Samsung PN50A550 Stunning Television at a Great Price

I've been shopping around for Plasma TVs throughout most of 2008 - vociferously reading reviews on many brands and models. I knew that if I waited until holiday times, prices would drop even further than earlier this year. This television is now $400 cheaper than at my local big box retailers (plus free shipping and the added benefit of no sales tax.) Needless to say, add the easy financing and it's quite the sweet deal. CNET likes this TV, Consumer Reports rates it their "Best Buy", and loads of people on Amazon (myself included) love it. Compared to other 50" plasmas I "test-drove" at my local retailers...this one had the best color and picture.

I've had the TV for a week now, and like many of the reviews on Amazon, I have nearly all positive feedback on this gorgeous TV. The High Def channels on cable look beautiful - sharp when it needs to be sharp, excellent motion capturing (no jaggies). Regular (non HD) digital cable channels look good. Most of my standard def. channel watching is limited to Comedy Central and Turner Classic Movies - and the picture quality is good - a little fuzzy when placing your nose up to the plasma, but from 8-12 feet away it's barely noticeable - no blurrier than my old Sony WEGA TV that this set replaced. This set has excellent color reproduction, including flesh tones (which can be adjusted if necessary). CNET and others say that the black levels are sub-par. Well, they're not the best (like some of the high-end brands) -- but they're more than adequate, and with some easy tweaking of the television's settings, I've gotten over it. Black Levels weren't a deal-breaker for me. Coupled with a Blu-Ray player (with 1080p upscaling for regular DVDs) - movies are so crisp, real-to-life, and a joy to sit back and watch. Coincidentally, I bought my TV during a Black Friday promotion which gave away the Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Player for free, which was hard to argue with. Sadly, that deal is no longer around, but the Samsung BD-P1500 makes for a decent entry-level 1080p Blu-Ray player (and is also a CNET pick for Blu-Ray players under $250.)

All my audio runs through an existing Sony A/V Receiver (I only use 5.1 surround sound, though could use 7.1 if I bought two extra speakers), and all of it is connected using Digital Optical Cables. This TV should probably not be used with its existing (hidden) speakers - invest in a surround capable receiver and give this stunning picture some stunning audio to match. Let's face it - this TVs built-in speakers can never do the picture justice.

Adjusting the picture was easy via the TV's onscreen menus, and the out-the-box settings needed very little color tweaking. The remote control is backlit, and I find it pretty intuitive. Should you need to change the aspect ratio of the picture (especially on some of the old Cinemascope movies on TCM) - it can be done with one button on the remote. I also updated the television's firmware by downloading the firmware onto a portable USB flash drive and connecting it directly to the TV. That process was also easy with the instructions from Samsung's website.

I've mounted my television to the Techcraft Solution Series TRK50B TV Stand - which is exactly as wide as the television. It mounted easily to the stand, and concealing (most) of the cords was easy. The TV itself is one of the prettiest around: a high gloss black bezel, no speakers to be seen, and very little adornment other than the Samsung logo at the bottom center. The blue light under the television can be turned off permanently (it isn't really distracting, but I prefer it not visible.) When using the standard stand that comes with the TV, it sits very low to the counter. One reason I chose the Techcraft stand/furniture was because the TV could be high enough off of the counter to fit electronics directly underneath.

My den is very dark, so I haven't had any glare issues. I can even watch TV with overhead lights and a floor lamp on and I don't see any glare. But, if this TV is going opposite a wall of full-sun windows, invest in some black-out curtains.

I'm ecstatic about this television. Although it is my first foray into High-Def, I know I made the right choice and have easily gotten my money's worth.