Samsung PN50A550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

This TV exceeds my expectations in every way. I made the purchase based on reviews, both professional and the ones posted here on Amazon.com. After 100 hours of viewing over the last few weeks the picture still stops me in my tracks! HD is stunning and SD content looks pretty good as well (Ammazing for a 50"). The speakers do not sound very robust compared to my big Sony CRT (Exceptional sound for a TV) but I always listen through my AV setup anyway. One last thing...the set looks beautiful even when turned off. Very well designed!
The Free White Glove delivery went great. The TV arrived on time and in perfect condition. In closing, I highly recommend this set!

The TV is just what I expected it to be and it is great. This was the lowest price I found and included delivery. The guys making the delivery were impatient to get done in a hurry,which wasn't good, but they did make sure it worked and I understand. I am still very happy with it.

Pretty good bang for the buck. Good picture and features at a fair price.

I spent a great deal of time over the past year and a half agonizing over which tv to purchase. I was dead set on LCD the 46" from Samsung until about two weeks ago when I found the avsforum and started reading the threads. I had already known about the 50A550 and liked the clean black bezel better than the TOC of the 650 LCD.

I picked this up on Saturday night for $1469 no tax and free shipping. On Tuesday I called my local EGL and confirmed that I was on the list for delivery and James told me it would be between 1500-1800 today. I couldn't believe it because the estimated delivery date was 7 October.

When the truck pulled up I was relieved that my plasma was backed up to the driver's seat and secured. I've read all kinds of horrible reviews about loose boxes and smashed cartons. I helped the delivery guy Tony transport the box down to the basement. We took it out of the box and Tony stayed around to help me put it on the plasma mount. To anyone wanting to know I purchased a Bello FP-8501HG plasma mounting stand. It took a call to Bello to figure out the correct schematic to use and thanks to the nice lady from Customer Service she figured it out. This is not a review of the stand but I have to say that I've gotten quite a few compliments already for the way the system looks together. I bought it at Bricklewood.com.

Anyway, the plasma is the best investment in electronics I've ever made. I don't have HD yet, that comes on Thursday. I'm not an audiophile just a regular Joe and not hard to please. Having said that, this set looks good to me on my Dish Network. I did take it off Dynamic mode and put it in Movie mode and turned the contrast/brightness down to around 50 or so from what I've read on reviews that's what is recommended for the first 100 or so hours. My build date is September '08. I have no pink/green banding issues when set to all white screen. No dead or stuck pixels. Overall, I recommend this great set. The reason(s) I purchased this set particularly was the clean all black bezel which matches my other components and stand. It has 3 HDMI but I'm already thinking about buying an HDMI switcher. I also purchased the Belkin Pure AV PF-30 surge protector. This is a great set you won't be disappointed. The set looks bigger sitting in my basement but sitting 12 feet away it has an amazing picture. I just finished watching Saving Private Ryan and can't wait to buy the OPPO 981. For those, like me, who always think about waiting until the next sets come out do yourself a favor and get yourself this set.

I've read reviews stating that this set doesn't have backlit buttons on the remote. I can personally say that this DOES have a button on the remote for backlit operation. It's location is at the furthermost top right button. It even has a light bulb on it. It's not automatic but the function is there if warranted.

I apologize for the long review. This was my first time delving into the HD market. I have been saving for a TV, receiver, stand and speakers for a while now. My budget wasn't massive so I needed to find a mid/high-quality TV at a reasonable price. I am a PC tech, but knew nothing of audio/video eq. I still don't know much. It is easy to become lost and frustrated while shopping for this type of thing.

I researched TV's for nearly a year. I narrowed my preference down to three plasma vendors. The same three that almost everyone else does. Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung.

Yes, the Kuro's and Panny's have blacker blacks. However, the Kuro's are a bit pricey and the the Samsung's tend to handle color better than the Panny's. I was almost settled on the Samsung FP-T5084. It had great reviews and really everything I was looking for. I saw several in different stores I visited and really liked it. I was just about to buy one, when the PN50A550 was released. After waiting for CNET review, visiting it in stores and waiting for customer feedback, I finally bought one in early June. This, of course, was much to the dismay of my girlfriend who wants me to spend all of my money on a ring instead of an entertainment system.

My first thought was much like everyone who replaces a 10 year-old 27" tube tv with a 50" HD plasma: "Why the heck did I wait so long?!" I didn't have a PS3 yet, so I was watching HD television. As a huge fan of certain Discovery, Nat.Geo and Animal Planet shows, I was utterly blown away. You can see every scale on a crocodile and every hair on a lion. What I love most, however, are sports. I can't believe how crystal clear it is when I watch my beloved Red Sox, win or lose, play a game. The players literally pop out of the screen.

As for calibration: I tried settings from avsforum. There are several useful pieces of info on that site and I recommend it for anyone who is looking for information on any piece of audio/video equipment. I have been using it a lot lately. You don't even have to ask a lot of questions. They do a great job of creating FAQ threads for popular electronic devices. Anyway, the settings were good, but I actually prefer the settings on CNET. They suit my small, somewhat dark living room better. In the end, I wouldn't bother spending a lot to have your TV professionally calibrated. A lot depends on the lighting in your room. If you're that anal about it (aka - a "videophile"), though, go ahead and spend the money. You probably won't be disappointed and you will squeeze that extra iota of perfection out of your TV.

I guess it's obvious by now that I really like this TV. Even my girlfriend likes it now. She watches her "John and Kate Plus 8" and other girly shows and they take on a new life because of how they come through on this TV.

The TV has ample inputs (3xHDMI 1.3) with the latest, greatest digital technology. It has component, analog and usb ports. It looks fantastic, mounted or otherwise. Obviously the speakers are not very good. The sound doesn't match the TV. Looking at the picture, you expect a booming, epic soundtrack to go along with it. Let's be honest, this TV deserves something more than just puny TV speakers. If Samsung were to include awesome speakers on this TV, it would probably be bulkier and more expensive. It would need a bigger internal amp to drive it. Thus, it is truly imperative to purchase a decent receiver and speaker system to go with this TV. I watched it without external speakers for two months. The fact of the matter is, the speakers and receiver I purchased truly complete the TV. I would rather watch a Blu-ray movie on my TV than go to a theater (if only because I can pause the movie and control the volume). I have Troy (Director's cut), Alexander (Revisited), Fifth Element (Remastered), Ratatouille, 300, 3:10 to Yuma, Batman Begins and I've borrowed a few others. I know it sounds cliché, but I felt as if I was watching them all for the first time.

Just as an fyi, I now have a PS3, Denon AVR1909 receiver and Harman Kardon 5.1 speakers. My apartment literally shakes.

A word of warning: Some people have recently reported pink or green banding on this plasma. I didn't have this problem. It seems to be limited to builds after August and is somewhat uncommon. Just remember that you can return it for a new screen if you run into the issue.

I won't comment on the delivery or Amazon in this thread because it's not about them. It's about an incredible tv. I would recommend it to anyone. Well, not to one of my friends. He thinks it's too big. I sit 10 feet from the TV and it's perfect for me. He sits 12 feet from his 42" LG LCD tv and thinks it's still big. I guess it's all about personal preference. So go to the store, check it out and see if you like it. Then order it on Amazon.