Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 154
 for your viewing pleasure April 16, 2008
J. Nguyen (Pensacola, FL)
149 out of 152 found this review helpful
This is my second review for this panel! The first one was lost! (Frustrating it was!!!)
First off Amazon has kept their promise with their Post-Order Price Guarantee. Delivery was prompt and the white glove delivery people were like, "This is the best condition a tv box has ever came through their shipping company". They did like Amazon said...they'll bring it in, unpack it, set it up where you want it and take the box away! One of the many reasons why I shop from Amazon!
Anyways, the plasma panel, PN50A550 is as good as I thought it was. Being a techie, I tested this thing to its full potential for a couple of weeks and I have to say that I am really impressed with the capabilities of this plasma! There are lots of great things about this plasma and I will address some questions that people have had with plasmas and this particular model...and from its predecessor, the 5084.
Color and black levels:
The factory settings are almost OK if you don't know how to calibrate plasmas of this caliber. But if you can calibrate it yourself or spend money to get a pro to do it then PLEASE do so! Each source has its own independent set of Dynamic/Standard/Movie settings... which is great because each source has a different video quality feed. You must remember to calibrate it via the room type you have. So for bright rooms I used Dynamic (remembering to turn off any dynamic contrast settings that will lessen the performance of this plasma). I used Dynamic for daytime because I can utilize the DNIe+ option. For dark/dim lighting, I calibrated it using the Movie setting. After spending a good time on 3 sources (DVD, CABLE HD and the Wii) the video feed is mesmerizing! I tested the settings with 300, The Incredibles and Die Hard, each movie for its different characteristics. Remember not to use any dynamic contrasting when you calibrate, no need for it....ask any pro! (btw...don't use any of the E-Mode settings)
Buzzing:
There was an issue with some 5084's having a loud buzzing sound. As of my unit, the A550 has no LOUD buzz. It has a normal, very minute buzz that you cant even here unless your ear is to the back panel.
Heat:
This model is a LOT cooler to touch than the 5084. I read it's because of the better placement of the inner "guts". I have touched the sides and the top. Of course the top is the hottest spot but this thing doesn't emit as much heat as the 5084. That's a plus! Less heat = less energy.
Burn In/ Image Retention / Ghost images:
I have TRIED to produce burn in images with the A550(remember that I have calibrated settings and not factory)...and it's really hard. The anti-burn in settings that come with this plasma works wonders and has options to if you did have burn in, you can get rid of it. But use your head, if your have dynamic settings on and your brightness level is 55+....you're probably are going to get burn-in. There are so many ways to avoid it.
Speakers:
I only heard the speakers when I first turned on the A550. The Samsung chime tuned its way letting me know its presence. After that, I turned them off and used my amplifier to produce the sound to outboard speakers. The only reason there are speakers on plasmas/ LCDs this size is because the consumer does not invest in a home theatre system right away. I always thought....BIG pictures need BIG sound.
All in all, this is a wonderful plasma. I even think in some ways it is better than the highly praised Kuro. I am very impressed with what this plasma has to offer and I love the way it has that "WOW!" factor when people see it for the first time. I'd have to say SD channels aren't the best but they are ok for what they are. People ask me all the time why I chose plasma over LCD? Look at one side by side and tell me which one you want to invest your money into....plasma all the way. .
Update:
I finally used the Wiselink! I connected both a Fujifilm Finepix F50fd 12MP Digital Camera with 3 x Optical Image Stabilization and a Sony Alpha A100 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). It recognized both and I got to show off some pics from various shoots I did over the weekend! Never knew how great something looked at "poster" image sizes!!! The A550 is GREAT!
My friend brought over his new toy, the Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A 15.4" Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive), and we hooked it up! It was one thing to show off the new mac book pro....but on the 50incher...oh my god it was awesome! PLUS PLUS PLUS!!!!
Update #2,
Since my last update and review, I have moved to a newer and bigger house. I'm not sure if it was for us or just to make room for this plasma panel!
The A550 is now mounted usingPeerless Universal Tilt Wall Mount for 37"- 60" Flat Panel Screen with one Touch Tilt. I waited and waited and waited to purchase a PS3 for it's Blu-Ray purposes. Playing games on it is a plus too, but I mainly got it to watch movies on. Why not just get a Blu-ray player? Functionality. The PS3 allows me to have a media center and it allows me to stream movies/pictures/music directly from my PC/Laptop via TVersity.
The A550 has withstood many nights of watching hdtv, 1080p movies(finally) and gaming. My wife can even operate the thing now without me worrying about her ghosting anything on the screen. And if there are any, the "side scrolling" feature eliminates it. I have also bought a Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote. The Wife got aggravated with all the remotes I had. Now with one programmed click, it turns on the A550, the receiver and the set-top box in one infrared sweep!
Did I mention yet that I still LOVE this thing?
Update #3,
I have meaning to update this again when the new 120hz LCDs hit the scene. Friends and Amazonians alike have asked me how do the newer LCDs compare to the A550/plasmas in general. Well, 120hz was introduced in LCDs to address the motion blur due to a slower refresh rate(hockey pucks, footballs, explosions, etc...don't look natural enough and sometimes pixelated). With that said, how do the newer 120hz compare to my A550? Even though the 120hz LCDs have improved, it still doesn't compare to this plasma. If you want the whole package, get the A550! Awesome color, black levels, no motion blur, contrast ratio is great. LCD's native contrast ratio is around 2000~15000:1 with a Dynamic 100,000:1...remembering dynamic is not what you want to go by when measuring contrast levels.
Another thing, I have updated the software to the PN50A550. It's really easy to do. You go to www.samsung.com, you find the PN50A550 and download the updates. Took me less than 5 mins to do!
I can not believe it will be a year on April 4th that I have had this panel. I enjoy it everyday...STILL!
Couch Potato Maker April 21, 2008
Sky (New York)
65 out of 67 found this review helpful
Is there really a noticeable difference between 1080i and 1080p? You bet!!! And the Samsung PN50A550S 50-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV shows off the difference brilliantly.
First let me say how pleased my experience with ordering the TV on Amazon was. I ordered it on a Monday and it was delivered in 5 days...on a Saturday!
Okay, back to the TV.
The picture is magnificent. As I said earlier, there is a real difference between 1080i and 1080p. For the past three years I'd been watching on a 1080i maximum Hitachi Plasma, and I thought it really couldn't get much better. But it can.
1080p Blu Ray discs and Playstation 3 games in 1080p are both vividly more defined on the Samsung than on my Hitachi. At this time cable looks about the same, because the highest definition that my cable company (Cablevision) is broadcasting is 1080i. You can set the Samsung's picture to Standard (for a TV placed in a normal environment), Movie (for dark rooms) or Dynamic (for bright rooms). There are (several) other settings that the factory has pre-set and all look great, but you're free to manually adjust just about everything, and on that note....
I did have one issue that was really bumming me out. At the very bottom of the face of the TV is the Samsung logo, and directly below that is a relatively oversize, bluish, bright LED light that serves what purpose I have no idea...power indicator...decoration maybe? All that dumb light served to me was distraction; my eyes were drawn to it all the time, especially with the lights lowered while watching a movie. So I called Samsung and asked about it; I was sure that there would be no way to turn it off....but I was wrong! Customer service answered the phone with no wait after navigating briefly through a menu in order to get me to the TV people. The guy put me on hold for a minute and came back to tell me how to turn (what he agreed to be) "the very annoying" light off (the instruction also happens to be on page 67 of the User Manual). So no more annoying light!
I have set the TV's speakers to off, so I can't comment on sound. I use a Home Theater receiver in a room set up for Surround; the sound connections for the two devices (an HD Cable Box and a PlayStation 3 (60GB)) that I have go directly to my receiver (I think it's this one Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver).
The TV has a USB port (called WISELINK) that lets you play MP3s & view pictures from a USB-flash-drive (which I'll probably never do either of on the TV), but importantly if/when Samsung upgrades the TV's firmware, you can download upgrades to a file on your PC, load the upgrade onto a USB drive and connect the USB drive to the TV to upload the upgrade (all explained in the User Manual).
So I am really stoked about my new Samsung PN50A550S 50-inch 1080p TV. I try hard to get to the gym more often or just get more outside activities into my everyday routine, but this TV is gonna make a couch potato out of me for sure.
Amazon came through...big time April 22, 2008
A. McPhee
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
Let me start of by making some of you feel a little better about buying a major purchase online. I was very skeptical about having this delivered safe and on-time, but the $400+ I was saving from BB, CC & other local retailers was enough to swing me. I bought my PN50A550 from Amazon on Wed. 4/16 for $1849.98. CEVA had picked it up by the end of the day and had it on its way to me.
I called CEVA on Friday 4/18 at about 4:00pm and they told me the TV had arrived on the dock that morning. I'm not sure when they had planned on calling me to sched. delivery, but since they were more than friendly I ignored that minor gripe. They offered to deliver it Saturday, but my sched. was full, so i opted for Monday b/n 11-3.
Sure enough they arrived at 11:01, carried it in my house, unpacked it, took the time to set it up, make sure everything worked and was in good condition and could not have left me happier.
Since DirecTV never showed up the same day for their dish and receiver upgrade, I cannot comment on the HD picture as of yet, but i will be sure to post my views on the TV once they do. SD looks better than expected though; for what it's worth. And the set-up menu is easy to navigate and very descriptive. The remote has large buttons that all illuminate and the manual is very well written. It has everything you should need to know and not a lot of what you dont.
One more thing...since i placed my order, Amazon has twice since lowered their price. However, i simply called in to their C.S. and they were more than happy to credit my the difference both times. I believe i have 90days that they will protect their price. Thank you Amazon...you definately came through with flying colors.
**ok, HD finally hooked up and the picture quality is MIND BLOWING! Spent hrs watching discovery and animal planet. Can't wait to get ps3, although I can't imagine being much happier.
Stop shopping right now...trust me, you will be happy with this plasma! Plenty of settings available if you are in to tweeeking the pq. Blacks are exactly what i was looking for. No IR, loud noises or extreme heat. The sound is good enough that you don't notice they are TV speakers. Using the CNet settings, although movie mode is pretty close out of the box. Honestly, the only complaint i have is that i waited as long as i did to decide on this one.
I can't believe how good it is April 9, 2008
V. Gill
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
I'll start off by saying that i dont know much about HDTV. I have been using HD cable box on a 30" Samsung picture tube HDTV (1080i). I did like that picture and the sound on my connected surround sound. When i saw that best buy had 3 yrs, no interest financing, i just had to go for it, even though i found no reviews for this particular samsung model/tv. I saw reviews for the older models from samsung on different websites, so assuming that THIS tv has to be an improvement i told my family to buy it, and i also bought it for myself. Being a plasma i am still in the process of breaking the tv in. I reduced the brightness, cell light to 50% and 5. The only thing/control that is around normal is contrast at 90%. I saw Lord of the Rings on "TNT" HD and all i have to say even with my toned down setting for the tv till the breakdown period (approx 200 hrs)is OMG. The picture was just amazing, really it was as compared to the picture tube hdtv. Maybe its the bigger size but it did blow me away. Regardless of size, the colors, black levels etc is what i looked for. I am not sure how the experts will rate this TV as, but i am very happy with my purchase. Its money well spent and i'll be happy for years to come. This TV does let you change advanced settings for picture if you so choose. I skipped on the professional calibration. Some folks may want it, and rightly so, but i believe that i can get the picture which suits me, in my house for my needs.
I will probably have to update my review after the break in period. By the break in period i just mean to keep the settings low for the first 200 hrs approximately.
I am enjoying my TV and it seems darn good. I hope and am sure that you'll enjoy the performance of this tv if you choose to buy it. I do belive in Samsung, that they are creating a world class product. I just dont see the need of spending twice the $ for a pioneer plasma. I am sure its a little better but not value for the $ as the Samsung provides.
Update a week later: Yes, the tv is performing more than what i expected. Also check the best buy website for more reviews for this particular tv. I am not the only one blown away by it.
UPDATE AFTER A MONTH: This TV has blown me away. More than what i could have expected from a big screen tv. I had been leaning for a LCD tv, but when i saw this, anyway i am SOOOOOO GLAD i bought this TV.
I agree with another reviewer here, to calibrate your TV but according to your viewing conditons. This TV has been well reviewed by other websites, but you should calibrate as you deem the picture to be fit to YOUR eyes. Yes, disable all electronic anhancements and then change the numerous setting available on this TV for as you deem fit.
The only thing i can't comment on too much is sound. I usually use my surround sound but do have to listen to the tv speakers when using with my dish network connection. I have HD cable from time warmer along with SD dish network. Of course the SD picture doesn't compare with the HD picture but this TV does much better in showing me SD that a older SD picture tube TV i was originally using for the dish network connection.
In the end, awesome picture, very good sound, excellent price for this TV from samsung and the fact that it's Samsung, should make you feel confident in spending your hard earned $'s on a TV.
Good luck, i am sure that you'll enjoy and love this TV if you choose to buy this.
Sammy vs. Panny August 29, 2008
W. Moore (Burlington, NC)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Research:
So after 3 months of research, reading reviews, and lurking the avsforum, I had finally narrowed it down between the 2008 Samsung line or the Panasonic line. This is a condensed comparison between what I was able to gather about the two lines:
Samsung:
The plasma 550 and 650 have the potential to produce the most accurate colors. This means that after a proper calibration you are going to see the colors as the director/post-production crew want you to see. By comparison, the Panasonic line (80u, 85u) are going to have a slight "red push." This will be most noticeable on flesh tones, which will make people appear more pink or red than actual. This is supposedly because Panasonic's research found that test groups preferred a slight "red push." I would withhold judgment until you see it for yourself, you just might like it. Either way, unless you are a videophile (in which case you'd be looking at the Pioneer pros anyways) you aren't going to notice this unless you plan to have two different plasmas in your room, side-by-side.
Panasonic:
The 80u and 85u are going to have the best "black levels." This means that these panels are able to produce a couple deeper shades of black than the Samsung 550 or 650. This will be most noticeable in darker scenes or scenes where shadows dominate the screen. Again this is something that you will not notice unless you are a videophile or compare the two side by side (probably in very dark room). I believe that the Panasonic's supposedly have a better filter to avoid reflections in a brightly lit room.
The Decision:
The most crucial deciding factor for you should be your personal taste. Don't let all the marketing numbers or even professionally measured numbers sway your decision. You are going to be watching the TV, not the numbers on the side of the box. The same goes when your friends come over to watch the game or play games. My best advice for you is to go to a brick and mortar store (Bbuy, Ccity, etc) and compare the panels that you are interested in. Play around with the remote and settings if you can. While the store lights offer less than ideal lighting, you should be able to form an opinion and leave here knowing which TV you want. I left the store knowing that I either wanted the 550 or 650 and after checking my finances and wanting to buy a PS3 and home theater system, I decided to go with the 550.
I am willing to bet that if you buy any of these panels, you will be very happy. The money that you save buying through Amazon (in my case anyways) can go towards things like a PS3 or a home theater system (or BOTH).
CEVA Delivery:
After reading so many horrible things about CEVA delivery, I was downright petrified. I decided that despite my fears, the cost difference between Amazon and a b&m store was more than enough to console me. I ordered my PN50A550 on Tuesday, August 19 2008 at approximately 9 PM EST and Amazon shipped it on the 20th with an estimated delivery date of the 19th. Whatever you do, don't trust the CEVA tracking or Amazon's tracking information. By Monday (the 25th), my tracking information still only had one line which read shipment received by carrier. So I called my local CEVA facility (found at cevalogistics.com, world directory bottom of the page) and asked if my package was there and to schedule the delivery. The guy got my phone number and told me that the delivery driver would call me. The next day (26th) the delivery driver called me and scheduled a window of 12-4pm on Wednesday, August 27th. I asked him if he could call me before he got there and he told me he could call 30 minutes before. He called at 3:30 the next day and I left work to meet him. Sure enough at 4:05 pm the TV was sitting in my living room. The CEVA guy had a checklist where I had to initial saying that he unpacked the tv, it appeared to be in good condition, and that it turned on and displayed a good picture. A 5 business-day turnaround, not bad, especially when I saved about $500 not buying it in a b&m store.
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