A slight drawback to the B550 may possibly be its somewhat 2008 looks. The bezel is too wide for my taste at 2.5 inches on the sides and bottom and oddly out of balance 2.25" on the top.
The Samsung PN50B550 has extremely complete calibration alternatives for this cost range with white balance controls. The Television calibrated well with a low error rate after adjusting white balance. Tint required unusual adjustments to dial the set in perfectly to D6500. Follow the following image settings to calibrate:
This signal test will show you how the Television will perform with your digital cable or satellite signal in addition to normal ole non blue ray DVDs. Up conversion processing was slightly fuzzy using a slight grain apparent from a 480i source signal. The Samsung PN50B550 will replace with any deficiency in definition with accentuated color information. That said,
color rendition is still pleasing and realistic. 1 slight drawback would be watching dark content material inside a brightly lit room. The Samsung B550 presents a really true, well calibrated but darker image and this combination darker written content and brighter room light may possibly cause some eyestrain. Solve the trouble temporarily by turning the contrast up to 100%.
In a darker, controlled light room environment this Tv will absolutely stun you with its high quality image. It calibrates incredibly nicely, colors are healthily saturated and black levels/contrast make it shine with HD content. It was awesome with all HD written content tested. And of course there's no motion lag and perfect viewing angles with plasma TVs so no issues there to even mention.
Black registered a really impressive .06 average luminance in our contrast ratio test. It's impressive and inky and you notice it with nearly all content material. The Pioneer KURO blacks were world renowned, but this is close. Post calibration ANSI checkerboard contrast measured one of the better recent results at a heroic 1383:1.
Even though blacks are intense, dark shadow detail was not impaired by oversaturation – an superb result with all written content.
Flesh tones are natural and err around the saturated side as does all color information. Colors are vibrant and lively
Via viewing numerous dark gray scenes there was no mapping or false contouring present – an impressive result for an occasional plasma trouble.
The P. Size button about the remote controls aspect ratio alternatives. The B550 did a fine job of algorithmically managing the image size through choices, 16:9, Wide Fit, 4:three, Screen fit.
Other drawbacks are a excellent bit of glare from both the wide frame and the overlay display. This display even though is part of the reason for those superb blacks so give it a pass. A couple of positives are the slight 3" depth from the Tv which makes it excellent for wall mounting. And if you choose to place it on a table instead, you'll be pleased with the lateral swivel table best stand.
The remote is very nice, back lit with easy to use big buttons. The B550 series remote thankfully does not have the cumbersome scroll wheel as some other Samsung models.
Audio output was amazing from the 10W X 10W speakers. There was plenty of volume to fill a big room at the 50% level. Use the Clear Voice feature if you can , for added voice definition. We're big fans of this whilst the SRS TruSurround doesnt seem to accomplish significantly.
P. Mode button controls preset image modes movie, standard, vivid. We calibrated the Tv from the movie setting. Clear Voice is really a favorite feature from the B550 series as is the swivel table top stand. Each input has discrete picture settings which is often a plus, but keep in mind to utilize our calibration settings for each input you want to use.
The Television received the energy star rating. The power consumption rating is 440 watts.
At around $1200 this is a hot Television for the cost. Compare it with nearly anything and the picture quality vs. cost is almost unbeatable. The LG 50PS60 may possibly play within the same quality camp at a similar value but I don't believe there exists a Panasonic that can get close. Although not a fan with the aesthetics, the picture and functions are fantastic. White balance controls are also an attractive feature for a Tv of this value category.
