Samsung PN50B450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

Product Description

The 720p series 4 was designed with many of the same high end components used across Samsung's entire LCD lineup. The series 4 piano black bezel elegantly frames a super patterned vertical alignment. Down firing stereo speakers are completely hidden in specially designed chambers at the bottom of the display to increase audio quality.The LCD series 4 offers easy connectivity through 3 HDMI ports (1 side) and 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56 in Television
• Color: Black
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: PN50B450
• Released on: 2009-03-20
• Dimensions: 29.80" h x 3.70" w x 48.40" l, 81.60 pounds
• Display size: 50

Features

• 50-inch high definition TV with 720p resolution
• Three HDMI, two component, and one composite video input; two 10W bottom speakers and SRS TruSurround HD
• Samsung E-panel technology like FilterBright, 600Hz Subfield Motion, .001 response time, and a Mega dynamic contrast ratio
• Anynet+ (CEC standard) technology makes system control of compatible A/V devices like a Blu-ray player or HTIB system a one-touch operation
• One-year parts and labor warranty

Customer Reviews

WOW!!
I Just picked up this TV at BB. I was just in the store walking around and went over to check out the PN50A450 but they had this next to the 1080p plasma from Samsung. This TV looked AMAZING. It was next to a couple of Samsung's LCDs which looked much brighter but the colors were horrible. But I knew the brightness of the Plasma is just fine at home and the colors are very accurate. Put it in the truck making sure it stayed completely vertical and set it up at home - wow! Have my ps3 hooked up watching Blu-Rays on it and we are amazed at how great the picture looks. I haven't tweaked any of the settings but it looks stunning out of the box.

It does have 2 component inputs even though they aren't listed on here or on any location on the net for some reason, one of the reasons I was gunning for the A450 until I saw this. It also has a very slight touch of red color that you can only really tell if a brighter light is on.

The remote is pretty cheap, it almost feels like a fisher price unit. The remote itself does not have discreet input switching but I am pretty sure it accepts discreet IR commands if you have a universal like a Harmony.

The TV has a welcome mode that helps you set it up when you plug it in which was pretty cool.

Oh and the stand swivels which is pretty nice.

Overall this TV is amazing, it is like watching it at the theater. I can't speak for the longevity or if any problems pop up, since I just got it, but I'll update if there are any problems!

______UPDATE AFTER A WEEK OF HEAVY USE________4/19/09____
A few things I can update after using this thing to play a ton of Call of Duty World at War, the NHL/NBA playoffs, and Blu Rays:

I have experienced no burn in or IR issues. I have the pixel shift enabled at 2 2 2 in case you were wondering. But we play a ton of video games on this and it has been fine. I also lowered the contrast from the default settings by about 15 which did not affect picture quality.

This TV also generates barely any heat. After hours of usage I check with my hand and there are two small locations near the vents on the top back that are warm at best, but the rest of the TV is mostly cool to the touch still. I find this phenomenal considering my Samsung LCD that is next to it (2006 Model) generates at least 3 times as much heat.

Another thing to mention is how much you will get used to having no motion blur. We had the Cleveland/Detroit game on both the plasma and lcd and when I was looking at the LCD, I couldn't believe I had been OK with all the motion blur you see in LCDs. There is none in the plasma. Also, the blacks and colors are so much better than an LCDS you will hate watching anything on an LCD after watching on this.

The only cons I have found so far is that the power and other buttons on the unit itself are touch sensitive, kind of like a PS3, but they are small and it is really difficult to see which one does which because the locations match the dark black of the frame so you have to kind of run your finger over the buttons and hope you are aiming your finger at the right one. Of course, most people use their remote for this. Another con is that the frame and stand collect dust very easily, however, it takes 2 seconds to wipe off with the towel. The screen, however, does not collect anything and has stayed crystal clean since it's installation.

Why I bought this one?
I'd like to share my thought of process in buying this TV.
First, I wanted at least 46" for viewing at 10' under $1300. My first choice was LCD with 1080P of course since it seems like everyone is going toward the LCD. I primarily watch sport and movie, not really plan for gaming. From reading from many resources (Amazon's user review, [...].), watching at different stores (Fry's, Bestbuy, Sears) in more than 10 visits, I concluded that plasma is better way to go in many reasons. From my eyes, I think plasma produces a better picture quality than LCD. Image quality from plasma looks more natural and not flat (don't know how to explain). Comparing color, plasma generates better skin tone (in photography or flesh tone in (probably) videography???) and a lot cheaper.

I was worried about power consumption and dimmer picture comparing to LCD (when viewing in stores). Both of them are not really major issues at all at home. First I tried to find that how much it's gonna cost me for watching this big screen TV. I looked at the back of the screen and found that the maximum power consumption rated is 360W. That's one-quart of my portable oil radiation heater, not a big deal. For your information, 300W will cost you 3cent for an hour of usage. For the dimmed picture (like the picture is under-exposure in photography), I thought it should be ok in my apartment.

The next thing was 720P or 1080P. I went to stores and checked by myself that I can distinguish the difference (I consider my eyes are pretty good at this). From less than 5', I can see that the pixel for 720P is bigger than the pixel of 1080P. That means from less than 5' you will see the 720P has less detail. However, I will be watching at 8'-10' which is not a problem at all. The 720P set was located side-by-side to the $1700 Samsung LCD and I watched both of them from 8' away and there's no different in resolution. I thought that I'm not gonna pay extra $700 for that for sure.

Next thing you're gonna be worried was image retention (IR) and burn-in. If you understand how it works, you will know how to avoid that problems. From normal TV watching, there's no way that your TV will have a burn-in or IR plus the TV set provides the pixel shift function to avoid the problem in case you play a game and sleep while the screen shows still image. If you feel sleepy, just turn off your TV and go to bed. Don't waste your money of electric bill.

Only one pitfall I see is there's only 3 HDMI ports

One thing that I don't understand, the PN50B450's response time is 0.001ms (way way shorter than regular LCD (4-6ms) and refresh rate at 600Hz which 5-time better than higher level LCD (120Hz), but when I watch Giants, I can see that it's not fast enough when the comcast graphic is flashing (pixelette). There's not problem at all for normal game play. So I don't know how LCD or LED are going to handle this. Maybe it's from the source (I subscribe to Comcast HD).

[...].

**Sorry for my English, it's not my native language

Best Buy Out There!
Just bought this today at Best Buy who had it on sale for $959 and 36 months same as cash! I used to build custom Home Theaters and have had the opportunity to see a lot of Video Displays. I have viewed cable delivered HD (mostly 1080i) and Blu-Ray DVD via a Sony PSP3....and I can tell you that anyone would be hard-pressed to discern the difference between this units 720P display and any other at 1080P. Superb Picture! As far as I am concerned, Samsung has set the standard. I just feel sorry for the poor fool who spends more than $990 on a 50" Plasma unit~ ...and please, do not spend $200 on a wall mount! the Cheetah APTMM2B is more than suitable.