The 43 inch Plasma screen produces deep rich colours with excellent black levels and a good sharp picture. On a 1080p high definition source, such as a BluRay or the BBC HD channels, the picture quality is impressive and looks better than rival LCD televisions.
The tv is NOT (as some claim) full HD, it is in fact a 720p HD set.This is quite common for large screen Plasma sets (particularly 3D models) because at a typical viewing distance the difference between 720p and 1080p is difficult for most people to notice, and because the majority of broadcast material is actually in 720p as are most high definition console games (XBox 360 games, for example, are upscaled to display at 1080p resolution but are in reality rendered in 720p resolution).
But, getting back to the tv and on a 1080 source it performs its magic to reduce the resolution to 720 very well, to the extent that you'd be hard pressed to find a noticeable difference in quality between this and a 1080p model, good news for those after a big screen on a small budget.
If you just want a decent high definition tv without 3D you might want to stop reading now because you can get a similar sized tv without 3D for less, the key reason to buy this set or something similar is the addition of 3D, which we'll discuss in a moment.
The only real drawback to this television is the sound. It can be loud when needed, that's a good thing, but it never quite sounds perfect. It lacks something, it can be heard and it's not annoying but the sound quality is sub par when compared to the picture and although it's fine for everyday use, and easy enough to get used to, you may find yourself wanting to plug in a surround sound system when watching your favourite movies.
That said however this tv really comes into its own when it enters the third dimension.
This tv uses Active Shutter glasses, some people love these types of glasses and some don't. Yes that's right there are two types of 3D in the tv world (but don't worry, your 3D games and videos will work with whichever you prefer).
There are passive glasses which halve the resolution of your 3D tv when in 3D mode and then there are active shutter glasses, the method the Samsung uses and which retain the full resolution which produces a clearer more defined and better quality image.
Some people find this to be a problem, some glasses are said to flicker or cause nausea. The truth is that the glasses with this set are very good and even though I am sensitive to flickering (some flourescent lights and strobing for example) I have not found any flickering evident with the tv in 3D mode.
If you stare really hard at a paused image with lots of bright white in it then flick your view from one side of the screen to another you can make yourself have a sort of flicker effect momentarily as your eyes refocus but you have to go out of your way to do so.
The only flicker issues I have found actually come from buying additional glasses that were rechargeable, for some reason the rechargeable set had a tiny flicker noticeable when looking quickly from one part of the screen to another which while only noticed in such a situation was notable enough that the rechargeables are relegated to be a backup should the batteries in the glasses shipped with the television run out.
So flickering, what's it like? The fact is the 3D flicker just is not noticeable except on the rechargeable glasses and if you stare at a particular image with bright elements and shift views very quickly. Watching 3D content you really don't notice anything but is the 3D itself any good?
The answer is yes. Avatar, for example, really shines in 3D. Not a fan of the two dimensional version I have to say that watching it as it was filmed, in the third dimension, is like watching a completely different movie and serves as an excellent demonstration of the sets 3D prowess.
If you're a fan of the Olympics then you'll want to check out the BBC's 3D coverage of the Judo, volleyball and gymnastics which add a definite sense of depth, and in some cases a feeling of almost being there, to the events shown in their nightly 3D highlights broadcast but remember that when it comes to films some 3D titles are better than others.
For example the latest Transformers is somewhat underwhelming in 3D because as with a number of big budget films it plays it safe and doesn't really utilise the full power of 3D in case it causes some of its viewers to feel nauseous which is a shame, but of course not the fault of the tv you watch it on.
Most of the big Hollywood releases try and go more for a feeling of depth in 3D but don't be too concerned as there are still plenty of well made 3D films out there including the love them or hate them final destination movies (it's quite hard not to wince when you see a sailing mast thrust out of the screen toward you as it impales a helpless victim dropped on it from a bridge that's breaking apart).
The television can view side by side (sbs), above and below and of course BluRay 3D content but it also has a clever party trick that increases the amount of 3D you can find to watch by converting two dimensional video into that of the third.
Using it's closely guarded technology, widely acknowledged as superior to that of other manufacturers, it guesses at what should be nearer the viewer, and what should be further away, by deconstructing every frame of video and then analysing every pixel that makes it in such a way that it can guess quite well where to place things on screen relative to the viewer.
I still have no idea quite how they do it but it is different to how other tv sets convert 2D content and does produce more effective results. Of course it can never beat content filmed in 3D, and some things don't convert very well, but in general it does do a good job of converting and it adds another string to the sets 3D bow.
One type of conversion it excelled at was the first test I threw at it, Top Gears Stig driving a supercar round their track, surprisingly effective so whatever Samsung are doing they certainly seem to be doing it well.
Other than 3D video what else does this set offer?
It lets you play a wide variety of different video formats from either a usb stick or a networked dlna device including those in avi, mp4 and mkv containers whether they use the Xvid, DivX, H264, X264 or WMV video codecs which a lot of tv sets have trouble playing.It also plays music files and allows you to view pictures of course and if you happen to use an Android phone or tablet you can download a free app from the Play store that lets you use your touch screen android device to control the tv (if the tv is connected to the same wifi network as your android at the time).
It only has two hdmi inputs, which might put potential buyers off, but if you're in the market for a good all round high definition tv that can play films off a usb stick, or dlna device, but can also play 3D content as it was meant to be seen then this is definitely one set to consider and certainly the best 3D set at this price range.
