Customer Reviews
It's a gem 
2008-04-22
I have had a similar experience as the last person to review. Both Amazon and CEVA have been awesome. Giving the best price, including price reductions (within 30 days not 90) and very professional 'white glove' delivery.
I am over-joyed with the TV itself. Currently watching Spidey 3 on the PS3 and the picture is like crystal. Could not be happier!
Amazon came through...big time 2008-04-22
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.
Couch Potato Maker 2008-04-21
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.
for your viewing pleasure 2008-04-16
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!!!!
I can't believe how good it is 2008-04-09
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.
