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Samsung PN-A550 Series Plasma TV (50",58") Reviews Analysis

50" plasma TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV - gloss black More product details

Samsung PN-A550 Series Plasma TV (50",58")
alaSCORE 89

177 reviews

November, 2009

80 / 100

7 Experts

Product Age

old
new

87 / 100

170 Users

What people think about the Samsung PN-A550 Series Plasma TV (50",58"): (BETA!)

We compute this summary by analyzing 177 reviews from across the web.

image quality

5

  • confusing picture mode arrangement
  • Image retention is a major issue
  • basic picture settings needs to be tweek
  • not enought hdmi connectors, basic picture settings needs to be tweek, too thick
  • None really but if I had to find one it would be the black levels not quite as deep as some of the other plasmas I looked at but this is hardly worth noting because you enjoy the beautiful picture quality otherwise too much to notice
  • oodles of picture controls and settings
  • Extremely sharp picture, great features and easy settings
  • Great picture on HD channels and HD DVD
  • picture adjustments
  • Great picture on HD channels and HD DVD, picture adjustments
  • The picture is pretty bad and I can understand why they would skimp on these to keep the overall cost on the unit low
  • I am using component cables for the Wii and a DVI out from the PC and the image was just unacceptable
  • If you have cable there will be some lines in the picture do to the 480I being sent from the cable company to the tv (not all channels
  • If you have cable there will be some lines in the picture do to the 480I being sent from the cable company to the tv (not all channels, but don't worry if you see it
  • Great picture
  • Picture is great
  • Picture is great, most colors are vibrant
  • Incredible Image Quality
  • Great picture, Excellent Television
  • Great picture, Rich colors, Easy set up
  • Picture is superb
  • 20-30 Picture control to fine tune your viewing quality
  • Picture and blacks are fantastic
  • Lots of picture controls
  • EXCELLENT picture does not dissapoint
  • excellent picture quality
  • excellent picture quality,remote a plus especially with the tools menu
  • Excellent picture
  • Quality Pictures one of the best that I have seen so far
  • Image clarity
  • Image clarity, wow
  • Beautiful picture
  • Great Picture Quality and Easy to Set Up
  • Picture Quality
  • Customizing picture settings
  • Picture Quality ,Style of piano black bezel ,Customizing picture settings ,ease of use and connestions, look of base
  • good picture quality
  • good picture quality, easy to set up
  • Good Picture
  • The picture is so clear
  • The biggest pro would have to be the wonderful picture
  • The biggest pro would have to be the wonderful picture, something you'd be hard-pressed to find outside a new movie theater
  • The picture is amazing
  • This is the best picture I have seen
  • After runnning the Anti Burn scrolling grey (which does not reduce picture life
  • Blue-ray looks perfect (checkout wallE don't laugh it is amazing picture quality
  • amazing picture
  • amazing picture, very customizable, easy to set up
  • The picture is awesome
  • Great picture with DVDs
  • Very good overall picture quality
  • vivid picture
  • very clear, vivid picture, easy to mount
  • great picture quality
  • standard definition picture
  • Picture quality, ease of use, full control over settings, quiet, minimal heat for a plasma
  • Picture is almost 3d
  • Great picture quality, sleek look
  • picture quality and price were the driving factors
  • Size, picture quality and price were the driving factors
  • standard definition picture quality
  • Excellent features, great picture quality
  • HD Quality
  • SD Quality, HD Quality, colors, blacks, ease of use, big
  • Sharp n crisp picture
  • Awsome picture
  • Great quality
  • Incredible Picture
  • picture is solid
  • Picture quality is outstanding right out of the box
  • Sharp picture quality
  • Sharp picture quality, aswesome sound quality, affordable
  • picture quality and sound are good
  • appropriate for a big room,picture quality and sound are good
  • The image is clear
  • Awesome quality
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price

3.5

  • expensive
  • a bit expensive
  • the price
  • Burn in, the price
  • price
  • Excellent value
  • If this TV is in your price range you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED
  • i am still sold on plazmas over lcd's in this price range.excellent colours
  • Excellent value to cost ratio
  • excellent price
  • Cheap Stand
  • price of wall mount
  • Very Expensive
  • The price is a little high
  • Great picture, excellent price, lots of inputs and features
  • Unless of course, you have money to burn
  • great picture and great price
  • very good reviews around the net, great picture and great price
  • decent blacks (better then most in the price range)
  • and the HD capabilities are phenomenal for it's price
  • It's big, it's beautiful, and the HD capabilities are phenomenal for it's price
  • I didn't purchase this particular TV
  • I didn't purchase this particular TV, but it's very similar
  • Great price for great picture
  • Great price for great picture, very nice design, thin
  • great price for value
  • 1080P, great picture quality, great black levels, great price for value, hardly any buzz, decent glare filtering
  • Feature set is very good for mid priced TV
  • Glad I made the purchase
  • Great value for a 58inch
  • Good price
  • Good price, great design, very good colors
  • Good price, great desing, very good colors
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color

5

  • Color bleeds
  • There was a grayish tint to the images for these two inputs
  • Highly accurate primary colors and color temperature
  • Excellent Color
  • Outstanding color accuracy and bright picture
  • and color accuracy
  • The color gold as shown at the Olympics was great
 
  • X-Box 360 games are excellent in sharpness and color
  • Best flesh tones and most accurate color matching theater viewing
  • The color is great
  • Color
  • Color, stunning
  • Accurate Color, easy operation, massive config options, next-gen processing 18 bit color
  • Very good color
  • awesome color even with the standard settings
  • Deep blacks, no motion blur, awesome color even with the standard settings
  • Color and brightness not an issue even in my room full of windows and lights all the way on
  • good color reproduction
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connectivity

4.5

  • bad audio (speakers)
  • Annoying quirks, bad audio (speakers), mfg
  • Playing CD audio on my ps3 through hdmi sounds reasonably good from the onboard speakers
  • My wife even commented on the audio as being great
 

build quality

5

  • Very attractive tv with a nice sturdy swivel base
 

energy efficiency

0.5

  • with a seperate power amp as a 2.1 setup with a subwoofer.Of course this will not be an issue once i finally go with an av receiver
  • Sucks a lot of power out of the box
  • Sucks a lot of power out of the box, but I think they all do
  • Widespread problem with power supplies failing
  • Multiple Anti-Burn technology and power saving features are a plus
 

glare

2.5

  • Glare is more then I would like
  • There IS some glare
  • Glare (still
  • Glare (still, only reflects a bright object like a window or light, doesn't reflect any items in the room
  • Screen glare
  • Outstanding glare reduction screen
  • Minimal glare as well which is unusual for a plasma
  • Minimal glare as well which is unusual for a plasma, and even less than my old CRT 36"
  • decent glare filtering
 

screen

5

  • DIsplay is really good in Standard Definition
  • if not most flat panel HD tvs display standard def horribly - some much worse than a CRT
  • Many, if not most flat panel HD tvs display standard def horribly - some much worse than a CRT
  • and even less than my old CRT 36"
  • effective color display
 

remote control

3.5

  • Poorly quality control and poorly supported
  • quality control
  • i am still using an older hafler pre-amp(no remote volume control
  • Took a little time getting used to the tv remote
  • That said, the only other minor issue is I don't really like the remote, but again, buy a universal people
  • Well-designed remote
  • 3 HDMI inputs for TV versatility, Mounting compatibility, Well-designed remote, Multiple picture options make the menu flexible, Attractive casing
  • better control options then others
  • Very nice design, Excellent Color, better control options then others
  • back lite remote
  • If you have multiple Samsung products in one room the remote will turn those items on or off even if you don't want them to
  • remote a plus especially with the tools menu
  • Quality of picture is outstanding-Easy to install and adjust to picture to preverance, remote control great
  • Easy to understand set up and working with the remote
  • Intuitive set-up, lit remote, swivel base, very sharp picture even with digital cable feed
  • full control over settings
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sound

2.5

  • Unlikely, but screen burn-in a possibilty, sound quality not good
  • I agree that sound is not as good
  • Sound is tinny but a Home Cinema System would resolve this
  • The crackling sound is VERY distracting and have no idea how to get this issue resolved
  • Sound is OK at best
  • less-noisy picture
  • clean, less-noisy picture
  • great sound
  • Great picture, great sound
  • Excellent sound
  • sound quality
  • you better be connecting it to a surround sound anyways
  • The speakers kind of suck, but hey, if you are buying a 50 inch Plasma, you better be connecting it to a surround sound anyways
  • Sound is weak and hard to balance with Blu-Ray
  • STB sound is fine
  • Excellent sound , picture qualituand and great design with audience connectivity
  • Very good sound
  • aswesome sound quality
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black level

5

  • black levels not quite as deep as those of the best plasmas
  • The black levels could be better, but you'd pay hundreds or thousands more for the slight improvement that would bring, and I'm really not sure how much blacker it could get anyway
  • black levels could be deeper
  • Screen glare, black levels could be deeper
  • I loved the black levels
  • I loved the black levels, and color accuracy
  • Black levels are perfect
  • Picture is superb, Black levels are perfect
  • The black bezel is nice and shiny and goes with a good black glass stand
 
  • Black levels
  • Black levels, superb
  • Style of piano black bezel
  • amazing black levels
  • Incredible colors, amazing black levels, my eyes got exited playing Fifa09 with my PS3 hooked via HDMI
  • great black levels
  • * Impressive Black Levels
  • Deep black & White Levels
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tuner

5

  • HD over the air is EXCELLENT - internal tuner is great
  • With the built in tuner all my sports games from NBC and CBS are in 1080I and Fox is 720P
 

menu

5

  • some bussiness strategy needed for to bring its cost down
  • intuitive menu design
  • friendly, intuitive menu design
  • Multiple picture options make the menu flexible
  • It has tons of menu options to ensure a good picture
  • It has tons of menu options to ensure a good picture, HDMI 1.3 with increased bandwidth and Hz for your games and movies
 
  • My wife and I fell asleep watching a DVD and the menu stayed on and stationary for about three hours
  • My wife and I fell asleep watching a DVD and the menu stayed on and stationary for about three hours, After runnning the Anti Burn scrolling grey (which does not reduce picture life
  • they didn't let me down on their ratings and testing
  • As before, they didn't let me down on their ratings and testing
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size

1

  • ONE BIG huge one
  • Runs a little hot
  • Blacks are a little grainy in dark scenes
  • Remote (just get a little time to use to)and a little bit too long
  • More advanced tuning is a little tough to navigate
  • It's big
  • Quality in relation to size
  • Size
  • big
  • Large
  • More advanced tuning is a little tough to navigate, but if you're into it enough for that you probably don't care about the menus
  • My wife gets a little irratated because I'm always calling her over to look at the amazing picture when I'm watching sports
  • so the little extra heat is just a welcome bonus for me and less I have to run the furnace
  • It does throw some heat out, but since my family room is half underground in northern Michigan, it stays cold all the time, so the little extra heat is just a welcome bonus for me and less I have to run the furnace
  • Inexpensive, Large, Great quality
  • appropriate for a big room
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usability

5

  • You will definitely want to use hdmi cables with this
  • friendly
  • controls
  • easy ajustment of colors and setting
  • Easy set up
  • Easy to use remote
 
  • 3 easy to use presets for different lighting conditions
  • Menu design is easy to use
  • ease of use and connestions
  • easy to set up
  • Super easy basic tuning
  • Easy menus
  • Easy Setup
  • The remote that comes with dishnetwork controls all the tv controls too
  • Easy to set-up
  • It was extremely easy to set up
  • so easy to enjoy the world of entertainment into the home like their own home theater with Samsun
  • easy to mount
  • ease of use
  • Just be careful in the first month of usage
  • This TV was very easy to setup to my 5.1 system
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focus

0.5

  • focus/burring issue
  • Severe false contouring, focus/burring issue
 

design

5

  • poor picture mode design
  • Very nice design
  • Looks great when off
  • the picture looks really good
  • for the most part, the picture looks really good
  • Good calibration controls, excellent picture, good looking TV
 
  • Nice looking unit
  • 1080P, Nice looking unit, brand name
  • sporting a sleek UI and outer design
  • It's quite beautiful, sporting a sleek UI and outer design
  • Stop looking
  • Stop looking, get this TV
  • picture qualituand and great design with audience connectivity
  • Looks good in 1080p
  • Even the Basic analog cable looks good
  • great design
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interface

5

  • For the average to high user
  • For the average to high user, this make and model would definitely satisfy
  • and it is very user friendly
  • The picture is amazing, and it is very user friendly
 

LCD

2.5

  • Subpar antireflective screen
  • the so called Antireflective screen
  • Pink hue on different parts of the plasma screen
  • I'm not sure if this is a plasma versus LCD issue, but it was just 'gray'
  • If your windows are facing the tv screen (i.e
  • I didn't feel that the antireflective screen was that bad, but maybe it was just my room
  • even screen lighting and no limit of viewing angles.have owned this tv for over a month now and am thuroughly happy with it
  • i am still sold on plazmas over lcd's in this price range.excellent colours,fluid motion,even screen lighting and no limit of viewing angles.have owned this tv for over a month now and am thuroughly happy with it
  • No need to fork over another grand for a 120 hz lcd with same functionality
  • Crystal clear picture
  • I removed the plastic wrap from around the TV itself and could see five large cracks in the screen extending from the upper left to the lower right corner
  • Screen does give off some heat
  • Screen is not pure white and has blotches of pink read my opinion below
  • Screen is not pure
  • the first 2 were NIKO lcd's
  • This is my 3rd TV, the first 2 were NIKO lcd's, one was a 19" and the other was a 26"
  • I read a lot of reviews about lcd's and plazmas and it does seem to be a toss up
  • My LCD in the bedroom doesn't even have the HD box and the picture is phenomenal
  • My LCD in the bedroom doesn't even have the HD box and the picture is phenomenal, way better than the charter we used to have
  • good screen
  • screen pivots
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contrast

5

  • Contrast levels could have been higher
  • Contrast levels could have been higher, am running at almost highest level
  • Superb picture quality, excellent contrast ratio, great color matching, Easy set-up, reasonable price
  • contrast
  • Frame, swivel base, anti reflective, controls, easy ajustment of colors and setting, anynet connection with blu-ray, contrast, back lite remote, Bang for the bucks
  • good contrast..accurate primary colors and color temperature
 

appearance

5

  • Overall look is clean and sleek but has a very highly reflective screen and bezel that is more prominent in a room full of windows or lighting
  • handsome look
  • look of base
  • Sleek Look
  • Sleek Look, Well Built, and Great Reputation
  • nice shape
 
  • Nice look
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product quality

5

  • Great finish on the cabinets
  • Finish on the TV is fantastic, looks good on or off
 

control panel

0.5

  • I noticed that a faint NBC peacock logo with Olympic rings was burnt into my panel
  • After watching the Olympics for one week at maybe 2-3 hours a night, I noticed that a faint NBC peacock logo with Olympic rings was burnt into my panel
 

resolution

5

  • mind blowing sound and resolution
  • 1080p Resolution
  • Support High Definition and Resolution
 

battery

3.5

  • After watching the Olympics for one week at maybe 2-3 hours a night
  • Power usage -- but all plasmas are going to eat energy
  • I spent literally hours of research into televisions
  • Like many, I spent literally hours of research into televisions
 

video

5

  • above-average video processing
  • Excellent video processing
  • Excellent blacks and shadow detail, Natural colors, Excellent video processing, Practically no solarization, Excellent value
  • above-average video processing with effecti
  • above-average video processing with effectiv
 
  • sleek and very good video quality
  • slim ,sleek and very good video quality
  • good video capabilities
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portability

0.5

  • it causes light backgrounds to be pink or light purple in color
  • I noticed an unusual pixel that would occasionally light up incorrectly(looked like a white dot that would flicker)
  • Need 2 people to lift TV due to size not weight
  • Heavy and according to specs, will suck up lots of juice
  • only reflects a bright object like a window or light
  • slim
  • The television is characterized by a very thin level of science and technology shows that it is so
  • thin
  • Very heavy
  • Very heavy, a beast to place on a wall mount
  • its heavy
  • * TV is heavy
  • Now it is not as heavy or bulky as my previous RP CRT tv
  • Now it is not as heavy or bulky as my previous RP CRT tv, but it is about 160 lbs
  • A room with lot of light causes glares
  • Heavy weight
 
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shutter

0.5

  • No auto-shut off if it isn't receiving a signal
 

memory

3

  • som difficulity in connecting computer
  • Great as a computer monitor or for using with PS3
 

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