Samsung PN64E8000 64in. Plasma Smart TV

Product: Samsung PN64E8000GF 64in. Plasma 8000 Series Smart TV
Provided By: Samsung Canada
Price: $2899 MSRP at time of publication

Introduction:

It has been quite a while since we have looked at a TV, but today we are taking a look at the Samsung PN64E8000 series TV.  This isn't Samsung's thinnest TV, but it is probably one of their most feature-rich TVs and one that will have a future life through upgrades.  The PN64E8000 TV features Plasma technology, is 3D-capable and has a long list of features including a voice-controlled remote, integrated camera, lots of apps and more.  This thing is a beast and we intend to test it from all angles today in our review.

At 64 inches, this is the largest TV that I've had the pleasure of spending some quality time with.  Thankfully, the release of Halo 4 coincided with this TV review so I was able to play a lot of Microsoft's latest blockbuster on this TV.  I did try it in both 3D and 2D modes as well - but now I'm getting ahead of myself.

First Impressions:

This TV arrived in a non-descript box with a bunch of the features and specifications printed on the outside.  It is a standard brown box without anything really all that exciting printed on it.  With that in mind, we quickly stripped off the box and proceeded to setup the TV to make it ready for viewing media and playing games.

Now you can get a better idea of what this TV is about.  The 8000-Series is one of the high-end SmartTV lines from Samsung and while the front looks plain, there is certainly more to this TV than originally meets the eye.

While it doesn't have a cool slide-out panel like the 9000 series TV, it does come equipped with some pretty interesting extras.

Bundled Goodies:

Most of the time, a TV bundle includes a remote; and maybe an HDMI cable if you're really lucky.  The PN64E8000 comes with a bunch of extra goodies that make the large price tag a bit easier to swallow.  This bundle actually adds some value to the entire package.

IR Blaster

3D Glasses

The bundle includes a couple of remote controls - one with an interesting voice and touch interface as well as the traditional remote.  Also included is an "IR Blaster" that allows the one remote to control other non-Samsung devices - even with voice control.  This TV supports 3D content as well as up-converting 2D content to 3D, and Samsung has thrown in a couple of pairs of 3D glasses to boot.  These glasses take batteries which will add to the overall cost of ownership, but as you can see they are fairly flimsy and you probably won't wear them much anyway.

Remotes Up Close:

The two remotes that are included are quite interesting.  The first remote is the standard Samsung number that includes all the main buttons you'll need to quickly and easily perform all the major TV functions.  It has buttons for almost everything - and while this is a good idea, it may take you a while to hunt a particular feature button down if you're not familiar with Samsung remotes.

The second remote is the "Smart Touch" remote that includes only a few buttons - such as power, volume, channel, menu, return, microphone and SmartHub.  The microphone allows you to quickly access the voice control options on the TV.  We'll get into those more in a little bit.  The entire upper charcoal area of the remote is like a touch-pad on your laptop.  You can scroll menus, make selections and more by swiping your fingers over this area.  If moving your fingers is simply too much effort, press the microphone button to initiate the speech features of your TV to make things even easier.

Smart Touch Remote

On the next page, we'll take a closer look at the unit and cover the features before we post up the specs and get into testing.