It’s Black Friday 2014 and the holiday electronics shopping frenzy has begun in earnest. But if you’re not interested in getting a mediocre TV for a low price, there are still plenty of deals to be had on TVs that you’d actually want to own.
One of the best TVs currently on the market is Samsung’s F8500 plasma HDTV. It combines the deep black levels and rich color saturation of a plasma display with a brightness level that rivals the best LED TVs. It actually won the Value Electronics HDTV shootout in 2013 and again in 2014, up against other plasmas and LED/LCD sets and even OLED TVs that cost several times more than it does.
The only problem? It’s getting harder to find, particularly at a discount. Fortunately Best Buy still has stock of the F8500 in all three sizes and they’re offering a substantial discount on all three: the 51-inch PN51F8500 is $999.99, 60-inch PN60F8500 is $1,499.99, and the 64-inch PN64F8500 is $2,499. In our opinion, the best deal is on the 60-inch model – $1499.99 with free shipping:
Here’s the link to all three sizes:
Please note: Best Buy’s web site appears to be having some problems currently (6:00 PM on Black Friday) so you might have to check back if this link does not work.
The F8500 isn’t just a high performance 1080p HDTV, it’s also a Smart TV, featuring a full suite of streaming apps and games courtesy of Samsung’s Smart Hub platform. You’ll find all the popular streaming apps including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Pandora, YouTube and many more. It includes a built-in camera for gesture control, video calling and facial recognition (for personalization). It also includes two remote controls: a standard push-button remote and a touchpad remote that enables simpler control of the TV and connected cable and satellite set-top boxes.
In addition to great performance on regular 2D content, the PN60F8500 is a full-fledged active 3D TV, with four pairs of RF 3D glasses included for 3D viewing. Active 3D beats passive 3D in terms of picture detail and additional glasses are available for under $20/pair.
Our own David Birch-Jones review the F8500 TV last year and awarded it an “Excellent” rating (3.5 out of 4 stars). Read his full review here: Samsung PN60F8500 review on Big Picture Big Sound.
The prices are current and the TVs are all in stock at the time of posting but Best Buy may adjust pricing at any time. Also, stock may not last long at this price so if you’re in the market for one, you might want to add it to your cart and check out before they disappear forever.
More HDTV and Home Theater Deals:
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