Samsung LEDs not good at night/ in dark?

samuelodog

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Hi,

I am moments away (days) from getting my TV.
After much advice from the good folk of AVforums,
I decided on the Panasonic 42ST50

I went to Currys to see it, and took a flash drive with Avatar in HD on it. It looked ok, but I was not blown away by it.

I then tried a 46 inch Samsung ES6300.

The picture looked amazing. I even said 'WOW'.

I just looked at reviews, the Panny gets better scores all round, but in the flesh, the samsung looked better?

Is it me?

I also saw that people say Samsung LEDs like this model do not perform well at night, in dark rooms, which is when I do most of my watching!

Is this true? Is there a setting that can accomodate this?

Please help! I have 1000 to spend, and I need to get it right!


Thanks

:lease:
Sam
 
In stores there tvs are set up in dynamic/shop mode. Our eyes are naturally drawn to a brighter image.
Get the sammy home and no doubt the shop mode will make your eyes hurts...or melt lol.
Leds have backlight bleed and.haloing which becomes obvious in low light.
My advise go see these sets in demo room and make your mind up.
Some Richer sounds stores have demo rooms. TPS have the Panasonics on display set for a home enviroment.
 
In stores there tvs are set up in dynamic/shop mode. Our eyes are naturally drawn to a brighter image.
Get the sammy home and no doubt the shop mode will make your eyes hurts...or melt lol.
Leds have backlight bleed and.haloing which becomes obvious in low light.
My advise go see these sets in demo room and make your mind up.
Some Richer sounds stores have demo rooms. TPS have the Panasonics on display set for a home enviroment.

It was me who switched the Samsung onto Dynamic mode!

But the picture did come to life.

I have my own home panny on dynamic mode too.

But when I played around with the
Panny Plasma, nothing blew me away.

Anyone have the Samsung 6300 or know what it's like. Its so hard to make these decisions!

Thanks
 
The problem with LED-LCDs in dark rooms is the risk of backlight bleed. Plasmas perform far better in a dark environment not a bright, strip lighting illuminated Currys.
If you can get the 1 in a million that has NO clouding, then cool

Where do you live - can you get to a better AV store like Sevenoaks S&V or another independent with a proper demo room - whether you'll find those models I don't know - but I am sure they'll be able to part you from more money ;)

There will be long owners threads - remember reviewers are expert, have all the kit, the right environment and see lots of TVs so part of their feedback will be based on comparison which most people cannot do...I'd go with the reviews if cannot discern / decide

However, if YOU like the Samsung and not the Panasonic, then there's the answer :) It's you who'll be enjoying it - just don't read about potential issues and then go looking for them, whatever you do ;)
There is NO perfect TV for every person, room and use - the ST50 isn't faultless, nor the Samsung - they have their compromises, just depends which you can live with :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks,

I have got a date with Richer Sounds to see both in the demo room.

Cheers for the advice!
 
Very good, make sure they draw the curtains :D
 
hi mate I'm in same situation as you tried them both picture was good on pany but samsung made me go wow by brightness,went in to my local comet today to have a browse the es7000 es8000 got 20 per cent off plus 2 glasses and samsung tablet,best deal I have seen them for for while es7000 ÂŁ1350 es8000 ÂŁ1519 46 inch.
 
Hi mate,

I havent even looked at the other higher end ones because I am priced out.

I will just have to trust the demo next week, I'll take my time and play around, but I did find a very good deal on the Panny - 815 with two free glasses and 5 yr warranty.

If only the picture on the panny blew me away like the samsung did.

I will try to find a setting on the Panny that achieves this - if I can't find it - it will have to be the samsung- despite rumours of clouding etc.
 
Just so you know dynamic modes may wow you with brightness and colour but you lose a ton off detail and colours are way way out. Each to their own though.
 
good luck with your demo hope you have better luck with rs then me travelled 70 miles waste of time gutted,only have currys comet around here try tv's.
com might have the offer on the es you are looking it save you ÂŁ150 ÂŁ200.
I like both tv's samsungs bezel frame looks stunning brighter better smart tv but panny had truer picture more detail and looks good 3d.decisions decisions
 
Cheers,

I spent a long time in Currys, found the EH6030 looked just as good as the 6300, 300 quid cheaper.

I have football, SD, HD and 3d content on a memory stick to try in RS next week.
 
Hi, i am also in the same position, i spent ages in currys looking at the EH6030 and at panasonic centre looking at the ST50. As you found, despite the great reviews of the panny, i though the sammy looked better. I realise there could be a difference under lower lighting conditions...

Let us know how you go on eh? Cos i cant find any reviews of the sammy anywhere!

Chrs
 
Hi, i am also in the same position, i spent ages in currys looking at the EH6030 and at panasonic centre looking at the ST50. As you found, despite the great reviews of the panny, i though the sammy looked better. I realise there could be a difference under lower lighting conditions...

Let us know how you go on eh? Cos i cant find any reviews of the sammy anywhere!

Chrs

Hi,

I just went to Richer sounds and demo'd the p42ST50 and the Samsung EH6030 and ES6300.

The samsungs, despite the cost difference, had identical image. At first, even with the lights dimmed, I was still thinking the samsungs were better, but the more I looked, watching footie, Hd content, SD etc, I began to see...

The Samsungs began to look fake. One had clouding, they were garish. They impressed at first, but the more shows I stuck on, the colours looked off, the PQ 'too much'.

The plasma, whilst not blowing your socks off - had a smooth, clear image.

I think it is like buying wine. Sometimes you take a mouthful of an Australian wine, and you are like 'wow - that's a BIG wine' and by the third glass, you feel a bit used, a bit cheated. It has begun to show its cheap undercarriage.

The Panny plasma is like a fine wine, you need to open it, and let it breathe, and by the end of the bottle, you feel niiiice.

Needless to say I went with the Panny, against my own prediction. I will let you know how it fares at home.
 
Chrs for the info m8, it hasnt made my decision any easier though! ;) 42 v 46 hmmmm
 
Chrs for the info m8, it hasnt made my decision any easier though! ;) 42 v 46 hmmmm

I'll break it down for you.

The sammys grab attention, but in the dark demo room - they looked garish. They also had problems coping with Apocalypto HD. There were motion issues and skipping. There was also backlight bleed and clouding issues.

The Panny at first looked less impressive - due to the loudness of the samsungs |(incidentally the samsung only looked good on 'dynamic' - but they also changed the colours and made it all look a bit weird. - The panny soon came into its own, and the upscaling was better, and the PQ superior.

The size thing wasnt an issue really, 42 and 46 are so similar, I went for PQ and build over size.

Oh - and when viewed from an angle, any angle at all - the samsungs looked bad.
 
I'll break it down for you.

The sammys grab attention, but in the dark demo room - they looked garish. They also had problems coping with Apocalypto HD. There were motion issues and skipping. There was also backlight bleed and clouding issues.

The Panny at first looked less impressive - due to the loudness of the samsungs |(incidentally the samsung only looked good on 'dynamic' - but they also changed the colours and made it all look a bit weird. - The panny soon came into its own, and the upscaling was better, and the PQ superior.

The size thing wasnt an issue really, 42 and 46 are so similar, I went for PQ and build over size.

Oh - and when viewed from an angle, any angle at all - the samsungs looked bad.

Your experience is exactly why I and others go on and on about demo rooms.:smashin:
 
I bought the panny, its ok. I have issues with the process getting the '5 year warranty' and 'free glasses' though. The amount of messing about required is obviously designed so a lot of people just wont bother.

I've had 2 panasonic CRT's, a full technics (panasonic) audio stack, and a Lumix camera, but when companies start messing me about it just makes me that bit more inclined to look elsewhere.

/rant [off]

Chrs for the review though!
 
To me this just sums up to plasma or not to plasma. If you like a natural picture that is accurate and represent what was intended you just can't beat a good quality plasma. Especially if you viewing is mainly in the evening in a non brightly lit room.

I like the wine analogy made earlier, it is true.
 
Rappy said:
I bought the panny, its ok. I have issues with the process getting the '5 year warranty' and 'free glasses' though. The amount of messing about required is obviously designed so a lot of people just wont bother.

I've had 2 panasonic CRT's, a full technics (panasonic) audio stack, and a Lumix camera, but when companies start messing me about it just makes me that bit more inclined to look elsewhere.

/rant [off]

Chrs for the review though!

What issues you having? My retailer gave me 2 forms with all the info filled out i just checked it was right and posted it. 4wk later i got my warranty from panny.
 

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