I found this TV new at B&HPhoto.com for 9; Price includes S&H & no tax! My first concern prior to buying was the TV being 720p… My local Best Buy had it on display next to several 1080Ps and to my surprise this TV looked better or the same as the ones priced b/w 1500 to 2000 range. Still I had some doubt, but the price was unreal, so I bought it from B & H Photo.
Now that I’ve used it for a while I am delighted to say that picture is excellent! I’ve watched a few cartoon movies in blue Ray with my kids and the movies have a 3-D look to them. Terminator Salvation, the newest Harry Potter release in Blue Ray are amazing. You see things that you had not seen before.
Pros:Picture Quality —- Do not concern yourself with 1080P if you buy this TV. Even though it is a 720P, I promise you will not notice a differenceOver the airway HD Picture —- I use an antenna to get over the air Local HD programming and picture is superior, Standard TV signal —- The picture image from standard (non-HD) is ok, but most programs I watch are in HD so this is of no concern for meScreen size 50″ for the priceRefresh rate, contrast, blacks, also this TV has a 3D engine built in for playing games in 3D — I’ll never use this but it is a plusReflection is not bad and TV has features built in to help reduce thisHas a good selection of inputs/outputs
Cons:As with most LCDs/Plasmas— “Speaker quality/sound”— it is Ok, but you’ll want to upgrade…..I bought an all in one home theater system and for me it does the job and is way better than the speakers that come with the TV, however if you are not a big movie watcher than I would not worry about upgrading. “Remote” —- This remote is a little tooooooo busy and might be an issue for some.“on/off music” — annoying, every time you turn the TV on or off a short tone plays.. You might be able to turn this off, but i’m not sure….petty I know.
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Samsung 50 ” Plasma 720P – K. Fagan – I had to write a review to tell everyone about this TV ..First off I bought this TV to replace the old Projection TV and a Tube TV and being new to the digitial TV’s I have to say I was put off at first .
I could tell the picture was clearer than my Sony Projection TV and looked more vibrant and at the same time it had a slight double edge just slightly enough to annoy me so I took it back to the store.
I replaced it with the same model of Samsung I had before and got it home it looked exactly the same. I have dish network and I called them they said the new TV’s need HD to look perfect and I had them come out and put HD on the tv all I can say is WOW . What a difference I have never seen a clearer picture on any TV in my life every detail is amazing and flawless and I have friends with LCD 1080i in HD and this TV outshines them in colors and clarity.
The noise reduction should never be turned on and there is the sharpness you want to keep around 36 and for brightness I keep it around 50 it is too bright above that setting. If the people are plastic looking in the face you have it set up wrong in the NR or Saturation. I am way picky about my TV picture and thought I was going to have to pay 3 times as much to get this kind of quality it’s like looking out a crystal clear window .If you never hook up HD you will never know what your missing IF you do hoo up HD you won’t go without it ever again. I also see it shows 1980 X 1080i when on HD I thought they rated it at 720P I am not complaining..
One more thing the TV does not get hot or have any artifacts or screen burn in problems . The 42 Plasma I bought gets hot in back it is a Zenith and it worries me a bit since I just bought it.
I also wantd to tell you all the new TV’s are made for digital and HD if you are picky about the picture you will end up installing HD if the TV is 50 or over.
Great TV Great Price!! – Kenneth Bates – Great picture. great quality. I purchased this TV from Amazon 07/07/09 and have been enjoying it ever since. To be honest I was looking at the 1080p plasma’s and I’m glad I went with this one. My neighbor just bought the same one after Christmas and loves it. Highly recommend for the price.
Rating : 4.5 Price on Feb 14, 2010 09:35:09 : $999.99 Offer Price : Too low to display Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
The 720p series 4 was designed with many of the same high end components used across Samsung’s entire LCD lineup. The series 4 piano black bezel elegantly frames a super patterned vertical alignment. Down firing stereo speakers are completely hidden in specially designed chambers at the bottom of the display to increase audio quality.The LCD series 4 offers easy connectivity through 3 HDMI ports (1 side) and 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
i was scoping the market for like a year. constantly going back and forth between lcd and plasma, my neighbor had the 40″ 120hz lcd by samsung and it got me into the idea of creating a home theater. so anyways i went to best buy and saw this tv in person and was amazed with the picture. the colors are way more vibrant than lcd. the whites are clearly more dull, however when looking at faces between lcd and plasma the bright white washes out the face/ skin color. but… when i watched movies at my neighbors house they seemed clearer, this is because of the smaller screen…. what im saying is he has the first gen ps3 60gb, i ordered the ps3 slim 250 gb, so in theory same stuff. But on his smaller screen the regular upconverstion of a dvd seemed better. i now am disapointed with my movies that arent blue ray:( but hey…. blue ray is the new standard and when u deal with great technology it quickly becomes the norm, now i am purchasing everything blue ray……. video gaming on the ps3/ samsung is RAD. game mode, dynamic contrast. assassins creed 2 is perfect. im waiting on pleanty of games and movies to come from a separate order from amazon. im saving so that in the next four months im gunna drop bout 2,400 on the sound system. polk rti12′s as the mains, rti4′s as the back and sides, and a bic 475 watt 12″ sub, and the center being polk csi3,completed by a yamaha 7.1 amp. this will be the best thing ever!!! im anticipating growing roots for i will never leave the room. its already bad…..having spent like 12 hours in a row in front of this screen. so yeah essetially i did my reseach and decided with a ps3, i dont need the widgets, and the contrast ratio and 600 hz wasnt being surpased in the higher models. this plasma was better than any lcd even 400 more than i paid. so i am stoked and know that i have the best stuff money can buy. beyond that the money i saved makes me spend more on the rest. games and the eventual sound system in 4 months to come. ALSO SUMHOW… I ORDERED MY TV AND IT WAS AT MY DOOR LIKE 28 HOURS LATER…. WITH THE STANDARD FREE SHIPPING!!!!!!!!!! amazon YOU DID WELL MY SWEET. i am forever in ur debt now… with customer service like that i am never going to a best buy/ fry’s or anything like that again unless its to view before i purchase from amazon. no tax free shipping and speedy delivery makes me stoked to be well…. just stoked anyways if u are thinking of a tv, lcd vs plasma its as easy as going in person to a best buy and taking a look for urself… ull decide this one has the best picture quality in any price range…period. so do it up. spoil urself, help the economy and have a damn good time in the process. i’ll post pics once the sound system is ordered and set up.
Stunning – Michael Oreilly – i had researched this set prior to purchasing, and had a calibration chart ready (though out of box, the settings were super). the set itself is beautiful, but the 1080i/p image it displays is simply stunning. inky blacks, vibrant colors, no motion artifacts, and above all, no image retention or burn in, period, though i’m following the advice of many reviews by folks who are familiar w/plasmas, so i’m attempting to keep the video content @ full screen (no bars), and still images/stock tickers at a minimum for the first 100 hours of use (though i have paused movies and hd tv for minutes on end, and had no hint of any ir whatsoever). the first 1080p content we watched was the blu-ray of “earth”. i couldn’t believe a tv monitor could display such a striking image. breathtakingly beautiful. 1080i hdtv programing (directv) appears super crisp and natural in movement. the superbowl was a great test for motion artifacts, and the b550 passed with flying colors (there were none. smooth as silk). when i saw the amazon price, and the review from plasmatvbuyingguide, it was an easy choice.
Rating : 4.5 Price on Feb 11, 2010 08:55:57 : $1,399.99 Offer Price : Too low to display Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Samsung¿s new PN50B550 plasma flat panel HDTV redefines our commitment to design, performance, and cost of ownership. Its 50 inches of 1080p Full HD picture performance makes it the perfect living room centerpiece. The attractive Touch of ColorTM design adds a subtle clear-to-charcoal gray accent to the set¿s bezel. Enjoy brilliant, film-like images in Full HD resolution. Samsung¿s breakthrough mega dynamic contrast ratio offers a more accurate color tonal range, deeper blacks and shadow details. The new E-Panel technology featuring our innovative FiterBrightTM technology reduces glare in brighter rooms and delivers a better picture while using less energy. Add 4 advanced HDMI inputs that feature Samsung¿s Anynet+ (CEC standard) technology making system control of compatible A/V devices like a Blu-ray player or HTIB system a one-touch operation. Experience Full 1080p performance on Samsung¿s new B550 series plasma HDTVs that are easy on the environment and easy on the wallet.
So I researched getting a 50in tv for months. After looking what seemed like forever I came across this one at a great price. Was delivered in great shape and I put it on the wall immeditely. Very easy to configure and the VieraCast features are cool. Watched a movie on the Amazon Video ON Demand and it was flawless.
Now to the other side.
Certain bass tones create a buzzing sound at all volumes.
Troubleshot quite a bit and tried to chat with support. DON’T BOTHER 5 different times over 10 days and they never answered.
Called support and waited for over 20 minutes 3 different times and finally hung up. Called support again waited over 30 minutes finally got someone…troubleshooting was pointless. Scheduled a tech to come out and they replaced the main board which contains all of the video and audio connections for the tv.
Did not resolve the problem. I went in and started messing with it again and found that if I turn off Bass Boost it resolves the problem immediately.
Moral of the story. Don’t put Bass Boost on a tv who’s speakers can’t handle it.
Buyer Beware!!!! – A. Rosenberger – CaliAfter doing much research and finally pulling the trigger and buying Panasonic’s V10 plasma model, I was shocked to recently find many widespread reputable reports that black levels on Panasonic 2008 and 2009 model plasmas may double or in some cases triple after approximately 1000 hours of use.
At this point I can only wish I had found this information before I made my purchase, so I’m passing it on to anyone else who may be considering any of these models.
My V10 picture is fantastic at the moment, but I can only wait in fear that I may have spent K dollars on something that will lose one of it’s best qualities after only months of normal use.
The issue is described and commented in detail here:
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Good Luck!!!!
beautiful – john abrahamsson – springhill, florida United Statestook it out of the box, put it in thx mode, done. gorgeous picture !!!!!
Rating : 4.5 Price on Feb 07, 2010 08:25:09 : $1,599.95 Offer Price : Too low to display Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
50″ Plasma, 1080p, THX, Viera Cast, H.264, IP Camera Ready, PC Input, NEO PDP Panel which is brighter, Full-time 1080p TV lines of moving picture resolution, 3 HDMI, Native contrast ratio 40,000:1, Dynamic contrast infinite black 2,000,000:1, Game Mode, Anti Reflective Filter, 600 Hz Subfield Drive
Rating : Price on Feb 05, 2010 04:25:07 :
Availability : N/A
Inspired by designs from the automotive and fashion industries, Samsung’s molding process eliminates the need for glue or screws to construct the television cabinets. The result is an LCD HDTV with a clean, smooth finish infused with a hint of a translucent color. The Ultra Clear Panel was developed by Samsung to further reduce glare in difficult lighting conditions and enable optimum picture viewing. A layer of organic particles in the panel reduces reflection even more than the original super clear panel to provide remarkably improved clarity. Technological enhancement to the image rendering continues with the company’s Wide Color Enhancer 2 and DNIe Pro, which is the generation of Samsung’s Digital Natural Image Engine. DNIe Pro eliminates noise while also boosting contrasts and sharpening edges on fast moving, Full HD images. With Samsung’s Wide Color Enhancer 2, images are saturated with vivid, natural color due to the expanded range of color expression. The crystal design also incorporates Samsung’s recently developed down-firing speakers, which replaces older duct-style speakers to produce a more balanced sound dynamic in a wider frequency range that will thrill movie and game lovers.
Rating : 4.5 Price on Feb 03, 2010 04:15:10 : $1,399.95 Offer Price : $1,399.95 Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
50″ Plasma, 1080p, NEO PDP Panel which is brighter, Full-time 1080p TV lines of moving picture resolution, 3 HDMI, Native contrast ratio 40,000:1, Dynamic contrast infinite black 2,000,000:1, Game Mode, Anti Reflective Filter, 600 Hz Subfield Drive
Very brief review, the tv is excellent—a best buy if you will. That’s why I give it 5 stars.
This review is for Amazon’s shipping. I love Amazon and I purchase everything from them (literally), however I do not recommend them for high dollar, large items such as 50″ plasma tv’s. Why? Shipping took over 2 months and customer service was very lacking, friendly but absolutely unhelpful–their polices offer very little to mititage their problems. Bascially they will sell items they don’t currently have enough of to meet demand (oversell) and so some people will get their tv as promised while others will have to wait awhile. I was going to host a BCS championship party. Had to send out apologies and cancel because Amazon fumbled big. Could have paid an extra hunded bucks and had tv immediately from a black friday sale–I would recommend other, non-Amazon sellers on certain items because they don’t do anything for the customer when they make mistakes.
beautiful picture – dr – ohiothis television has the best color i have ever seen.very easy to program.the picture is very crisp an clear.as you can see im very pleased
Great TV so far!!! – Movie Man – Dacula, GAI have had this set for about 8 months so far and I am quite happy with it.The only complaint I have is alot of green on the screen when you get to the lower resolution signals but that is to be expected.
