Samsung UN55D8000 LED TV vs. Samsung PN51D8000 Plasma TV Review and Technology Comparison

UND8000 vs. PND8000

by Phil Conner

It's not often we do a comparison between the same brand in top of the line 1st tier products of different technologies. But why not? It's one of the best questions you can ask when considering which high end TV to purchase. Brand is important. Technology may be more so.

Plasma and LED TVs exhibit very different traits and quality characteristics.

Picture Quality

Viewing Angle

No contest here. Viewing angles on plasma TVs continue to be far superior to their LED counterparts. Viewing angle on the PN51D8000 is perfect, while the UN55D8000 contrast starts decreasing somewhat at around 25 degrees off center. Of course, screen uniformity is perfect on the PND8000 as it would be with nearly all plasma TVs. There are screen uniformity issues on the UND8000 – especially some light bleed near the left and right edges. Turning down the backlight remedies this issue.

Advantage: PN51D8000 Plasma

A shot from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on the PN59D8000 Plasma.

Screen Uniformity

Of course, screen uniformity is perfect on the PND8000 as it would be with nearly all plasma TVs. There are screen uniformity issues on the UND8000 – especially some light bleed near the left and right edges. Turning down the backlight remedies this issue.

Advantage: PN51D8000 Plasma

Picture Quality Dark Room/Bright Room

This is a new test category. In a dark room the PND8000 plasma provides a more realistic, cinema like experience with rich, vibrant colors. However, it may not be bright enough for a room with lots of sunlight streaming in. In a bright room the UND8000 LED backlight is as strong as any on the market. This TV can get very bright to combat even direct sunlight in a room.

Dark Room Advantage: PND8000 Plasma
Bright Room Advantage: UND8000 LED

A shot from the 3D Blu Ray of 2011's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit video.

Brightness

The UND8000 is tough to match with any TV on the market and a plasma sure will not compete with it's extremely bright LED Edge lighting.

Advantage: UND8000 LED

Black Levels/Contrast

Regardless of which light meter reader we use the UND8000 measures far higher contrast ration. It really gets up there on the whites, even more so than other LED TVs. And the black levels are deeply saturated. The extreme contrast ratios in the UND8000 also show up in the 3-dimensionality of 2-dimensional picture.

Advantage: UND8000 LED

Color

Even though the UND8000 LED is very bright and with tons of contrast, colors are not as rich and pure as with the PND8000 plasma. Colors on the Samsung plasma are so pleasing and better-than-real you just cant stop staring at them.

Advantage: PND8000 Plasma

The Smart Hub internet television feature is included in both models.

Features

Appearance

Both TVs have the chrome quadrapod stand, which you will either really like, or wont like it at all. The UND8000 screen goes nearly all the way with a super thin chrome colored framing bezel of half an inch. The PND8000 bezel color is termed Titanium black but looks more like a brushed charcoal to us. We like both looks a lot. The UND8000 is more stunning. The PND8000 is more refined.

Advantage: Even, though they are very different

Menu System and Remote Control

Both TVs have the uber cool full QWERTY remote control with web browser. Both have a 10 point white balance settings control, but there is more control over these settings with the UND8000 than with the plasma. The white balance controls on the plasma are very restrictive. The menu very similar except that the UND8000 has controls for judder control (Auto Motion Plus) and the backlight control – which are both very important to utilize.

Advantage: Even

The excellent 2 sided QWERTY remote is also included with both models.

Calibration and Picture Setting

Both TVs calibrated very easily to D6500K but the restrictive nature of the white balance controls on the PND8000 plasma cause some concern. There is more range in the color options on the UND8000 LED and though the plasma exhibits better color, we like the options of the UND8000 better. The backlight control is also very useful in negating any side effects from the screen uniformity issues found on the UND8000.

Advantage: UND8000

Audio Performance

The UND8000 has punch sound volume and good speaker quality as does the PND8000. They both exceed most TVs on the market in sound quality and volume output.

Advantage: Even

Price/Value Proposition

Actually the 59" PN59D8000 plasma is less expensive by $150 right now than the UN55D8000 LED with 4" to gain. So the PN59D8000 is quite a bit better deal than the UN55D8000. The two TVs have similar ratings by our review team editors. However, there is no size to size comparison. Samsung is smart enough not to compete with itself in that way.

Advantage: PND8000 Plasma

D8000 Plasma Category Wins: 5

D8000 LED Category Wins: 4

Draws: 3