Our Verdict
Without a doubt, Samsung has created the best plasma TV for use in bright rooms. The Samsung F8500 Plasma TV can get almost twice as bright as the competitors while still maintaining a respectable black. There is pretty much no downside to this TV. If it is within your budget, it is a no-brainer.
- Brighter than any plasma. It is the only plasma that can be put in a bright room.
- Good anti-glare filter with very few reflections.
- Low input lag.
- Although its blacks are good, they aren't as good as in equivalent models from Panasonic.
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We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests are done with specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
The F8500 has deep blacks and good detail in the shadows. However, it is about the same as the lower-end models from Samsung. Also, the Panasonic ST60 performs slightly better in a dark environment for a significantly lower price.
Not only does it have very few reflections thanks to its anti glare filter, but it can get very bright. This is definitely the best plasma to have in a bright room. It has a subtle blue tint and some minor horizontal bars visible, though.
The horizontal viewing angle is really good, but its vertical one is limited by its anti glare filter to about 30°.
When setting the input type to PC, the input lag of the F8500 is very low.
