HDTV Reviews Blog

Samsung PN50B550 50 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

49.9″ screen (measured diagonally) * 1920 x 1080 pixels * 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio * 600Hz Subfield Motion anti-blur technology * FilterBright anti-glare filter *

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Samsung Plasma HDTV
After reading several reviews we decided to purchase this TV from Amazon because of the cost. The product is just what we wanted. The company shipped it and set it up for us. Its great. It takes up less space than our previous 50 inch television, so there is more space for us in the living room.

3 Stars Great, but still prone to burn in.
The Good:It is a great set for the money. You just can’t touch a good 1080P 120-240Hz LCD or LED t.v. in this size for this price range. There are plenty of connections, although if you have a 50″ t.v. you really just need one hdmi input and maybe an optical out if you need to run sound back to a decent receiver. The picture quality is amazing when watching Blu Ray movies or other 1080p sources.

The Neutral: Which brings me to the sound. Other people have taken marks off for the sound of the built-in speakers. I haven’t found them to be that bad considering they are in the back of the t.v. for aesthetic purposes. Speakers are always going to sound muffled when they are facing away from you. I would say again, if you have a t.v. this big you should also invest in a decent receiver and a set of speakers. You can’t get the full theater effect with the two little speakers that come on any t.v. you purchase. The built in speakers in this t.v. are adequate for watching the news or other programs where surround sound isn’t going to greatly improve the viewing experience anyway.

The Bad: The plasma sets are still having issues with burn in. I didn’t realize it was such a problem until I unpacked this and skimmed through my manual. In the very front of the manual it tells you things that can cause burn in. It covers almost every use you could think of for a t.v. Off the top of my head, here were some of the things that were included:

- Watching a t.v. show with a channel logo or stock ticker (all the cable news channels have tickers)

- Playing video games (Think of title screens, pause screens, and in game stat bars)

- Using the t.v. as a computer monitor (This is probably the worst since there are almost always parts of your screen that will stay the same for long periods of time.)

- Watching DVDs (I am assuming they are referring to leaving it on the title screen either while getting all you snacks and stuff ready or falling asleep during the movie and letting the title screen stay on after it is over.)

All of the aforementioned activities will void your warranty for screen burn in. So basically, if you get screen burn-in they aren’t going to cover it. Both of the stars I took off were for this reason. If I spend this kind of money on something that is strictly for entertainment I want to be able to thoroughly enjoy using it at all times and not have to worry that by playing my favorite game for a few hours I could permanently destroy my screen. It takes the enjoyment out of it when you are constantly paranoid about burn in.

There are a couple of things that this set can do to help prevent burn in. There is the pixel shift which can shift the picture up to 4 pixels away and do so as frequently as once per minute. I have this set on the max and I have not noticed the shift yet even when looking for it. The problem with this solution is that many stationary images are going to have bars that are a lot bigger than 4 pixels in any direction. So even with the shift, the same color will most likely be on any given pixel in that area.

The other tool they provide you with is a screen wipe that you can run through the remote that will scroll different shades of black and white across the screen in what I would describe as a digital eraser. I tried it last night after playing Fallout 3 for a few hours and being paranoid that the life bar would burn in to the screen. It seemed to work well and it’s possible if you use that at the first sign of burn in that you could prevent permanent damage. Again, it’s just something that you shouldn’t have to worry about constantly.

5 Stars GREAT TV!
I SPENT DAYS LOOKING AT WHAT I WANTED, AND REALLY WANTED AN LED, BUT PRICE IS STILL A BIT HIGH, SO I GOT THIS PLASMA. IT LOOKS GREAT AND THE PICTURE IS BETTER THAN MY 6MONTH OLD SAMSUNG 46″ LCD. HD IS AMAZING TOO! FOR $1,100 YOU CAN’T BEAT IT!!!

5 Stars Great 1080p plasma screen HDTV!
This is a great HDTV for anyone looking to upgrade their current TV! I spent about 2-3 weeks researching this product before my wife and I decided to buy it and based on the price, brand (one of the top brands [if not THE top brand] when it comes to new HDTV’s and particularly plasma screens), and picture quality, you can’t beat this price really anywhere. We’ve been watching tons of movies on it since we purchased it about a month ago and it’s been a really great experience for both of us. Before upgrading we only had around a 19″ LCD tube screen TV (pretty sure it didn’t even have a digital signal) and we’ve absolutely loved the decision we made to upgrade thus far!

I had read a number of peoples’ reviews through Amazon on the same product before purchasing and one of the typical downsides I had found common amongst those reviews was the idea that the stock speakers in the TV aren’t very strong. To remedy this “problem” we just hooked up my wife’s 3-CD stereo system to the audio channel hookups on the back of the TV. Now we just use her stereo to provide any needed extra bass that is lacking from the stock speakers on the TV as well as to better fill-in any lack of treble range from them as well. Sounds great and provides plenty of “boom” for any explosions or other action-packed scenes in TV shows and/or movies. Obviously if you’re looking for a more professional surround sound, then I’d suggest going with purchasing a higher-end home theater system but in my honest opinion, and I probably should mention that I am quite an audiophile myself, the wife’s stereo system did the trick quite well!

The only negative side to everything/anything related to my wife and I’s purchase of this TV, I’d have to say, was just that the shipping company didn’t ever contact me the final time, when they said they would, to set up a delivery time. I ended up calling THEM back (they had called very soon after the TV had left Amazon’s shipping facility to let me know that they’d be calling back to set up a time to deliver it once it got to the state we live in but that was it) and just because of schedule conflicts and impatience of course , my wife and I just ended up driving about an hour to go pick it up ourselves at the shipping facility that it was then located at. Of course, this is all just in regards to shipping. Other than that, however, the overall experience was great! The TV’s condition was pristine and the box it came in looked as though it had just come off a shelf at a regular electronics store–so in terms of shipping condition I’d rate it as “excellent.” The speed of the delivery was amazing as well. It’s pretty sad when a 50″ TV gets to you 3-5 days faster than 2 6 foot HDMI cables after having been purchased on the same day! Again, an EXCELLENT buy when it comes to brand, quality, and price!

5 Stars good TV, great PQ,
I spent a lot of time researching before purchasing this TV. I was on the border line between LCD and Plasma, but finally I pulled the trigger to buy this set. Over all this is a great TV with a beautiful PQ. However, there are a few flaws such as buzzing, making noise when turn on/off. AFAIK, all plasmas make noise while operating, with this set the buzzing is really noticeable at night when the volume is low; maybe I’m too sensitive. Also, when turning on/off the TV there’s a weird noise from the back. Nevertheless, for the price that I got ($925) with free shipping and no tax, it’s a great deal.

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