Samsung PN60E530 Owners Thread

Glad there is now an official thread.

I posted this before, but I guess now it belongs in the right place. Enjoy!

Hello all,

I am not a professional calibrator, but I really spent a lot of time testing and tweaking this display. I figure I'd share my results with the AVS community.

I tested this tv using the “AVCHD disc AVS709” and “Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark Blu-disc” played through a Panasonic DMP-220. I also tested using a PC grayscale JPG and ICAL TV calibration game played through an Xbox 360.

I used the Spears and Munsil blue filter.

PN60E530 Settings:
Settings

Cell Light: 20
Contrast: 87
Brightness: 44
Sharpness: 0
Color: 50
Tint: G50/R50

Advanced Settings
Black Tone: Off
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Gamma: 0
Color Space: Auto
Flesh Tone: 0

Picture Options
Color Tone: Warm 2
Size: Screen Fit
Digital NR: Off
*HDMI Black Level: See Below
Film Mode: Off


White Balance: I don't have a meter, so I left these alone at the default setting of 25. I have no way to properly measure d6500 Kelvin. However, I was able to successfully reduce the "pinkish hue" some users have mentioned in their white levels by adjusting the contrast down to 87. Reds were clipping at 88 and above.

For those interested, this display failed the "jaggies" test (slight flicker during the pass-through) and the "chroma multi-burst" test (thin vertical only) on the Spears and Munsil disc. All other tests passed.

*HDMI Black Level: Flagged for RGB only. Toggle Low for while watching movies, Normal while playing games.

In addition for gamers - I can confirm the TV properly receives RGB signals via HDMI, but only through the HDMI/DVI input. Once properly calibrated to my very dim/completely dark room, the tv correctly displays 16-235 when HDMI black level is set to low and 0-255 when HDMI black level is set to normal.

Xbox 360 Video Settings
Optimal Resolution
Reference Levels: Standard
Color Space: Auto
Display Discovery: Enabled

Panasonic DMP-220 Settings
Advanced Chroma: On
Everything else: Off

Ordered one this past weekend and should be getting delivered on Thursday (if Sandy doesnt slow it down). Seemed like Samsung has gotten good reviews and the picture in store looked great, a bit dark on whites but the sports/movie clips looked great. Looking for any advice on needed breakin/adjusments. Was hoping to get an idea if it was a good buy vs other options out there. Dont need the Smart/3D features, just a good picture. It will be in a basement were the light is low and can be controlled via dimmers.

I was comparing a few. Walmart had a Vizio for the same price point ($999) that was a LED Smart tv, was thinking if I should have gone with that, Cnet had it as a great value for the 60" size. Sams/BB had an LG Plasma that had good reviews and was $798.

I will be using as our main tv for movies and regular HDTV programs/sports. What i read up and got from store reps seems to have pointed me more toward a Plasma vs an LED.....

Glad they helped!

I did run the plasma break-in slides on and off for about 100 hours before calibrating. It wasn't practical for me to run the TV 24/7 for a week like some suggest.

Periodically, you may need to adjust settings as the TV ages. There is an interesting CNET article where they had accelerated the aging process of certain plasmas to see how it affects black and white output, as well as color accuracy.

Pretty interesting - if you'd like to read it, here is the link:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20085475-1/long-term-plasma-tv-tests-show-color-black-level-changes-but-no-major-issues-yet/

There is also an update to the article - in which they accelerate the age of the plasmas another full year to see what happens.

Bottom line - There are so many factors that influence the purchase of an HDTV. I am VERY PLEASED with the performance of this set for the $ I spent on it.

I am still hoping a professional calibrator can test this model and post settings. I am particularly interested in white balance and how the pentile screen technology stacks up to traditional RGB stripe.

I AGREE GREAT SET FOR THE MONEY GREAT PICTURE AND I DO HAVE GREAT SETTINGS IF ANYONE NEEDS TO CALIBRATE THERE SET. THE ONLY THING THAT I HAVE NOTICED AND WILL SEE AS TIME GOES BY WHETHER OR NOT I CALL THE MANUFACTURE, IS THE SMALL BUZZING NOISE FROM THE BACK OF THE SET. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT IT IS THE PROCESSER DESIGN BUT STILL WE WILL SEE AND OVERALL A DECENT SET FOR A 60 INCH PLASMA.

Just an FYI for anyone within a price match window....BB and hhgregg have the set for $847-9, got my refund today and picked up a new receiver.

Im new to the plasma arena and would like to know about the slide n break inof these sets?

I just changed the video source to movies....seemed a good setting for me...not to bright or dark...evrything is as is out of box...

Where in the menu do u find all the other settings listed above....thx

I'm trying to decide between this sammy and the panny tc-p50u50. Any thoughts?

I'm trying to decide between this sammy and the panny tc-p50u50. Any thoughts?

I bought this TV last night for $850 at HH Gregg. Amazing deal and love the TV. I don't need any extras like 3D or the wifi.

Only bad thing is the sound, but I have a seperate sound system for it. Still a great deal.
Edited by noTe - 11/20/12 at 9:26am

try these settings let me know......

Cell light:20
Contrast:89
Brightness:44
Sharpness:0
Color:50
Tint: G50/R50
Black Tone: off
Dynamic Contrast: off
Gamma: 0
ColorSpace: auto
White Balance: 28, 26, 25, 25, 26, 26
Flesh tone: 0
Color tone: Warm 2
Size: screen fit
Digital Noise Reduction: 0ff
HDMI Black Level: see below
Film Mode: Off


p.s. also do you notice a small buzzing on the set i asked a salesman and he said its the processer which is normal all tv sets are different enjoy !

I just pick up this tv today. Gonna try the above settings when I have time. My question is about gaming on it. I have a man cave where most of my gaming is done, but there is also a PS3 and a Xbox 360 on this TV, Being this is my first plasma tv is there something I should do or is burn in a non issue?

Does this display happen to have a PenTile display? I know the 60E550 does have the PenTile.

I've been seriously considering this display because of the price and returning my 55EH6000 that I just purchased...

Yes - it is a pentile display.
To some - they do not like the picture. Others, it doesn't bother them.

Me personally, I cannot tell unless I am literally staring at the screen from a few inces away. The TV calibrates very well, and I am 100% happy with it.
Size/quality/value make it a steal in my book.

Hi Guys,

I have bad luck. Going to copy and paste my review from Amazon. Why did this happen? Is there a defect or something? I hate that I spent money and was able to only enjoy HDTV for a few days.

I ordered the Samsung Plasma TV (PN60E530) on November 18 and received it on the afternoon of November 26. Thanks to my friend who happens to also own a Samsung Plasma HDTV, I was able to purchase this guy for $847.99. Otherwise, I would have missed the deal. I invited him over to help with assembling a credenza (Techcraft TCL6228 - also ordered from Amazon)and placement of the TV. Once all was said and done, everything looked beautiful. The credenza and TV are a perfect match in my opinion. I fired up the TV along with my Playstation 3 and Xbox using HDMI. I enjoyed gorgeous HDTV, Blu-ray, HDDVD, Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and pretty much any content I could throw at it. The color saturation, contrast, rich blacks, and sharpness were fantastic even for this nearsighted guy. Shoot, even the static, before I had any content on the screen, looked good on this TV. I use only antenna for TV and was very pleased with the video quality. So, this went on for about 3.5 days until my TV gave out on me. It was a hard week at work and I just wanted to come home to some sweet HDTV, but was greeted with a blank screen. The TV flickers on and off like it's trying to come on, but nothing is displayed on the screen. I attempted to do some basic troubleshooting (changed power strips, power cords, outlets, and even let the TV sit for a while, disconnected from any power source) to no avail. I called Samsung technical support and spoke to a tech for about an hour. We didn't get anywhere of course and she referred me to a local TV tech. He's going to place an order for a power supply. Once it arrives, he'll schedule an appointment to come out and perform the repairs. To my dismay, the shiny, new HDTV sits atop my credenza collecting dust during the peak of college football season. I hope that everyone who owns this set takes heed. Don't get me wrong, I love my new Samsung Plasma, but didn't expect it to fail in only a few days. All I can do now is just wait and dream of being able to watch HDTV again. Tune in for an update once my power supply is replaced. Thanks for taking the time to read my review. Would have given a rating of 5 stars, but needed to take one away because of a malfunction.

Hi Jeep05,

Thanks for your reply. What do you suggest? Should I return the entire TV through Amazon or just have the power supply replaced? If I do return it, it'll be a huge inconvenience because I would have to take leave from work for the pickup and another delivery (replacement TV). Plus, I'd need help from a friend to repackage it since I live by myself. Samsung said that if all else fails, they'd replace the TV for me. The power supply replacement is just the first step. How long have you owned yours?

Since the tv is brand new and still under warranty, I'd have the tech come out and assess everything. If its the power supply, he'll replace it and go from there. You can buy online extended warranties that are reasonably priced. As Samsung said, if the power supply fix doesn't work, they'll replace it. Also, with the extended warranties, most have a "no lemon" policy, where if the tv needs three or more service calls within the warranty period, it will be replaced with the same or newer comparable model.

Thank you for your reply, Optimus Prime (I like the name). I appreciate your sound advice. I feel a lot better now after receiving feedback from some AVS gurus.

Thanks for your response. I will let you guys know how everything goes. Unfortunately, the repairs won't happen until next week. Glad your TV is still holding up. When it works, it's totally gorgeous and such a pleasure to watch.

I would not wait for samsung on a brand new tv. Call amazon for a return and they will ship out the replacement tv and on delivery of the replacement they will take the defective one out on the same day.

Does anyone have this TV set up in a brightly lit room?

I know plasmas suffer in bright light normally, but was looking for a hands on review of someone who has it setup in a family room/den type location with big windows.

Haven't seen one. Typically, in a room like that from a plasma you'll get a lot of glare, and it may not be bright enough an image. I opted to put an LCD in our family room, and the plasma in the basement.

I bought it at BB on Black Friday. Took down my 2007 Panny 77U 50 inch plasma and hung this on the wall. I have a very bright room. Two story open with 4 large windows. This plasma does remarkably well for a screen with no anti-glare. We tried Underworld yesterday and had to stop. Too much glare for a dark movie. Daytime - normal type viewing is fine. Darker movies at night with lights low is a must. IMO plasma do fine in big rooms for most movies or shows. Thanks for the settings OptimusPrime!