LG 50PQ30 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros: Rich, vibrant colors; full complement of inputs; extensive color calibration and menu system; inky plasma blacks
Cons: Ineffective anti-reflective coating; basic remote; jerky motion on panning
Summary: This year's bargain plasmas - the Samsung 50PNB450, Panasonic TC-P50X1, and the LG 50PQ30 here - can all be found for around the same price. Each set has its strengths and weaknesses, but in my opinion this LG set comes out the strongest of the pack to be the best big-screen value in 2009.
This set looks great. The swivel stand is a gentle oval in front but tapered in the back to allow you to push it close to a wall - thoughtful. All the inputs are well labeled and easy to find, and LG includes a full batch of cable ties and routes for your convenience - thoughtful. There's also a handy microfiber cloth to polish the shiny bezel - thoughtful. Out of the box, it's a great experience.
Once plugged in to an HD source (I have a Scientific Atlanta HD cable box, a XBox 360, and a Samsung BD-P1600 Blu Ray player), the colors in Standard mode are much better than on the Panasonic plasma I also own. LG generously included two "expert" modes which allow full tuning of each color channel as well as adjustments for greyscale, gamma, etc - this set easily bests the competition from Panasonic and Samsung, with the added bonus that 95% of viewers will plug it in, think it looks great, and never touch any of that stuff. There are energy saving modes which dim the set according to prevailing light conditions as well, and the set automatically turns off if there's no signal.
I will add that this set does not buzz, or at least buzzes much less than my Panasonic plasma. I can hear the Panasonic from my seating position of 10 feet away, but only if I rest my head on the LG do I hear anything. This feels like a better constructed all-around package than this year's Panasonics.
The speakers are nicely hidden underneath the set, and LG includes several sound enhancement modes, two of which - the ClearVoice and auto-volume - are actually useful. It's more than enough for late-night viewing when we let the receiver rest and relax.
There is very little sign of image retention on this set. The only time I've seen it is from the bright white and red menus of the Netflix interface via Samsung's blu-ray player. It went away after a quick white wash. The set has a pixel orbiter which should mean no worries whatsoever with regards to burn in as long as you don't leave a DVD menu up all day.
As for the reflections, I think it's a combination of a coating less effective than Panasonic's as well as this just being one humongous piece of glass. It's easy to live with as long as you make sure there are no lights or windows within the same line of sight of you and the set (the swivel base is very helpful in minimizing reflections as well).
Once the movies get rolling, it's clear you've made a good decision. The set's pixel grid and screen-door effect are, of course, visible within 3 feet, but once you sit back 5 or more feet it disappears and you're left with a sharp, lifelike, colorful window onto the world. It's a marvelous set, the best I've ever seen in my house and I've paid over $2000 (34" CRT HDTV) for TVs before. Blacks are black, whites are white, and everything else is right.
It's hard to go wrong at this price with any of this year's sets, but the LG is the most stylish and best-priced of the lot. Given its natural color, solid build quality, full feature set, and fantastic image quality, the set recommends itself. Buy with confidence.

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THX display certification sets this series apart. 50" PDP HDTV, 1365 x 768 Resolution, 20,000:1 Contrast Ratio, 1,500:1 cd/m2 Brightness, ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM - 1 Tuner, SRS TruSurroundXT, 3 HDMI input. USB 2.0.

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VIZIO VF550M 55-Inch Full HD 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a review junkie. Sue me. So when I know I want something like a new HDTV I research high and low to not only find the best price, but I also want pretty darn close to the best product out there on the market. From professional reviews to consumer reviews here on Amazon, I do my best to soak it all in. With that being said, in my experience I've never been disappointed with something I've bought that I've done extensive research on...
And that holds true with the Vizio VF550M.
I bought my set at Costco during the Thanksgiving Weekend Sale. One of the first things I noticed right out of the box was how big it really was. I upgraded from a 46" LCD and the size was noticeably (and awesomely) huger. Yes... huger. When I saw the VF550M display at Costco it just didn't look that big because it was set next to other 50-60 inch sets and in the middle of a huge warehouse. However, while setting it up I realized it was the perfect size for the further viewing distance in our family room. The set-up was easy enough. I mounted the tv with the VideoSecu Adjustable Tilt TV Wall Mount (bought on Amazon) which I was very pleased with. We ran the cables through the wall to my devices to hide them... and I must say, it looks beautiful mounted to a wall. I would definitely recommend mounting this set. I didn't care too much for the remote that came with the TV so I opted to upgrade to the Logitech Harmony 670 remote (also got on amazon).
The picture on this TV was just as good or better than any other HDTV I have ever seen. The black levels are great with the DCR feature. Blu-Ray looks amazing on the big screen. I will admit I jumped on the 120hz bandwagon and as of right now I couldn't be happier with it when it comes to watching sports- but thats all I use 120hz (or "Smooth Motion Effect") for.
PROS
-BIG
-Great 120hz feature for Sports
-Good out of the box sound
-5 HDMI ports!
-Stunning picture
CONS
-Don't care for the remote

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Taking your home theater to the next level, VIZIO brings you the stylish VF550M. This full high definition, 55-inch LCD HDTV combines the latest technology--full high-definition 1080P resolution for crystal clear images and 120Hz Smooth Motion technology provides a fluid, blur-free, lifelike picture. The innovative design and cutting edge sound technologies complete the HD experience.

1080P Full HD Full 1080P High Definition resolution gives you over 2 million pixels, making the clarity and detail of your picture razor sharp.
120Hz Refresh Rate A 120Hz refresh rate limits motion judder, creating smooth transitions between frames, for crisp, clear images.
ECO HD ECO HD exceeds the current Energy Star Guidelines by 15% below Energy Star 3.0, saving you money on your utility bills while limiting the impact on our planet.
Built-In Speakers Four built-in 10-Watt speakers provide room-filling sound.
SRS Audio Technologies SRS TruVolume evens out dynamics to limit volume inconsistencies between programming. SRS TruSurround HD delivers immersive virtual high-definition surround sound out of the unit's two speakers.
178-Degree Horizontal Viewing Angle The VF550M features a viewing angle of up to 178-degrees, resulting in a crisp and clear picture that is easily visible from just about anywhere in the room.
Ultimate Connectivity The VF550M has a whopping nine high-definition inputs, five of which are HDMI. No matter how big your entertainment system is, you should be covered.
VIZIO VF550M Inputs
HDMI with HDCP: 5 (1 side)
RF Connector for Internal Tuner: 1
Component YPbPr plus Stereo Audio: 2 (1 side)
S-Video: 1
Computer RGB: 1
Composite Video: 2 (1 side)
USB Port: 1 (service only)

VIZIO VF550M Outputs
SPDIF Digital Optical: 1
Headphones: 1 (side)

One-Year Warranty VIZIO provides a one-year warranty on its products for extra peace of mind in your purchase.
What's in the Box VIZIO VF550M, VIZIO Remote Control VR2P, Power Cord, Safety Strap, Screen Cleaning Cloth, User Manual, Quick Setup Guide, Registration Card, 2 AA Batteries for the Remote Control

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LG 50PJ350 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've only had this a few days so there's a lot I've yet to adjust to, but I wanted to write up some quick notes for anyone interested in this set.
- Well, it's October 2010 and I've had it for a few months so am offering some updates.
#1 Overall, I like it a lot. I use it for my standard def ancient Replay DVR, Wii, PS3 and computer.
- Still like it a lot. The Replay DVR is history, replaced by a newer EyeTV that records HiDef over air channels. The standard def picture is growing more and more quaint. Where I have the option I'll watch the better HiDef picture. I use it via my computer almost exclusively with a browser window open and a TV window playing.
- Video game picture quality is ridiculously awesome. No pixel blur that I can detect. When I had my Sony DLP set I would get headaches playing certain 1st person shooters, that hasn't happened with this tv.
#2 The remote is a lot better than I'd hoped for. It could be heftier with a better balance, but LG has taken pains not to put more on it than you need.
- I take it back. The arrow buttons (">", "

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If you think plasma means a bulky frame or power inefficiency, take a second look at the 50-inch LG 50PJ350 720p Plasma HDTV, which features a TruSlim Frame that helps trim away distraction without compromising screen size. Other features include 600Hz Sub Field Driving for elimination of motion blur, a mega contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1, stereo speakers with 20 watts of power and Dolby Digital decoding, three HDMI ports, and the capability to play MP3 audio files and JPEG photo slideshows from a USB drive.

Key Features
Key Specifications

LG 2010 HDTV Comparison

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Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?

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Samsung PN58C500 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is not as large as you might think. The overall size of this is nearly the same as my Samsung HP-S5053 50-Inch Plasma HDTV. The difference is that the old plasmas have a very large thick bezel and this has a very thin boarder - thus reducing its overall size.
To be clear, this absolutely has full widescreen 16:9 capability. It is HD 1080p compliant. Some widescreen movies are shot in 2.35:1, so those will still have black bars at the top and bottom. Maybe this is what the other reviewer was referring to.
The picture is very high quality here - much better than my 50" plasma. The blacks are very deep and I haven't seen any real evidence of ghosting.
The features on this are very full, but I don't use my Plasma for much more than a simple monitor - I run everything through an AV receiver. I access Netflix and other web apps through my LG BD570 Network Blu-ray Disc Player.
This is not 3D capable.
Oh, by the way, a note on model numbers: The PN58C500 is really the same as the Samsung PN58C550 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Black), but was released for Black Friday deals with a new model number and - I believe - one less HDMI input than the 550. I believe it is otherwise the same set as the 550. This is not last years model. Last years models had a B instead of a C in the model number, ie. PN58B. . .
Be careful to know who your seller is. I bought this when the seller was Amazon and got free shipping, not someone else. It switches back and forth from time to time.

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With the Samsung 58-inch PN58C500 HDTV, you're investing in a high-quality Plasma TV that offers top-of-the-line picture quality with 1080p high definition resolution. Enjoy the sharpest details and vivid color with an amazing 2,000,000:1 mega dynamic contrast ratio for more realistic images. It's matched by Samsung's advanced 600Hz Subfield Motion technology, which renders onscreen action smoothly and reduces motion blur.
The 46-inch Samsung LN46C600.

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Samsung PN50C450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Samsung PN50C450
I picked up my PN50C450 on Friday March 19th from BestBuy after months of research. In general I don't make purchases from BestBuy. I did the "purchase online / pick up in store" option and was very satisfied (I avoid sales people whenever possible :>). Sorry for the long review but it took me 4-5 months of research to pull the trigger on this TV. Here are my impressions.
Setup
Instructions on the box for removing the TV were clear. After a quick look at the assembly instructions (and sending my kids upstairs to play for 20 minutes) I screwed on the mounting bracket to the base. Just as I read on other reviews these screws did NOT go in easy. Samsung needs to address this as it doesn't instill confidence in the product when the first step in assembly has a minor glitch. Had a bit of a time getting the TV to lineup with the bracket (my issue not the TV). Put in the last 4 screws in the back and those went in much easier. Took a step back and looked at it, "dude that thing is huge" (large smile on my face)
Power On
Now the moment of truth......IS IT GOING TO BUZZ? I powered it on and........not a sound to be heard... totally silent! For a second I thought maybe I didn't power it on but the little "musical tone" went off indicating that it was on. This was my #1 concern with all the things I read about buzzing. Maybe I got lucky, maybe I just can't hear a buzz or maybe it's not as much as an issue as everyone keeps saying? Sure, I stuck my head behind the TV over the next few days and really tried to listen for a buzzing sound. I found if I got on a stool and put my ear really close to the top of the TV (careful it gets hot) I could hear the sound of "electricity" same as my old CRT TV. IN SHORT NO BUZZING.
Connecting Stuff
HDMI: After some research about the whole HDMI controversy (Monster vs cheap cable) Cnet put everything in perspective for me, "it's digital, just get the cheapest cable you can find". Believe it or not BigLots had a gold plated 6' HDMI cable for $12.00 (BestBuy's least expensive was $29.99). So I picked up one HDMI cable, 4 cans of diced tomatoes, yellow mustard and a 6 pack of root beer (God Bless America).
I connected the HDMI to my U-verse box and immediately went to the first HD channel I could find. I then switch to the corresponding SD channel and flipped back and forth several times. It's a big difference between SD and HD (although my kids and my wife didn't seem to care, but they have not yet given into HD madness).
I then connected my Wii with the standard cables it came with. The picture was obviously not HD but that was to be expected with the Wii. PQ was fine for gaming. The new Super Mario Brothers is way more fun (4 player mode) when you have so much digital real-estate to play on. I'm going to pick up a set of component cables just as a few people at AVS forum recommended . Overall the PQ was fine for gaming.
I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so I did a test with my DVD player. Movies looked good after fussing with the screen size settings. I know Blu-ray DVD up scaling will be a significant improvement.
I also need to pick up an antenna so I can get OTA HD channels. From what I've read the OTA signal is not compressed (like my U-verse signal) so I'm excited to see what kind of results I can get.
TV Viewing and Settings
Right out of the box in "Standard Mode" the picture looked kind of dark and the colors were kind of flat. I then scrolled through to "Movie" mode. That was much better but still the colors were not super impressive. Then I switch to "Dynamic".....who the heck came up with this setting? Very bright and colors looked like a carnival. Unfortunately "dynamic" is the mode for choice for my kids when they play the Wii. I guess that would be the only time you would need this setting?
In order to get the best picture I took the advice of many of you and tweaked the movie mode settings. Thank you [...] users for posting the custom settings. They worked great!! I think I still need to bump down the skin tone setting one more notch but I'm very happy with the way it looks.
There is a lot of talk about Black Lines, Screen Doors, Dither etc..... I don't seem to have any of these issues (maybe ignorance is bliss?). I do get a little pixilation on HD channels sometimes but I think that has more to do with my HD signal being compressed (thanks AT&T).
Glare: I have the TV in a corner of our room that has a window flanking the left of the TV and a sliding glass door facing from the other room. Sure you get some glare in the middle of the day but if you just draw the curtains (and I'm not talking about black-out shades, just normal curtains) its fine. At certain angles at night I can see a lamp or kitchen light reflecting on the screen. I've found that most lights have these things called switches which allow you to turn them on/off. That seems to solve the problem :>)
Image Burn/retention: This was another major concern I had prior to purchasing plasma in general. I've come to the conclusion that as long as you don't spend 5 hours straight playing COD4 with the brightness up to 100, image burn is not an issue. I'd say our family is average when it comes to TV use. We've played the Wii and watched movies/TV and over the last week I have never seen any indication of image burn (and trust me I've been looking for it). And NO I didn't run any break in DVD's either.
Sound: With the way people complain about the sound I thought it was going to be like listening to the TV via a tin can and string. Do the speakers compare to a separate surround sound system running from a receiver....NO. Are you going to hear chest thumping bass when you watch a movie...NO. Relax people, the sound on the TV is just fine. All of my u-verse TV viewing is done exclusively via the TV speakers right now. I watched a concert the other night and I thought it sounded great. The Wii and DVD are currently running through my receiver and 5 speakers and yes it sounds better through that. But that is to be expected.
General PQ: The real test was last Sunday night when Discovery showed their LIFE series. The whole family sat down to watch our new Plasma. It was ideal viewing with a pitch black room (it felt just like a movie theater) I actually heard one of my kids gasp because it looked so real. My youngest wasn't too happy with all the HD close ups of bugs and kept his hands over his eyes because it looked too real. I personally couldn't believe how clear the picture was. I'm finding out that not all HD channels are the same. Some have great HD and some are so/so. That's more of the fault of u-verse and the compression they use on their HD channels. But after watching that I was sold!!!! I know that Blu-ray is going to be even better than this experience. 720P: When I was in BestBuy this TV was right next to a 1080P TV and you could see a little bit more details when you were 2-3' away. But at 8-9' (my TV viewing) I couldn't see the difference. NON ISSUE FOR ME. But how are the Blacks you ask?: wouldn't you know that the blacks look......well.....black (not grey). Very happy.
Gripes: I use my u-verse remote to watch TV. I only use the Samsung remote to switch inputs or change the screen setting. The Samsung remote is about as responsive as molasses in January. I'm not sure where they put the stupid sensor for the TV but it must be under the base. Switching from SD to HD shows and visa/versa and dealing with the different screen formats is a pain. HD looks great in 16:9 but then the SD shows are not full screen so you have to flip "fit to screen" to fix that. All of this screen gymnastics is getting old. I wish there was a setting to say, "hello TV...just fill the screen for me to give me the best possible picture".Swivel would be nice as it takes 2 people to "swivel" the TV manually. Since I don't have the component cables for my Wii I have to swap the DVD and Wii between the 1 in-put that supports them. I wish it had 1 more set of composite connections on the side. For now that's about it.
Conclusion: So far I love this TV. The only issue now is competing for screen time between the Kids/wife. I'm glad I got the 50" as I know I would not have been happy with the 42". For the price I don't think you can go wrong with this TV.
Update 6/10/10: I've had the TV for almost 3 months now and I am still enjoying it very much. For the most part I think it's "broken in" now. I did have to tweak some of my initial setting from when I got it. I did purchase a component cable for my Wii and it looks much better with the new cable. I really didn't have any issues with IR. Once in a while when my kids would go on a Wii binge you could see some IR but running the scrolling feature for a few min took care of that quick. I don't have a blu-ray player yet but the HD quality for AT&T U-verse is pretty good. Still no buzzing (never had an issue with mine). I did hook up a usb flash drive to it to view some pictures I put on it. Wow! it does a great job displaying pictures.
I'll report back when I get a Blu-ray player (maybe fathers day???).

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung PN50C450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black)

Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN50C450, 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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Samsung PN42C450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Just received the TV today! It arrived a day early, which was a pleasant surprise. Once I fired it up, I was ecstatic with this set. The quality is amazing for the price, the picture blows away a top of the line 42" 1080p LCD display that I've seen. Deep rich colors, high contrast, fluid motion...there is nothing not to like! Streamed Spartacus off Netflix, and compared to my old little 22" LCD it really came to life.(Even if the writing is really bad)
It was able to find some basic cable channels in HD, which is awesome, and Modern Warfare 2 looks simply astounding (again, much better than on aforementioned 42" and 22" LCDs.)
The sound is decent, it's actually better than I was expecting. It's obviously no Home Theatre, but I was impressed. It's got a few connections which aren't listed on Amazon...the 3 HDMI, 1 PC, 1 USB, 1 Component, 1 Dual Component/Composite, Audio In 1/8", Audio Out 1/8", Optical out, and cable. The menu is very easy to navigate and adjust, and in it you can turn off it's startup/shut down sound if you find it irritating. It's kinda soothing though.
One negative I've found is that the audio running out isn't controlled by the televisions volume, I guess that's pretty standard, but it means my cheap computer speakers aren't much good. (No remote) Also when installing the base stand it felt like I was about to destroy the thread on the screws that are used...They aren't easy to get in there!
It's very elegant, and looks great in my living room. It's not super bright, which I love (LCD panels hurt my eyes after a while) All in all, for the money it's a fantastic TV. I was looking for quality, affordability, and style.

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Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN42C450, 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 42 -inch plasma HDTV is helping the environment by using less enery while saving you money.

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