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!
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