- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 37 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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32 out of 32 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Fantastic HDTV with incredible picture quality"
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!
- 7 replies to this review
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From all the glowing praise this TV has gotten in reviews, I have become vary interested in buying one. I am heavy into sports games for Xbox 360, and I am worried that if I play them on this TV, I risk "burn-in" from stationary images like the score bar and clock. Have you had any "burn-in" issues?
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Is the judder problem bothersome to you? I'm about to pull the string and would like to hear your opinion on the judder issue. Thanks
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I am looking at purchasing this set (5064) and was curious if you have noticed any judder or ticker issues with it. If you've been to the avs forum, I'm sure you're aware of the problem. If so, in your opinion, is it a big deal or is it overblown?
Thanks -
I am looking at purchasing this set (5064) and was curious if you have noticed any judder or ticker issues with it. If you've been to the avs forum, I'm sure you're aware of the problem. If so, in your opinion, is it a big deal or is it overblown?
Thanks -
I am looking at purchasing this set (5064) and was curious if you have noticed any judder or ticker issues with it. If you've been to the avs forum, I'm sure you're aware of the problem. If so, in your opinion, is it a big deal or is it overblown?
Thanks -
I appreciate your taking the time to share your experience with this TV - very helpful.
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Looking to buy two plasma tv's(50") and have narrowed my search considerably. Just wondering how your tv is holding up ?
