Samsung PN50A450 50" HDTV Plasma TV

After looking at many TV's, I decided to go with a Plasma instead of LCD, based upon my viewing and usage preferences.  Originally I thought I'd buy a 42" TV, but am glad I went with 50" (viewed from 8 to 10 feet away seems perfect for this size).  Also, I figured I'd go for the Panasonic based on other reviews, but after much in-store comparison between mostly LG, Samsung, and Panasonic, I concluded the Samsung had the best overall picture in this class.  Also, I compared each set to its 1080p counterpart, and just didn't see the justification for the extra cost of 1080p, especially considering my intended usage of the TV.

I've had this TV only a short time, but I absolutely love it and don't miss the 1080p.  Perhaps that's because I don't use Blu-Ray and I don't play video games on it and I don't plan on using it as a computer monitor.  I'm certainly not the most discrimating user out there, but I do know what I like & don't like.  I use this TV only to view free Over The Air broadcasts and up-converted DVD movies.  This set was able to find twice as many OTA channels as my old set, even though I'm using the same antenna and it also keeps the channels locked in more consistently.  Don't know why there is such a difference, but I'm very pleased about it.  Also, it rarely ever pixelates when the signal does get weak.  Instead it just goes black for a split second and then immediately back to the picture.  I definitely prefer that to what my old 32" CRT TV did (it would pixelate badly, freeze up for a couple of seconds, go black, then come back on). 

I am very pleased with the overall functionality & performance of this TV.  I veiwed the TV in multiple stores with different input signals, and I have to say I think my in-home performance on the TV even exceeds what I saw in the stores.  Also note that I compared this TV to the similar-model Plasma 1080p TV's, and still didn't notice enough of a difference to justify the extra cost.  The colors and contrast are very good in my opinion.  I suppose it's possible to get deeper blacks or even better contrast on a more expensive TV, but that is simply not an issue from what I can see.  I just really appreciate the accurate color representations overall, especially skin tones, which seem very natural.  I did make a few color and sound setting adjustments via the easy-to-use interface, and that helped sharpen things up even more.  Also, I've even watched the 3-D verision of "Journey to Center of the Earth" on this set (with requisite disposable 3-D glasses) and was quite impressed with the 3-D effects (and that's not even using the built-in 3-D capabilities of the set, which requires extra hardware). 

I have heard some people mention possible burn-in issues with this  TV (and other plasmas in general).  That did concern me, however, after seeing how Samsung deals with this via built-in functionality in the TV, it has eased my mind.  This TV uses pixel-shifting technology like the Panasonics (to help prevent burn-in), and also has functions for blasting White to the panel and for performing a Scrolling pattern over it (to remove any temporary burn-in you may get), and has a Side Gray setting if you use the 4:3 viewing mode (to prevent burn-in on the sides).  It also recommends keeping the brightness & contrast levels below 50% if still images are being displayed.  I think they also recommend that same thing for the first 100-200 hours of general use (break-in period), to minimize burn-in chances during the life of the TV.  Don't recall if that's a Samsung recommendation, or just general Plasma TV recommendation, and don't even know if it really makes a difference.  However, you can do this easily by just keeping the set in the "Standard" picture mode for those situations.  I don't completely understand all the issues with burn-in, but this sounds pretty comprehensive to me, and I've followed the advice and have had absolutely NO problems at all, but will report back if I do see any issues in the future.

I think the sound is just fine overall, though it doesn't really sound like "surround sound" to me.  However, I do use an inexpensive Sony surround-sound system for DVD movies, which is certainly better than the standard sound from the TV.  I love the swivel base that comes with the TV.  It makes it so easy to adjust the viewing angle if needed.  Also, don't worry about glare with this Plasma.  Even in daylight with a picture window across from TV I just don't see any glare, though I'll be quick to admit that I'm not typically bothered by glare anyway.  Also, I see there is a USB port on back of TV.  It says it can be used to flash it with firmware upgrades if ever needed.  Not sure if it is useable for other purposes though (like displaying a picture slideshow via a USB flash drive, for instance).  I just haven't tried that yet.