Samsung HPT5054 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
See it at Amazon.com for $1,549.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (4 out of 5)samsung 5054-great picture but poor HDMI
The samsung 5054 is great to look at and the picture is excellent at 720p. You would be hard pressed to discern a difference over the 1080p HDTV's. But, the HDMI input suffers from random audio drop off. Samsung offers no explanation, other than to blame the Cable box or the HDMI cables. You are watching a program and suddenly, no audio. You must turn the TV off and the sound does come back. Samsung says to bypass the HDMI and use the component inputs.Sort of like saying, just use the low speed on the wipers since the high speed does not work. Anyway, if HDMI is important to you, do not buy this TV. If you do not mind using low tech and cumbersome component cables, it will serve you fine.
(5 out of 5)Great Plasma for Gaming and Movies
I bought this TV to use with the xbox 360 and the PS3.
The quality on the picture was outstanding for the game consoles.(component connection) I was worried about screen burn in since it is a plasma but I have had no problems so far with long gaming sessions.
Movie playback with HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and HI-Def downloads are great. The number of connections you have and different connections is pretty good.
For the PC connection the colors are a little oversaturated with the default TV setup for games but that is easily fixed through the menu system of the TV.
Also the number of options you have for viewing sources is great. You have many different options for viewing 4:3 and PC signals.
The only con is the TV's menu system. It seems that options are mixed up so you have to hunt for a few of the advance options. Its not bad just a minor gripe.
Overall this is a great TV and well worth the price.
On a side note you can turn the blue LED to off so it never comes on in the TV menu system.
(1 out of 5)Read this before you want to buy Samsung's TV
I bought my first Samsung HP-S5053 50" plasma TV back in December 2006 from Circuit City.
The TV looked very nice to begin with. Four months after, it started to make huge annoying buzz noise. I had to call back to Samsung customer service to report the problem. It directed me to call a local contract service shop. I had to called back between Samsung and the service shop many many times. Finally I, three weeks after my first call to Samsung, got a technician to come to my house to check my TV. The reason it took so long to have someone come in was because the parts were on back order. After replacing all necessary parts, the technician concluded that I need a replacement TV.
Four weeks after, I got my new Samsung HP-T5054 50" plasma TV. I should be happy for getting a newer model with better features. Unfortunately, the story continued like another worse nightmare. The moment the delivery man unpacked the new TV and put it on my TV stand, I noticed that the new TV leaned to the right side apparently and it caused different height between the left and right because the TV base were not even and the swivel may not be linked correctly between the TV and base. I called back to Samsung right away. Samsung wanted me to accept the delivery and will send someone to check the problem. I have waited for a week without response because the parts are on back order per the local service shop.
This is not the only problem I have discovered to my TV so far. Yesterday I just found out another problem with my new TV. Given everything the same, when my Play Station 2 is connected to AV1 terminal on the TV, the TV's color and picture look a lot worse and darker than when connected to AV2 terminal. My wife and vedio game friends all concurred with my finding. Now I have to report my second problem back to Samsung while the first one has not been resolved yet.
I have had enough problems with Samsung. I am sure that the nightmare will linger for a while.
(5 out of 5)Amazing TV Great Price
The PQ is top notch only the pioneer i thought was better but you have to pay a lot more for little gain. HD looks outstanding and bonus is that the SD looks good too. (I watch from about 10 feet away) The audio drop is just a simple firmware update. Samsung support was quick and easy. Right now there is no better plasma for the price than the 5054. If you need a usb port then go with the 5064 but i believe the 54 has better PQ. Lots of ways to tinker with the picture. Lots of ways to protect the TV from burn-in. Lots of ways to hook up anything u need. Sound is good but im using my yamaha receiver most of the time anyway. Mine doesnt tilt. If it did id just put it on the wall. The swivel stand is actually a useful feature i didnt even anticipate. I just set my directv H20 to native and let the tv do all the processing its awesome. Baseball has never looked better. Im even watching golf because it looks so amazing. Planet Earth on Discovery HD theater and i was sold. Caution with the $$ u save buying this sweet TV you will spend it anyways on a new HD DVD or Blu Ray player, new hdmi receiver, speakers etc. but dont fret what else you rather waste your hard earned money on? I did tons of research and am totally satisfied.
(5 out of 5)Excellent
Recently purchased this TV from Amazon (delivered through Eagle) and I am extremely impressed thus far. I'll start with the cons:
> The stand is somewhat wobbly. I chose not to wall-mount and I was worried right away that the TV was going to fall off the stand because it is a bit unsteady, however I believe this is due to the fact that the stand is made to swivel which actually is a nice feature.
> Sound. For those of you (and this probably won't be many) who are looking for a good center channel this TV does not deliver. It lacks any kind of depth. Might be worth considering the 5064 because it seems like do to the design the center channel isn't as robust as it could be.
Now to the good stuff:
> Look: As stated above, the design for this 50" set is a bit different than the rest. It is the primary reason I chose this over the Panny or even over the 5064 model.
> Connections: 3 HDMI in, standard digital audio out (works great), usb is nice & in a great location (will be useful for firmware upgrades), no SD slot but not a big deal for me at least. PC connection is a bit awkward as stated in some of the other reviews but it is there.
> Picture - it's great. Of course with low-res/analog it looks pretty crappy to be honest but with dvds, hd, and all the digital programming this thing either blows away or is neck & neck with the comparable Plasmas. Be sure to check out multiple models in different modes but this has yet to dissappoint whether viewing a movie, hd programming ranging from 480i to 1080i. Not 1080p but unless you are a videofile and are really gearing towards true HD don't sweat it.
> Anynet: It's a feature I didn't even really consider until I looked into purchasing a sound system. I live in a small apartment so pairing this with the Samsung XT40 system is great - only 1 remote, the system looks consistent and there is seamless operation all the way around, it's more convenient than you'd think.
I will try to update this if anything changes but I am extremely satisfied with this purchase after doing a ton of research & viewing at the local stores. You won't regret this!