Samsung PN50C550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Black)
by Samsung
List Price:
Our Price: $699.99
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Category: CE
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: SamsungModel: PN50C550
Color: Black
Product features:
- 1080p Full HD Resolution, 600 Hz subfield motion
- Mega Dynamic Contrast ratio, Built-in digital tuner
- New single-filter clear panel design eliminates the off-angle reflections that cause picture blurring of images
- Supports multichannel sound (MTS)and second audio program (SAP) with 181-channel capacity
- I/O: 4 HDMI (3 rear/1 side), 2 component, 1 composite
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Digital camera reviews of Samsung PN50C550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Black)
Digital camera Review: A nice set for a great price. 4.5 out of 5
Summary: 4 Stars
The TV set this replaced was a 36 in 4:3 CRT HD set from Sony. While the picture quality was fantastic the screen was too small when it went into widescreen. Needless to say, wanting a bigger set was the main reason for replacing it.
This is my first plasma set. While I did consider and LCD when I looked at the price differential and lower quality visual fidelity I decided against it. LED is better but the price jumps even more. Plasma (PDP) sets offer the visual fidelity of LED at a fraction of the cost of an LCD. That is not to say they are perfect sets, image retention, screen burn in, the inability to lay the set flat are all negatives to consider when buying a television. In my opinion, the negatives outweigh the positives, and if you're willing to put up with them you will find the PDP a great deal.
These are the basics, if you want to know more about the negatives and positives of each type of TV I reccomend a wikipedia artice, I won't waste any more space with information that can be found elsewhere.
First off let me start out by saying that 50 inches is really a nice size. I call it a happy medium. While it seems huge it really isn't. I am sitting about 6 feet away and it just seems like the perfect size when I look at it. Sure 60-70 in sets have a theater quality size and I wouldn't mind having it, but there is something to be said about moderation and a television set not "dominating" a room. This of course, will vary from person to person but I think the size is perfect for my room. Add that to the fact that universal stands and mounts typically only support up to 50 inch sets and it only solified my thoughts on the size.
It matches the price too, I paid $850 and that seemed extremely reasonable to me. I could have got a Panasonic 50 inch for $600 but that is a 720p set, which is basically half the resolution, and it lacks the inputs, and is just a cheaper made set. I could have got a 58 inch Samsung or Panasonic but they jump to $1200-1300, for 8 more inches that just seemed too much to pay for the difference in size. Again, a very happy medium.
Asthentically the model is a gloss black finish with a rectangle shaped footprint for a base. There is a small clear lining around the edges and the buttons on the side are flat and activated by touch. While they look cool (almost invisible unless looking straight at them) they arent very pratical. Chances are most people will simply slide their finger along the side for a quick turn on/off if they happen to be standing there. It really enforces that you are supposed to use the remote. This of course is logical and something to be expected. The remote is not overly large or complicated. Actually the sony TV remote I have has more buttons, so that makes the remote already easier to use. I felt comforable with it relatively quickly and was navigating the menus in no time.
The menu system is a little different if you've never used it before, but every manufaturer has their own way of laying things out. When you first turn it on it will guide you through some basic features to get you set up.
I personally skipped all that and delved right into the regular menus.
I truthfully wanted to set the TV to "torch" mode. The setup for the showroom floor that burns the TV at the brightest settings to "show it off" as so to speak. It was marvelous when I tried it, I had to stand back in awe, but I knew that setting it down to standard lighting was the way to go. It's kind of like how you want to turn the DS to blindingly high backlight but know it will kill your battery life. But I have to say, setting it to standard was fine and still a very slick HD looking picture. The colors are amazing, even more so than my glorious CRT. I love the details and how much it brings out in the picture. 1080p is something to write home about. I say it is worth the extra cash. Chances are your getting a better set if your buying 1080p over 720p. I know I was. There is no ghosting, the image keeps up with the fast action of games, and has a native refresh rate of 600 htz.
In terms of inputs you have 4 HDMI, 1 VGA, 2 component (one of which can be used as a composite), 1 composite, and one coaxial, and 2 USB ports. There are no video outputs, but 2 audio, 1 3.5 mm (headphone jack) and one toslink (fiber optic out). All the the jacks are on the back left of the panel except 1 HDMI, 1 USB, and 1 Composite.
To me TV's never nail these input selections perfectly. I love how many HD jack are on this set 7 total, that is nice. But the fact that it has only 1 real composite, and having no S-video is a downer. Two USB ports are almost useless to me, 1 would have been fine. I suppose that it is an HD set and the inputs should cater to HD not SD, but if you have a lot of older tech, like me who loves old games it does make it more difficult to hook up. There are switch boxes if said problem arises. On the bright side though, it does handle SD images quite well so it does nail the important stuff. I do hate the HDMI has only one audio jack that has to be shared with the VGA, lame. I also hate that it uses a headphone jack for the audio out, now I have to go buy a different cable or another adapter, dumb. I would use the toslink out but it only works in stereo unless using the OTA (over the air) signals, another glaring omission.
As far as the audio itself, I got to pass on that one. I use an amplifier. I tested the speakers, they work fine, but that was just to make sure it worked.
There is a ethernet port as well, just used to update the firmware. You can also do via a flash drive wifi if you're willing to spring for the adapter, which might explain the second USB port, but that's again, not relly needed. The lack of native wifi is expected, nor is it needed, glad I didn't have to pay for it.
Selecting the inputs is easy, but I would have liked to be able so select them without the device being powered on. I understand it doesnt have a signal, but let it stay on there. At first I thought it was a defect but no, you have to have it powered to select that video.
I did find image retention to be an issue but not majorly so. I game a lot so it is a concern, I set the pixel jump setting to maxium and it works just fine. There is a game mode option but it has nothing to do with image retention, it simply scales back some of the processes so there is no lag. I saw no lag anyway and left it off. There are tons of options for settings on pictures, sounds and processes that make this set really feel more modern. There is even an option for the set to adjust to you're lighting environment automatically. I found this to be more of an anoyance but I could see how it could have some applications. I have also heard some complain about the glare off of this set, personaly, my house is pretty dark so I never had that issue. Perhaps this setting was meant to rememdy that.
As far as the buzzing noise some have complained about, I decided to investigate since it seems to be a source of frustration for some. Yes there is a small amount of buzzing from the set while it is on. Fact is though, I probably wouldn't have noticed it for some time had I not looked into it. I turned off all other equipment except for the TV and put my ear up to the set, yes it's there, but I think most users will be hard pressed to notice it unless watching it without sound and looking to hear it. It isn't irritating, its almost non existant. I really can't understand the complaint, it's much, much, quieter than the Xbox 360, I can assure of that. Honestly, between the noises the other electronics make, the amplifier, the highway near my house, and the other distractions that arise, I cannot even imagine being irritated by a virtually non existant buzzing.
All in all this set nails the most important elements. Great picture, tons of inputs, great features, and great price. Only stupid little oversights keep this back from a perfect score. 4.5 out of 5.
Update 3/18/2011
I did have an issue arise about a month after purchasing this set that I thought would provide beneficial information to potential buyers. During a game session of Mario Kart I noticed a thin red line running vertically though the middle of the set. It wasn't particulary noticable at first, but upon closer invesigation it was visible only on some colors. I called Samsung the next day and suprisingly got through to an American right away. They ran though a simple test, I read them the product number and they said they would fix it. The technicial called 45 min later and asked a few more questions and said they would order the part and call me when it arived. This took about a week. The tech came and looked at the set and brought in an all new panel. I'm not sure why but the part didn't match up on one of the boards. It may have been my fault because it was difficult to read a a 20 character code on the back of the panel with limited light. Whatever the cause, he came back 3 days later with the correct part and replaced it proper. The tech was very good and knowledgeable. And the TV was fixed within an hour. As far as the cause of the problem, he said that is was a bad part that couldn't be fixed in home and it was more pratical to the company to replace the panel itself. I'm not complaining, it just wasn't what I was expecting.
Basically there was nothing I or the manufaturer could have done to prevent this issue and that "I just got a bad one," as the tech put it. I'm not altering the review just because I'll chalk it up to, "things happen." But I thought it should be noted in the reivew. If any other issues arise I will update.
Summary of Samsung PN50C550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Black)
Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN50C550, with Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio makes sure every frame is saturated with dense, rich color. Samsung is also ENERGY STAR compliant so you are assured that your 50 -inch plasma HDTV is helping the environment by using less enery while saving you money.TVs & HDTVs
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