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Samsung Vs Panasonic Plasmas


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ooops sorry about the double post.

I've taken a few quick shots with my phone out of the box to show the thickness and the stand, plus the connections at the back will upload later..

Edited by dusktildawn
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Just took delivery of the only Samsung PS50B850 Ultra Slim plasma that Good Guys Prospect had in stock. :D

Currently sitting in the box in the lounge room, can't open it for another 3 weeks though.

How much champ?

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I did a split Interest Free and Cash, all up it was $4264 with 3 years extended warranty & delivery.

They will do it for $3700 if you haggle them down, paying cash or credit card though.

Cheers mate.

I think this is the tv I'll get now, with the new promotion not having the 58b550 plasma and all. Oh well!

Let us know how you find it, I'll be making my choice next weekend.

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Cheers mate.

I think this is the tv I'll get now, with the new promotion not having the 58b550 plasma and all. Oh well!

Let us know how you find it, I'll be making my choice next weekend.

I saw the PS58B550 on display at the same store but had SD content on demo which was a shame.

The ticket on the actual tv was a PS58B850 and the price was $4495 - I was going to snatch the ticket and say to them that I wanted a 58" Series 8 for $4495 and if they didn't have it in stock, I'll wait!

I didn't know if I had a leg to stand on but it was a nice thought.

Anyways, this tv looks fantastic and even the fiancee's dad couldn't stop saying how nice it was when I unboxed it. The few reviews I've read about this TV have been very good, this will be the very first plasma that I will own so I have nothing to compare it with besides a friend's Panasonic TH-50PZ850U.

I can't set it up fully yet, but tomorrow I plan to just plug my blue-ray player and power her on just to make sure it actually works.

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...and i sit here wondering why the prices are so high vs our American cousins.

STOP PRE-ORDERING PEOPLE! Supply/Demand dynamics and the low-ish aussie dollar mean we're getting a raw deal :(

oh and also another 50 million people wouldnt hurt either

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Myer sale until 5 July: 15% off TVs

Panasonic 1080:

THP42G10a = $2124 + free Wii worth $399

THP46G10a = $2549 + free Wii worth $399

THP50G10a = $2804 + free Wii worth $399

THP42S10a = $1869 + free Wii worth $399

Local delivery (Melbourne) $45

Warranty extension $169 = 2yr; $269 = 3yr; $349 5yr

Sign up for free Myer One card and get a $10 gift voucher for $1,000 spend.

HN and JB also have the Wii offer from today.

I checked THP50G10a and Samsung 50B650 (also $2,804 in Myer) in HN side-by-side with FTA: Similar PQ, but thought I saw minor artefacts/image break up on the Panasonic.

The only reason I’d pick the THP50G10a over the 50B650 is Owen’s concern that the Samsung “Detail Enhancer” cannot be switched off.

Does anyone know if you can switch off Samsungs “Detail Enhancer” function?

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Myer sale until 5 July: 15% off TVs

The only reason I’d pick the THP50G10a over the 50B650 is Owen’s concern that the Samsung “Detail Enhancer” cannot be switched off.

Does anyone know if you can switch off Samsungs “Detail Enhancer” function?

This is the first time I have heard of this. Can you please direct me to where this information is?

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Well, i finally got a chance to see the Samsung B650 in-store. It's an attractive set, nice how ALL the lights turn off.

The features i thought i wouldn't be interested suddenly DID interest me. USB stick that can play media sources (hmmm, but which ones?!) and DLNA (wireless) might be neat too - though it does mean leaving my PC on - which i don't like having to do presently.

The picture looked good (as you'd expect at the price) and I was quite impressed with the SD signal picture - much better than what i saw from the Panasonic - but I will have another go at that soon. The Samsung just seems like a more polished, better value product. The sound was pretty bad though, my $20 chinese 68cm second hand CRT is noticeably better!

Myer seem to have the best price going atm, and the bonus Wii with the Panasonic (that i don't want) will get me another couple of hundred back when i sell it. So i could realistically get the Pana G10 50" for $2500 - assuming i could sell the Wii for $300 - which i think i could.

STILL - no Australian reviews for either the Panasonic or the Samsung. How slow is Australian media, this months edition of Sound + Image reviewed FOUR DVD players... FOUR! WTF for?

If the price was right, you know, i'd be leaning toward the Sammy - but at ~$2500 for the Panasonic, it's very tempting. I just want to know if there's a significant difference in PQ - because i'd pick the Samsung for its features.

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Well, i finally got a chance to see the Samsung B650 in-store. It's an attractive set, nice how ALL the lights turn off.

The features i thought i wouldn't be interested suddenly DID interest me. USB stick that can play media sources (hmmm, but which ones?!) and DLNA (wireless) might be neat too - though it does mean leaving my PC on - which i don't like having to do presently.

The picture looked good (as you'd expect at the price) and I was quite impressed with the SD signal picture - much better than what i saw from the Panasonic - but I will have another go at that soon. The Samsung just seems like a more polished, better value product. The sound was pretty bad though, my $20 chinese 68cm second hand CRT is noticeably better!

Myer seem to have the best price going atm, and the bonus Wii with the Panasonic (that i don't want) will get me another couple of hundred back when i sell it. So i could realistically get the Pana G10 50" for $2500 - assuming i could sell the Wii for $300 - which i think i could.

STILL - no Australian reviews for either the Panasonic or the Samsung. How slow is Australian media, this months edition of Sound + Image reviewed FOUR DVD players... FOUR! WTF for?

If the price was right, you know, i'd be leaning toward the Sammy - but at ~$2500 for the Panasonic, it's very tempting. I just want to know if there's a significant difference in PQ - because i'd pick the Samsung for its features.

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It's an American site reviewing the just superceded models, but gives a good insight about the differences/pros/cons of both brands and some of the things that may still be applicable to the new models

Panasonic TH-50PZ85U vs. Samsung PN50A650 Plasma TV Review

Home Theatre mag (US) review - Panasonic TC-P46G10 Plasma HDTV

CNET US Review (not as thorough as HT mag) - Samsung PN50B650

Edited by diesel
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This is the first time I have heard of this. Can you please direct me to where this information is?

Does anyone know if you can switch off Samsungs “Detail Enhancer” function?

Answer: I think it can be turned off. Here are "ideal" settings for a PS50B850 as suggested by http://flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subacti...p;id=1245336433

• After calibrating

Profile: Movie

Backlight 6

Contrast 95

Brightness: 50

Sharpness: 0

Colour: 50

Tone G50/R50

Black tone Off

Dynamic contrast Off

Colour space Auto

Skin tones 0

Edge enhancement Off

xvYCC Off

Auto Light Limiter Off

Clear white Off

HDMI, black tone Normal

Vivid colours Off

RGB: Manual

• Red- 30

• Green- 23

• Blue- 27

• Red+ 27

• Green+ 25

• Blue+ 26

I expect the setting options for the PS50B650 would be very similar.

Does anyone know of a link to calibrated settings for the PS50B650? (I just bought one at Goodguys for $2580 without extended warranty).

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Edge enhancement Off

I expect the setting options for the PS50B650 would be very similar.

Page 16 of the instructions (B650) has:

"Edge Enhancement → Off / On

You can emphasize object boundaries in the picture."

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Does anyone know if you can switch off Samsungs "Detail Enhancer" function?

Answer: I think it can be turned off. Here are "ideal" settings for a PS50B850 as suggested by http://flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subacti...p;id=1245336433

• After calibrating

Profile: Movie

Backlight 6

Contrast 95

Brightness: 50

Sharpness: 0

Colour: 50

Tone G50/R50

Black tone Off

Dynamic contrast Off

Colour space Auto

Skin tones 0

Edge enhancement Off

xvYCC Off

Auto Light Limiter Off

Clear white Off

HDMI, black tone Normal

Vivid colours Off

RGB: Manual

• Red- 30

• Green- 23

• Blue- 27

• Red+ 27

• Green+ 25

• Blue+ 26

I expect the setting options for the PS50B650 would be very similar.

Does anyone know of a link to calibrated settings for the PS50B650? (I just bought one at Goodguys for $2580 without extended warranty).

The other important setting is "Sharpness: 0"

Owen, I have noted almost all reviews leaving the contrast at 95 .... ordinarly thats way to high yeah ??? What should it be set at?

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The Sammy is quite bright by Plasma standards, a contrast setting of 95 is way too much for most viewing environments and for dim or dark environments it’s insane.

There is no “correct” setting for contrast; it depends on the ambient lighting. Running 95 is asking for burn in issues, if you feel the need to run contrast that high you should consider light control in the room or an stupidly bright LCD TV.

Many people have a tendency to run their TV’s WAY too bright, and usually with oversaturated colour as well. Show them an “accurate” picture and they will probably not like it.

Edited by Owen
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The Sammy is quite bright by Plasma standards, a contrast setting of 95 is way too much for most viewing environments and for dim or dark environments it's insane.

There is no "correct" setting for contrast; it depends on the ambient lighting. Running 95 is asking for burn in issues, if you feel the need to run contrast that high you should consider light control in the room or an stupidly bright LCD TV.

Many people have a tendency to run their TV's WAY too bright, and usually with oversaturated colour as well. Show them an "accurate" picture and they will probably not like it.

Fair enough. I just thought perhaps samsung had changed the scale so to speak. As in, 95 really is like 60 on a panasonic or something like that. Either way, ill have a play around.

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Owen, I have noted almost all reviews leaving the contrast at 95 .... ordinarly thats way to high yeah ??? What should it be set at?

If you follow or go close to those calibrated settings, especially the "movie" mode and backlight to 6 or 8 max, contrast level of 95 in these Samsung's are perfectly fine and not too high at all. You will find that pretty much all professional calibration settings for these Samsung's use a Contrast of 95. When you set it to Movie mode, the actual contrast "feel" goes down and becomes softer to your eyes. Definitely try it out yourself as what looks best to you is usually the best setting.

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If you follow or go close to those calibrated settings, especially the "movie" mode and backlight to 6 or 8 max, contrast level of 95 in these Samsung's are perfectly fine and not too high at all. You will find that pretty much all professional calibration settings for these Samsung's use a Contrast of 95. When you set it to Movie mode, the actual contrast "feel" goes down and becomes softer to your eyes. Definitely try it out yourself as what looks best to you is usually the best setting.

Thanks. Makes me feel a bit better, as I found cinema mode with backlight (its called cell something arother) to 6 and contrast at 95 to be very reasonable even with all the lights off.

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Thanks. Makes me feel a bit better, as I found cinema mode with backlight (its called cell something arother) to 6 and contrast at 95 to be very reasonable even with all the lights off.

Drizt, have you got your 50B650? Care to comment? Particularily regarding any buzz problems and the reported issue with cinema smooth on the AVS forums? Also are the speakers really that bad?

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Movie mode may be a dim preset intended for dim or dark viewing conditions, it may override the normally very bright contrast of “normal” mode so the number 95 could mean nothing, 100 is likely not giving you maximum output in “cinema” mode. On many TV’s you can adjust the user preset modes in the service menu and make each as bright or as dim as you want, independent from the user contrast setting. The only way you can tell how hard you are driving the panel is to measure its light output, you can’t use the contrast number as any indication. If you where to drive the panel at 95% of it maximum possible output you would shorten its life and risk burn in.

Many so called “calibrators” seem to aim for peak light output of about 40ftl and set the contrast control accordingly. 40ftl is WAY too bright for a dim or dark viewing environment and is about 4 times brighter then a cinema, why people want a picture that bright escapes me; I personally find it very hard on the eyes. To get 40ftl you are driving a Plasma hard, and that’s a worry, so if a contrast setting of 95 in “Cinema” mode is giving 40ftl or more, use it at your own risk. Plasmas are typically flat nacker at mid to high 40’s, unless the room is unusually bright you just don’t need 40ftl. Give your Plasma a brake, no need to flog it to death, the brighter you set it the more you have to worry about image retention and burn in.

One thing I should also mention is that all Plasmas have a negative dynamic contrast characteristic, they are incapable of maintaining full output on high average picture level scenes where a large proportion of the pixels are on hard, in this situation output drops of by anything up to about 60%, the higher the contrast setting the greater the loss on bright scenes and the more non linear the display. LCD’s do not suffer from this and that’s why they look brighter when set to the same peak level as a Plasma. You can set up a Plasma and an LCD to the same 40ftl peak on a low average picture level scene and on a high average picture level scene like snow the LCD will be twice as bright because it does not loose output like the Plasma.

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Drizt, have you got your 50B650? Care to comment? Particularily regarding any buzz problems and the reported issue with cinema smooth on the AVS forums? Also are the speakers really that bad?

Got it yesterday, but didnt get to set it up until late at night. Haven't had a chance to play with it much yet. Ill report back over the weekend regarding the buzzing issue if its a problem. I hope not, damn that would suck.

I couldn't even see cinema smooth in the setup... ??? Ill have to have a better look.

The screen itself was a shock. The screen looks redish when its turned off.

The picture quality is excellent.

but all early days.

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