Samsung HP-S5053 50-Inch Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)After shopping for several months I finally took the plunge and purchased this TV from a national chain. I finally decided plasma over DLP because of the vertical fading effect I saw with all the DLP sets. I took two of my own DVDs in to the store with me and made the staff there hook up a player so I could see both the fast action of The Matrix and the beautiful scenery of Spring, Summmer, Fall, Winter, Spring. The picture on the Samsung HP-S5053 was the second best of the many plasmas that I examined. The Pioneer had a better picture but was significantly more expensive. I do not use the built in speakers because I had an existing 5.1 speaker system. I really like the minimal black casing since the silver finishes are distracting-at least to my eye.
The menus are extremely intuitive. I didn't have to read the instructions at all to get anything working within an hour of unpacking my system. I purchased an upconverting DVD player and an HDMI cable at the same time I purchased this TV. My old DVDs look great on this TV. The 10-15 HD channels I get with Cox cable also look incredible. The one fault I've found is that if I use the HDMI cable from my cable box or DVD player and connect to the TV and then connect the digital audio out of the TV to my receiver I only receive stereo sound even when the original broadcast is 5.1. I get around this by using composite video cables from the cable box and DVD player to the HPS5053 and also run a digital audio line from each source to the receiver. The HPS5053 has plenty of inputs to support almost any type of user.

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Offering an incredible feature set and exceptional quality for its price, Samsung's fifth-generation 50-inch HP-S5053 plasma TV uses the company's proprietary electronic chassis and the latest DNIe enhancement circuitry to deliver outstanding brightness, contrast, and image clarity. Use it for home theater and use it for your PC--it's perfect for both. In addition to a standard-broadcast NTSC tuner, it also features an integrated ATSC tuner that can capture over-the-air digital broadcasts from local network affiliates (the set will still require a set-top tuner for receiving non-terrestrial HD broadcasts from channels like HBO or Discovery).
The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) Video Enhancer refines all analog NTSC and wideband video inputs for an overall improvement in picture quality. DNIe improves contrast, white level, picture detail and incorporates digital noise reduction to improve lower quality video inputs. Thanks to the new 13-bit processing capability of DNIe, the HP-S5053 can produce over 549 billion colors (compared to the one billion colors that TVs with 10-bit processing can produce.
This set features a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution, 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, 175-degree viewing angle, brightness rating of 1300 cd/m2 (candela per square meter), and an amazing 10000:1 contrast ratio. (The higher the contrast ratio, the greater a TV's ability to display subtle color details and not get washed out by ambient room light.) The 3D Y/C digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time to dramatically reduce edge image artifacts while improving transition detail.
The anti-glare plasma panel offers several protective features to resist burn-in, including auto pixel shift, signal pattern processing, and white screen function. It's rated for a 60,000-hour panel life (6 hours of usage a day for 27 years). Other features include:
Picture-in-picture (PIP) enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources.
Parental Control (V-Chip) helps parents monitor what their children watch on TV by establishing rating limits.
Auto volume leveler keeps audio volume consistent during channel changing.
Multi-lingual on-screen displays in English, Spanish or French.
Side A/V input

High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the speakers built into the sides of the TV. SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass. It produces 10 watts of power per channel (for 20 watts total) and offers the following connection options:
Composite (RCA audio/video): 2 inputs (1 on the side)
S-Video: 2 inputs (1 on the side)
Component (Y/Pb/Pr): 2 inputs
HDMI: 2 inputs
PC: 1 D-Sub15 input
RF: 2 inputs
Digital audio: 1 coaxial and 1 optical

Tech Talk HDMI is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver) with your TV--all over a single cable. HDMI supports standard, enhanced or high definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It supports all ATSC formats--standard (SDTV), enhanced (EDTV), and high (HDTV).
TruSurround XT audio adds three new audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.
Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into ÒfocusÓ during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
The SRS WOW feature widens the soundstage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.
Component video (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound.
What's in the Box Plasma TV, remote control (with batteries), power cord, printed operating instructions

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Samsung PN50C590 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a review of the 2010 50" Samsung Plasma TV, PN50C590. I have owned this unit for a week. I am comparing this set to my 2009 46" Panasonic Plasma TV, U series.
This Samsung 50" is the top of the line for the Samsug 500 series.
Pros:
1) It has a swivel base which the Pansonic does not.

2) The appearance of the physical set is simple and attractive.
3) The TV picture is excellent as is the Panasonic.
4) PIP (picture-in picture), it's kind of a phony, you can only view the default TV in the sub picture while using other inputs.
5) 4 HDMI inputs, though only one works with DVI (see cons).
6) You can update the firmware yourself.
7) The channels change quickly, something that doesn't happen with the Panasonic.
8) The TV screen doesn't reflect ambient light sources very much. Reflection is a problem with plasmas such as my Panasonic but Samsung seems to have resolved this.
9) The electronic program guide is especially good. It shows both title and available program details. The Panasonic only shows the program title. The program guide data is incorporated in the broadcast and its up to the TV manufacturer as to what is displayed in this regard.
Cons:
1) Weak tuner. It's only just noticably weaker than my other TV tuners, not a major problem though I am disappointed that this expensive set should be like this.
2) Lack of accomodation for DVI sources. The problem here is that adapting DVI to HDMI means you have to have a separate audio input. Panasonic has an elegant solution of making it possible for you to mate any of the available audio inputs to any HDMI input. Samsung gangs only one audio input to only one of the HDMI inputs. I had to install separate speakers to accomodate one of my two DVR computers.
3) No close caption on mute. The Panasonic doesn't have it either. Would be nice to have.
4) 3:4 format doesn't work for HD 3:4 pictures. The problem here is that if you view many programs in the 3:4 format, the black spaces on each side of the picture can cause burn-in problems on the screen which is typical of plasmas. The fix is to have a light panel on each side of the picture when the TV set to 3:4. This TV will do this with older 3:4 broadcasts but not with HD 3:4 broadcasts, it will crush both the picture and black spaces (16:9 format) into a 3:4 space. Hopefully a firmware update will fix this. "Fit to screen" is usually an acceptable alternative to 3:4.
5) The light panels ( see 4 above) available for the 3:4 format are either blinding white or almost black. A middling gray panel would certainly be more acceptable for this format.On the whole, this is an acceptable TV. I think you can get an excellent picture with any plasma TV. The devil is in the details.

To get an excellent picture on this (or any TV) you need to make custom adjustments. Factory default settings are never right nor are the display TV sets in stores done right. Spend a little time fooling with the adjustments and you will get big rewards in the "OMG what a great picture" department.

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Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This SamsungPN50C590, 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 your50 -inch plasma HDTV is helping the environment by using less enery while saving you money.Accessories
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Samsung PN50C430 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Samsung and Panny's are 1a & 1b when it comes to plasmas. You really can't go wrong either way, they both offer exceptional value in their 720p sets. And obviously if you are checking this TV out value and price are a big deal to you (me too!). So why did did I go with this set over a Panny? It just happened to be cheaper at the time of purchase, I would have went either way.
I could go into the big 720p vs 1080p debate and take up a whole page. I am sure you've read many reviews already making the case for each. But the truth is, you wouldn't be looking at this TV if price didn't matter. I am not calling you poor!! You just have some reason why you don't want to pony up for 1080p, that's cool, me too. The PN50C430 does exactly what it was meant to, a great picture for a great price. As for burn in/image retention, just don't leave something static on there for hours and you'll be fine. If you get image retention just watch some TV and it will go away. Don't use the scrolling or white features, it's better to exercise the pixels with TV to get rid of image retention.
Ok first the PN50C430 vs. the PN50C450 model. These are basically the same TV. The 450 model has 1 more HDMI port and Touch of Color (a little red/maroon stripe of color on the bezel of the TV). That's it. I went with the 430 because I didn't like the red TOC. I wish it would have had that extra HDMI port, but there are solutions for that. I also own the 2008 PN50A450 model. It has a nice silver stripe on the bezel which looks better than both of the 2010 models. Anyway, now with the quick pro's and con's summary.
Pro's:
Great picture for cheap! HD looks very good.
Good colors and tones, realistic
Nice looking (would like to have the silver stripe though!)
Much thinner than the 2008 model
More power efficient than the 2008 model
Lighter than the 2008 model (+/- 20 lbs!)
Good warranty
Basic menus but enough to customize picture nicely
Not a surround system by any means but decent sound for a flat panelCon's:
No swivel stand, the 2008 model has it and it's great :(
Remote, it's cheap but serviceable. You could always buy a better one though.
Hookups, it's manageable but it should have had 2 more HDMI ports and it doesn't have VGA
Buzzing, but it's not really noticeable unless right up next to the TV or with no sound on
SD picture is ok, it's crisp enough but a little dark even with AVS Forum recommended settings

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Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN50C430, 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.

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