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Samsung PN58B650

*Est. $2,140

Reviewed November 2009
Samsung PN58B650

Best 58-inch plasma TV

pros
  • Very accurate colors
  • Does better in well-lit rooms than most plasma TVs
  • Lots of picture controls
  • Distinctive styling
cons
  • Black levels aren't the deepest available
  • Styling might not appeal to all
  • Sluggish interactive features
  • Some owners complain of a buzzing sound
 
 
Where to Buy
 
 
 
5 star:
(16)
4 star:
(3)
3 star:
(2)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(0)

Average Customer Review

(21 customer reviews)

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Great TV, November 19, 2009

Great TV. Plugged it into my Yamaha HTR-6180 A/V receiver which upscales the DirecTV signal to 1080p over HDMI and the picture is phenomenal. As with the other reviewers, I do hear the occasional buzzing which is why I haven't given it 5 stars. Overall, I am very pleased with this TV and still feel that plasma technology is superior to LED and LCD, especially when viewing sports and action movies.

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Arrived quickly and worked great!, November 9, 2009

The 58 inch Plasma HDTV arrived in the time they said it would. The two men carried it into my living room and offered to unpack it. Very nice! The carton it arrived in was pristine (not a dent or puncture anywhere). I unpacked and set it up, and was watching HiDef from FIOS within 20 minutes. Setting up the contrast/brightness and so forth, I ran a search on the internet to find those people that excel in those areas, set up my new set accordingly and am very happy! Highly recommended! I wanted a plasma set instead of an LCD since the plasma sets tend toward having better contrast and better view-ability in a dimly lit room.

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Great Buy For a Large Screen, November 9, 2009

I purchased this TV after many hours of online reviews and comparing models at local stores. After deciding that plasma was probably a better way to go for a large screen (acutally cheaper and offers a better total viewing angle over LCD), my choiced narrowed down to the Panasonic and Samsung models. I wanted a 54-60 inch for my viewing space. The 58 inch Samsung appeared to me to have a little more "pop" and picture tuning controls than the 54 inch Panasonic. Since I was not mounting the TV on the wall, I felt that I didn't need the 1 inch thick B850 model along with the higher price. I chose the B650 after reading many on-line reviews The picture is outstanding! Because the plasma picture is not quite as bright as the LCD in the "normal" mode, I use the "dynamic" during the daytime. There are plenty of HDMI jacks (4) so I can hook up my cable box, blue ray player, and and older VCR. The sound is not so hot so if you are spending this much for a TV, you need to get some sort of surround sound system. Even a cheap one is better than the sound from the TV. The plasma screen puts out plenty of heat as I expected, but have not seen any "burn in". Overall, an outstanding product. The delivery company opened the box for me and pluged it in and powered it up to ensure it was working and so I could inspect it.

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Nice picture, good sound, easy to set up, October 26, 2009

Several years ago my wife and I got our first HD tv, a 40" Sony Bravia, and paid more for it than we did for this 58" plasma. I know that's a lot like comparing apples and oranges and across different harvests. Anyway, we feel we got a solid deal for the size of tv. I pretty easily managed to manually tweak the picture and sound settings and was able to get pretty deep blacks while maintaining a decent contrast ratio. We've got Dishnet, watching sports and regular tv shows has been as good as it can be from a satellite signal. Watching blu-rays via our PS3 is exceptionally nice. The BBC's/Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" was awesome on the Bravia; it's mind blowing on 58 inches of Samsung Plasma goodness. For the $ this tube doesn't disappoint.

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Great Picture But Weigh the Pros and Cons, October 24, 2009

Yes the 2009 Samsung B650 provides an excellent picture, but only under certain limited conditions. Pros: 1) Fantastic picture quality during daytime viewing 2) brighter than 850/860 series Cons: 1) Blacks become grey at nighttime (even worse with Cinema Smooth engaged) 2) hot screen - high power consumption 3) large percentage of 2009 Samsungs have weird buzzing at primary seating location 4) The Cinema Smooth feature raises the black level My advice is to wait for the 2010 Samsungs which hopefully will have corrected these issues. I'm amazed at the rave reviews that don't offer a balanced perspective which allow consumers to make an informed choice.

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Where To Buy
 
 

Samsung PN58B650 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

 (21 customer reviews)
Buy new: $2,599.99 $1,939.00   15 Used from $1,735.99

In Stock.

 
 
 

Our Sources

1. CNET

CNET's report on the 58-inch Samsung PN58B650 is based on its hands-on evaluation of the 50-inch PN50B650, but specifications outside of display size are identical, and performance should be similar. Blacks are deep, though not as deep as some competitors, and color is terrific, CNET says. Styling is distinctive, but perhaps not for everyone. Interactive features are called sluggish.

Review: Samsung PN58B650, David Katzmaier, June 12, 2009

2. ConsumerReports.org

The Samsung PN58B650 is included among the plasma HDTVs tested here. Reporting is competent, and discussion is more extensive than in the past but still falls short of what's available at CNET.

Review: Plasma TVs, Editors of ConsumerReports.org

3. AVSForum.com

This haven for videophiles includes a lengthy discussion thread about the 58-inch Samsung PN58B650 and its 50-inch mate. You can find owner impressions, settings and hints, as well as problems and solutions. A reported buzz that some owners hear is discussed, while a separate thread includes an unscientific poll of how many sets (a minority) are affected.

Review: Samsung PN50B650/PN58B650 Owner Thread, Contributors to AVSForum.com

4. Amazon.com

There is only a handful of user reviews here, but most reports are encouraging. Most give the Samsung PN58B650 a perfect score, and no one rates it less then three out of five stars. One somewhat disappointed reviewer calls it "great for HD," but describes the sound from the TV speakers as "useless." He also says he was unable to view non-Blu-ray/HD DVD movies due to a compatibility issue.

Review: Samsung PN58B650 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTVS, Contributors to Amazon.com

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