Samsung PN43D450 43-Inch 720p 600 Hz Plasma HDTV (Black)

Amazing TV, April 5, 2011

I’ve had this set for almost 3 weeks, and I absolutely love it. The picture is amazing; I compared it to sets with 1080p, and I like the picture on this one better. The sound is also fantastic; loud, clear, and with several different settings for TV, movies, etc. Speaking of settings, the menus are easy to follow and allow you to set the picture just the way you like it. The remote is easy to use, and the only thing I don’t like about it is that it has a slightly curved shape and tends to fall off the coffee table or sofa from time to time. Otherwise, I’m really happy. I did research for about a month and had a hard time deciding between this set and a Panasonic, but I’m glad I went with this one because it’s fantastic. One other note—do not buy overpriced cables for this or any other set! I bought a $4 HDMI cable from Amazon and it works perfectly. Why pay $20, $30, or even $50 for an overpriced cable that doesn’t work any better?

UPDATE APRIL 18: I’m still loving this set, but I like it even more now that I’ve learned how to tweak the picture controls. The default settings have the brightness controls set very high; once I turned that down, the picture looks even more amazing. I also learned that I can set the picture and sound controls for each input device (cable box, dvd player, etc) and those settings will be saved and reappear each time that device is used. This is really handy if you like to use different settings when watching a movie, for example. My advice is to spend 10-15 minutes reading your manual carefully to learn what all the picture settings do, then adjust the picture to get it just the way you like it instead of using the default factory settings. It makes a big difference!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (5)

Best Plasma Deal, May 12, 2011

By 

Don G. Connell “Blu-Ray Nut” (Lubbock, Texas) –

  

I have tried to by a Plasma TV for 3 years now, but I always ended up with a LCD. I recently have been looking for either a Panasonic or Samsung 50″ Plasma for either my office or bedroom. I have a 52″ 650 series Samsung 1080p LCD in my Home theater Room that has great color, HD Detail and overall quality. I have done alot of research on Plasma TVs and found that the fore-mentioned brands above, are the best rated. I debated the 1080p VS 720p issue and came up with the truth that, 50″ and below sizes,720p will give you as good a picture on HDTV as 1080p. Reason, most signals that are sent, are originally 720p anyway. If you are not using a blu-ray player often and if you are 4-5′ away, you will tell no difference.

Finally, almost a month ago, I got an email from Amazon that had the 2 brands on their Sales Ad. I really wanted to try the Panasonic Brand, but the best deal was on the Samsung. Being that I have several Samsung Products now and know the top quality of the brand, I chose the Samsung PN51D450 51″ 720p for under $700.00 and ordered it. Delivery was about a week, timed appointment, white glove delivery and a nice knowledgable friendly delivery person. I had read about the “burn in” issues with Plasmas, but with pixal shift and a scroll bar, that is not a issue any longer if you follow the 100-200 break-in period. Yes, it is a pain, but it is well worth it. You can find written instructions online on how to setup your Plasma before the seemingly, never-ending break-in time. You need to find a channel that doesn’t have a logo in one place, like a cable information channel, and just let it run. I put mine in the bedroom, so I was running it 17 hours a day and with that, it was almost 2 weeks before the 200 hours was done. Most experts recommend the 200 hours. Once that is done, you may go in and adjust all of the settings to get the UNBELIEVABLE PLASMA PICTURE YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT, from the experts !!!!!

The Samsung is about 20lbs lighter than the Panasonic and that is a plus. This Plasma is one of the lower priced ones that Samsung has, but you are only missing the “add on features” that have nothing to do with the picture. The most debate for me was, did I really need 1080p. For the usage I have for this set, 720p is great and it saved me several Hundred Bucks and that is a plus.

If you don’t have the desire to wait a couple of weeks to “break-in” the set, buy a LCD. If you want to own and see why all of the experts say that the Plasma is the best picture, try this set. I think that you will be happy with the picture and I know you you will find a use for all of the money you are saving.

Overall, I believe I made the correct decision, 1. as good a picture as you can find
2. over 20lbs lighter than comparable brands 3.a 51″ Plasma for under $700.00 !!!

Just another fine Samsung Product.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (3)

Quality TV for the price, March 22, 2011

I had been holding out for the 2010 42″ Samsung Plamsa model to drop in price which I had been patiently watching since early November. When the price was still the same come March – I decided it wasn’t getting any cheaper.

When to my surprise Amazon wasn’t offering Free Shipping on that TV any, I noticed the 2011 Samsung Plasma’s were available and with free shipping – I actually go the new model (which is now +1″ to 43″)for cheaper than last years Plasma.

Out of the box the TV appearance is a nice liquid glossy-black finish. Very thin TV – probably 1″ deep in most spots (excluding where the mount attaches). The input panel required plugs to be plugged in horizontally – so expect to have to have a punch-panel or hole in the wall on the lower left side of the TV screen (lower left if facing the TV) to get the connections to hook-up. Why TV makers won’t allow vertical input connections on TV’s like this is beyond me.

If not wall mounting it comes with a good quality stand – though one of the mounting holes on the TV was stripped on my mount out of the box – something I didn’t discover until days later. Since the free stand is temporary for me and I’ll eventually wall-mount, I was not concerned.

Picture quality is what you’d expect from a plasma – bright colors, good blacks, and a little bit of a glossy (reflective) screen. The screen isn’t too bad – I use it in a highly lit room and only if the sun is right on it does it bother me.

This set is 720p – and after reading 1000 different opinions/tech articles on 1080p vs 720p and it doesn’t matter because you can’t really tell the difference unless you are too close. I can say this – you CAN tell a difference if you are coming from 1080p to 720p.

I have a bigger 50″ 1080p TV in a different/home theater room. It is also a Samsung – but a much older rear-projection LED (YES – LED, they offered it one way back year – new LED TVs are not rear-projection LED; they no longer make them). The 1080p picture is silky smooth compared to this new Samsung. Don’t get me wrong, this set looks really good – if I hadn’t spent 4 years watching TV on my other TV I would have never known. But side by side looking close at the 720 screen you see clear pixels – there are no pixels on my 1080p 50″ screen – no matter how close I look. On this screen you can see pixels/not-that-sharp of an image from about 3′ away. That not-that-sharp image can be see from a distance – the picture just isn’t as ‘liquid’ as my old 1080p. However, until I saw it side-by-side I wouldn’t KNOW better to complain – can you see the difference – yes. But my point is you won’t know any better till you’ve seen then side by side. You don’t know how clear it can be until you see it.

That said it’s still really good for the price and I’d would buy it again since ~$500 was my price range.

Bottom-line this is a good 720p Plasma for the price, but if you are looking for that GREAT picture quality hold-out for a 1080p set. If my 5 year old 1080p looks better than this brand new 720p, the new 1080s have to be even better.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (3)