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| Samsung PN50A550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV | 
| Buy New: Too low to display
Buy New/Used/Refurbished
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 72 reviews)
Sales Rank: 333
Category: CE
Publisher: Samsung
Studio: Samsung
Brand: Samsung
Label: Samsung
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: 1
Display Size: 50
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Shipping Weight (lbs): 91.3
Dimensions (in): 48.4 x 3.7 x 30.3
MPN: PN50A550S
Model: PN50A550
UPC: 036725228085
EAN: 0036725228085
ASIN: B0015AD2JK
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sammy vs. Panny August 29, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Research:
So after 3 months of research, reading reviews, and lurking the avsforum, I had finally narrowed it down between the 2008 Samsung line or the Panasonic line. This is a condensed comparison between what I was able to gather about the two lines:
Samsung:
The plasma 550 and 650 have the potential to produce the most accurate colors. This means that after a proper calibration you are going to see the colors as the director/post-production crew want you to see. By comparison, the Panasonic line (80u, 85u) are going to have a slight "red push." This will be most noticeable on flesh tones, which will make people appear more pink or red than actual. This is supposedly because Panasonic's research found that test groups preferred a slight "red push." I would withhold judgment until you see it for yourself, you just might like it. Either way, unless you are a videophile (in which case you'd be looking at the Pioneer pros anyways) you aren't going to notice this unless you plan to have two different plasmas in your room, side-by-side.
Panasonic:
The 80u and 85u are going to have the best "black levels." This means that these panels are able to produce a couple deeper shades of black than the Samsung 550 or 650. This will be most noticeable in darker scenes or scenes where shadows dominate the screen. Again this is something that you will not notice unless you are a videophile or compare the two side by side (probably in very dark room). I believe that the Panasonic's supposedly have a better filter to avoid reflections in a brightly lit room.
The Decision:
The most crucial deciding factor for you should be your personal taste. Don't let all the marketing numbers or even professionally measured numbers sway your decision. You are going to be watching the TV, not the numbers on the side of the box. The same goes when your friends come over to watch the game or play games. My best advice for you is to go to a brick and mortar store (Bbuy, Ccity, etc) and compare the panels that you are interested in. Play around with the remote and settings if you can. While the store lights offer less than ideal lighting, you should be able to form an opinion and leave here knowing which TV you want. I left the store knowing that I either wanted the 550 or 650 and after checking my finances and wanting to buy a PS3 and home theater system, I decided to go with the 550.
I am willing to bet that if you buy any of these panels, you will be very happy. The money that you save buying through Amazon (in my case anyways) can go towards things like a PS3 or a home theater system (or BOTH).
CEVA Delivery:
After reading so many horrible things about CEVA delivery, I was downright petrified. I decided that despite my fears, the cost difference between Amazon and a b&m store was more than enough to console me. I ordered my PN50A550 on Tuesday, August 19 2008 at approximately 9 PM EST and Amazon shipped it on the 20th with an estimated delivery date of the 19th. Whatever you do, don't trust the CEVA tracking or Amazon's tracking information. By Monday (the 25th), my tracking information still only had one line which read shipment received by carrier. So I called my local CEVA facility (found at cevalogistics.com, world directory bottom of the page) and asked if my package was there and to schedule the delivery. The guy got my phone number and told me that the delivery driver would call me. The next day (26th) the delivery driver called me and scheduled a window of 12-4pm on Wednesday, August 27th. I asked him if he could call me before he got there and he told me he could call 30 minutes before. He called at 3:30 the next day and I left work to meet him. Sure enough at 4:05 pm the TV was sitting in my living room. The CEVA guy had a checklist where I had to initial saying that he unpacked the tv, it appeared to be in good condition, and that it turned on and displayed a good picture. A 5 business-day turnaround, not bad, especially when I saved about $500 not buying it in a b&m store.
Recommended August 28, 2008
Dealing with this firm was excellent. I am very happy with their service and the product.
Best yet August 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After owning a Sony 36 wega 720p and another Sony 36 wega 1080i I thought I knew what to expect. I imagined the main difference would just be the thin screen and the bigger size. Man, was I wrong!
This set is brilliant, delivering a sharp reality the other sets can only hope for. Like most others, I run a Playstation 3 through it and gaming has never been better. And Blue Ray movies? WOW. That's it, just WOW!
I bought a hd antenna from Amazon also and currently get about 30 channels where I live in Oakland, Ca.
Ceva free shipping arrive at the tail end of the two week window (at least it wasn't late!)and they carried the unit up four flights of stairs and set it up. Nice guys.
We've had the tv since May and like it just as much as the day it arrived. Price went down a little and Amazon was very nice to credit us with the difference.
Awesome Plasma August 19, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I needed a new TV and spent two whole days researching plasma's and LCD's to find out which were the best brands, best prices, best features, etc. I looked all over cnet, Amazon, and Best Buy. BY FAR the Samsung PN50A550 gave me the most bang for my buck. I purchased it and got 2 cash refunds thanks to Amazon's 30-day price match policy.
As for the TV...I narrowed it down pretty quickly to Samsung and Panasonic Plasmas. After reading reviews on cnet.com I discovered that the Samsung PN50A550 beat the Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U in several categories. I even went to Best Buy and looked at the tv's side by side and thought the colors and picture on the Samsung were better...and for $600 cheaper! I don't care about deeper black levels. It's not worth an extra $600 for something I can't notice. So I bought the Samsung.
The TV has 3 HDMI, the HD picture is amazing, comes with 1080p (and I haven't even watched Blu Ray on it yet) and the standard picture quality is good too. Be sure to read the comparison between 1080p and 720p The TV volume is just fine but we hooked it up to an Onkyo 7.1 surround sound system (the best surround sound for the money IMO) and now it's just unbelievable! We also mounted the TV on the wall and it looks really nice. I checked out the Samsung's with the "Red Touch of Color" and didn't like it. The PN50A550 looks like a sleek black TV and even the on/off, channel, and volume buttons on the right side are camouflaged into the TV and aren't really buttons but seem like sensors that once you lightly touch the TV turns on/off. The TV is just awesome!
No matter what TV you buy, make sure you don't spend $100 on the monster or other expensive HDMI cables as it's all just a marketing ploy. A simple $5-$10 HDMI cable will work just as well (after all...it's a cable!) I bought a 15ft HDMI cable for $10 and it works perfectly.
 Plasma Samsung PN50A550 50" August 18, 2008
This plasma samsung 50" gives a beautiful picture. It arrived in perfect condition thru amazon. The delivery people set it up which was very helpful considering the fact that it is quite heavy. I have only had it one month, but so far I am very pleased.
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