Samsung PN58B550 58 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
58″ screen (measured diagonally) * 1920 x 1080 pixels * 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio * 600Hz Subfield Motion anti-blur technology * FilterBright anti-glare filter *
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Love it!
Hands down, this is the best for your money. I spent several months and many trips to Best Buy and other electronics stores to preview different selections. I’ve had a lot of luck with my previous Samsung purchases (42″ LCD, washer and dryer). I read the Consumer Reports review, which gave it the top review for it’s category. After putting on The Dark Knight and was blown away. For the price, there is nothing better.
3 Stars Awesome picture, but very loud buzz: will return
Previously, I had purchased a 52″ Samsung LCD (the 650 model), but ended up returning that because – even though everything else rocked – fast motion on the set was unacceptably bad and SD programming looked *really* bad, so much so that I was able to make a good case for the TV being defective.
After a bit of research, I found out that I’d made a mistake purchasing an LCD at all: for a given picture size and a normally-illuminated room, a plasma TV will deliver a better picture for a lower price than an LCD even after the cost of calibration of the plasma is reckoned. Live and learn.
So, I bought this model as a replacement, and although (even without professional calibration) I am completely happy with its picture – the colors, blacks, contrast, motion, and edges are fantastic for HD and acceptable-to-good for SD – there is an extremely loud buzz that comes from the center of the set at all times.
To make sure that the buzz was entirely due to picture generation and not dirty power or unshielded cable signals or a defect with the sound system, I bought a Monster Power Center surge protector to clean up the power, unplugged all devices in the vicinity from the wall, unplugged all plugs into the TV, wrapped a couple ferrite cores around the power cable, turned on the TV (obviously with no signal coming in), and hit the mute button. The buzz remained the same.
To mask the buzz while programming is playing, I would have to turn up the volume very loud, which is unacceptable for neighbors in my complex late at night, precisely when I like to watch TV.
I did find a solution though: if I angle the TV around 15 degrees on its swivel stand relative to my seat, the buzz becomes sufficiently inaudible (because the back panel concentrates the buzz in a straight column perpendicular to the center of the set) … but it seems silly to me to drop $2000 on a set and then have to view it off-center, even though I stop noticing that the TV is at an angle after a couple minutes of watching.
To find out if the buzzing was common to plasma sets, I went into a Best Buy superstore and – despite strange looks from the staff – I put my ear directly in front of the middle of every plasma set in the store, around 7 of them in all. Not a single one of them of any size had a detectable buzz!
So, since I made a point of buying this set direct from Amazon for their white-glove delivery service and 1-month return policy, I’m going to return it and get another model plasma set, probably the Samsung A550 … though to be sure, I’ll want to scan all those reviews for reports of a loud buzzing noise first, before purchasing.
5 Stars Great TV, great value.
I purchased the television after pricing the same model, as well as other similar brands, in local stores. I ended up saving about $400.00 dollars or so by buying online, and paid no taxes or shipping. The TV was delivered several days early to my doorstep by the contracted delivery agents.
The TV looks very sleek and classy, and you can use the attached base or mount it flush onto a wall using a bracket system (sold seperately).
The picture quality is wonderful and the menu is very easy to navigate. There are PLENTY of HDMI inputs, as well as every other type of input you might want to use (Component, Composite, DVI, PC, and Coaxial Cable). Most of the inputs are conveniently located on the rear of the TV, but a few inputs are located on the left side for quickly connecting and disconnecting temporary devices. There is even a USB port to display photos and the like. Outputs are also plentiful, and come in various formats as well.
I did have minor problems with the sound quality at first, but I have managed to tweak the audio output using the built-in equalizer. This is because the speakers on the TV are projected downward from underneath the lower border of the screen. There is a very slight electrical buzzing sound audible only when the television is muted or otherwise putting out low-volume audio, but I believe this is probably normal for TVs of similar size (regardless of make or model).
Currently, I use the system to watch satellite TV and play Playstation 3 video games with no problems at all. Overall, I believe this product is a great purchase for anyone looking to upgrade to a large widescreen television.
5 Stars Samsung PN58B540
I orginally went to Sams and purchased the A610, 52″ LCD, brought is home and it was just to small after I had a 55″ Sony for the last 4 years. Went back and traded up for this one. The price was terrific at 1,898.00 for 58″ of pure plasma joy. The is my first plasma, I just upgraded from a 55″ Sony LCD that had an optical block go bad. Anyway back to the review. brought it home and plugged it in to my directtv (no HD package), and the picture is good. I went out and bought an HDTV antenna for the local channels, and the picture is awesome. I am sold on plasma, and will never buy and LCD tv again. The sound is good, this is a small buzzing sound from the rear of the TV, but nothing that the sound doesn’t drown out. Awesome picture in HD and on blu-ray. Totally stastfied. I did have a small problem with the tv leaning to the left ever so slightly. I called Samsung customer service, and they sent a tech out the house to repair the problem. Great TV for a great price.
3 Stars Just not as good as expected BUT
Hi well I do have some good things to say, but I don’t have a lot of good things to say…..yet First let me say this is my third big screen purchase, and my second Samsung (none this big, 50 inch lcd for my father was tops). I am certainly no expert as seen on cnet, but I do consider myself somewhat knowledgable, and pretty much a self taught guy.
Delivery was terrific, I cannot say enough. I bought this from Onecall(2099) on a Monday Morning and was told 7-10 days (free delivery)then Tuesday night a guy called and said they could deliver it Wednesday … I said wow, after all, it was shipped for California and I live in NY …. I couldn’t believe it. Anyway when the guy who was dropping it off (curbside only), asked me if I had anyone to help me get it into the house, and I told him no … he then offered to help me get it inside of my garage for me ….. since it was raining …. I said sweet and tipped him 15.00 dollars for his troubles ! And I did need his help …it’s just to bulky for 1 person
Ok as for the TV, well with blue ray …it’s simply fantasitic, awesome. All anyone could ever ask for !!!! With direct TVHD, it really is only ok at best, true be told, I am really kind of disappointed ( I even went to best buy, and bought monster cables to see if they would help …no they didn;t if your wondering …and yes I took them back as they made zero difference to my off brand hdmi cables). The other channels (regular ones), well they seem to be a hit and a miss, some good, some bad, and some just normal. The TV has some great colors, in fact I don’t think I have seen better colors on any other TV I have ever seen, but with that being said, it definitely needs proffessional calibration .. in my opinion! I have tried a lot of different settings and continueously played with the settings, only to never get it as it should be… huh …. well maybe cnet or someone else will review it and give me some ideas. I like to watch a lot of sports, and direct TVHD on this tv does not come in nearly as well as anticipated, nor does the HDNFL network that plays replays of last seasons games come in as well as expected. Again, color’s are fantastic, clarity of the picture, not so much. It seems like I can’t get both.
Well anyways my 58 incher looks awesome in blue ray, so it looks as though I have my own mini movie theater at the very least (complete seperate high end surround sound system), but I will update this after a month or two. I hope this helped, I know a reading others reviews sure help me decide ….. but I went for the b550 instead of the a550 …we shall see
UPDATE:
HI guys, thanks for you thoughts on my review! Well you are right, as I have come to the conclusions, that my HD signals from Direct TV are just not good at ALL. In fact the direct TV guys came over and moved the dish it was so bad, and THEN had the nerve to tell me oh well it looks like you may not be able to get HD here after all ( and oh by the way sorry about all the holes on your roof ..but thats another issue …man do I hate direct tv) Anyways we have decided to try hd cable tv again, so they are coming in a couple of weeks
So over-all I am really very happy with my TV, and when you get a great signal, it’s simply remarkable how well this plasma performs. Standard tv is acceptable at best, but the size of the picture more than makes up for the average quality of ther pictures those rare times I use but hey who knows it may change soon!!
Buy/More Info
