SupreMeva.com

Review Samsung PN50B650 50-Inch 1080P Plasma HDTV

Posted by supreme On August - 2 - 2009

Sponsored Link

samsung-pn50b650-f

This Samsung PN50B650 is designed with sleek and minimalist look. There is a hint of red in the frame along the top and bottom. Highly legible text is set against transparent backgrounds that occupy almost the whole screen. It provides helpful explanatory text along the bottom to describe the different selections. The buttons of remote control are big, backlit, and shaped well. The dedicated “Tools” key offers quick access to picture and sound modes, the sleep timer, and the picture-in-picture controls. Unfortunately the remote has a glossy black finish, which made it keeping many fingerprints.

Samsung plasma TV has 600Hz panels to improve motion resolution in order to reduce blur. Samsung is equipped with a mode to properly deal with 1080p/24 sources, although engaging it did cause a strange glitch. Samsung’s main interactive capability is supplied by Yahoo widgets. The system gathers Internet-powered information nodules, called “snippets,” into a bar along the bottom of the screen. The widgets are for stocks, weather, news and Flickr photos, plus Yahoo video, sports scores, poker, trivia and Twitter.

This Samsung can stream videos, photos and music from DLNA-certified devices via the network connection, as well from its USB ports, which can connect to MP3 players, USB thumbdrives, and digital cameras. Some built-in content inside are recipes, games, workout guides, and a slide show of high-definition art and photos with music. The PNB650 series offers numerous picture tweaks, starting with four adjustable picture modes that are all independent per input.

There are five color temperature presets augmented by the capability to adjust each via a custom white balance menu and three levels of noise reduction, including an automatic setting, a film mode to engage 2:3 pull-down (also works with 1080i sources) or take advantage of 1080p/24 sources, a seven-position gamma control that affects the TV’s progression from dark to light, a dynamic contrast control that adjusts the picture on the fly, a “black tone” control that affects shadow detail and a color space control that lets us tweak the Samsung’s color gamut.

There are four aspect ratio modes for HD sources, two of it will let to move the whole image across the screen horizontally and vertically. Screen Fit lets the PNB650 scale 1080i and 1080p sources directly to the panel’s pixels with no overscan. The three power-saver modes are function to reduce energy use. Samsung also has picture-in-picture, an “E-manual” on a USB stick and even a customer care screen that includes the firmware version for when we need to call the company.

List Price : $1,799.99

Buy Now : $1,399.00

samsung-pn50b650 samsung-pn50b650-b samsung-pn50b650-e

Samsung’s “screen burn” menu offers a couple of ways to combat burn-in, aka image retention, and address it should it occur. By default the pixel shift function automatically moves the image slightly around the screen. The bars can be set to either side of 4:3 programs to gray or black (light gray, the default, is the best to help prevent burn-in). A few hours of the scrolling ramp pattern should clear image retention. The PNB650 series offers very good connectivity. Three HDMI ports, two component-video inputs (one of which can be used for composite-video), one VGA-style PC input, one RF input for cable and satellite, the Ethernet port, and one stereo analog and one optical digital audio output are placed on the back side. The TV’s side panel offers a fourth HDMI, two USB, and one AV input with composite-video.

samsung-pn50b650-a samsung-pn50b650-c samsung-pn50b650-d

Plus :

Samsung PN50B650 has a great connectivity, reproduces deep black levels, great color with superb saturation, handles 1080p/24 sources, capable to reduce energy use, feature set with Yahoo widgets, network streaming and good built-in content.

Minus :

Expensive. Colour red is not for everyone. Glitch in 1080p/24 mode causes picture setting change. It has no S-Video inputs.