Plasma TVs are known for the superb entertainment experience due to the realistic images they are able to reproduce. Of course, the great features come with a price. Samsung has been one of the major players in the plasma television industry, and so far, they are still keeping up with the market. This could be attributed to the continuous improvement of their products and offering them at reasonable prices.

The Samsung PN50B650, in particular, is the latest offering of Samsung in the Plasma TV arena. As usual, this model is packed with remarkable features, yet the price can be less expensive than other LCD TVs or LED-based LCDs from the same brand. The PN50B650 is the 50-inch version of this series; a 58-inch model is also available and the features of both sizes are just the same.

The Looks

Those who are fond of red color will definitely love the Samsung PN50B650. This plasma TV series has glossy black frame with a subtle touch of red on top and bottom portion of the frame. Like other Samsung TVs, this model is surrounded by transparent border, and at the bottom, supported by a transparent cylindrical stand that allows the screen to swivel to either side. The base has glossy black top which adds to its overall sleek and stylish design. The glossy finish though, like most Samsung models, may not be much appreciated when watching in a brighter room because of the reflection it makes.

The red accentuation extends to the menu system having the same color for its borders. Samsung maintained its menu system layout with its large and legible text set on transparent background, as well as brief description of what the selections are about.

The Works

Color accuracy is where this Samsung PN50B650 is big at. The model’s color decoding functionality works perfectly which provides excellent colors saturation. Both the primary and secondary colors appear very much realistic, almost perfect. When it comes to black level, this Samsung model is not left behind. Black levels are deeper compared to other LCD TVs; however, comparing this to other Plasma TVs in the market like the Panasonic or Pioneer models, the B650’s black levels are not as impressive.

Despite the reflection this model makes, it still performs better than other plasmas in terms of preserving the deep black shade even under bright lights. When it comes to video processing, the Samsung PN50B650 worked well also with 1080p/24 sources. Samsung claims that this plasma model uses 600Hz video processing, which does not really get noticed by most viewers since there are only few who are sensitive enough to the blurring effects of the images.

Other Features

Other than the superb viewing experience, users can also enjoy the interactive features included in the Samsung PN50B650 such as Yahoo widgets that has news, weather, stocks, Twitter, and Flickr photos. There are also other built-in content such as games, recipes and slideshow of high-def photos. These are great diversions from regular TV viewing; however, these applications are quite sluggish.

The Samsung PN50B650 also abounds in connectivity ports with four HDMI ports, a couple of USB, PC input, Ethernet port, and the normal video and audio ports. The only thing missing, though, is the S-video which seems to be the trend now in most televisions.

Priced at around $1300, the Samsung PN50B650 Plasma TV may be quite pricey on that fact alone. But if this will be compared with the new LED-based LCDs and other standard LCDs of equal performance, PN50B650 can also be a good choice because it is less expensive than those, and one can buy it for even $1139 at Amazon.