Samsung FPT5084 50 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Samsung FPT5084 50 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Samsung’s 50″ HP-T5084 offers full HD 1080p resolution. Watch its astonishingly crisp picture from any angle - even in a brightly lit room, thanks to its Ultra FilterBright anti-reflection filter. Enjoy the dazzling color array of 18-bit processing: a 15,000 contrast ratio reveals the deepest blacks, the whitest whites, and every detail in between. Samsung s powerful anti-burn-in technology assures a long screen life. SRS TruSurround XT technology and 10-watt per channel audio amplifiers deliver sound through bottom speakers.Connect your digital devices to the 3 HDMI ports, one on the side, and take advantage of the full complement of audio and video inputs, including one for your PC. Control all your CEC-compliant digital devices through the one HP-T5084 remote. And it’s Energy Star Compliant, so you’ll use less energy.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Love it love it love it!!!
The TV ROCKS!!! No more to say here! One of the top ten HDTV’s of 2007 according to cnet and I agree.

A small glitch with the company contracted to deliver it. As other reviewers have stated, be proactive and call the company early and often to make sure no delivery issues exist. That said, once the issue was resolved (a data entry error that started with Amazon actually) the tv was delivered professionally with free white glove delivery. I never thought I would spend so much money on a tv on Amazon but I have to admit, they had the best price and included free white glove delivery so I went for it and haven’t regretted it.

5 Stars Phenomenal TV
I researched TVs for a year. Picked up the 5084 on the 4th of July and it’s a winner. I saw it next to the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U and the Panasonic 50PZ80U. I set all 3 TVs to movie mode and liked the Samsung better. Here is how I arrived at this decision.

1. First I got the plasma vs. lcd choice out of the way by appreciating that plasmas still do better blacks and deeper color. My wife and I watch 90% of time at night. This is where plasmas excel.

2. I narrowed down the plasmas to the pioneer 5080, Panasonic 50pz85u, and 50PZ800U.

At the time, the Samsung 5084 wasn’t even in the running. As I spent time watching the Panasonic 50pz85u I noticed noise in dark scenes even connected with a monster cable and a good line cleaner so I passed. I found that the pioneer even on sale was $600 more than the Samsung. The Panasonic 50PZ800U was $1000 more. Clearly these two TVs are superior with more goodies, but not life changing enough to justify the cost.

3. In the end what pushed me to the Samsung was the fact that it’s a “high end TV” from last year that was $1500.00 less than when it came out. I paid $1570. I would rather have an older high end TV than an newer low or medium end TV. While I’m at it Id rather pay a low end price for a high end TV.

4. This TV is still among the top ten on Cnet almost a year later with the same rating as it’s newer 2008 model: PN50A550

5. At the writing of this review all knows bugs have been worked out. Another reason to wait on an older high end model.

Pluses:

I have had the Samsung for a month now and it has performed flawlessly.

Good Standard Def picture. Excellent high def. Can’t comment on DVD picture because I am running my DVD player through an Onkyo 605 receiver that up converts the picture to 720p and it looks fabulous.

My wife loves the bezel (frame). This is what made the whole thing work for her. Plus setting up the room so that it looks like a display room.

Minuses:

You have to be careful how long you pause a picture as it will retain the image. I created a macro key on my Logitech remote (that a got at Amazon) called safe pause. When I press it, it pauses the picture and turns the TV off. If however you get picture retention, Samsung has excellent tools that act like window washers for your screen.

Some times I might watch TV during the day if I am off and the light coming in can be a drawback in dark scenes. This is easily remedied with $15 window blinds.

I am very happy I bought this TV and have no regrets. Get one before they disappear.

5 Stars Great TV!
I have had the TV for over a month now. It is more than worth the money! The picture is amazing. The sound is fine (I only heard a buzzing sound once the second time I used the tv. Since then I have not heard it).

I would highly recommend this product!

5 Stars SAMSUNG 50in Plasma FPT5084
Bought this TV in 8 months ago (January 2008). Very, very happy with this plasma TV. Excellent picture and easy to use remote control. I haven’t had any problems since purchasing it. The side panel inputs are convenient. The contrast with black and other dark colors is great.

The HD channels are great. However, like other plasma’s, the non-HD channels are average at best.

4 Stars Nice TV/Lousy Samsung Customer Service
I’ve had this TV for almost a year and it’s darned nice! As it should be, for the price. However, the optical connector went out on it. It was covered under warranty. The service guy had to change out the entire motherboard to replace the optical connector. I examined the old motherboard, and the optical connector had broken off–it appears to be a very weak unit; can’t handle any stress. Samsung’s customer service is the worst, however. Wait times are long, and then when you finally get connected to a real person, they go by the script and cannot think for themselves. First thing to do when you call is ask to speak with a supervisor and that will bump you past the robots. However, don’t expect a lot more from the second line. They get to be a bit more rude than the first line, but that’s about it.

Buy/More Info

Sony Bravia XBR KDL 52XBR6 52 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Sony Bravia XBR KDL 52XBR6 52 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Remarkable picture quality and eye-popping colors are hallmarks of this XBR 6-Series LCD HDTV. Sony’s BRAVIA engine and Advanced Contrast Enhancer dynamic backlight control combine to offer phenomenal picture quality in 52-inch screen size.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent LCD TV!
I’ve owned a 46″ XBR4 for the past year without issue, and just replaced our family room TV with this 52XBR6. Picture quality is excellent on both systems, and both TVs have gained the all important approval of my wife. The “MotionFlow” can create an “odd” look to fast moving images - such as when a football player is running down the field - but setting the system to less active settings returns the picture to the type/style I’m more comfortable watching. I would not consider myself an ardent supporter of all Sony products (as I’ve had issues with other items, such as their AV receivers), but in the area of LCD televisions I believe you can’t go wrong with their XBR line. Amazon’s free White Glove delivery (via Pilot) was fast and efficient, too.

4 Stars What a picture!
I must say, colors pop out on this set like nothing I’ve seen before. They’re extremely vibrant, amplififed by the 50,000:1 contrast ratio which makes for deep blacks. In a pitch dark room, the black levels nearly blend in with the surrounding environment. This is important to me since my viewing area is very dark with no ambient lighting.

Sound, for me, is not important on a TV since I have a home theater system. I imagine most people buying such a big, expensive set are in the same boat. I have listened to the speakers and I must say there’s nothing special about them IMO. They’re not big enough to put out much bass. I just took down my 8 year old 35″ Trinitron CRT and I hear no improvement on sound quality. If you’re planning on buying this TV and don’t have a home theater system, I’d suggest looking into one.

One of the only cons I can see so far is what another reviewer called “mura”, or slightly cloudy areas on the screen when it’s completely black. I only notice this when nothing else is on the screen so it’s not that huge a concern, but I did knock off one star because of that. It’s not enough of a problem for me to send the set back since the next one could be worse, and I haven’t noticed it so far when something’s on the screen. If the screen went evenly black, I’d easily give this set five stars. I’m also not impressed by the remote. The volume and channel buttons are awkwardly placed, making the remote off-balance when using them. And the illuminate feature is lacking since key words aren’t written on the buttons but above them, keeping them in the dark as the button is lit. They could take some notes from Onkyo on this; their illuminated remotes are superb, and I use my universal Onkyo remote for this TV rather than the one included.

All in all, I’m very happy with this TV. The picture is by far the best I’ve ever seen. I would shop around for the best deal, however. I had this in my Amazon cart at less than $2,300, and when I went to pay for it the price flew up to $2,500. That’s still not a bad price for this TV, but Amazon’s prices on the set are all over the place as I’m sure you know if you’ve been watching. There are places online that sell it cheaper, but be sure to review their policies before making a purchase, and don’t fall for the high-pressure sales tactics that many employ.

5 Stars Sony XBR
I’ve had this TV for about a week now and its great. I would buy the same TV if I had to over again. If you want the best go with the sony XBR. If you want to think you got the best, get a Samsung. In my opinion Sony has made the best TVs for years and will continue to do so. There’s a reason why they are more than the competition.

I’m not sure why Amazon allows some of the reviews here. I don’t think you should be allowed to post the price from another website in a review as someone else did. I got a better price from Amazon then the amount posted by the reviewer anyway. The white glove service was as described; I have no complaints.

Also, I’m tired of seeing reviews of 1 star because the product took a while to arrive, or the product was damaged and you never got to use it. How can you rate a product if you never actually used it? Should you give a poor review because some shady seller took a while to send it to you? My point here is don’t give a product a bad review just because there was an issue with delivery, the product conditon upon arrival etc. Rate the product for what it is.

5 Stars Sony’s creme de la creme
Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR6 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

I have this TV for about 2 weeks now. Picture is crisp and well detailed, colors are beyond words can describe, black levels are really good as in you see every detail in any dark/grayscale scene while the blacks remain truly black. I was comparing side by side the black levels to Samsung’s 850 series, and although the black on Samsung seems to be darker (due to their glossy screen) it didn’t show any details in dark scene, just a big black spot… Sony actually shows you the picture as it’s meant to be.

The color range offered by the 10 bit panel & processor is very vivid. the 120hz Motion flow is perfected and honestly you cannot tell the difference if you purchase the 240hz in XBR7, you just pay almost 2,000.00 extra for a feature you won’t feel.

If you are watching this TV in pitch black room and you have a pitch black scene (with nothing but black in it) you will feel “the clouding effect” aka Mura, but it’s not even worth mentioning since this is only viewable if nothing else was on the TV…

I did the calibration using DVE bluray disk and using the THX. i want to say the the DVE was more detailed and specific than THX, but the calibration is highly recommended.

Amazon’s price was the best out there, i bought it from Amazon.com on Thanksgiving day for much less than what it is nowadays, however price was fluctuating several times every day for some reason… but it’s never been as low since that day!! White Glove delivery (through Pilot) is very good, they went inside unpacked and placed the TV on its stand, they even waited for about 10 minutes while i ran some tests on the TV…

To sum it all, this is the best TV money can buy for a reasonable price especially on Amazon.com’s best price/service. The 55XBR8 is a better TV but it’s 3 times the price with only 3 inches more!

1 Star Delivery issue
I bought this TV on Nov29, and it was delivered today Dec 11 as it’s on back order. As the delivery guys opened, we noticed the screen has been damaged all over. They took it back. Also noticed that the base of the stand was pre-installed. I was very disappointed with the delivery service.

Buy/More Info

Samsung LN40A650 40 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color

Samsung LN40A650 40 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color

The Samsung LN40A650 incorporates a stylish look with exclusive Touch of Color. Searching for technology that will make your life easier? The InfoLink RSS feature gives you instant access to news, weather, and sports information at the push of a button. And Auto Motion Plus 120Hz delivers smooth motion action scenes that will blow you away. Satisfy your craving for the latest in HD technology with the Samsung LN40A650 LCD TV.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars GREAT COLOR - EASY SETUP
Easy to set up with easy to understand menus. Great color. I use home theater for audio, so I cannot comment on the sound. The remote’s accept and arrow buttons are overly sensitive but since I use a Logitech remote it does not matter to me.

This was my first HDTV. I wanted a 32″ but could not find one at 120HZ so I went for the 40″ and glad I did. It seems to be just right for the size of my family room.

I was surprised how well it does preventing the daytime glare my old TV had from the sliding glass door in the room. The glare is basically eliminated.

1 Star 1 Star Delivery and Customer Service, 5 Star Amazing TV
NOT A REVIEW OF THE TV; JUST OF THE DELIVERY SERVICE. I haven’t received my TV yet, and I expect it will be great when I get it. When I ordered the TV on Dec. 2 the webpage touted a free “White Glove” delivery service with the following language, which is still on the webpage: “FREE White-Glove Delivery When You Purchase From Amazon.com After your purchase, an agent will call you within five days to arrange delivery.”

Based on this, I expected to receive a call “to arrange delivery” within 5 days of my purchase date of Dec. 2. It is now Dec. 11, and still no call to arrange delivery. My estimated delivery date as shown on the Amazon tracking system hasn’t yet arrived, and I’m hopeful the TV will show up on or before that estimated date, as things from Amazon usually seem to, but I think Amazon needs to remove or revise their “Free White Glove” delivery information if in fact calls to arrange delivery are not being made within 5 days of purchase.

P.S.: adding to the mystery of the delivery process is the fact the Amazon “track your package” service has now shown three different “arrival scan” dates for my TV order in Washington DC, which is near where I live. The first one shown was 12/8, which then changed to 12/10, and now the arrival scan info shows a 12/11 date. What gives? I’ve emailed Amazon to find out what’s up.

12/12 update: I found another new “arrival scan” date of 12/12 this morning. Also this morning, more than 20 hours after I had emailed Amazon asking about the delivery, I had no response back. (They say on their website that they usually respond to emails within 12 hours.) So, I called Amazon and they gave me the number for the CEVA delivery service, and I called them and they said they have the TV and will deliver it this pm. Good news, but a customer shouldn’t have to work this hard to find out where things are and get them delivered, especially when Amazon touts a “White Glove” delivery service. I know this is their busy season, but again I suggest that, during the busy season at least, Amazon consider altering its website representations regarding (1) calling to schedule “White Glove” delivery service within 5 days of purchase and (2) responding to emails within 12 hours. They did neither of these in my case.

12/15 update: finally got my TV, but only after a final adventure with the “White Glove” delivery service. I was walking home from the subway station near my home on Friday evening and spotted the CEVA truck driving around my neighborhood, turning on to a couple of streets, but not mine. I flagged them down and asked if they were looking for my house, and they said yes, so I jumped in the cab and showed them how to get to my house, which was only about 1/10 of a mile from where they were, but their GPS was telling them to look for my cul-de-sac on the left when in fact it is on the right. I love the TV and will review it separately, and it did arrive two days ahead of the estimated arrival date, but probably only because I actively pursued getting it delivered, as described above. Lesson learned with this purchase: don’t rely on Amazon’s “White Glove” delivery representation about being contacted within 5 days of purchase to arrange delivery and don’t rely on their representation about receiving a response to customer service emails within 12 hours. Amazon did give me a $30 credit, which was a nice gesture.

I JUST DISCOVERED I CAN’T POST A SEPARATE TV REVIEW, SO I REVIEW THIS AMAZING TV BELOW: My troubles with the “White Glove” delivery service and Amazon customer service were well worth getting this amazing TV. The picture is as bright, crisp and colorful as the other reviews all say, and the sound is fine, even without external speakers. The touch of red color looks great, and the glare from lights in the room is not an issue, and we have this in a very bright, sunlit room near our Christmas tree with old-school big lights on it. Installation was easy.

I will echo the mild complaints about the wheel on the remote and the apparent lack of sensitivity of the remote or the sensor on the TV that requires the remote to be aimed at the lower right hand corner of the set to work. I simply use the click up, left, right or down features on the remote wheel to avoid spinning the wheel, which I find clumsy and slow to respond, and I just have to remember to point the remote properly. Not big issues because of the separate satellite remote, and certainly not a reason to pass up this amazing TV. I will also mention some mild frustration in getting the wireless network adaptor stick (sold separately, as they say) to work on my TV. After struggling with attempts to activate it and checking a few times online for help on why my attempts weren’t working, I discovered a post that suggested downloading a software update from Samsung to fix the connectivity issue with the wireless network, and after I did that it worked like a charm. If you’re having any trouble with your set and haven’t done the software update, you should do the update.

Bottom line: this is an amazing TV!

5 Stars Best Quality Image with the Most Competitve Price
Several members of my family own Samsung HDTV’s and I was always very impressed with them. Still, I always have admired Sony’s quality and I originally purchased the Sony 40″ XBR6. While the Sony had a very good image, I did notice some slight motion blur as it only has an 8ms response time. In addition to this drawback and the fact that the Sony was $2,100.00 at the time I bought it, I decided to return it in favor of the Samsung 40″ A650. Not only does this Samsung have a equally good, if not superior image to the Sony, it also has a 4ms response time and absolutely no motion blur. The best part is the price was $800 dollars cheaper than the Sony. Overall this TV beats out the competition and its quality can’t be beat. I thought I would give Sony a try, but it turns out I should have trusted the experience of my family members, as the Samsung HDTV’s just can’t be beat for the quality and price. This is a great TV, and you will not be dissappointed.

5 Stars Completely satisfied
I’ve been looking at TVs for quite a while now and the Samsung LCDs are the ones that stuck out to me as the ones that look the best. After buying this and having it for a couple weeks now I’m completely sure that I made the right decision. The image is crisp, the contrast is great and the features are as well. Looking beyond the picture (which I can’t say enough about) the TV does a great job at recognizing inputs from many different sources and switching between them. I don’t even know if I hooked them up right. I think the TV is smarter than me. The audio is satisfactory but I bought an accompanying Samsung home theater system for something like $200 and it improves the experience exponentially. Blu Rays looks amazing obviously and television not so much unless it’s a digital signal but that’s to be expected although with a simple $20-30 digital antenna you can pick up HD channels in all their glory for free. My TV picked some up even without the antenna–don’t ask how because I don’t know. The USB input is fun for pictures and music if you so wish, and I am loving the amount of AV inputs supplied. I don’t know what “Touch of Red” has to do with anything–in fact I could care less about that–but the TV is still great. This is a great buy and I’d recommend it!!

5 Stars Christmas 2008 in Samsung HD
Outstanding set. Colors amazing! CEVA delivery was great ..no problems! You will love this purchase.

Buy/More Info

Samsung FPT5084 50 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Samsung FPT5084 50 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Samsung’s 50″ HP-T5084 offers full HD 1080p resolution. Watch its astonishingly crisp picture from any angle - even in a brightly lit room, thanks to its Ultra FilterBright anti-reflection filter. Enjoy the dazzling color array of 18-bit processing: a 15,000 contrast ratio reveals the deepest blacks, the whitest whites, and every detail in between. Samsung s powerful anti-burn-in technology assures a long screen life. SRS TruSurround XT technology and 10-watt per channel audio amplifiers deliver sound through bottom speakers.Connect your digital devices to the 3 HDMI ports, one on the side, and take advantage of the full complement of audio and video inputs, including one for your PC. Control all your CEC-compliant digital devices through the one HP-T5084 remote. And it’s Energy Star Compliant, so you’ll use less energy.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Love it love it love it!!!
The TV ROCKS!!! No more to say here! One of the top ten HDTV’s of 2007 according to cnet and I agree.

A small glitch with the company contracted to deliver it. As other reviewers have stated, be proactive and call the company early and often to make sure no delivery issues exist. That said, once the issue was resolved (a data entry error that started with Amazon actually) the tv was delivered professionally with free white glove delivery. I never thought I would spend so much money on a tv on Amazon but I have to admit, they had the best price and included free white glove delivery so I went for it and haven’t regretted it.

5 Stars SAMSUNG 50in Plasma FPT5084
Bought this TV in 8 months ago (January 2008). Very, very happy with this plasma TV. Excellent picture and easy to use remote control. I haven’t had any problems since purchasing it. The side panel inputs are convenient. The contrast with black and other dark colors is great.

The HD channels are great. However, like other plasma’s, the non-HD channels are average at best.

5 Stars Phenomenal TV
I researched TVs for a year. Picked up the 5084 on the 4th of July and it’s a winner. I saw it next to the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U and the Panasonic 50PZ80U. I set all 3 TVs to movie mode and liked the Samsung better. Here is how I arrived at this decision.

1. First I got the plasma vs. lcd choice out of the way by appreciating that plasmas still do better blacks and deeper color. My wife and I watch 90% of time at night. This is where plasmas excel.

2. I narrowed down the plasmas to the pioneer 5080, Panasonic 50pz85u, and 50PZ800U.

At the time, the Samsung 5084 wasn’t even in the running. As I spent time watching the Panasonic 50pz85u I noticed noise in dark scenes even connected with a monster cable and a good line cleaner so I passed. I found that the pioneer even on sale was $600 more than the Samsung. The Panasonic 50PZ800U was $1000 more. Clearly these two TVs are superior with more goodies, but not life changing enough to justify the cost.

3. In the end what pushed me to the Samsung was the fact that it’s a “high end TV” from last year that was $1500.00 less than when it came out. I paid $1570. I would rather have an older high end TV than an newer low or medium end TV. While I’m at it Id rather pay a low end price for a high end TV.

4. This TV is still among the top ten on Cnet almost a year later with the same rating as it’s newer 2008 model: PN50A550

5. At the writing of this review all knows bugs have been worked out. Another reason to wait on an older high end model.

Pluses:

I have had the Samsung for a month now and it has performed flawlessly.

Good Standard Def picture. Excellent high def. Can’t comment on DVD picture because I am running my DVD player through an Onkyo 605 receiver that up converts the picture to 720p and it looks fabulous.

My wife loves the bezel (frame). This is what made the whole thing work for her. Plus setting up the room so that it looks like a display room.

Minuses:

You have to be careful how long you pause a picture as it will retain the image. I created a macro key on my Logitech remote (that a got at Amazon) called safe pause. When I press it, it pauses the picture and turns the TV off. If however you get picture retention, Samsung has excellent tools that act like window washers for your screen.

Some times I might watch TV during the day if I am off and the light coming in can be a drawback in dark scenes. This is easily remedied with $15 window blinds.

I am very happy I bought this TV and have no regrets. Get one before they disappear.

4 Stars Nice TV/Lousy Samsung Customer Service
I’ve had this TV for almost a year and it’s darned nice! As it should be, for the price. However, the optical connector went out on it. It was covered under warranty. The service guy had to change out the entire motherboard to replace the optical connector. I examined the old motherboard, and the optical connector had broken off–it appears to be a very weak unit; can’t handle any stress. Samsung’s customer service is the worst, however. Wait times are long, and then when you finally get connected to a real person, they go by the script and cannot think for themselves. First thing to do when you call is ask to speak with a supervisor and that will bump you past the robots. However, don’t expect a lot more from the second line. They get to be a bit more rude than the first line, but that’s about it.

5 Stars Great TV!
I have had the TV for over a month now. It is more than worth the money! The picture is amazing. The sound is fine (I only heard a buzzing sound once the second time I used the tv. Since then I have not heard it).

I would highly recommend this product!

Buy/More Info