Samsung Hpt5064 50 Plasma Hdtv - plasma tv, samsung

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Moving to a new house and am buying two new flat panels for living room and bedroom. I had assumed that LCD was the best technology currently available, but after a lot of careful research, found out about the new Samsung Plasmas, the 54/64 series in 50" or 42" sizes.



WOW! This is an amazing set. I am very picky about what I buy, but at the same time try to spread my $ around so that I can have decent components for everything. This TV is in the sweet spot for bang for the buck. I thought that I would really be missing out by not having a 1080p TV, but this thing is truly amazing.



I am running an HD Tivo from DirecTV (HDMI), an Xbox 360 (component), PS3 (component) and Wii (component). They are all amazing, and for the money I saved on not getting 1080p or LCD, I am able to get a 4254 for the bedroom.



The two main differences between this unit (5064) and the other model (5054) is that this one has a slightly stronger anti-glare shield and can view photos off of a USB stick. If you have a 360, you won't likely use this functionality anyway. The stronger anti-glare shield is great if you are putting this in a bright room with lots of windows, but if there is not going to be glare on the tv, go with the 54 series because the glass is clearer due to less heavy glare shield. I will say that the glare shield is really great - my old rear projection Sony reflected every light in the room, this plasma doesn't reflect anything even with every light in the room on.



The fit and finish is top notch, plenty of inputs including 3 HDMI and a PC input. Take care to break your plasma in properly, don't watch too much SD tv with black bars during the first couple hundred hours, at least stretch the picture. This TV is best suited for HD input, it looks fine on Standard Def, but that is not what it was designed for.



If you are in the market for a TV, and your price point is in the "just below $2000" and you want a 50" this is your TV. Smaller size/price point? Go with the 4254 or 4264 from Samsung. You won't regret it.





- Update (2/14/2008): with the price hovering just over the $1,000 mark, this thing is an even better buy. 8 months later and no complaints. -Josh



- Update (2/8/2011): Power supply blew. TV was still chugging along until that happened. The good news is that I found the power supply from an online parts shop for $70 and instructions from a forum and downloaded the tv service manual in PDF form so plan to fix it myself. Paying Samsung certified tech to do it would be about $400, not worth it for a 4 year old TV. Samsung HPT5064 50-Inch Plasma HDTV

The HPT-5064 is one of CNET's top 5 rated plasma HDTVs as of this writing (9/13/07), and with good reason. This TV has all the major features at the right price point in today's market, making it a strong contender on your shopping list. I shopped every LCD, DLP and Plasma in this price range, and the HPT-5064 emerged time and time again as the #1 choice.



Let's get something out of the way first - you're probably going back and forth between 1080p and 720p TVs, trying to figure out if 1080p is worth the premium. Quick calculation - at this size (50"), you're supposed to be sitting at least 10 ft. back. At that distance, your eyes won't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. So, my advice - buy this TV. If you can't sit at least 8-10" back, if you've got the patience of a monk and are willing to wait for 1080p prices to fall to 720p prices, or if you're one of those people who never buy anything for fear that there's something "better" out there, go for 1080p. Then again, you may get hit by a truck tomorrow, and 1080p isn't going to do you much good then, is it? Your headstone will say:



While He Was Waiting For 1080p

Got Hit By A Semi Going 73



Like something out of Disney's Haunted Mansion. You know what I'm talking about. Also replace "He" with "She" if you are a girl. I would have put "He/She", but that's a strange construct with all kids of linguistic baggage that I avoided in the name of brevity...even wit, if you could call it that.



The best advice for technology is, "Don't buy the hottest thing - buy yesterday's hottest thing". Why? Because technological upgrades aren't exponential, they're incremental. You're paying for a lot more than you're getting at the time. Meanwhile, prices on yesterday's hot thing are dropping faster than the housing market. Look at Apple. You buy something, and as the UPS guy is ringing your doorbell, they cut the price in half and release a new model. Apple's cool, though.



Enough philosophy. Here's what I love about this HDTV:



* Fantastic, natural-looking picture with no macroblocking, ghosting or blurring. Coming off a 32" LCD that suffered from all those problems, I'm very happy. Colors are perfect. Blacks are black (not CRT black, but CRTs aren't 3" deep either). Contrast is amazing. Feed this thing high-quality off-air HD channels, your Xbox 360 or PS3, HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray, or 480p DVDs, and you'll be impressed. Standard def, as expected, looks like standard def stretched out over a 50" screen. If that's your thing, go for it, but I don't suggest it. This thing thrives on a diet of steady HD content. Go to your parent's house if you want to watch...I dunno. I was going to say Sesame Street or Antiques Roadshow, but even public television comes in HD now, and your parents probably have an HDTV, so my joke has no punchline. Go to your parent's house anyway, your mom misses you and will probably make you a sandwich.



* 3 individual picture adjustments for each input with three modes - Dynamic, Standard and Movie. Dynamic (also known as "torch" mode or "store" mode) will make your eyes bleed, just don't do it. Standard is great for brightly lit daytime viewing (though tends toward the blue spectrum), while Movie features the greatest amount of adjustable values, and fits the bill as the default setting for discriminating viewers (see CNET's website for settings that are just about perfect). Any adjustments you make to the three modes are kept in memory for each input. It's a tweaker's dream. Just don't drive your significant other crazy trying to determine if "48" or "49" is the best color value. (P.S. - it's 48...or is it?)



* Burn-in protection. Go ahead, admit it. You're worried about burn in. You've read the reviews that say that burn-in is overrated, but then, right there on the forum, man, is a dude who took a picture of his brand new plasma with the CNN logo permanently etched in. If you're worried, Samsung threw in a few modes that can help you prevent and erase burn-in. I take the whole burn-in issue with a grain of salt, from both sides. Just like with your old CRT, you shouldn't display any still images for an excessive amount of time (multiple hours), but watching a letter-boxed movie one night isn't going to ruin your television. Just use common sense and don't leave Bioshock or your TiVo on pause for 6 hours with the TV on. And run the modes every so often, it can't hurt.



* Style - this TV looks better than its step-down model, the HPT-5054. The speakers are hidden beneath a thin bezel on the bottom of the set. It's also glossy. I'm not a glossy fan, but good luck trying to find a 50" plasma that isn't glossy. It's like trying to find a bathroom when you really have to use the bathroom. In other words, it's hard to find. Maybe I didn't look that hard. I guess if you really have to go, it doesn't matter if you find one or not. A bathroom, that is. It's also got the anti-glare screen and the USB port for showing pictures and what not. The TV, that is. I don't know of any bathroom that has a USB port, but hey. They're putting USB ports in just about everything nowadays, so who knows. Maybe I just gave somebody an idea. Which I won't get credit for. Again.



* Viewing angle - you can walk right to the edge of the bezel and this TV gives a perfect picture with no washout.



Other random advice: If you've got the room, go for this or a bigger set. Never settle for smaller when it comes to HDTVs. If you've never had a big set before, you'll get this thing home and say, "Dear God, what have I done?" like a mad scientist who has just seen his monstrous creation come to life. However, after a few days, you will acclimate to the size, and may even say to yourself, "I could have gone a little bigger." Then, one night, you will watch your old TV and say, "You are puny, and insignificant." And maybe you will make-believe that you are crushing your old TV between your thumb and forefinger with one eye closed, because it is really that small that it can be crushed in such a manner. Don't worry, your old TV doesn't have feelings. But you do. And you are sad that you paid almost half of what you paid for the new TV for the old TV. So you stop crushing it. And maybe you pout your lip a little. Maybe not. I'm just saying get the bigger TV, that's all, try not to read too much into it. - Samsung - Samsung Hpt5064 50 Plasma Hdtv - Plasma Tv - Hdtv'

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Hanging Garment Bags

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It's very hard to find dress-length (especially mid-calf-length) garment bags and this one worked very well. It's perfect for car travel where the bag can be laid out flat, but I don't think it would work for air travel, no handles or any way to keep the hangers together unless you use your own rubber band. But it served my purposes admirably. Black Travel Garment Bag Organize Storage Clean Neat

I was very impressed with the length and quality of this garment bag. It was a steal of a deal when considering the price I paid for it. Have no reservations. Most likely will be buying a second bag before long.

This garment bag is deceiving. We were able to get two medium length coats into this bag without causing it to burst at the seams! They fit just fine. But it's either or... either dresses or coats or two dresses and one coat. Of course, it all depends on your garment combination as to what will actually fit into it. Watch your hanger types as well, the wooden type can reduce how many garments you actually get into the bag. Only time will tell of it's actual durability. All-n-all, it turned out to be a pretty descent buy.

Y4E4SHUA@yahoo.com

We purchased this bag when my wife needed to travel cross country via air with her wedding dress. Though this bag probably doesn't meet most carry-on bag size restrictions, it's close enough when folded to allow you to sneak it aboard. In terms of protecting the garment, it performed admirably (though our expectations were understandably low, it was actually quite effective). Given the situation, this was by far the best of the relatively limited options available. Given the price, we are very satisfied.

For what it is and what it costs, it's great! I don't travel much for work, so this should get my by until I'm on the road more. If you are a frequent traveler, though, I could see this not being the best solution. It's a great garment bag, but with heavy use I could see problems. Still a great purchase for the infrequent business traveler!

Not a lot to be excited about with this bag except the low price - oops! The material is very thin, the side zipper is awkwardly placed, making it difficult to get clothes in, the hanger tie at the top needs its own instruction manual (I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do with it!), and the stitches on the name-tag slot have started to come out after the first use. Yeah, not a lot to get excited about.'

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Inaccurate - inaccurate, dry erase

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I ordered these Expo markers to use with the "Cling on - Write on" 27 X 34 sheets to make VBS wall decorations. They worked well together. I would recommend using these markers to anyone. This package had a nice assortment of colors that are not usually seen in smaller packages, such as 2 shades of orange and 3 shades of brown, 2 shades of red, etc.



Con: I don't know if it was the "luck of the draw" or their standard set of colors in the package that I received. Of the 18 markers that were in my package, some common colors were duplicates while other desired colors were absent. I received 2 medium blues, 2 blacks, 2 purples - however, I did not receive any yellows or grays which I needed for some of my decorations.



Overall I was very satisfied with this product and will order it again in the future after my current batch is used up. Expo Dry Erase Markers - 18ct

A four by six foot Expo white board has been on the wall of my office for years. As easy as the white board is to use, I still miss the look of the old slate chalk boards. Of course, I do not miss the messiness of the chalk dust that used to get over everything. I had no idea that there were black dry erase boards. Now, I have one! I just received an Expo black board and neon marker combo. I love it.



The black board now sits on the wall above my desk. It attaches to the wall magnetically. I can write on it with the neon markers that came with the kit. They all show up well. It looks like the black boards that restaurants use for posting the specials-of-the-day. Post-it notes stick to it, as do magnets. These cute black boards can be obtained separately from the markers. They come in 8.5 x 11 inch and 10 x 10 inch sizes.



I tested the neon markers on the new black board as well as on my large white board. The neon markers show up well on black, but only the pink color can be read easily on the white board. The neon dayglow on black looks great. The neon markers can also be purchased separately.



Since I am a scientist after all, I also tested the white board markers on the black board. I tried blue, red, green and black. Although, they are great on the white board, they are not at all visible on the black board.



The one necessary item that did not come with the combo kit is an eraser Fortunately, I already had a standard Expo eraser. It erases the neon writing easily. A paper towel also works.



Altogether, I am very happy with my new black board, the old white board, the markers, and eraser. I cannot wait until they come out with larger black boards, so that I can satisfy my retro leanings with the new technology.

Having writen directly to Stanford/Expo, they replied "Unfortunately, our Expo® Dry Erase Marker in Yellow is no longer available and there is no exact replacement at this time." Feeling a little uneasy over this I went ahead and ordered these from another office supply store that explicidly listed the colours that are supposed to come in the package (which included yellow). However, when I received them I found that a few of the colours had been replaced by new colours, and there was no Yellow. The picture on these pages are stock, and do not reflect the current product. As a dry erase marker, they work great, but if you're looking for your basic 8 colours like in a pack of crayons, Expo can't deliver.



Because I really need a yellow dry erase, I instead ordered BIC Great Erase Bold Color "Tank" Dry Erase Marker, Chisel Tip, Assorted Colors, 8 Dry Erase Markers. Having tried the BIC brand, they work great, and you do in fact get what you order as pictured. I would highly recommend BIC instead of Expo.

I mean, some of the colors came ramdomly selected, so lot of "normal" colors twice.

The reason why I bought it was the original ones, so i should get more of those... anyway they are good enought for the main funtion they supose to work for, meaning to write on my whiteboard without leaving a trace after erase things

I bought these markers only for the variety of colours they offered and I was very dissapointed when I found 6 of them of the same colour. I've read a commet by PamRc, however I thought that they will include at least basic colours (it is a pack of 18 markers, not 10 or 12, right?). So my pack had 2 black, 2 red, 2 blue, 2 light blue, 2 purple, 2 reddish purple, 1 orange, 1 green, 1 light green, 1 brown, 1 light brown, and 1 pink. But the yellow was missing! I thought of Expo markers as markers including even light colours, the ones you don't normally use on a white board. I was really desperate to find the yellow but I couldn't.

IMHO, the picture and description are somehow misleading. - Inaccurate - Dry Erase - Dry Erase Markers - Bic'

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Holsters - blackberry, pocket

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I really like this leather pocket. It's a snug fit at first but breaks in easily. Single red stitch and embossed metal BB symbol are fashionable and tasteful. Construction is solid and stitching is clean and tight. Embedded magnet puts my 9800 to sleep/standby properly whether I insert it front or backwards. Looks like it's built to last and will only get better with time. 5 stars for the product and speedy delivery. BlackBerry Leather Pocket for RIM BB 9800 Torch, Black

This leather pouch was snug when i got it, but broke in quickly. The sleeper magnet got the job done and so did the pouch. It doesn't really protect your phone from a fall, especially from the top opening. This pouch kept my blackberry nice and clean, but now the stitches are falling apart from both sides. They're slowly unravelling, but the red stitching is still in place. It has been a month since I have been using this. I think it could last me another 2 months and then I will be getting a case. For the price you can't go wrong, but its time is limited. I also found it very inconvenient every time i took the pouch out of my pocket and then the phone out of the pouch. And when you have a headphone jack plugged in, it's near impossible to take out unless you pull on the headphones. (not a good idea to me.)

Bought the case in Jan 2011. I liked it a lot. It is now march..the case got wet.. to my disappointment, it turns out that the case is not made of leather but compressed cardboard.

Beware, there is a reason it is so stiff...

I originally bought this case on Feb 16, 2011 and was delighted with the high quality, deep grain leather and inlaid chrome BB logo. The pouch was stiff and thick leather. The Torch slid in and out without problem. However, I lost this case last week when I was in a hurry and ordered a new one from Amazon which arrived today. It was not the same! Thinner more supple leather (less expensive looking) and the BB logo consisted of cheap looking white plastic. This is definitely a lower grade product than the original I had and I am really disappointed. My first pouch was "Sold by IBD Electronics" but the second one from Alpha Inc. I feel somewhat ripped off having been so pleased with the original bargain but have little choice but to keep the new one as I have a business trip tomorrow. The one upside is that the second, cheaper one has a slightly slimmer profile if you care about bulk but personally, I preferred the first one. I will complain to Amazon about this and may update this review later if I get a response.

Fits the phone perfectly, very high quality look and feel. When I first put it on, it was a little tight, but after a few days it loosened to the perfect fit and months later it still fits absolutely great.

I had purchased this product before and gave it to a friend so i had to order a new one. Apparently the first one i got was from a different seller, it was a good, real leather pocket. This one from Alpha Inc. feels like paper, came ripped on one side, and would not protect your phone - Blackberry Torch 9800 - Torch - Pocket - Blackberry'

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St Louis

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Check out the chapter titled "History" that starts on page 10 for, well --for St. Louis history. Blueberry Hill is listed on pages 51, 72 and 123. The Duck Room, where Chuck Berry, known as "the father of rock 'n' roll," plays his monthly gig (see description on page 72) hosts such a diverse line-up of bands throughout the year that it doesn't fit within the description of being a "blues club." The "Live Blues" sidebar on page 65 lists a number of the region's best self-described blues clubs. Information about "the Catholics" can be found in the Worship chapter on page 215. Thanks for the tip on Talayna's -- I'll give it another try. Insiders' Guide to St. Louis, 4th (Insiders' Guide Series)

I was very disappointed in this guide book. I like a guide book to start off with an intro about the history of the place. There was nothing of the sort in this book. St Louis has an amazing history and you can't appreciate the city without that background. The Mighty Mississippi, Louis and Clark, the Catholics, and all that great stuff. It failed to mention Blueberry Hill, the great blues club that hosts Chuck Berry once a month. How can you leave that out of the listing of blues clubs? Also, no mention of Talayna's Pizza, the best pizza in town.'

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Portable - digital tv, portable digital lcd tv

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Ordered from Target, arrived yeaterday. The good: Plugged in, set it up and it was easy to set up. Has radio feature, comes in very handy. Also has all sorts of nice ways you can use the tv as a monitor. Has an ATSC and a QAM tuner, meaning you can get the free unscrambled cable channels. They all came in nicely. It worked great last night, both in tv and radio mode.

The bad AND the ugly: This morning I turned it on and it just kept turning on and off, I could not stop it or get it to pull in any channels, no matter what I tried. Called the manufacturer, 'it is a software problem'. They would fix it but they charge $15 for shipping, even if the product is under warranty. I called Target and they discontinued it, so no exchange possible. Will have to return it.

Final assessment: very disappointing, I bought it for the features, did not expect it to be so poorly made.

Update on 03/25/2010: I bought another one of these two months ago from [...] and this one works very well, great picture and the added radio feature is very handy so I'm going to upgrade the rating to a 5. Sounds very good when hooked up to my sound system but you get both system sounds, the sound in the tv speaker does not turn off when you hook up a sound system. Just tried hooking up my cowon 7 mp3 player to the usb and have no problems playing video, audio and photo files,that is really nice! Also tried the sd card from my digital camera and again, works great.Lets me zoom in, do a slide ahow, I'm really pleased with all these functions in a little portable tv! I really like that it has an av in port AND an av out port, something you don't find so much any longer but is very useful. I hooked up my old analog dvd recorder to this tv and can record the atsc channels from this tv through the av out/in. What I don't like: 1)The remote is very flimsy and the buttons stick sometimes. 2) Be aware, the av cable with 1/8" plug that comes with the unit looks like any other av cable plug but it actually seems to be proprietary. I tried several others that I had at home and they do not work with this unit. Called company and they charge $10 for a new av cable, including S/H. So, don't lose the av cable that comes with the unit. 3) Don't like that the company charges $15 for S/H if the unit needs repair, EVEN if the unit is under warranty, S/H should be free in that case. Other than that, this is a well designed unit that has a lot of features. iView iVIEW-700PTV Portable 7-Inch Digital LCD TV, Black

Scenario:

I bought the iView 700PTV not to watch TV, but in place of a portable DVD player for my 3 year old to play movie files.

Portable DVD players are such a hassle to carry and change DVD's. I can put 10 movies in 8GB SD card with the iView.



Pros:

-Comes with all accessories: car charger, wall charger, carry bag, etc (Viore 7" TV does not, you have to buy those)

-Plays about 60% to 70% of movie files downloaded from torrent (legal torrents :)

-Very good resolution for a 7" player.

-Battery lasts for about 2 hours.

-Plays avi and Xvid files.

-Even though I did not buy to watch TV, I get about 20 channels here in dallas.

-Has lasted a week so far with a 3 year old and therefore looks pretty solidly built.

-Very acceptable sound quality quality

-Great for the price when most 4 inch personal media players start around $150.



Cons:

-My main complain is the SD card is not designed to go all the way in. Half the SD card sticks out. The rest of the SD card is at the mercy of my three year old's hands.

-I haven't had luck with the two DivX movies I tried. But more testing is needed before scratching off DivX. But anyway more movies are Xvid nowadays, which this little guy plays.

-Not a con, but it says right on the first page of the manual that TV channels will not work when device is in motion (leave alone while driving, even the slightest motion disturbs it's functionality as a TV)



Bottom line:

BUY IT!!! I love this thing. This goes in my GOOD BUYS bin.

I ran this TV through all the features and you sure get your money's worth. Including a very nice carrying case and both a AC and car charger. Picture is nice and sharp and there is plenty of sound volume coming from the two built in front speakers. My only real complaint is it will not play MP4 video files which are the most popular. It will play AVI fine with a nice and smooth picture. There are cheaper small TV's out there but they won't compare to this model.

The iView looks like a very nice product but sadly, we never got to see how it worked. We were not able to pick up a single channel despite trying from MANY locations including standing on top of things outside. This was a pretty disappointing Christmas gift and it's been returned. Unless you are in an area with strong digital signal, I wouldn't recommend it.

Received unit today and went through the set up. The set up menu is identical to the Sharper Image TV. This unit will not hold date and time settings after going through setting them up four times. The remote on/off only turns the screen off, not sound and screen. To turn off sound and screen you have to use the power switch on the unit itself. The remote is flimsy, but for this price that's OK. The stand is OK, not good.



On the plus side, the small antenna did a good job of pulling in the available stations.



Overall, I would look for another unit. - Digital Tv - Portable - Portable Digital Lcd Tv - Lcd Tv'

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Video Games

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The quality of the discs that i recieved were phenomenal. The games are good and will kill time when you cant sleep, rainy day, etc. Gothic 3 has a namazing backstory for someone that loves elder scrolls (where Nords and Orcs are usually fighting side-by-side in elder scrolls, theyre having a war in Gothis 3, which really gives any rpg nerd ants in his pants. Loki is fantastic altogether, and when you feel like youve been the hero/goodguy for far too long, Loki will seriously quench your thirst for evil. Dungeon Lords provides hours of fun for anyone and make a hearty game for dungeons and dragons seem boring. I'm an amateur musician, and I record stuff on a weekly basis. When i come back from practice, restless from excitement, or drained from grueling hours of working with sound equipment and playing rythm guitar, these games rally help me chill. the only thing that bothered me was that the manual was missing, but for $2.82, yes, $2.82, WHO CARES?!. fast shipping, and good quality. RPG Fantasy Action Pack

I was happy with the shipping, the game came a few days after I purchased it. However, this is the only thing I was pleased about. ALL OF THE GAMES DID NOT WORK! They did not even read on my computer. I have a newer computer running Vista, which the game says it is compatible with. Also you only get a partial refund of 50% if you choose to return it, but that's what you get for a $9 game pack.

This game is easy enough to understand and play but did not have the 1st person graphics I wanted. The graphics were good just not what I expected. It's quite a long game which means you get your moneys worth. Overall the game is a good play I would recomend it.

The LOKI CD didn't even load.



The other CD with G3 and DL did...



G3 *seems* ok - possibly could get used to it - have to dumb it down to Easy just to not get killed alot... this is not good. Runs very slow, and loads even slower (I have a decent laptop - dual core, etc.)



DL --- see other reviews elsewhere for this "game." I saved 2 games --- the second after not being able to reload from the first slot (I get some kinda slot error that halts everything...). Hence i saved to the second slot - same problem. The version with this RPG multipack deal was titled C1.5 - which presumably means i dont have to download the several patches available --- by this point -- i dont care - life is too short - this game is going back.



so --- even if G3 was ok - the whole scene is a buy 3 to get 1 deal --- and my wariness meter is pinging hot at this point anyway.



oh well...'

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