous 37" Sharp Aquos looks like a baby TV next to this beautiful monstrosity. Although, not the thinnest plasma (around 1.4" for the thinner plasmas) out there, the 2.8" thickness is actually thinner than my previous Sharp Aquos which is 4"! It is amazing how thin they can make these TVs nowadays. Heat output is also very reasonable on this unit. I detected no hotspots and after extended use, the metal backside and vents are just slightly warm to the touch.

I'd say that if you are looking for a large 3D TV w/ great price/performance ratio... definitely think hard about purchasing this unit! You will not be disappointed!

Happy Viewing,
John

I have spent looks of time researching which tv would be the best option for me. I was previously looking at the Samsung PN58C7000 which is basically the next step up in the line. When I came across this option I was skeptical at first due to the limited information and customer reviews out there. It isn't even on Samsungs site yet. After some deep research and consideration I decided to make the jump and purchase this model. I must say that I think I made the right decision. Not only is this model hundreds cheaper than the C7000 and C8000, but after some tweaking you can actually unlock the tv to think it is the C8000. It is as simple as hitting a few buttons. You can search how to do this on AVS fourms. The main difference between this model and the C8000 is the Real Black filter, but to be honest the blacks this display shows are pretty outstanding. The 3D is also fantastic. I for one can't wait until some more 3D blu-ray's come out. As a side note, if you convert to C8000 you will have to switch back to C680 before watching a 3D movie. It is quick to do and your settings are saved. Below I will post some of the settings I am currently using for day time and night time.

(Night Settings / Day Settings)
Cell Light: 14 /14
Contrast: 85 / 100
Brightness: 57 / 50
Color: 49 / 50
Tint: 50/50 / 50/50
Gamma: +1 / +1

White Balance
R Offset: 25 / 25
G Offset: 25 / 25
B Offset: 26 / 27
R Gain: 25 / 17
G Gain: 25 / 23
B Gain: 38 / 33

10P White Balance (Same for both)
Interval R G B
1. 4 0 -1
2. 1 0 -1
3. 1 0 0
4. 0 0 -1
5. 0 0 -1
6. 2 0 -1
7. 0 0 1
8. 2 0 3
9. 0 0 0
10. 6 0 7

Expert Pattern: Off
RGB Mode: Off
Black Tone: Darkest
Dynamic Contrast: Off or Low (the higher it is the brighter your blacks)

Color Space:
For Night I have it set to Native
For Day:
R: 50 0 6
G: 19 29 5
B: 0 0 76
Y: 57 39 14
C: 35 19 50
M: 40 0 73

Under Picture Settings (for both options):
Color Tone: Normal
Size: 16:9
Digital noise filter: auto
MPEG noise filter: auto
Film Mode: auto2 (Cinema Smooth for blu-ray)

Hope these settings help out. I highly recommend this TV. Make sure you keep up with your carrier after they ship. Home Direct did a good job of getting it to me in a decent time (although it was slightly after est. delivery date). If anyone has any question you can e-mail me at swtechnologiesconsulting@gmail.com.

I have waited a long long time to buy my first HDTV. After attempting to be a conscientious consumer and read 30 hours of HDTV reviews, I took the plunge when this sold for under $1600 with a 3D starter kit.

Note to new HDTV buyers:
1) The advantage and glory of having a over 50" screen is under appreciated. Buy as big as your room will allow, you will have the TV a long long time.
2) Dont read "too much" on AVSforum. You will begin to learn to "watch for" things in TV performance that for the common man, just detracts.
3) Adjustments and "black levels." Sheesh, this TV is so grand right out of the box. I'm a techie and haven't even delved into such matters, I was so excited to get the PS3 gaming action going, I haven't cared since. If the image looks good, or even fine, just leave it alone, you'll never know!

I have no buyer's remorse and I'm completely 100% happy that I got this enormously sized 3DTV. Every single soul that has stepped into our home has been awed. Sitting 9 feet away from a 58 incher, wow. For the first couple hours, I thought maybe, just maybe I should have gotten smaller. As far as game playing and movie watching, the immersion level is top notch. I could see where this would be overkill for granny just watching the news, but then granny would appreciate how lifelike the anchorman is and how legible ALL words are.
Ok, enough about the size.

Let me hit some points:
Buzzing:
-People need to chill the freak out about this. A 58 inch screen means you MUST sit a certain distance to see the screen without actually seeing the pixels. That is 6.5 feet for this screen. I don't hear a faint buzzing until I'm within 2 feet, and I have EXCELLENT hearing.

Remote:
-The remote is back-lit; the volume and channel buttons are large. That's about the only positive of the remote.

On-screen Menu:
-The menu is bad on several points. Some of the settings that should be quicker to get to ARE NOT. Oh no! better buy a different tv! *sarcasm.
I think most my menu griefs would be solved by a universal remote, like the Game function.

-Anytime the input button is pressed, there is a "PC" option annoyingly right below "TV", whereas it should be grayed it

Favorites:
-This option on the remote just cycles through the saved channels, unlike my Sony 32" that brings up a list I can scroll through, which I prefer.

2D to 3D Conversion:
-I didn't even know the TV did this! It was a surprise feature for me. I knew other 3DTVs had this function as I read in my research. It also lets you set the "depth". Try to just enjoy this feature as-is. If you start to mess with the depth, you'll notice ghosting. I have not tried actual 3D content so I can't attest to ghosting on real 3D.

24p Playback:
-I'm having difficulty with this. My PS3 is set for 24p as is the TV, but 24p content seems juttery, which I don't like. I've got to tinker with it

I purchased this plasma after carefully considering the pros and cons of plasma technology. I liked the features that the plasmas offered, along with the nice blacks, all at a cost lower than LCDs on the market. Personally, I have had many LCD monitors/TVs in the past and only three of them were without dead pixels and all three of those were Samsungs. So, I when one of Amazon's competitor had a deal on this TV, I called Amazon and asked them to price match, which they did, and I had this TV shipped to my house.

The service I received from Amazon was very good, they price matched this TV to a very low price. When I had problems with the local shipping company who handled the delivery, Amazon also reimbursed me for having to pick the TV up from them myself. As always, A++ service from Amazon.

However, the TV itself has had constant problems. The first problem was a buzzing noise coming from the back of the panel. This was within the first 30 days I owned the TV, and I should've sent it back then, but I called Samsung who sent out a technician. The buzz coming from the TV was extremely annoying and was highly directional. If you sit in one area of my living room you cannot help but hear the noise, and personally, after a period of an hour or so, the noise starts to make me feel nauseous. The tech listened to the noise and at first claimed he couldn't hear it, however when I directed him to this certain area, he admitted he could hear it but explained that the noise was within specs and there was nothing he could do. We discovered that if you placed something directly behind the TV, like a pillow or blanket, it would absorb most of the noise. I also discovered that I could vary the distance between the TV and the wall and it would affect where you could hear the noise in the room. So, the solution to this problem was to pull the TV about a 1 and 1/2 feet away from the wall so that the noisy area fell somewhere in front of the my couch. I decided I could live this and decided to keep the TV.

The second problem is the horizontal line bleeding on this unit that occurs when there is a black object on a white background. There are examples on the AVS Forums of the bleeding I am describing. It is very obvious in sources that have static backgrounds, like when using a computer, Xbox360 menus, PS3 load screens, and cartoons. I again called Samsung about the issue and they sent out the same technician from my previous issue. He arrived and first tried to adjust all the picture and processing options like Dynamic Contrast in an attempt to get rid of the bleeding, none of which changed anything. Next he took the back off of the TV and tried to adjust the voltages, which again did nothing. He explained he had never seen the problem and started taking pictures and video of the bleeding, which he emailed to Samsung. He told me that since the bleeding issue was occurring on every source including the service menu, the only thing he could do is replace the panel. He told me he would let me know within a week when the panel would be shipped.

Well skip ahead 3 weeks later and after many calls to Samsung ECS, they are finally shipping out a panel that should be here next week. Samsung ECS has offered to refund me the price of the television, but since I had it price-matched I don't believe I could find a similar TV for the same price. So I am hoping the new panel will fix the issue.

I will update once the panel has been replaced.

I bought this TV (not from Amazon) as an upgrade from a Samsung 56" LED DLP I've had for about 3 years. I was interested in upgrading mainly because of the 3D technology and this TV seemed to have everything I was looking for including a reasonable price.

2D - The 2D picture on this set is about as good as it gets. Sports, games, almost anything looks great. The colors and contrast do not dissappoint. Basically one of the best screens you can buy for home viewing.

3D - As for the 3D I am quite impressed. I bought my TV with the Samsung Shrek starter kit. The glasses that came in this kit appear to be somewhat fragile but work well. I have not had any sync issues as other have mentioned. The TV sends out a sync signal to the glasses constantly when 3D is being display. When the TV goes to 2D or is turned off the glasses know to turn themselves off since they quit receiving the sync signal. I have tried Gran Turismo 5 and Wipeout HD for PS3 and Black Ops for XBox 360. GT5's level of 3D is okay but I was expecting more depth. Wipeout HD was recently updated to 3D so if you have this game you may want to run it again and get the update to 3D. Wipeout is really quite amazing and probably the best looking game so far in 3D. Black Ops on XBox 360 is a hit or miss for me (more miss than hit apparently). The 3D effect is good but it appears to be really hard to focus and aim on your enemies. I notice that my ability to kill people in 3D is hindered significantly than 2D. I think the jury is still out on whether 3D is good for first person shooters or not. The TV's ability to up convert 2D to 3D is far from perfect but is still a pretty neat feature. Overall the 3D is nice but due to the flickering effects and possible eye strain I think myself and most other viewers will be using 3D 10% of the time or less. One thing to keep in mind is that a number of the older theater receivers with HDMI switching may not be able to pass a 3D signal. I had an Onkyo TX-SR605 and had to upgrade to a TX-SR608 (highly recommend this receiver). As for HDMI cables I think almost any will pass a 3D signal (contrary to what you might hear) because the ones I bought 4 years ago seem to be working just fine.

Concerns - A couple of concerns I have found so far is the glare from the screen and the buzzing noise (these two items are supposed to be typical of plasmas). This is my first plasma and the glare doesn't bother me much but it is alot more noticeable than my DLP or LCD ever were. If you have a bright window or light source opposite where the TV is placed I really would not recommend this TV. The buzzing on the TV I recieved is noticeable even from the couch (8 ft in front of TV). It is not noticeable if there is audio going from the media source but if the room is quite I can turn on and off the TV from the couch and hear the buzzing go on and off. Samsung service is very accommodating and agreed to send out a repair company to evaluate the noise. I am unsure what amount of buzz is acceptable at this point but why not have it looked at.

Other Notes - The menu and remote are very nicely laid out and user friendly. The TV also has pixel shifting and a scrolling routine in the menus which gradually transitions from black to white to help wash out any image retention. I really don't think burn-in from gaming will be a problem with this TV unless you are playing 16 hours a day. I didn't like the look of the stand in many of the images shown on the web but in person it actually looks very nice an contemporary.

I have had the PN58C680 for 2 weeks. Could not be happier. The reviews on this board convinced
me that it was not only a great deal but a great Tv. I have a 50 inch Samsung Plasma for 5 years
that I wanted to upgrade and this was it. The price is unbelievable for this size, no apps is
probably why, but I don't need that with an existing computer.
I have no buzzing sound as I had on my 50 inch. The only adjustment I made was increasing
the Cell Light from 10 to 14.
My friend has a new 55 inch Samsung LED which I watched several times, to me LED is too bright and
emits a phony picture. At this writing I believe Plasmas are the best.
The only negative so far is the bright and shiny silver stand needs to go, it distracts from looking
at the screen at times. But I am getting a Z-Line stand, that floats the Tv, and detaching this one.
These look to be going away, at this time Beach Camera has eight left for $1597.00, I paid $100 extra
on their site for the 3D starter kit and also purchased the three year extended warranty. My 50 inch
after 13 months developed green dots on the screen and I had to pay a service tech to come out and fix,
which he did, that problem you see a lot on plasmas at bars, increasing the VOLTAGE fixes it.
This was easy to set up, Plug in to wall, connect cable from the wall to the cable box,, and the HDMI
cable from the cable box to the TV.

This TV is great. It arrived in great condition. The picture is fantastic. I've had people say that it is the best picture that they have ever seen in a big screen tv. The 3D is really neat so much that friends who have seen it bring over their friends so that they can see it. I am totally satisfied with this tv.

First let me say that i agree with some of the reviews on amazon.com, their is a slight buzz with this plasma . . does this undermine the quality of the picture? NO . . . is it annoying? YES . . But most people dont just have the TV on without any sound . . . and yes the speakers make the buzz go away. So that is NO problem for me at all.

Secondly this thing is HUGE, 58" is big BIG . . . we had a 52" and its amazing the difference in 6" . . and the panel is CRYSTAL clear, LOVE it !

Thirdly this is THE BEST DEAL for a BIG high quality 3DTV & its Samsung . . how can you go wrong with that. The 2D - 3D picture converter is astonishing! i cant believe how clear it is . . . dare i say it looks better in 3DHD than in regular HD . . .

This TV came with the free Shrek 3D starter kit . . . 2 glasses and all 4 Shrek movies (you have to mail in for the 4th it comes in a week usually). The glasses are really nice, although i will agree with every other review i have read its very hard to tell if they are ON or OFF . . .

Bottom line, if your thinking about purchasing this TV PN85C680, don't hesitate . . i dare you to find a better deal for the quality of this product.

OK, it may be a bit too early for me to review since I've had this TV for less than a week but I think I need to state my out in out love that is growing within me for this set. First I'd like to say that compared to my last TV, there is not a substantial enough glare to complain about. In my last TV, my wife and I could wave at each other in the reflection and now we can hardly see anything. The lamp behind us is barely discernable. There is no buzz what-so-ever and the audio is acceptable for being a TV. I don't have surround sound yet but I plan on it but I am in no hurry due to the TV'S competence. The 3d is fabulous and the 2d to 3d convergence is acceptable. The picture is awesome for being out of the box and I can only imagine what it'd be like ounce it is calibrated. Seriously... this is maybe the best purchase I've made. There are more features than was advertised and I am not dissatisfied in the least. That is the point... I so often feel regret when it comes to electronic purchases and am nervous when making these types of purchases but I must honestly say that I do not feel this way with this! Buy this TV and you will not be sorry.

The the other reviews do a good job describing the TV in detail, and I agree the TV's picture is very nice. There's a bit of distortion in sports content when the players are small and moving quickly, but overall, it's a great picture.

The problem is, the screen is way too reflective. I know plasmas tend to be reflective, but this is beyond that. I can clearly see the reflection of stainless steel appliances 20 feet behind the TV even when it not very bright outside, or when we have a moderate amount of lighting in the room at night. Actually lights and windows are even worse. These reflection dominate dark scenes and even moderately bright scenes. So if you want this TV for a room that has any windows, or of you entertain a lot and will have the room lit while watching, I don't recommend this TV. I have friends with plasma TVs that do not exhibit this much reflection, so this not simply a characteristic of plasma TVs in general.