I've had this set for almost 3 weeks, and I absolutely love it. The picture is amazing; I compared it to sets with 1080p, and I like the picture on this one better. The sound is also fantastic; loud, clear, and with several different settings for TV, movies, etc. Speaking of settings, the menus are easy to follow and allow you to set the picture just the way you like it. The remote is easy to use, and the only thing I don't like about it is that it has a slightly curved shape and tends to fall off the coffee table or sofa from time to time. Otherwise, I'm really happy. I did research for about a month and had a hard time deciding between this set and a Panasonic, but I'm glad I went with this one because it's fantastic. One other note---do not buy overpriced cables for this or any other set! I bought a $4 HDMI cable from Amazon and it works perfectly. Why pay $20, $30, or even $50 for an overpriced cable that doesn't work any better?
UPDATE APRIL 18: I'm still loving this set, but I like it even more now that I've learned how to tweak the picture controls. The default settings have the brightness controls set very high; once I turned that down, the picture looks even more amazing. I also learned that I can set the picture and sound controls for each input device (cable box, dvd player, etc) and those settings will be saved and reappear each time that device is used. This is really handy if you like to use different settings when watching a movie, for example. My advice is to spend 10-15 minutes reading your manual carefully to learn what all the picture settings do, then adjust the picture to get it just the way you like it instead of using the default factory settings. It makes a big difference! Samsung PN51D450 51-Inch 720p 600Hz Plasma HDTV (Black)
I paid $679 for this 2011 model of 51". After my 100 break in period, i turned up the contrast, brightness, and sharpness levels. I absolutely love it, and the sound is really quite good to me. While watching a movie on regular DVD, there are about 3" of black screen on the top and bottem of picture. After 2 hours of watching this, I turned off the movie, and noticed some burn in from it. After watching regular HD tv for about 10 minutes, it was gone. I have watched or left the tv on cnn for hours on end, and the ticker going across did not burn in.. There is no ghosting on plasmas either. Gonna go get me a blu ray now.
I have bought a number of flat panel tvs in the past and was looking a new tv with decent performance with a small bezel and fairly light as I needed to fix the tv to a plaster/concrete wall. Plasmas tend to give significantly better bang for the buck compared with LCD, so while the LCD TV were typically 10lb lighter for a 50" screen, the cost was in the region of 50%+ higher for the same form factor.
I did look at the LG plasmas as I have a 60" LG 1080p in my main viewing room, as I found them to be solid quality and good value. I nearly bought the 1080p LG 50" which was only 10%-15% more than this unit, but was put off by the fact that it weighed 60lb v 50lb for the Samsung.
I don't need internet connectivity as I get internet content from my TiVo, so the base model suited my needs. As for 1080p v 720p, at my viewing distance of 12' I understand its not possible to tell the difference - this is certainly consistent with my experience. The picture quality is very good - the biggest constraint is the quality of the feed from my cable provider. I avoid watching SD content where possible so have limited experience of how the Samsung does here.
As for plasma burn-in issues, I have had a bunch of plasmas and have never had an issue with them watching regular TV. I can't comment on the sound quality as I use a separate receiver.
All-in-all, this is a great tv, with very good picture quality and smallish form factor for a great price.
I have tried to by a Plasma TV for 3 years now, but I always ended up with a LCD. I recently have been looking for either a Panasonic or Samsung 50" Plasma for either my office or bedroom. I have a 52" 650 series Samsung 1080p LCD in my Home theater Room that has great color, HD Detail and overall quality. I have done alot of research on Plasma TVs and found that the fore-mentioned brands above, are the best rated. I debated the 1080p VS 720p issue and came up with the truth that, 50" and below sizes,720p will give you as good a picture on HDTV as 1080p. Reason, most signals that are sent, are originally 720p anyway. If you are not using a blu-ray player often and if you are 4-5' away, you will tell no difference.
Finally, almost a month ago, I got an email from Amazon that had the 2 brands on their Sales Ad. I really wanted to try the Panasonic Brand, but the best deal was on the Samsung. Being that I have several Samsung Products now and know the top quality of the brand, I chose the Samsung PN51D450 51" 720p for under $700.00 and ordered it. Delivery was about a week, timed appointment, white glove delivery and a nice knowledgable friendly delivery person. I had read about the "burn in" issues with Plasmas, but with pixal shift and a scroll bar, that is not a issue any longer if you follow the 100-200 break-in period. Yes, it is a pain, but it is well worth it. You can find written instructions online on how to setup your Plasma before the seemingly, never-ending break-in time. You need to find a channel that doesn't have a logo in one place, like a cable information channel, and just let it run. I put mine in the bedroom, so I was running it 17 hours a day and with that, it was almost 2 weeks before the 200 hours was done. Most experts recommend the 200 hours. Once that is done, you may go in and adjust all of the settings to get the UNBELIEVABLE PLASMA PICTURE YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT, from the experts !!!!!
The Samsung is about 20lbs lighter than the Panasonic and that is a plus. This Plasma is one of the lower priced ones that Samsung has, but you are only missing the "add on features" that have nothing to do with the picture. The most debate for me was, did I really need 1080p. For the usage I have for this set, 720p is great and it saved me several Hundred Bucks and that is a plus.
If you don't have the desire to wait a couple of weeks to "break-in" the set, buy a LCD. If you want to own and see why all of the experts say that the Plasma is the best picture, try this set. I think that you will be happy with the picture and I know you you will find a use for all of the money you are saving.
Overall, I believe I made the correct decision, 1. as good a picture as you can find
2. over 20lbs lighter than comparable brands 3.a 51" Plasma for under $700.00 !!!
Just another fine Samsung Product.'
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