Home > Consumer Reviews > Samsung PN50A450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

First Review,
Second evening of viewing, Just upgraded from a returned Samsung HP-T5054 which I had for 30 days. (got a great deal, clearance, closeout etc..) Amazing picture and many upgrades from previous model (HP-T5054). Same price as last years model and better overall. Nice finish and slicker features. Thanks to Samsung for offering a Great 720p panel that is sure to be the next big hit for them. Let everyone spend up for 1080, no visible difference to me. Love the swivel stand. Overall, I like it a lot. Really got my moneys worth @ 1,299.
RW in Oklahoma City

because now, I'm going to be spending WAY too much time watching television. I bought this set sight-unseen. The price was the biggest factor coupled with some favorable reviews on CNET for other Samsung plasmas. I am no "videophile" so I can live with 720p resolution. Compared to my 10 year old, 27" Toshiba it's like seeing a TV for the first time. I have Verizon FiOS digital cable, which has quite a few high definition channels, so I flipped over to their high-def demo channel and I watched programs for hours that "BS" (Before Samsung) would probably have bored me to tears. I have a 480p DVD player that I can now watch in 480p, instead of 480i. I dropped in the movie "300" and it looked just as good as it did on the IMAX screen (IMO). I bought a component video cable for my Wii (don't forget to change the video setting to 480p) and was simply amazed at the clarity. It's not the most expensive, and some "experts" will not consider it to be the best plasma out there but I'm giving myself a big pat on the back. The piano black finish is like icing on the cake. I would, and will, recommend this TV to anyone.

I was at first very pleased with this set. Great picture, great delivery from Amazon.

But then I began noticing 'burn-in' issues. The first I noticed was two vertical stripes, both about 5 inches in from the sides. Then I noticed that CNNHD was also burned in, even though I don't leave it on there for long periods of time. I also have the burn-in protection set, and I've run both the suggested fixes (all white and scrolling) with neither helping.

Contacted Samsung and they agreed that it shouldn't be happening. Currently waiting for local repair shop set up by Samsung to attempt a fix.

UPDATE... been waiting 3 weeks now... local repair shop says Samsung has backordered a circuit board needed to fix problem I'm having. I just contacted Amazon.com hoping they will just swap this for one that works. I kind of have my doubts on this since Samsung and their local rep have been so slow with any kind of repair.

2nd UPDATE... Well, Amazon denied me any help due to the fact I went to the manufacturer instead of them within Amazon's 30 day limit. I obviously screwed up thinking Samsung would solve this quicker than complaining to Amazon.

3rd UPDATE... I think I got a lemon...

4th UPDATE... Samsung agrees that I got a lemon and they are sending a replacement!!

We purchased this TV and received it last week on 6/11/2008. After calibrating it and getting all my systems hooked up to it, it is just beautiful and flawless. It looks amazing too! I use it for my PS3 (Blu-ray too!), Xbox, Wii, N64, and Dreamcast. It does an amazing job making everything look great. I had two struggles getting this TV:

1. Burn in fear - But after much research I have found there isnt much to be afraid of with this TV. It comes with anti burn in technology and from everything I have read this is a non issue with the newer TV's and can be totally avoided with care (in other words just dont have 20 hour marathons of Metal Gear).

2. 1080p vs. 720p - I really struggled with this debate. I did a lot of reading, talking with friends, and checking with experts. Long story short...it really doesnt make much of a difference. It makes a tiny difference but that is only on a few medias and even once it is on all media's it really wont make that much of a difference. It is only one aspect to look at. Others include black levels, contrast, ect. The PN50A450 handles all of these wonderfully.

Bottomline...if you are having to watch your budget and you are sitting 7 - 12 feet away from your TV...then THIS is the TV to get. Shipping on the product was great. We received this from CEVA shipping and they were great. They called ahead of time and were very prompt, courteous, and they even took the TV out and hooked it up for us.

EDIT: One more thing to add...I have now had this TV for 2 months and still LOVE it. I downloaded and burnt a break in DVD to minimize image retention. It is important if you buy this TV to break it in before you allow static images for longer than a couple of hours on the screen. After you break it in though you should be fine. I plan on running the break in DVD for a total of 100 hours and will still do things in between running it. You can get the break in files to burn your own DVD here: avsforums.com

Edit #2: If you want another good forum to glean information off from go here: http://boards.ign.com/dvd_home_theater_board/b5043/p1
The guys at that board (most of them) are pretty savvy. Also I broke the TV in and I can see a DISTINCT decrease in image retention. Thanks Superman and Terrorbeast for directing me to do that!

Just purchased after looking at a lot of plasmas and lcds. The picture was sharpest of any, including many expensive 1080p sets. As virtually nothing outside of blu-ray is 1080p and virtually all channels are 720p, there seemed no compelling reason to pay twice as much for 1080p. And I'm very glad I didn't as this set looks great using Dish Network and broadcast HD using an antenna.

Also, using a PS3 for blu-ray playback, the picture is tremendous (and the games look great in HD as well). Upconverted DVDs through the PS3 are also very good looking. No problems at all with the sound, sync or otherwise. All in all, I'm very pleased with the purchase.