Tagged Products - 50in+widescreen+plasma

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Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) Plasma HDTV

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only occasionally readily admits that the big screen greatly enhances the movie-watching experience.

I found this TV to be easy to install, intuitive to use, and a joy to have. There were sufficient inputs to accommodate two DVD players and a game system. The TV can also be used to view photos stored on SD cards, and the remote is also easy to figure out and use...that's a nice perk!

Why oh why did I wait so long to invest?!

Oh, I heard that plasma is better than LCD for watching things like sports and action movies. While I have not been able to do a side-by-side comparison in my own home, I found that observation to hold true when I compared plasma and LCD units in the store.

This Panasonic is a great find. While it may not meet every need of the top-flight Blue-Ray disc watcher, it meets and exceeds my every need!

I'd highly recommend this set to my extended family and best friends.

Oh, if you do not have someone come and install this unit for you, be sure that you have someone else handy that can help you load and unload it, as well as help you unbox it and move onto your TV stand, because this is one heavy TV. It probably weighs about 100 lbs., and it's kind of bulky.

By the way, if you plan to use the provided TV stand, it is easily installed onto the TV itself, since it takes only four screws to attach the TV to the base.

All in all, I've been extremely pleased with this TV, and I highly recommend it!

5 stars all the way for watching standard DVDs.

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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best Plasma going but the pricing is too high to justify the small difference (almost double the price of the Samsung here in Canada). I was initially set on buying a Panasonic Plasma (Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U (top choice) or TH-50PZ85U or TH-50PZ80U) as I also loved these sets. But at the end of the day, the Samsung was clearly the better choice. The Samsung PN50A650 was definitely on par with the Panasonics in terms of performance but the Samsung offered more features that made it more attractive (more picture adjustment options, ethernet connection, USB) and the Samsung was less money to boot. Make sure you consider the 650 model (Samsungs top tier Plasma) since I found it strange that the 550/530 series with less features was actually selling for more money in many cases.

I picked my set up here in Canada (Oakville, ON) at 2001 Audio Video (a demo off the wall - 4 months of use) for $1699 (sorry Amazon, the Amazon.ca site does not have this product listed). I was very pleased that Samsung offers a very generous 2 year warranty (all other plasmas I've seen are only 1 year).

I have been watching over-the-air HDTV (1080i or 720p depending on the network) and it is simply stunning. Standard def 480i also looks good - this on some sets can look a bit rough but not on the Samsung. The built in digital ATSC tuner does well to pick up channels - I will admit I wish I could manually add channels not found by the auto tuning because here in Canada some channels are not broadcasting full power and so I need to swivel my antenna - the problem is when you move the antenna to get the other stations, you need to run the full auto tuning again and so you may loss other channels you had saved from the last tuning. This is a mood point since it is really an issue of the canadian networks not yet broadcasting in full power like the USA networks are. HDTV also often broadcasts audio in 5.1 surround sound so make sure you connect the TOSLINK optical cable from the TV to a receiver if you got one - it makes watching TV so much better.

I have a full surround sound system but my receiver lacks HDMI inputs. Fortunately, this TV does something I was previously advised was not possible. When I hooked up my laptop via HDMI to the TV, ensured the laptop sound card was setup for digital output (Windows Media Centre configured for 5.1 sound via TOSLINK - no HDMI choice), with an Optical cable going from the TV to the receiver (no HDMI), I was shocked to see my receiver identified a 5.1 surround dolby digital signal (not 2 channel stereo) when playing a DVD on the laptop (using Windows Media Centre). Essentially sending/converting the HDMI audio stream to TOSLINK optical digital cable was amazing to me. I seem to recall the manual mentioning otherwise. So for those out there with this dilemma, no need to upgrade the old receiver, this TV has you covered.

The USB is a cool feature, I hooked up the IPOD and USB key with pictures and it is simple.

In terms of some reviewers negative feedback on glare or lack of brightness from Plasmas - my old Sony 36-inch CRT showed more glare, in fact I experience less glare and can see the Plasma screen better during the day. I have my Plasma in a living room with many windows and during the day, I see the screen just fine.

So in summary, you will not be disappointed with the Samsung PN50A650 - it is the best bang for the buck for a Plasma 1080P 50-inch HDTV. At least be sure to have this one on you list when you shop around.

PROS:
- BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
- On par with equivalent high end Panasonic Viera's but for less money
- Lots of picture adjustment options - a videophile would be pleased with this
- Lots of inputs/outputs
- USB interface (pictures/music)
- Included swivel stand is a nice touch - I find it handy to have
- Thorough Screen burn-in protection
- 2 Year Warranty (versus most are only 1 year)
- Ethernet connection (nothing special but a nice feature - for my fellow canadians, I have not yet found canadian content yet - I entered a Buffalo ZIP code for now) - Also a wireless ethernet adapter is available - see "Samsung WIS08BG2X LinkStick Wireless LAN Adapter for select 2008 Samsung HDTVs")

CONS:
- ATSC tuning does not allow manual entries not detected in the auto tuning - a mood point
- You might not like the red "touch of color" of the frame - might be a CON to some people - depends on your decor/taste
- PIP is not the greatest (limited functonality) but who really cares - maybe it is just me not figuring it out properly

Samsung, keep up the good work - you got a top quality product here.

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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best Plasma going but the pricing is too high to justify the small difference (almost double the price of the Samsung here in Canada). I was initially set on buying a Panasonic Plasma (Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U (top choice) or TH-50PZ85U or TH-50PZ80U) as I also loved these sets. But at the end of the day, the Samsung was clearly the better choice. The Samsung PN50A650 was definitely on par with the Panasonics in terms of performance but the Samsung offered more features that made it more attractive (more picture adjustment options, ethernet connection, USB) and the Samsung was less money to boot. Make sure you consider the 650 model (Samsungs top tier Plasma) since I found it strange that the 550/530 series with less features was actually selling for more money in many cases.



I picked my set up here in Canada (Oakville, ON) at 2001 Audio Video (a demo off the wall - 4 months of use) for $1699 (sorry Amazon, the Amazon.ca site does not have this product listed). I was very pleased that Samsung offers a very generous 2 year warranty (all other plasmas I've seen are only 1 year).



I have been watching over-the-air HDTV (1080i or 720p depending on the network) and it is simply stunning. Standard def 480i also looks good - this on some sets can look a bit rough but not on the Samsung. The built in digital ATSC tuner does well to pick up channels - I will admit I wish I could manually add channels not found by the auto tuning because here in Canada some channels are not broadcasting full power and so I need to swivel my antenna - the problem is when you move the antenna to get the other stations, you need to run the full auto tuning again and so you may loss other channels you had saved from the last tuning. This is a mood point since it is really an issue of the canadian networks not yet broadcasting in full power like the USA networks are. HDTV also often broadcasts audio in 5.1 surround sound so make sure you connect the TOSLINK optical cable from the TV to a receiver if you got one - it makes watching TV so much better.



I have a full surround sound system but my receiver lacks HDMI inputs. Fortunately, this TV does something I was previously advised was not possible. When I hooked up my laptop via HDMI to the TV, ensured the laptop sound card was setup for digital output (Windows Media Centre configured for 5.1 sound via TOSLINK - no HDMI choice), with an Optical cable going from the TV to the receiver (no HDMI), I was shocked to see my receiver identified a 5.1 surround dolby digital signal (not 2 channel stereo) when playing a DVD on the laptop (using Windows Media Centre). Essentially sending/converting the HDMI audio stream to TOSLINK optical digital cable was amazing to me. I seem to recall the manual mentioning otherwise. So for those out there with this dilemma, no need to upgrade the old receiver, this TV has you covered.



The USB is a cool feature, I hooked up the IPOD and USB key with pictures and it is simple.



In terms of some reviewers negative feedback on glare or lack of brightness from Plasmas - my old Sony 36-inch CRT showed more glare, in fact I experience less glare and can see the Plasma screen better during the day. I have my Plasma in a living room with many windows and during the day, I see the screen just fine.



So in summary, you will not be disappointed with the Samsung PN50A650 - it is the best bang for the buck for a Plasma 1080P 50-inch HDTV. At least be sure to have this one on you list when you shop around.



PROS:

- BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

- On par with equivalent high end Panasonic Viera's but for less money

- Lots of picture adjustment options - a videophile would be pleased with this

- Lots of inputs/outputs

- USB interface (pictures/music)

- Included swivel stand is a nice touch - I find it handy to have

- Thorough Screen burn-in protection

- 2 Year Warranty (versus most are only 1 year)

- Ethernet connection (nothing special but a nice feature - for my fellow canadians, I have not yet found canadian content yet - I entered a Buffalo ZIP code for now) - Also a wireless ethernet adapter is available - see "Samsung WIS08BG2X LinkStick Wireless LAN Adapter for select 2008 Samsung HDTVs")



CONS:

- ATSC tuning does not allow manual entries not detected in the auto tuning - a mood point

- You might not like the red "touch of color" of the frame - might be a CON to some people - depends on your decor/taste

- PIP is not the greatest (limited functonality) but who really cares - maybe it is just me not figuring it out properly



Samsung, keep up the good work - you got a top quality product here.

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Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) Plasma HDTV

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frame with standard DVD's and it looks fine. For the price, you will be shocked at the clarity and color of this TV. Sports look stunning!
* Do your own research and you will find that plasma technology has improved vastly in recent years and the quality does compete with LCD displays.

Enjoy!
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PS: If buying online, try and stick with Amazon, as other merchants may have unclear communication. I find Amazon ships much quicker in general and their service is world class.

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LG 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

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you can only see when it's side by side with the $2K Panny, because the contrast ratio has easily met my expectations. The THX setting is the one I use for almost everything, and if you want your Blu-ray player on the 'THX' setting, and your cable on the 'Sports' setting (on a different HDMI port) then go ahead! Just set it to what you want for each port, and it remembers it. As for the Primary Colors, they really pop. One review I read actually compared the color quality to the $3K Pioneer. Motion is fluid, colors are clear, blacks are black. You will not be disappointed.

Now for the sound. My concern about sound was for the new technoogy of the speakerless speakers. How will it sound? Rest assured, it sounds great. Most people will be using surround sound, and I have a nice system, but where I am living restricts me from the higher volumes associated with proper surround sound. As a result, I use the TV speakers most of the time. They sound clear, and if you're like me and hate it when the music or background noise in a movie drowns out the actor's voices then you will love the audio setting that amplifies voice. I LOVE being able to easily hear what's being said, which is somtimes challenging for me because I have been to too may loud rock concerts over the years and my hearing is not 100%. lol

I looked at LCD and Plasma TV's for almost two months before coming across this TV, and with all that research under my belt, I saw this TV and purchased it the next day. It made a decision I had been agonizing over a very simple one. This has all the features of the $2K Panny, and is as thin as the Panny that's hundreds of dollars more. This TV is nothing short of brilliant, and when you weigh everything you get for it's asking price, I don't know how you could go with anything else - especially if you are looking for a good bang for the buck!

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Samsung PN42A450 - 42 Widescreen 720p Plasma HDTV - 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Piano Black

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you can only see when it's side by side with the $2K Panny, because the contrast ratio has easily met my expectations. The THX setting is the one I use for almost everything, and if you want your Blu-ray player on the 'THX' setting, and your cable on the 'Sports' setting (on a different HDMI port) then go ahead! Just set it to what you want for each port, and it remembers it. As for the Primary Colors, they really pop. One review I read actually compared the color quality to the $3K Pioneer. Motion is fluid, colors are clear, blacks are black. You will not be disappointed.



Now for the sound. My concern about sound was for the new technoogy of the speakerless speakers. How will it sound? Rest assured, it sounds great. Most people will be using surround sound, and I have a nice system, but where I am living restricts me from the higher volumes associated with proper surround sound. As a result, I use the TV speakers most of the time. They sound clear, and if you're like me and hate it when the music or background noise in a movie drowns out the actor's voices then you will love the audio setting that amplifies voice. I LOVE being able to easily hear what's being said, which is somtimes challenging for me because I have been to too may loud rock concerts over the years and my hearing is not 100%. lol



I looked at LCD and Plasma TV's for almost two months before coming across this TV, and with all that research under my belt, I saw this TV and purchased it the next day. It made a decision I had been agonizing over a very simple one. This has all the features of the $2K Panny, and is as thin as the Panny that's hundreds of dollars more. This TV is nothing short of brilliant, and when you weigh everything you get for it's asking price, I don't know how you could go with anything else - especially if you are looking for a good bang for the buck!

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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PZ85U. To boot, the final price on the 650 was 50$ cheaper than what the salesman would give me the 85U for, so we got the Samsung.

Now that I have it home, here are some impressions...

Video - The digital tuner built into the set means you don't need a fancy box to receive over the air broadcasts after Feb. 2009. Oh yeah...the hi-def broadcasts out now over the air look fantastic on this set. One thing I have not yet had the chance to test is a separate HD video source since I don't have an HD dvd or Blu-Ray player, but I can say that the 480i my current DVD player puts out is pretty awesome looking on this TV as well. We fired up Ratatouille over the weekend...conveniently, the DVD comes with a set of test-patterns you can adjust the contrast, brightness, sharpness, and color with so I did the best I could prior to hitting play. All I can say is wow...the shadow detail was fantastic compared to my old tube and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie. I used the same settings to watch Sunday night football last night, and I tell you what, I don't know how I'm going to be able to watch standard definition sports anymore. No motion blur at all with this set, crystal clear and sharp pictures...the only distracting thing is that now I can tell when the cameras that are recording the action on the field are having problems focusing accurately. You literally see every detail with this TV set-up correctly.

Audio - This is the only area where I "ding" this set. Now...for most folks out there, this is going to be part of a Home Theater or entertainment system, so they will have a separate audio source, but for me, this TV is all I have (for now). The audio is by no means bad...it is just not as crisp and clear as I would have expected. The audio is a little muffled and maybe after some more tweaking of settings, it will get better, but if I had an entertainment center, I would certainly buy a separate speaker for the center channel and turn the one from the TV off.

Looks / Usability - Wow...this set looks great in the basement. The "Touch of Color" design is sleek, and it will look fantastic once it's mounted on the wall. The touch-pad power / channel / volume / menu are a sleek 21st century feature and give it a hint of class. The remote and settings you can access is very well laid out and intuitive. There is almost nothing you can't tweak. Samsung even gives you the ability to tweak the white balance over the RGB color scale without having to access a special menu through a remote sequence (basically these levels control how your TV is set-up to interpret colors from the video source). A nice feature that I don't recommend messing with unless you know what you're doing...being a part time photographer on the weekends, this is a welcome feature to get the absolute best color out of my TV.

The number of inputs on the back and side is more than ample...I don't ever know that I'll have 4 HDMI sources to input, but it's nice to know I can. There are 3 component video inputs as well, so unless you have like 5 gaming systems and 3 DVD players, you should be fine with the number of inputs.

Overall, I'm very happy with this TV, and would have no hesitation recommending it to anyone. If they made a 46" version, my neighbor would buy one too as his space does not allow a 50" set and he wants to maximize his screen. He's going to go with the Panasonic 85U, but after seeing my Samsung A650, he might be re-locating his space to be able to step up to a 50" TV.

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Samsung PN42A450 - 42 Widescreen 720p Plasma HDTV - 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Piano Black

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makes the whole screen show up correctly, whereas with "16:9" - the edges get clipped.

Using that setting, you can output anything you want from the PC to the TV - games (Halo, for instance, ran great), DVDs from the PC, or even HDTV from the PC (using the PC as a "DVR"). Highly recommended!

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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than the Samsung PN50A650 in my opinion.

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Samsung PN42A450 - 42 Widescreen 720p Plasma HDTV - 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Piano Black

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shipping box and transport it with just the styrofoam (risky, but we were only driving a few miles).

Some have complained about the sound- I find the speakers more than adequate and the sound fills the room. Of course they won't compare to surround sound theatre systems- what would? Some people just like to whine about these supposed shortcomings.

I believe the contrast ratio is better than the similarly outfitted Panasonic model. I have heard worries about Samsung's longevity- but don't know that anyone has anything more than anecodatal evidence of that (knock on wood).

But at $750, there is no buyer's remorse here. A great HDTV at a tremendous price. We did buy it from Circuit City so that it could be picked up the next day and take advantage of no interest/no payments specials.

We have a Comcast HD box and there seems to be no problems whatsoever in the signal; the HD channels look fantastic. We're awaiting an upconverting DVD player and HDMI cables to complete the purchase.

I am sure there are finer points to the $2-3k hdtv's and for some bigger is always better. But I can't imagine expending that kind of money in this economy and I can't imagine that the marginal improvement is at all worth the cost.

Update: After the first 100 hours, we turned up the brightness and contrast (leaving the mode as "movie", which seems to be the best unless there is a glare), and the picture is great.

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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wall mount and a power washer and still saved money compared to Best buy.. You will be happy with this decision!!!!

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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wall mount and a power washer and still saved money compared to Best buy.. You will be happy with this decision!!!!

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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wall mount and a power washer and still saved money compared to Best buy.. You will be happy with this decision!!!!

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Samsung PN50A650 50 1080p Plasma HDTV - 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Anti Burn-in Technology

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yes.
5 Star product, with 5 star delivery.
If you want more information on the performance of the tv I'd advise you to check out cnet.com and do a search for the pn50a650. They also have a comparison between the Samsung and the Panasonic. Samsung wins by a mile.
Good luck and enjoy.

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TH-50PZ77U 50 1080P PLASMA HDTV WITH SD SLOT HDMI

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ly!

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Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) Plasma HDTV

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ly!

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Samsung PN42A450 - 42 Widescreen 720p Plasma HDTV - 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Piano Black

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ly!

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Samsung PN42A450 - 42 Widescreen 720p Plasma HDTV - 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - Piano Black

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ly!

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Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) Plasma HDTV

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just received my TH-50PX80U and the delivery went very smoothly. Picture is incredible and all thoughts of 720p vs 1080p and black levels are gone. Only surprise is the location of the 3rd hdmi port which is in the front. I planned on plugging in my cable, dvd player, and apple tv via hdmi but I don't' want any wires out front. So for now my apple tv is plugged in via component cords which isn't bad actually. If I really want a larger screen in the future, the $2000+ I saved now should be about what the 58in Panasonics will cost next year.

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Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) Plasma HDTV

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just received my TH-50PX80U and the delivery went very smoothly. Picture is incredible and all thoughts of 720p vs 1080p and black levels are gone. Only surprise is the location of the 3rd hdmi port which is in the front. I planned on plugging in my cable, dvd player, and apple tv via hdmi but I don't' want any wires out front. So for now my apple tv is plugged in via component cords which isn't bad actually. If I really want a larger screen in the future, the $2000+ I saved now should be about what the 58in Panasonics will cost next year.