Samsung FPT5084 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

See it at Amazon.com for $1,488.00

Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)

Amazon Customer Reviews

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Purchased this baby on July 13, 2007 and...

This is my initial review of this television after owning it for about three days.
What I love:
Watching Blu-Ray in 1080P is just spectacular! I own a PS3 and have a 1.3a HDMI cable for connection and the picture is superb. I watched "The Prestige" and "Casino Royale" in 1080P and was blown away. No pixelation or judder during fast-moving action scenes and the colors and details were impressive. This is clearly what this TV was designed to do. No complaints
I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma(720P) on PS3 and it looked amazing. The background was so beautiful I couldn't even play the game. I was just staring at the details and vivid colors. Once I have broken-in this TV (at least 100-200hrs) I will play more games. I get nervous about image retention. However, this TV comes with "Pixel Shift" which is supposed to help prevent this problem. Also, there are several built-in programs that will help alleviate the problem if, God forbid, there is image retention. I like that very much and it is a nice feature. I talked to an ISF-trained tech from a local store and he told me with these new plasmas that you would have to leave an image for several hours for "burn-in" to occur. He also said that there is no "break-in" period like I said above, but that I should NEVER use the DYNAMIC picture setting because it will turn your plasma into toast. So take this for what it's worth. I am being very cautious with my $3000 newborn.

What I like:
I have DirecTV HD service and the picture is VERY NICE. There is some pixelation during extremely fast action or explosions, but trust me that is the crappy satellite feed and NOT the plasma. No complaints here.

What I think is OK:
The SD channels are good, but not great. It definitely varies from channel to channel and this, again, may just be DirecTV. Don't get me wrong they are MUCH better than on my Samsung LCD, just not amazing or anything. I am so spoiled. It's funny, you'll be watching a show in SD and the picture is not so good and then it goes to commercial and they look awesome. I guess what they say is true "Garbage in, Garbage out."

Other observations:
I only listened to the sound for about 10 minutes because I have 7.1 surround, but it sounded good and that is all I will comment on that.
I read that the pevious model Samsung 5054/64 has problems with judder or skipping frames with tickers(CNN,ESPN,etc.) on the bottom of the screen. I don't see this problem and I am LOOKING for it big-time. Nothing that I can detect. Do not worry about this cause it is not a problem.
Sorry about the long review, but I know there is not much out there on this one. I can't wait to see what the fellas/gals at CNET or CR have to say. Good Luck and feel free to ask me about anything specific.



Update Jan. 7, 2008
I have had this tv for 6 months now and I have no regrets. I will say that it can get very hot and doubles as a heater. Especially after watching for several hours. But it is a minor annoyance.
The picture is still fantastic and I would put it up against a Pioneer Kuro anyday. It will absolutely destroy a Panasonic. They are very good plasmas, but I would go with SAMSUNG everytime. I saw the price has dipped below $2000 for this set now. People, if you want a 50" 1080p Plasma, DO NOT WAIT. THIS IS YOUR SET. I love it and it is my baby...You can thank me later.

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Mixed feelings about this plasma

I just purchased this TV a few days ago and I have mixed feelings about it. Here's what I like and dislike about the set.

Likes:

- Aesthetically it is one of the nicest flatscreen TVs I've ever seen. I also purchased the SANUS Flat Panel TV Stand for the set and it looks fantastic on the stand
- Picture quality is stunning Dynamic mode.
- Sound quality is above average for a television
- Excellent value for the money, 50" 1080P for under $2400--what a steal!

Dislikes:

- picture quality (PQ) on older non-HD channels is terrible. I was watching an old NBA game on ESPN Classics and it was unwatchable. I tried tweaking the settings, but nothing really improved the picture.
- the PQ was about the same--and at times--not as good as my wife's Panasonic 720p Plasma. I'm hoping it was due to a weak cable signal.
- The picture seemed somewhat washed out while using "Movie" mode
- Phoned Samsung for a minor issue and they were no help

Conclusion:

I'm on the fence about this TV and will probably swap out my TV cables and try some setting I found on the Internet. I'll update this post with my results.

Updated on 8/21/07:

The PQ on HD channels is mesmerizing; especially, Discover HD and NFLNet. I find myself watching these channels more and more because of their excellent PQ. I've decided to deal with the poor PQ on the non-HD channels since they'll probably be going away in the year or two. Also I'm planning on purchasing a Blueray DVD player to experience the full potential on this set.

After a couple of weeks and endlessly tweaking the settings on the TV, I've come to the conclusion that the default settings provide me with the best PQ. However, I did change the following setting:

Color Tone: Cool1
Digital NR: Auto
DNIe: On

Under the "Detail Menu":
Black Adjustment: High
Color Space: Auto
Edge Enhancement: On

Hope this Helps

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When I turned it on, I simply said...WOW.

After a significant amount of research and a post in response to one of the other great reviews here on Amazon regarding this product, I decided to take the plunge. I was looking for a TV that had the following qualitites: 1080P, 3 HDMI inputs a beautiful piano gloss black casing and a reasonable value (Pioneer Elite need not apply). I went to BB to look at all of the TV's both plasma and LCD "side by side." Because I watch mostly sports, I badly needed a smooth picture during fast action. I noticed that even the good LCD's still have frequent pixelization. I decided to go back to a different BB just to double check and I did indeed see the same thing.
I have had 2 Panasonic plasma TV's in the past and they were very good, but the Panasonic 1080P model that has 3HDMI inputs is significantly overpriced and just not as physically appealing as the Samsung. When I turned on the TV and switched to an HD channel, I literally said, "WOW." outloud. The difference in brightness, detail, clarity, and picture smoothness were evident immediately over the 50" Panasonic that I had purchased only 6 months ago! I was immediately thrilled with my purchase. After hooking it up to a Toshiba Up-Converting DVD player, I was amazed once again. The picture on this TV is absolutely amazing. Even my wife, who is not a techie, noticed immediately how wonderful the picture is.
Positives:
-It's hard to imagine a better picture.
-3HDMI inputs
-1080P capability
-Beautiful Piano Gloss Black finish
-Great stand that is piano gloss black and also swivels
-Very reasonable price point for 1080P
-1 Set of inputs on side of TV

Negatives:
-The speakers are on the side for a cleaner look and the sound is horrible. It's downright bad. Use your surround sound system.
-To go from one source to the next you must press the source button several times vs. pressing it and choosing which source you want through directionals on remote.

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Absolutely worth every penny......

First I would like to say that SD channels do not look very good on this set. But unlike some reviewers, I know this is to be expected. Whenever you have a 480i/p image, spread over 50 inches of screen, and over 2 million pixels, it's a no-braner that quality is going to suffer. So, just deal with it until all or the majority of channels are fed in HD.

Now, to the review. First, HD quality is phoenominal, as expected. I have directv and the uality is great. But this pales in comparison to Blue-ray quality. It is razor sharp and superbly colored, even at factory settings. Bottom line is, if you understand that SD on such a Hi-Res and Large screen, is going to be poor, you'll be extremely happy with you're purchase. If you expect every channel to look like a Blue-Ray movie, you'll be very disappointed.

Secondly, you need to understand formatting. You're likely going to have to stretch you're image on you're screen. Unless the movie you're watching is in a certain format, it will NOT fill the entire screen. This brings us back to the poor SD quality. If you fill the screen, the image will be stretched in order to do so. This makes the SD quality even worse. But you can't blame the TV, it's the television stations and broadcasters, who are still broadcasting in such a low res, poor quality, that is to blame.

Thirdly, the set is a plasma. It draws lots of power and puts out alot of heat. But this is normal for a large plasma television. So don't be alarmed.

Fourthly, the anti-glare coating Samsung uses in this set is outstanding. I have very little to no glare at all from my lamps/windows. I'm very pleased with this.

Fifthly, the sound from the set sucks. Don't buy this and run sound through them. You're movie/viewing experience will suffer greatly. Get a decent surround setup, with a good subwoofer and you'll be very pleased with you're overall experience.

Lastly, like all high end sets, this tv is at the mercy of the quality of the signal being fed. Give it a high res source, and you'll be floored by the quality of picture. Blacks are very black and 1080P through Blue-Ray is untouchable.

Overall, fantastic value. Excellent features, near perfect picture.

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The One Real Con

I bought this TV today and am very tech savvy. I know all there is to know about interlaced vs. progressive, resolutions of different formats, hdmi vs. dvi vs. vga, as well as 480i, 720p, 1080p.. you get the picture, no pun intended.

That being said, take it from an expert techie that this is without a doubt the best 50" HDTV available on the market, and I HAVE looked everywhere. (I have seen a 58" Plasma from Samsung as well that is mind-blowing.. but for around a grand more that is out of most people's price range.)

I bought this unit for 2300.00 from Best Buy today, and getting their credit card doubles RewardZone points, essentially giving me 10% back for the entire cost of the unit on top of that. Don't let their 2800.00 price tag fool you, you can talk them down alot on this baby if you get a warranty and buy a couple accessories. Getting a competitor in on the deal helps too. They love to fight with H.H. Gregg :)

Pricing aside, I love absolutely everything about this TV. I did my homework, looked at literally hundreds of HDTV's, and from store to store this one consistantly outranked the rest.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING:
-Picture Quality. Best, bar none. You will not find better. I promise.
-Viewing angle and anti-glare. Screen can been seen in true color from ANY angle, but because of the way the anti-glare is designed, the display looks fuzzy if you are close and at a very sharp angle. Anything 170 degrees or less looks spectacular. I get no glare from any angle in a room with multiple lamps on each side of the television. It's as good as a matte LCD with the durability of plasma's glass.
-Side input has EVERY type of connection. HDMI, USB, S-Video and RCA. All there for your video game systems :)
-USB Connectivity is pretty cool and much better than expected. Can browse folders and play MP3 / WMA's, as well as view or slideshow pictures.

NEGLIGIBLE CONS:
-Switching sources is a bit slow, and the remote seems to have some lag. You cannot quickly (under a second) switch from channel to channel or switch sources. Minor inconvenience.
-USB Connectivity is great, but cannot play video. (Probably due to throughput issues)
-The sound is bad. It is loud and fills the room, but is completely devoid of bass. This is to be expected. You're buying a TV. Whatever crappy speakers they have to tack on to a near-flat unit are there for CONVENIENCE, not quality. Get a nice reciever (Yamaha) and some decent speakers, and hook it all up via Optical. Remember, the RECIEVER makes for great sound, not 600.00 Klipsh speakers. I spent $600.00 on my reciever and $80 on my speakers, so trust me.
-The unit can get pretty dang hot. This is completely normal for plasma TV's, but heat significantly reduces the life of any electronic device. For that reason, I hooked up 3 silent fans to the back of my TV. The unit is very well vented both on the top and on the back, so I found some Just Cooler monitor fans that even had a perfect hanging hook and an enclosure that work and fit PERFECTLY for this unit. GET THESE. They're silent, really move some air, and will keep your TV alive. The only downside is they use a molex connector found in any computer to get their power. A simple molex power adapter found in any external 3.5" hard drive enclosure will power these babies with a wall socket. See a review and pictures here:
http://www.xtremods.com/?pg=review_3dcoola1


THE ONE REAL CON:
-Picture in Picture. Samsung added this feature, but it is basically worthless. The TV has one tuner that handles not only flipping digital channels, but also EVERY digital input. This means that you CANNOT view anything other than an ANALOG SECONDARY COAX INPUT ONLY inside PiP. In other words, you don't even have an input button for the PiP box. It draws from the 2nd Analog Coax input only. That being said, PiP has a few modes such as split-screen, but is ALWAYS locked at 4:3 ratio since it's analog only.

Don't buy this thinking I must be crazy and that you can watch a blu-ray while your son uses the PC input or plays PS3. Won't happen.. I have triple verified. While this makes PiP pretty worthless, is not enough to keep me from loving my TV. Most people rarely or never use PiP anyway.

OVERALL:
I'd give this thing 6 stars if I could. Read the reviews, save up 2.5 grand, and do yourself a favor. Don't even bother looking elsewhere, this TV is unbeatable :)

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