50 SAMSUNG PS50A556 1,000 Approx www.samsung.co.uk
1,000 gets you 50ins of Full HD plasma TV and that means a real cinema experience
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More pixels for less pounds
The ever-thrifty Sam Kieldsen marvels at Samsungs low-cost high-denition PS50A556 plasma
verybody loves unearthing a bargain, but in most cases it takes some work on the buyers part, whether its by digging through a front-of-shop bin to discover a discounted DVD or trawling comparison websites to shave a few hundred quid off the price of a TV. Sometimes, however, you dont have to lift a nger to nd a killer deal one comes to you instead. And thats the case with Samsungs new PS50A556 plasma television. Offering 50ins of screen real estate and a Full HD resolution for a little over 1,000, its guaranteed to get some peoples attention, especially when compared to the 50in 1080p-compliant Pioneer PDP-LX5090, which, at around 2,500, is more than twice the price. Okay, so the Pioneer is an exceptionally good TV (the best in the world in our opinion see HCC #159 and well worth the substantial outlay if youve got the funds), but the point still stands: on paper, this is a similarly-equipped plasma at less than half the cost.

Solid start

It certainly doesnt look or feel like a budget option. The set is
well-made; solidly constructed and competently styled in
standard-issue high-gloss black (the slightly pricier PS50A656 model comes in a ery red nish, for those
who are into that sort of thing). Im not personally a fan of the build- quality of Samsungs LCD TV range theyve got more plastic on show than Jocelyn Wildenstein but have no such complaints about its plasmas, which are heavier, sturdier and much less likely to attract scratches and dust. There are a couple of nice instances of design air on display too, namely the nifty touch-sensitive controls on the right hand side of the screen and the slim blue power light. Connectivity is similarly impressive, with Samsung including three v1.3 HDMI ports (one on the left side panel), plus component video, a pair of Scarts and a PC input. Also at the back is an optical audio output for hooking the TV to an external sound system, while at the side youll nd S-video and composite inputs, a CI card slot for adding Setanta Sports and a USB port. The latter can be used for MP3 music and JPEG photo playback from a USB stick; it doesnt work with external hard disk drives, unfortunately. All in all, thats as good an array of sockets as you could expect, and it means you can connect up several HD sources with a minimum of fuss. Doing just that, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the picture quality straight away. While the black levels cant touch the epic, superclean bottomlessness of Pioneers Kuro screens, theyre sufciently inky
Product: 50in Full HD plasma television Position: Mid-range the PS50A656 has slightly better features, the PS50A456 has a lower resolution Peers: Panasonic TH-50PZ81B; LG 50PG4000
to give the picture a pleasing sense of depth. I spun up the opening scene of Sunshine on Blu-ray, where the Icarus II spacecraft is shown sweeping past the camera: the unending blackness of space in the background actually looks fairly convincing here, rather than washed-out and slightly grey. The cell brightness can be adjusted, which is fairly unusual for a plasma. This lets you reduce the overall brightness behind the picture, which helps maintain the darkness of the blacks when youre watching in an unlit room. That said, theres still a bit of bite lacking in the very darkest areas.

Bold and beautiful

1080p24 material on Blu-ray is fully supported, so lms can be played at their native speed if you wish. You can also enable xvYCCexpanded colour space if youve got a source capable of outputting it. That said, colour reproduction isnt this TVs strong point, and while theres a nice vibrancy to oranges, reds and greens, gradation from light to dark isnt as smooth as Id have liked for example, the sun in the opening scene of Sunshine looks a little like an archery target, rather than a massive ball of re, indicating a lack of bit-depth. Motion is handled well. Theres little sign of ghosting, even with the quickpanning, high-tempo footie fest that is Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the
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Specifications
HD Ready: YES Full HD, 1080p24 Progressive scan: YES NTSC and PAL Digital TV tuner: YES CI slot Scart: YES two (1 RGB) Component video: YES HD-enabled HDMI/DVI: YES three v1.3 HDMIs PC input: YES Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Brightness: 1,300 cd/m2 Contrast ratio: 30,000:1 claimed (dynamic) Dimensions (off stand): 1,230.3(w) x 761.8(h)x 95(d)mm Weight: 37.4kg Also featuring: USB port; DNIe+ image processing; Anynet+ HDMI control; optical digital audio output

Tech Labs

Tonal troubles: While colours are vibrant on this Samsung plasma, colour gradation could be better
Xbox 360 but then you wouldnt expect to see any real issues with that on a plasma screen. Samsungs Movie Plus technology also proves effective when it comes to removing judder, particularly on lm content, although it doesnt measure up to the standards of technologies like Philips Perfect Natural Motion, and becomes totally unavailable when youre watching a Blu-ray lm in 1080p24 which is why I noticed plenty of judder as Icarus II made that y-by in Sunshine. I also spotted some minor motion artefacts appearing during very quick pans; shimmering areas, usually visible in characters faces.

Razors edge

As youd expect from a large, 1920 x 1080 resolution screen, detail
aspect creating such an impact. Still, I found both digital television and DVD movies to be eminently watchable on the PS50A556, mainly thanks to those strong black levels, so you can consider this Samsung a worthy living room TV as well as an HD movie screen. I should make a quick mention of sound quality before I wrap things up: its reasonably good, better perhaps than the same brands larger LCD screens, and does its job effectively enough considering the speakers are practically invisible, but as always you should really pair up a big screen like this with an external audio setup to add a bit of sonic steel to whatever youre watching.

Pre-calibration colour temperature of this Samsung plasma was high at 8,200K (Point A) due to high Blue of 130% (Point B). Manual adjustment delivered an almost perfect 6,490K. Pre-calibration contrast ratio was suspiciously low, though calibration delivered a more plausible figure Before calibration Colour temperature: 8,200K RGB: 100/97/130 Luminance: 10.06fL Contrast ratio: 220:1 After calibration Colour temperature: 6490K (user) RGB: 100/100/100 Luminance: 8.49fL Contrast ratio: 494:1

Dark horse of TV

With OLED technology the talk of the town, and LCD screens becoming cheaper than a months worth of electricity, plasma TVs arent particularly trendy unless you have a wallet big enough for a ninth-gen Kuro. Yet Samsung has succeeded in putting together a very strong plasma performer for a truly tempting price. The PS50A556 might not stretch for the very pinnacles of picture quality, but it delivers ne images and a raft of useful features, not to mention tank-like build quality and a thoroughly inoffensive design. Its a bargain, then and not one that requires much effort to nd.
from a hi-def source is almost sharp enough to slice open your eyeballs.
Total Recall (recently released on Blu-ray) has never looked so good the denition available from this Arnie favourite is often jaw-dropping. Its not always clean, sadly the backgrounds in the rst episode of BBC HDs aerial photography showcase Britain from Above were surprisingly busy with noise, even with the TVs reduction tech cranked up but objects are crisp and sharp-edged. Standard-denition content fares much the same as hi-def material, but obviously without the detail

VERDICT

Samsung PS50A556 1,050 approx Price check: www.techradar.com Highs: Superb specs for the price; great build quality; sharp detail Lows: Some motion artefacts and noise visible; black levels not best in class Performance: Design: Features:

Overall:

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