E8000 vs VT50

"worth" is in the eye of the beholder.....IMO it wouldnt be worth that much of a difference, but its not my money and I wont be watching it......

The VT50 is great and all, but it's PQ differences are definitely not worth $1,600 more than the same sized Sammy E8000 !!

From what ive read the PQ of the E6500 is identical to the E8000, while the VT50 is clearly better than the ST50.

I've had both the 60ST50 and the 60E6500 - and the PQ of the ST50 is definately better, blacks are blacker and picture pops a bit more due to the contrast.

So in my experience i would think it would be VT50 > ST50 > E8000 = E6500

Worth $1600? I'd say maybe depending on how much you value PQ since (to me) the E8000 would still lose to the ST50

Id say the VT50 is 2 classes above the E8000.

Closing the value gap, id consider an ST50.

They are to me. To each his own.

e6500 and the e800o share the same panel, but they do not equal in picture.....The 8000 offers a slight improvement over the 7000 as well.....of course what you put is personal opinion so its all moot anyways

The E6500 and E8000 perform nearly identical to each other. Both have 10pt white balance controls and a color management system. And both use the same panels so they both have the same black levels and contrast ratios. Cnet does say that the video processing isn't quite as good as the E8000, but they both seem to be better than the Panasonic plasmas. In black levels and contrast, the Panasonic plasmas trump the Samsungs though.
The VT50 can be calibrated significantly better than the ST50 because it has more picture controls; but as far as visual differences, they are fairly similar, too.

@OP, both sets have their strengths and weaknesses. The VT50 is much brighter and has better black levels and contrast, so the picture quality in general is better and it will perform better in bright rooms. The E8000 has better video processing, is less susceptible to image retention, and is obviously cheaper. $1600 is the quite the price gap... I'm surprised it's so big. IMO, the ST50 or GT50 offer comparable (and arguably better) performance than the E8000 and should be priced closer. They'll be a bit worse as far as color accuracy, but they have essentially the same excellent black levels, contrast and brightness as the VT50.
Edited by rahzel - 1/25/13 at 2:29pm

I know that 3-D is not a game breaker for most folks, but that might be a consideration. I still am not clear as to the difference in 3-D PQ, but it is my general understanding that Panny did not get it quite right this last year in the 3-D Dept., and that Samsung technology is better there. Someone please agree or disagree w/ me and elaborate ! Thanks.

The 3D on samsungs *seem* better - the shadow detail dont get crushed as much and on 3D seems to tint really red on the Pannys. Crosstalk is slightly better on the Samsung, in that it happens 1% of the time where the Panasonics maybe 2% - which you can improve by setting it to 48hz mode.

Last night i was watching Tron 3D and there were a few scenes where the colors seemed to show better, and i could make shadow detai a bit better on the Samsung.

Again these are very very minimal improvements - both are good still. Just as the Panny is better in blacks/contrast/2D PQ - the Samsung is better in 3D imo.

But my Samsung buzzes going to try and swap it for another - or try and bargain down an ST50

I checked out the VT50 and E8000, and it seemed the VT50 had a bit of a yellowish cast to the picture while the Samsung E8000 was a bit bluer. I think the Samsung somehow had the more pleasing picture which has confused me, because I was hoping it would be a "no brainer" that the VT50 was better and I could just buy it and be done. I don't like the Samsung "alien" stand and do like that the Panasonic has another 1" of screen.

i think so ,good advise,that Samsung technology is better there. Someone please agree or disagree w/ me and elaborate ! Thanks.

Unfortunately, judging TVs in store is a bad way to compare. They're usually not set to their optimal mode, and they're not viewed in a typical home viewing environment.

In 2012, the Panasonics and Samsungs had very little difference in PQ between their top and mid level lines (ex, ST50 vs VT50, E6500 vs E8000). 2013 will be different it appears.

Seeing as Samsung basially did away with the "mid tier" I would think so ;)but I do know what youa re saying and I agree

I have the 65VT50 and trust me the picture is beautiful. That said, I was at Best Buy the other day and it was just as you described. The VT looked dimmer and slightly yellow cast. The Sammy next to it looked blue-ish. Looked like the VT was set for Warm2 and the Sammy was set on a Cool color temp.

Anyway these set have tons of adjustments and on my VT the whites look white, snow looks snowy white, not yellow or blue.

It really remains to be seen though just how much better the ZT60 is than the VT60. Will it be "slight" or greater?

My buddy has a vt50 an I have a pn60e6500. To my eyes his def. has a brighter picture with more pop but mine has a more natural picture to it. I don't really notice a difference in black levels but then I run mine in a dark basement all the time while his is in their living room so environments being equal his would prob. have better black lvls.

everyone's eyes are different so just judge with yours which one you think is best for the money.

I was back at BB a couple of days ago and went into the menu of the VT50. It was set to THX Cinema w/Warm 2. I set it to custom and the yellow cast was gone.

I think if you have good source, the vt gives you a beautiful picture. It doesn't do so well with mediocre source; Samsung does better there. The Samsung is more consistently good. The vt will give you more wow moments but also more not so good moments. It depends on what your mix of content is.

The yellow cast, that's probably the more accurate picture. Most people aren't used to it and prefer a cooler (more bluish) color temp. You can change that easily.

$1600 is a tough sell though.

Ask for the remotes and try to go through the various presets . Try to see as many different content as you can. Then go with your eyes.

With a $1600 difference, I'd say pull the trigger on the Samsung. They are right on top of each other when it comes to picture quality and it is really more of a subjective argument between the two (the the VT would probably get more love from videophiles).

Don't forget about 50 Hz refresh rate material issue in the Panny, still not resolved in 2012 models.

I've always felt that the e line was a step back in performance from the the d line so id usually recommend the 2012 pannys but hey for $1600 less , the e8000 does look a lot more attractive to me. Save that $1600 for audio upgrades