Samsung HP-T5064
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"Fantastic HDTV with incredible picture quality" on by havoc752
Pros: Picture Quality, Fine tuning for picture controls, Screen burn protection modes
Cons: Anti-reflective screen could be better, could use more composite inputs
Summary: I've been hunting for a HDTV for months. This would be my first HD set, so I tried to educate myself as much as possible before making a purchase. I read magazines, CNET, and customer reviews from CNET, Circuit City and Amazon and looked at hundreds of sets in stores.
Initially LCD looked like the best choice for me between LCD, Plasma, and Rear projection TVs. I was looking to spend about $2000 with a size of 46-55" but the biggest determining factor for me was picture quality. I wanted the best picture quality I could get for my money. I was leaning towards a 1080p LCD TV, and I was almost ready to pull the trigger on a Sony Bravia KDL-46v2500. However, I read a lot of negative press about backlight clouding / mura effect, which was a deal-breaker for me buying an LCD. Check out the AVS forums for more details about this...totally turned me off to buying an LCD.
I decided on Plasma because I wanted a TV that would have minimal motion blur for sports, as well as having a nice contrast ratio so I could watch movies and play games on my Xbox 360.
After looking at plasmas in person, the best two TVs at Best Buy looked to be the Pioneer PDP-5070HD and the Samsung HP-T5064. The Pioneer had a few more features including a CableCard, but a higher price tag. I personally thought the Samsung had a sharper picture than the Pioneer, and I think I made the right decision based on all my factors.
The set looked great in the store, and hooking it up at home did not disappoint. I currently do not have any digital or hi-def cable hooked up, I have the coaxial cable plugged directly into the TV. The built-in QAM tuner picked up a number of broadcast stations in HD, like CBS, NBC, ABC and others. I watched the Travelers Championship (Golf) in 1080i on CBS, and it totally blew me away. The picture is CRYSTAL CLEAR. The level of detail is incredible, and the colors really pop. The flesh tones of the golfers looked great. The fine details of the landscapes and greens of the golf course were extremely sharp. Even standard def cable is quite good for an HDTV, much more tolerable than most HD sets I've seen.
I also watched a few DVDs through component on my Xbox 360. I was very impressed with watching Sin City and Goodfellas, even in standard 480i. The level of detail is great, and I expect even better results when I purchase an upscaling DVD player. Overall the picture quality is very, very good - everything I wanted in my first HD set. Colors are accurate, bright, and vibrant.
Playing 360 on this TV with game mode was jaw-dropping. I played Burnout Revenge in 720p, and it looked great. Very clear, bright, and detailed.
So far I have been VERY satisfied with my purchase, I highly recommend the TV for anyone shopping for a plasma in the $2000 price range. Only negative thing I could say right now, is the anti-reflective coating on the screen could be much better. I suppose it does reduce some reflections, but I've still seen some glare. Otherwise a really fabulous set with great features and incredible picture quality.
One other pleasant surprise was the speakrs on the TV. I was expecting crappy quality because the speakers are thin and hidden in the bezel. They are however much better than most tube and CRT TVs I've owned. The clarity is good, and the level of bass is decent.
I got a great deal on this set also. I purchased my 5064 from Amazon for $1875 with no taxes and free shipping. It came in about a week. Getting a 50-inch plasma at this price would be unheard of a few years ago!
Also, sorry for the long review, but after reading reviews for months I wanted to be as helpful as possible for other people shopping for an HDTV. If you're in the market for a 50" Plasma, go with this Samsung - you won't be disappointed!!
Two more things:
To minimize the chance of screen burn in for plasma TVs, make sure you turn down the contrast and brightness for the first 100-200 hours. Also try to minimize the amount of content you watch with black bars (i.e. movies, 4:3 content) for the first 100-200 hours. Avoid any static or still images if you can.
Check out this thread at AVS forum for some picture settings for the 5064:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841319
Hope this was helpful, and good luck in your search! -
"Do not make the same mistake I did" on by mikeymikec
Pros: Attractive set; great color saturation, price point
Cons: Terrible judder, useless antiglare, slow input switching
Summary: From the strength of CNET's review, as well as near universal acclaim from customers, I decided to order this set from Amazon. While the set looks great when watching movies, it has totally bastardized my cable viewing experience.
I watch a lot of sports (thus a lot of ESPN), and this set CANNOT display a smooth scrolling ticker to save its life. Instead, the image "jidders" or skips some frames every 3-4 seconds when text is scrolling horizontally. Feel free to go to avsforum.com for detailed discussions on this problem. Pretty much everyone who owns the Samsung 54 and 64 series admits to this, although some consider it to be a minor distraction. I found it really annoying!
To further add insult to injury, I've noticed the image skips frames during player movement on sports broadcasting. I had three friends over, and they all agreed with the jittery movement on tickers as well as the athletes. How this set passed Samsung's quality control is beyond me. I called their support, and they confirmed they are aware of the problem, but there's no ETA on the fix (if it ever comes). I believe it has something to do with the way the input converts the signal (for example, if you plug the coax cable directly into the set as opposed to running it through the digital cable box, the judder problem is not apparent).
Others have complained of a "glittering" effect where off-colored speckles appear on the screen during viewing. I personally did not have this problem.
If you're looking for a 50" 720p plasma, do yourself a favor and buy a Panasonic. It is selling for a few bucks more online, but you won't be dealing with the unforgivable quirks Samsung's set brings to the table. -
"Incredible plasma screen. Best owned yet." on by PoundcakeMan
Pros: Color accuracy. Deep detailed blacks, great SD performance even!
Cons: None that I found yet.............and thats surprising
Summary: I originally was going to purchase a Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, but this new Samsung model caught my eye. Exceptional picture quality. Razor sharp HD picture with the most natural looking colors I have ever seen on a plasma display. Even SD material through the built in tuner looked great, something I didn't expect. The piano black finish and swivel stand are also welcome additions, and there is no shortage of inputs on the back or side either. Picture and sound controls are also extensive.
I ended up paying for an ISF calibration and even the gentleman who did the calibration had nothing but praise and stated it was quite possibly the best looking plasma screen he himself had seen or calibrated to date. -
"Unbelievable Picture" on by ilovemyplasma
Pros: Nearly Everything
Cons: Remote control is very slow
Summary: I had been saving extra cash for several months before making my plasma purchase and i wanted to make sure that i chose a plasma that i wouldnt regret buying, I have read reviews on nearly every website imaginable everyday for months as well as comparing dozens of different sets in person at local best buy and other similar retailers. Panasonic models were on the top of my list for a long time until i came across this fantastic samsung plasma. I guarantee you will not find a panasonic 720p plasma that can compare in any single way whatsoever to this samsumg hp-t5064 model. I have a relative who owns a top of the line pioneer plasma and he was blown away at the overall quality of this product! I also have a relative who owns a panasonic plasma and he also thinks mine looks much better. Do i need say anymore? bottom line here is that if you are looking for a large screen tv, forget lcd's and forget pioneer and panasonic, this set is tops hands down !
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"be careful!" on by jw6403
Pros: 3 hdmi ports, side panel, pc port
Cons: anti-glare is a gimmic, horrible technical service
Summary: bought one 3 wks ago. tv won't turn on all of a sudden though it's powered (as indicated by the blue power light at the bottom). called samsung. they opened up a case & made a request to their technical group to schedule a service call. all i got then was a claim # as consumers cannot contact the technical group directly. have called in daily to get an update, & a different person everyday puts me on hold, calls the technical group, tells me no one is picking up (odd that not 1 time could they get them on the line) & let's me know they left them a msg to schedule a service with me. these days, plasmas are so comparable my manufacturers, it's these subtle differences like technical support that really could make a difference. i'm pretty sure samsung makes solid plasmas, but if you're one of the unlucky few like me that experiences problems ... let my experience be a warning.
Updated
i can't recommend this if for nothing else because of their technical service. i bought it just 3wks ago. all of a sudden the tv stopped turning on even though it was being powered as indicated by the blue light at the bottom. called into customer support. all i got was a case # & was told a tech rep would contact me to schedule service. took 24hrs for a return call. next available date was 10 days out. they don't service after hrs or on wkends so basically i have to take time off work to wait without any guarantee that they'll be able to fix it onsite. no telling how much longer i have to wait if it needs to be replaced, but you have to wonder how good samsung's product is if their backlogged 10 days for service issues. everyone raves about panasonics & pioneers. maybe there's a reason for that.
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