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I like the Samsung in general. The sound quality is not great - no room for room-facing speakers. I haven't used all the features yet (like the 3d), just got it installed - which was not easy. The screen really should NOT be touched. Even your fingertip will leave a mark and the cleaner sold at Frye's in Auburn, WA was .00. Samsung recommends water only, but I have a friend who damaged a flat screen trying to clean it, so be careful. I can't get the remote working well, sometimes the TV comes on and not the cable and vice versa. There must be a fix for that, but I don't know about it yet. We have some tiling in the picture every time we watch. We are shopping for a sound bar. This was our first big purchase through Amazon and the process and service was flawless. I would recommend Amazon to anyone and not just for books. We will be buying a sound bar from Amazon. Love them.

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This is my second projector, the first being about 7 years old.

This Optima is amazing - I use it with a 104 inch screen in a multi-media family room not dedicated to home theater. My use is in partial light, and with 2,500 lumens, this Optima HD66 blasts through the ambient light without a problem. Just watched a college football game starting @ noon in HD and we're amazed with the quality and enjoyment of the game.

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Let me save you the time in case you don't want to read this detailed review, then just hear this caveat out: "The PN58C7000 is the GREATEST deal you can possibly get for a new 3D HDTV".

There's so much detail for this review, I don't even know where to begin! It would be helpful to state a precondition that this plasma ultimately replaced a Samsung 42" 720p plasma, which was tipping the scale at 6 years old, but still had an incredible picture for its time. Within the last several months, I spent a lot of time watching 1080p content on my friend's TV, and started noticing the difference. If anyone out there is not a believer that 1080p will blow your old fabulous 720p set away, believe it as it will.

This was one heck of a quest. Let's rewind the clocks a bit as this all started back in December 2008, when I was visiting ABT checking out their newest HDTV lineup. I had been itching to get a new TV, and having had a plasma all these years, I was determined on getting a plasma replacement as the reviews usually include them on the "best HDTVs" list. Anyway, if anyone has been to ABT, then you'll know that by the furniture/appliance area at the entrance of the store, they have home theater seating to sample, and usually have an incredible HDTV on display. Well I remember looking at the regular LCD/Plasma "row display" (near the TV/Audio sections), and looked over by this area to see 3 TVs lined up on the wall. To say the least, those TVs had the BEST picture of any set in the entire store. As I approached, I could see the words "Panasonic" and "THX" enlarged on the wall. They were truly the most magnificent displays I had seen at the time, matched only by the Kuro (which they also had on display in the projector room). Well as it turned out, the TV series was the infamous Panasonic TH-PZ800U. They had a 42, 50, and 58" screen all in a row of 3. I instantly fell in love with the 58" model. I was shocked how much larger the 58" is compared to the 42", which is what I had.

Low and behold, the 800U from Panasonic was CNET's TV of the year, and the second highest rated TV ever, second only to the Pioneer Kuro. Now let's fast forward to January 2010. Since seeing that TV at that time, I instantly was a Panasonic fanboy; I had no choice really now that they were the largest manufacturer of plasmas. I followed the V10, G10, and Z1, all of which received serious accolades. I came close to pulling the trigger on the 54G10 many times, but decided to wait until CES 2010. Boy am I glad I did! With the release of 3DTVs and HDMI 1.4, I did not want to buy an obsolete model. Another major milestone I'll never forget reading about was the infamous CNET/AVS articles regarding the Panasonic "rising blacks" issue. More shocking was Panasonic's arrogance that this issue was expected with no fix. This totally destroyed Panasonic's reputation with me. An entire year of following Panasonic plasmas went down the drain.

At that point, I had given up hope on plasmas, and thus started a new quest: LED. I looked at the UN55B6000, B7000, and B8000 models. Recently I came close to buying the UN55C7000 (3D model), and had a chance to get an awesome deal; actually I would have saved almost this route. Seeing the TV in person really changes you though, the flashlighting (in the corners) and image ghosting was noticeable in the store. The 240hz feature was unbearable as well (soap opera effect). To me, 240hz feels like someone is fast forwarding the scene 1-2x on a DVD. I have no idea why people are pretending they don't see it. I eventually came to terms to getting the Vizio VF552XVT, but something held me back. The picture looked okay in the store, but perhaps it was the design of the TV. I mean, it's really an ugly TV, how can its design even compare with that of Samsung? It's almost a whopping 5 inches thick, which in today's day and age, is just unacceptable. My 6 year old plasma is exactly 3 inches. I felt this would be a downgrade from what I already have as I wanted some appeal as well.

That was one part as to why I didn't want the Vizio. The other was 3D. I have been following 3D for quite awhile now, and originally didn't plan on being an adopter because of the lack of content. However, after seeing that the price deviation from 2D to 3D TVs had dropped to about 0, it was a no brainer. The hard part was choosing LED or Plasma for 3D. After reading numerous threads from owners of both LED and Plasma, I came to the conclusion that plasma was a better choice for 3D, mainly due to its response time. This made me ecstatic as I had originally thought plasma was totally dead. I mean, how could it not be? Check out this list of the only makers of today's plasmas:

1. Samsung = buzzzzzzzz
2. LG = gets mediocre reviews for its subpar quality, and has a mirror screen finish for antiglare
3. Panasonic (the king of plasma) = rising black issue; unimpressive designs (with the exception of the Z1)

I considered the LG PK750 (after reading CNET's review), but couldn't find enough positive reviews; I don't believe I've seen an LG plasma consistently listed on CNET's top 5 plasmas list, or even LED for that matter. I also considered the Samsung B860, as I saw this in person. The B860 was one of the reasons I kept hope alive with plasma. To me, the B860 has an excellent picture, being compared to various LEDs and the Panasonic V10. I even compared it to the PN58C8000 at Best Buy (the 8000 was on the bottom; B860 on top), and honest to god if I couldn't tell which model was which, I probably would've chosen the B860 for its deep blacks compared to the grays of the C8000. I also looked at the VT20/VT25 from Panasonic, but the price premium is exorbitant (close to 0 more than the Samsung). Plus I could care less for the 2 included movies that you get (Ice Age and Coraline). Besides price, seeing the marketing ad from Panasonic that their plasma is an "ultraslim design" at 3.6 inches, is a total joke to me. The Samsung PN58C7000 is 1.4" thick. Coming from a 3" thick TV that was 6 years old, and seeing Samsung's museum style models, ultraslim to me now means under 1.5 inches, or even the new Samsung LED C9000 at 0.25 inches! Panasonic needs to go back to the drawing board on this. Sony also suffers from this pitfall. Their new flagship XBR60LX900, which costs ,500, claims "ultraslim design" at 3.625 inches. Seriously, who are they kidding???

In my humble opinion, if 3DTVs weren't becoming mainstream, I would have given plasmas an expiration date. I feel that 3D is a game changer for plasma. Panasonic won the Best of Show CES award for 3D, and the VT25 is listed as the top TV on CNET, and for 3D. Almost every review I have read comparing LED to Plasma for 3D, I have heard of the same issue: ghosting and blooming for LEDs. Plasmas have an unparalleled ability for response time, which is essential for fast motion 3D. I haven't heard one person NOT complain about image ghosting and response time with an LED 3D set. One of my friends has the UN55C8000 3D LED (which is the flagship Samsung LED that costs ,000 more than my C7000), and even he admitted it has ghosting and artefact issues, as well as flashlighting. To say the least, prior to 3D and Panasonic blacks issues, I was ready to abandon ship on plasma technology. Then the Samsung PN58C7000 came along. This was it, and my quest was over. After 18 months of searching for the perfect TV, I now have it. The design is unparalleled, the image quality is spectacular (Avatar looks just as good as it did when I saw it in theaters), and the set is future proof with HDMI 1.4 and 3D. All packed together for a remarkable price of close to ,800. We come back to my original statement: "The PN58C7000 is the GREATEST deal you can possibly get for a new 3D HDTV". Enough said. The price to performance ratio is just monolithic.

I should mention that this TV was bundled with the free glasses and C6900 BD player. That's right, FREE. It's almost as if you're getting paid to take a 3DTV off their hands. However, if anyone is curious, I would have done the combo deal with BD player and the free glasses. Why wouldn't I? The kit costs 0 on its own (glasses 0 each). You also can't find Monsters vs Aliens 3D anywhere except eBay, where the price can go up to an astronomical 0. You'd be a fool not to jump in on that deal. As far as I know, Monsters vs Aliens was the first 3D blu ray in existence, and is only included in the exclusive bundle from Samsung. Even if you somehow already own a 3D BD player (like the PS3 which to date does not have the 3D firmware...), you're still better off buying the BD player to get the free kit.

3D Glasses - they are very comfortable and sturdy (except for the arms which seem flimsy). They have a 1 year warranty, so I hope their durability proves the test of time. The nice feature I like is the glasses turn off when contact with the 3D emitter is lost and instantaneously reactivate when the emitter is back in focus (this happened when I was laying on my couch and turned my head away). They also power off when there is no 3D content playing through the TV, upconversion included. Since they are battery operated, this is important. Lastly, you cannot power them on at all until the TV is in 3D mode, which is a really nice power saving feature.

BD-C6900 - an awesome BD unit. The BD discs load up as fast as my old Sony reference DVD player. Also, my friend's first generation Samsung BD/HD DVD player is so old that it takes close to a minute to load up. That's how my old Toshiba HD-A1 (HD DVD) player was. Thank the Gods that you can load a movie in under 15 seconds! The audio is also excellent. I have the HDMI going directly to my TV, and am using the 7.1 multichannel inputs on my receiver. The sound was extremely crisp on my test BDs. I'm pretty shocked at the quality of analog inputs. On my friend's older Samsung BD/HD DVD player, the 7.1 analog inputs sound very dull. A pleasant surprise. I did an A/B test of using optical audio versus multichannel analog, and decided there was too much detail lost when using optical. With bass management being a potential issue, I liked using analog so much I will just jack up the volume on my subwoofer when watching BDs. Eventually I am planning on upgrading to an HDMI 1.4 receiver.

To address the common questions and/or complaints I have read about the C7000:

1. Buzz - I have heard horror stories about this as this is the biggest downfall of any Samsung plasma (my wife's PN42C450 has a low buzz that can be heard on mute). Some can hear an annoying buzz over normal volume. One extreme was comparing the buzz to their refrigerator. Unbelievable how a TV can be manufactured like this! Does mine buzz? Well, I would say no instinctively. Why? Because it does buzz SLIGHTLY, and I mean slightly. Can I hear it with the slightest ambient noise? Not at all. In fact, the only way the buzz is heard is by placing my ear a half-inch away from the screen in the middle. If it is dead silent in the room, and you step back 6 inches, you won't hear a peep. Does that qualify this set as a buzzer? I honestly doubt it. My old plasma buzzes louder. Perhaps it's the fact that I have a 1500 watt amp powering my speakers, but I assure you that if you watch the news at the lowest of levels, you will not hear a buzz. When I started reading about the Samsung buzz issues, I put my old plasma on mute one day, and low and behold there was a buzz.

In fact, the buzz on my former plasma is actually 100 times louder than on the C7000. Even on my old set, with the tiniest bit of audio from the TV, you can't hear it at all. If I can't hear it watching regular TV, then I doubt it will be an issue when I watch with my home theater at 75-80 decibels. It's true, all (or most) plasmas have a buzz. This is something I wasn't aware of (I'm the only plasma owner I know). However, I never noticed it in 6 years until I heard complaints about Samsung. I can't tell you how worried I was about my set being a buzzer (which is why this issue was listed first). God must have blessed me with a non-buzzer. Honestly, I hope Samsung addresses this. For a TV at this price point, you SHOULD NOT have to gamble with a 50/50 chance of getting a buzzer. I have heard that most of the earlier models that have a build date of April or May are susceptible. June and beyond should be better. I don't know what my build date is as the box it came with was hauled away.

2. Lack of wifi - I'm not sure why this is a complaint. You can buy a 100FT Cat5 cable for to run to your modem. Wifi will add a higher premium to the TV, as will the separate wifi dongle. vs ...hmm, I wonder??? I'll pass. Not only is wired ethernet cheaper, you will have the best possible and stable connection to the internet for streaming. Period. Don't buy into the wifi fad, unless you absolutely need it (plaster walls; multiple levels, etc).

3. Motion Judder Canceller (MJC) - I can't BELIEVE how overhyped this is! I fired up the TV expecting the motion judder canceller to look like a 240hz LED (I absolutely detest the cheesy soap opera effect of LCDs), and the MJC is NOT THAT BAD on this plasma. What is everyone complaining about??? Coming from plasma, which is the king of motion response time, I can tell you the MJC is extremely tolerable on this set. Quite honestly, the MJC on the C7000 is somewhere in the middle of a LED 240hz and plasma; it feels like only half the speed of a normal soap opera effect. If you're as detailed as I am, you'll have read the 135+ thread pages on AVS regarding this plasma and the MJC for the C6500/C7000/C8000. Yes, it's installed by default. Not sure why Samsung did this as there are loyal plasma and film fans that don't want it. I do respect that. Luckily, there are some workarounds to this. I used Star Trek BD as a test, and disabled MJC from the TV; I wound up reactivating the feature since the picture quality looked noticeably better. Let me tell you, if it was that bad I would have used the workaround to permanently disable the MJC already. I wound up resetting my picture options to turn MJC back on, though. Being a loyal plasma owner, this must tell you something. Future firmware is also making this less of an issue.

4. Image Retention (IR for the tech savvy) - I have yet to experience this. This issue should really be a universal problem of all plasmas. However, as long as you break in your plasma for more than 100 hours, you should be good to go. Technically, Samsung stopped requiring a break in period for plasmas as of 2007. The old adage is still to do one. The C7000 manual clearly states there is a possibility of "image retention" (fancier slogan for burn in). Until plasma manufacturers GUARANTEE there is no chance of burn in, I will continue with the break in protocol that has been adopted since the birth of plasma. The burn in prevention technology Samsung uses is awesome, you get your choice of a screensaver, scrolling black/white page, and pixel shift. I use all of them. My old Samsung plasma didn't have tweakable burn in tech like this, and there was never IR. Keep in mind, I do heavy gaming. Once the C7000 passes the break in period, I'll start playing again.

5. Poor antiglare - I have heard that if this plasma is in a brightly lit room, or near a window, the antiglare doesn't help much. I can't really comment on this as I have a dedicated home theater room with no windows. This isn't an issue to me, which is another reason I passed on the C8000 plasma's marketing scheme of the "Real Black Filter".

6. Lack of "Real Black Filter" (RBF) - The C8000 has it but not the 7000. I believe it helps reduce the antiglare. I do know that it partly consists of a simple film that is attached to the screen; I heard some cases of it being removable. That seems cheap to me. I cannot discern if it's worth the extra 0 to get it. It is the only gimmick that people seem to know about versus the C8000.

7. Lack of Connectivity - This TV was designed without analog in mind, and purely for high definition and HDMI, which is the absolute BIGGEST complaint I have to agree with people about this TV. Specifically, the lack of S-Video, composite, and component outputs is quite upsetting. There is no S-Video output at all (not that surprising), and 1 component output that is shared with composite (major surprise for me), which basically means that you can only use one component or composite. Samsung's website states there are 2 components, and 1 side composite. NOT TRUE! There is only one shared component/composite port. That's all. How can a TV manufacturer get away with this? Several of my legacy analog devices are no longer compatible until I upgrade my receiver with HDMI passthrough (I'm using an older non-HDMI audiophile pre/pro). However, I have come to grips that S-Video is being deprecated. No current Samsung or Sony device implements S-Video anymore, and I believe LG and most BD players have followed suit as well. It's only a matter of time before S-Video is extinct completely. Nonetheless, there should have been AT LEAST one separate composite port, and one component, not a COMBINED composite and component. Samsung, fix your website specs!

8. Digital audio port - Another complaint of mine. Yes, you can connect a toslink optical cable from the TV to your receiver. No, it WILL NOT output Dolby Digital for any of your connected sources, only with DTV broadcasting. What this means is, if you connect your Xbox 360 or DVD player to your TV (with optical through your TV to your receiver), you will NOT get 5.1 digital audio. The TV will downmix the audio stream from the source component to 2 channel PCM. This is stated through the TV manual (page 11). What's the point of this? I feel this is purposely limited by TV manufacturers in order not to compete with their HTIB systems.

9. It's hot enough to fry an egg - This must be a case by case issue as I have no overheating issues whatsoever. My old plasma literally generated enough heat to warm my home theater room in the winter. No joke. You could feel the heat generated from the TV two feet away, and to touch the rear of the panel was quite hot. I should note that my old plasma was one of the very first to have "fanless cooling", which meant it was very quiet. I have been breaking in the C7000 overnight, and just today went to power it off. After 13 hours, the entire panel was almost cool. There is very little heat, which is a major concern for an electronic device. I did not feel any exorbitant amount of heat anywhere within 1 foot of the TV, certainly nowhere near as much heat as earlier generations of plasma. The C7000 has worked like a champ in this regard. This makes me happy as I have been known to literally play games 12 hours straight.

10. "It's not Samsung's flagship" - I beg to differ! I actually never saw the C7000 in person before purchasing. Magnolia had the C8000 and B860 on display, and I used that as a baseline. The B860 was last year's model, and the difference was discernable. If we did an A/B test in my home theater room with the C7000, C8000, and B860 models, I bet you would have a hard time picking one out over the other, or the results would be marginal at best. Save yourself $$$ by getting the C7000!!!


Last but not least, I should mention the entire reason you're probably reading this review: 3D. The 3D is PHENOMENAL!!! Forget any 3D demo you may have seen at a store. I watched 3D demos on Samsung LEDs, Panasonic plasmas, and Mitsubishi DLPs. I honestly wasn't that impressed. Holy cow, those store demos might be the reason people are skeptical about buying a 3DTV. Watching Monster VS Aliens was a total treat. The image REALLY DOES pop out at you (just watch the first few minutes and you'll see what I mean). Now on the flipside, I noticed an image ghost 3 or 4 times throughout the movie. It was noticeable in sharper scenes, mostly the character's hair. This happened near the middle and end of the movie (I guess the studio's wanted to impress everyone with the beginning of the movie). I had heard the 3D was horrible when these TVs launched, but with recent firmware updates, it has greatly improved. I would highly recommend adding the latest firmware before using this TV as a workhorse. Samsung, keep them coming!

The 2D-3D conversion is very cool, and adds value to the Samsung over any other 3D brand as they're the only ones (plus Sony) who have this conversion engine. Can the 3D be improved? Certainly. This is a first generation 3DTV though, so bugs were expected, as they should be with a new product launch (DVD wasn't perfect either, anyone remember The Matrix "white rabbit" DVD problem?). The images don't pop out as much with the 3D upconversion, but I also haven't properly calibrated the TV as I'm in the break in mode. If you're like me and buying this set for current 2D content, then the 3D is just a value-added bonus.

Luckily, Samsung has been excellent with releasing new firmware every month. My TV came with 1019 installed. I manually updated to 1022. If you check, there was just an update to 1026 was recently released. I highly recommend making sure you get the most up-to-date firmware as there are a lot of 3D fixes.

Amazon shipping - I was worried about this as several reviewers had received TVs with cracked screens. I heard one story where someone had to exchange their TV 3 times due to cracked screens. Good God, that would be upsetting! I once again lucked out. The shipping service was Pilot, and they were most excellent, especially since the TV arrived in perfect condition. I scheduled the delivery window online through a link emailed to me. I received a call an hour beforehand that they could deliver it sooner. Since it was before my 4-hour window and I was preoccupied, they came back at the scheduled time. They brought the TV in, unboxed it, set the TV on the stand, and powered it up. I had to sign a checklist that there was: no damage to the set, screen powers on, screen has no dead pixels/bad image, and remote works. They then took the box away. I would say the entire process took 10 minutes. What service! If I ever need another TV, I will use Amazon henceforth.


So that's my review. Take it as you will as I understand your mileage might vary. If you're on the fence, I would just order this set as you might be in the surprise of your life. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them. CNET didn't review this set at the time when I ordered it, but they have now and it is currently listed as the best 3D set, and number 2 overall for 2D picture quality. Consumer Reports also rated this as a best deal TV.

I have heard some cases where the TV has worked perfectly, then 3 weeks later it takes a dump. I've had it about a month now, and will update this review appropriately should there be a change in my rating.

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I have been researching plasma televisions for the last few months in preparation for my first large TV purchase. It was a painstaking process that eventually lead me to purchase the Panasonic G25. Because I lived with that TV for about three weeks and have enjoyed the C7000 for the same amount of time, I am poised to compare the two.

What first must be addressed is why I chose to return the G25. Two words: floating blacks. This is not to be confused with the phenomenon of rising blacks, where over time the ability of the panel to produce deep, dark blacks is diminished (although this afflicts 2010 models, it occurs at a more gradual rate). "Floating blacks" occurs when images on screen change in brightness and the blacks rise and fall as a result. This represents a significant problem because it is reactionary: when a bright image appears, the blacks do not rise immediately so the effect becomes very obvious and irritating. Floating blacks have been reported by many, while others swear they either do not exist or are indiscernible. I found the behavior to be pervasive for all material and absolutely unbearable. This is unfortunate, because the G25 was fantastic in every other regard: nearly perfect colors out of the box in THX mode, rich blacks with great shadow detail and not a hint of image retention or burn in. In all of the aforementioned categories, the G25 outperformed the C7000 and makes me wish Panasonic would have their niggles sorted.

Onward to the C7000.

Overall, I am very pleased with the television. Aesthetically, it is an extremely striking piece of kit. The base is a beautiful piece of brushed aluminum (well, it's probably steel, but the finish is brushed), the bezel also sports a brushed finish, which in my opinion is far superior to the glossy bezel of most sets, and the glass-like base support and surround add the finishing touch to a special looking television.

The picture quality of this television is great, to be sure. I find the out-of-the-box colors to be fairly inaccurate and they will be further from true without a professional calibration than the Panasonic. Black levels are good, although not as a rich as the G25 (pre-rise anyway, that could change after a year or two). The screen is a bit brighter than the G25 with more color pop and I have had no issues with motion. The G25 was noticeably grainier, a possible issue if one's normal viewing distance is closer than average (say, closer than 8 feet). The standard menu allows for far more customization than the Panasonic and there is no need for a non-professional to ever enter the service menu. The internet widgets are exponentially superior to those offered by Panasonic, but I have so many streamers, media devices etc. that the included Samsung apps are rarely used.

There are a couple of things that irk me with the Samsung, none necessarily significant. Image retention is far more prominent on this set than the Panasonic or my parents' five-year-old Phillips. A static image left on screen for just a few minutes will result in image retention (and I do have the pixel orbiter set to engage after just one minute). Luckily, it will disappear within minutes after switching to any content that will get those pixels moving and none of the retention has resulted in burn-in. I do play games and still detect no burn-in whatsoever. Also, I did notice a bit of line bleed that I never experienced with the G25, but that seemed to be an isolated incident as I have not observed it again.

That segues nicely to my next point of complaint: game mode. The input lag on this set makes games unplayable in any mode BUT game mode. This in itself is not an issue, because with game mode engaged, any remaining lag is imperceptible. The problem stems from a poorly designed menu. To activate game mode, you must enter the menu, scroll down to services, then click the general setting menu, and then choose on or off. If input lag is going to suck so much in all other modes, this needs to be a single button-click on the remote. Moreover, you can't disengage game mode by simply switching picture modes. Instead, you must again navigate the same asinine menu tree. Irritating and unnecessary, but at least input lag is perfectly acceptable once in game mode.

What many buyers considering this set are probably concerned with is 3D capability. It is by far the least expensive 3D television currently available and (especially with the present inclusion of a BR player/starter kit combo) is an unbeatable value. 3D on this set is nearly as good as the big boys (read: VT25) with little crosstalk or ghosting. 3D content is sparse at the moment and will continue to be for the foreseeable future (partly because of the exclusive packaging bull malarkey perpetuated by Samsung and the studios themselves; talk about shooting yourself in the foot). As such, the 2D-3D conversion algorithm is a nice addition and can deliver surprisingly impressive results. It works well for some content and is insufferable with others, so you will have to experiment and see what works for you. Some games and animated content seem to respond particularly well. I recently experimented with native 3D content via the PS3 and was surprised with the results. Stardust HD and Motorstorm both exceeded my expectations, especially considering they were not initially created with 3D as an objective. WipeOut, while not nearly as striking (and a medicore game at best), still enjoyed the added benefit of depth afforded by 3D and still yields an appreciable effect. I should also add that I have experienced no issues whatsoever concerning communication or syncing between the glasses and the television. Additionally, the glasses are fairly comfortable and having to change a battery every 50 hours is actually preferable in the long run, as opposed to losing the charge with internal units, necessitating a trip to the factory (or refuse bin).

A tangential but important note: when the 7000 line of Samsung plasmas was first released, a picture-processing mode called Motion Judder Canceller was engaged and undefeatable. What this processing actually does is irrelevant: it should be avoided like the plague. If you choose this set, make sure it has firmware 1026 or later installed or download it immediately if not. For giggles, I converted my C7000 into a C8000 in the service menu, which activates the option to enable or disable MJC (I do not recommend this as there is no need). I enabled it and within seconds wanted to gouge my eyes out, it really is that bad. Make sure MJC is off, forever. And ever.

I suppose this review might come across as somewhat negative. I have decided to keep the Samsung and am happy to have returned the Panasonic, if that is any indication. I give a slight edge to the G25 in overall picture quality, so if you do not need/want 3D and do not observe floating blacks - or don't know what the heck I'm talking about (and believe me, ignorance is most definitely bliss here) - I would go for the Panasonic, primarily because it is surprisingly inexpensive for the picture it offers. Otherwise, the Samsung is a great set and impeccable value considering its feature set and stunning design. All of the 2010 plasma models have their foibles, it just so happens the C7000 offered the least of them in areas concerning me for the right price.

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