Buy Samsung PN50C490 50-Inch 720p Plasma 3D HDTVSamsung PN50C490 50-Inch 720p Plasma 3D HDTV Product Description:
- Mega Dynamic Contrast
- E3-panel single filter design
- Exceeds ENERGY STAR Standards
- Game Mode
- Clear Image Panel
Product Description
Get a true cinematic experience without going to the cinema with a Samsung3D plasma HDTV. This Samsung PN50C490, with Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio makes sure every frame is saturated with dense, rich color. Samsung is also ENERGY STAR compliant so you are assured that your 50 -inch plasma HDTV is helping the environment by using less enery while saving you money.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Honest review from long time Amazon Vine Reviewer
By All Powerful Wizard Of Oz
I had been wanting to make the leap to 3D ever since I heard 3D would become available to the public for home use on HDTVs. Having priced a few out I just did not feel it was worth the jump quite yet. Then I came across this TV on Amazon. I did a lot of research finding reviews and reading impressions from various HD forums. Finally I went to Best Buy to try this out for myself and was quite impressed.So after much debate I picked one up with one pair of glasses since it's just me. Got a deal for $969 and that is with tax. Prior to I owned a 47inch 1080p Vizio which I've had for 3 years and was a great set for the price point as well. I can say without a shadow of doubt that even without the 3D feature the picture quality of this TV for Bluray blows away my old 1080p Vizio. Not sure how that is possible since this set is at a lower resolution but there is no fooling my eyes and what I am saying is true. The colors are vivid and the blacks are REAL black. The Vizio which was an LCD always had a white glare from back light issues of the bulbs.Video games look fantastic. My only issue with the set is two things. My PC did look better on the Vizio because it offered a much brighter picture and on the Samsung it's not as bright. Not a deal killer but this should be noted. The other issue is with 3D games only such as Avatar, Pacific Drift 3D and MLB the show the resolution is also meh in 3D mode compared to non 3D games which look banging.I have yet to try out a 3D movie but ordered Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Monster House on Amazon and will edit this review to include impressions of those two true 3D movies.The 2D-3D conversion looks fantastic on Blurays and broadcast TV so that's a win for this set.It's like this, if you REALLY want a 3D set as I did and do not want to spend an arm and a leg as what other sets cost this is your best bet as the technology evolves and improves. If anything you will be getting a fantastic HDTV set for a fraction of what some of the other higher end sets cost and will tide you over until the technology reaches a point of 3D sans glasses which is what I am waiting for. Honestly there is very little difference between this 720p and 1080p models.Great value for what you get.EDIT Review day 2:Just wanted to say that I am just in love with this TV.One example I wanted to share is I recently got the Alien movies on Bluray and had been waiting to watch them until I had this TV in place so I could try out the 2D-3D conversion. Well I can tell you that I am on the 2nd movie Aliens and have the this feature turned on with a depth of 10 so it's peaked out and my god it looks amazing. It's almost as if the movie was filmed in 3D but I realize a lot of that has to do with the way Cameron shot the film so kudos to him for being a visionary back in 1986 because it just rocks. Especially any of the scenes in space the level of depth really brings you in when this feature is turned on. Amazing.Still waiting on my delivery of the Blurays that are True 3D and will post impressions as soon as I get them.Edit Review day 4:Just finished watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Without a doubt this TV delivers the real deal with 3D as if you are in the theater. The movie looked great in 3D. Was sharp and the 3D truly pops. I am still blown away however at the 2D-3D conversion for other Bluray movies. I also for the fun of it popped in Star Wars on DVD and yes it works great with that as well.I just cannot praise enough about how awesome this TV is for the price point and have zero regrets about picking one up.Edit Review 1 week later:The TV continues to blow me away with each movie I watch in the 2D-3D conversion. The glasses were the only issue with this set. I got the free pair that came with it. What was happening was that the glasses would lose sync during scenes with high action or a lot of light. What fixed it was taking a small piece of opaque tape and placing it over the sensor on the glasses. Ever since the picture has been perfect. A small irritation that has an easy quick fix but felt I should point it out to any other owners of this set or anyone planning on getting one on how to avoid/fix the issue.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.Great 2D, 2.5D, and 3D performance for a nice price...
By Critter_FL
Been in the market for a new Master Bedroom HDTV since our 30" HD CRT broke (yay!). Been following this model (PN50C490) since it was announced recently. I found a great deal at a local B&M store the week this was released (2 free pair of 3D glasses included) for the same price as elsewhere. I've been watching this plasma for over a week, and just love it!We feed it HD service from DirecTV and it looks stunning. Realistic colors and very dark blacks, no ghosting on sports (it is a plasma after all), and we love the upgrade in the size (30" to 50") as viewed from 12-15 feet away in bed. The 2D picture quality beats the old CRT and even our main DLP set in the family room. DirecTV has a few 3D channels, so those were demoed immediately. The X-Games replay looked awesome. I think most sports are recorded in 720p anyway, so there was no loss of quality on this 720p set. I was able to watch the football games this weekend in a pseudo 3D upscale (I'm calling it 2.5D). It certainly did something to the picture, and I liked it. It really added some depth that made the game more enjoyable to watch. Not quite as good as a proper 3D broadcast or actually being there in person, but given the little bit of 3D programming available, the 2.5D conversion was pretty impressive and worked on demand.No eye strain noticed when wearing the glasses as I was able to watch 3 hours of football without issue. Waiting for the PS3 firmware update to try some 3D Blu-rays on this set, but I don't think that there will be any issues in the 720p versus 1080p resolutions. I'll try to post an update on PS3 3D gaming impressions as well (which Sony limits to 720p anyway). Overall, I am VERY impressed with the 2D quality of this set. Love the size improvement for our master bedroom given our viewing distances. And both 2.5D and 3D viewing was great at 720p. From what I have seen, there is nothing to worry about this set not being 1080p. Just pull the trigger, buy it, and enjoy the money you'll be saving over the competition.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful.Best value 3D TV
By Mohammad Masud Hasan
First of all, seeing is believing. Me and my wife both visit Sears and HHGREGG stores multiple times to compare plasma vs. LCD/LED and 720p vs. 1080p. We find that plasma is better than LCD/LED in terms of color and other features for picture quality. The lower brightness of plasma is not an issue since there is not much light in our TV room. (In fact, Samsung PN50C490 plasma has "Dynamic" picture mode to view at higher brightness, but we mostly use less bright "Movie" picture mode so that it is less stressful to eyes at night.) We both cannot differentiate much between 720p and 1080p plasma TVs, even watching as close as suggested for 3D viewing (e.g., about 7 feet for 50 inch). Moreover, because of plasma's superior color contrast, saturation, accuracy, and frequency, both me and my wife feel better viewing experience in a 720p plasma than in a 1080p (yes!) LCD/LED when we compare those in store display side by side. Therefore, we decide not to spend another $400+ just to get 1080p or LCD/LED. Those who are still confused, please read CNET TV buying guide. "According to the Imaging Science Foundation, a group that consults for home-theater manufacturers and trains professional video calibrators, the most important aspect of picture quality is contrast ratio the second most important is color saturation, and the third is color accuracy. Resolution comes in fourth, despite being the most-cited HDTV specification." Thus, resolution is the feature that we can compromise to save money.Secondly, we think about energy-efficiency. From power specifications available online, we calculate how much energy would be saved if we buy LCD/LED rather than this plasma. We find the purchase price to be paid for LCD/LED is much higher than the energy-cost we would save, even for 10 years! (If you consider 10 years inflation of the extra money you have to pay today for LCD/LED, the difference is even more.) As the 3D technology evolves, I am sure future 3D TVs would be much better than current 3D TVs and I am probably not going to watch the same TV for many years (even if I buy the best 3D TV available now). Therefore, I am saving money buying this plasma, plus getting amazing picture quality. By this time, let 3D LED TVs get mature and cheaper. Remember, currently advertised LED TVs in the market are not actual LED-panel TVs, they are just LCD-panel TVs with LED back-lighting/edge-lighting/local-dimming. Plasma is already matured, we think. For example, the burn-in problem is much reduced in latest plasma TVs. Additionally, Samsung PN50C490 has anti-burn pixel shifting feature, which we set always on.Thirdly, even though PN50C490 does not have internet connectivity, it quickly becomes a non-issue given that I must buy a 3D Bluray player to watch 3D content. Most 3D players (in fact, all Samsung 3D Bluray players) come with internet connectivity! Hence, we do not go for higher-end 3D TV versions (e.g., PN50C7000 or PN50C8000 or other brands) to get internet connectivity within TV. Let our player do the job.Fourthly, we have a kid who has a tendency to throw things! Although we do not expect TVs to endure flying objects, it is good that Plasma screen is tougher than LCD/LED screen (according to a CNET forum). Hence, plasma is a rational choice for us.Last but not least, this Samsung model has 2D to 3D conversion and picture-in-picture (PIP) capabilities.Recently, we have actually watched 3D Christmas Carol and other 2D Bluray movies using a Samsung BDC-5900 player. With our limited experience, we must say Samsung PN50C490 delivers us the best 3D and 2D television amusement we ever had. The TV and accessories together cost below a grand! By the by, we have bought this TV for $807 shipped, no tax, including two glasses in an online deal during the Thanksgiving week of Nov, 2010. We also have bought a BDC-5900 player for $119 and an HDMI cable for $1.
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Almost perfect, but NOT as an alarm clock
need firmware update out of the box
