Samsung PS-50B850 Plasma - My hands on View

[D.J.KRIME]

Firstly let me start by saying that my views are mine and nothing to do with WHSAV. I am not a expert but have had a few Plasmas over the years but it does seam that Whathifi have not yet been told when they will recieve a review sample of the Samsung PS-50B850, so seeing as I have recently helped a friend of mine set his up I will give all that may be interested my view on this set

Now as a referance I will compare the PS-50B850 to my own Samsung PS-50P96FD (Review HERE) as this is the set I use daily and in theory the PS-50B850 is the equivilant in the current Samsung line up.

but IMHO from the little time I have had watching KURO's it's not quite there but it's not far off and with the avalibilty of the KURO getting scarcer by the day and a saving of around £600 I personally would be getting the Samsung.

 

[Anonymous]

cheers dj , i wasnt expecting the black levels to be as good as a kuro , i dont think any tv has equalled the kuro there. but i was hoping this would be the next best plasma out there , at a realistic price , (unlike panasonics z1 ) and so far so good , its a gorgeous looking thing too , im going to the uk soon and will give one a good look over , at the price it seems hard to beat on bang for your buck ...

 

[D.J.KRIME]

You wait until you see one in the flesh as it is a truely stunning looking set.

I did forget to mention that it has Ultra Filter Bright Plus which is a coating applied to the screen to help limit the reflection from ambient lighting, and I can happily report that it works very well indeed (as it did on my PS-50P96)

 

[Bazzy]

Hi,

I have read a number of very positive reviews reviews about this set - visually and feature wise it is indeed stunning. Unfortunately the black levels are just way too behind even last years Panasonic's many reviews found let alone the Kuro's! It does wash out blacks less in bright light due to the filters it uses which is good but in darkened environment, it's poor blacks are apparently quite eveident in comparison. It is also one of the brightest and sharpest Plasma's around which is also good to hear and is supposed to have excellent SD quality - matching or bettering even that of the Kuro apparently!

On the PQ front, it is let down by very poor blacks (which killed it for me) but many users from here and the US are returning these sets in droves due to a very bad buzzing problem which just cannot seem to be eliminated despite various supposed fixes. Maybe this is the reason why Samsung will not give WHF a set!

Bazzy!

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Have you seen one in the flesh Bazzy?

I would like to see what WHSAV have to say regarding the sets ability Re-Black levels. IMHO the set was better than my older PS-50P96FD but again IMHO anyone refering to this sets ability as "just way to far behind last years Panasonics yet alone the KURO" is just wrong. My PS-50P96 has very good blacks and IHMO this set betters mine easily.

As regards to the set buzzing, I am yet to come across a Plasma that does not buzz to some extent or another (from experiance the buzz is more evident during high contrast images) Yes the PS-50B850 did have a slightly louder Buzz than my PS-50P96FD but this is hardly supprising seeing how thin the set is, but I found you could hardly notice it from a normal viewing distance and forgot all about it when you were watching anything with sound.

Even the mighty KURO have Buzz issues as well documented on these forums.

 

[tvspecv]

it looks similar to the led design. Does it have problems with screen burn, ghosting (most plasmas do)

this happens when you`ve paused it or leave an image on screen for some time so this happen on new pannys

thats why i refrain from plasma. Everything else is fine.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Any plasma is vunerible to image retension only if you are a complete numpty and leave a static image on screen for ages, but I have 3 plasma sets in my house and non have any perminant image retension(burn) even after hours of gaming.

It is always advised to have your contrast setting low for the first 100-200 hours useage with a Plasma as this is the period where it is more suscepitible to perminant image retension, but with normal useage modern plasmas are quite safe and I like many on these forums hvae never had any perminant issues re-screen burn.

 

[tvspecv]

whats the point having better contrast ratios on plasmas than lcds and then putting them on a lower setting?

 

[Anonymous]

tvspecv:whats the point having better contrast ratios on plasmas than lcds and then putting them on a lower setting?only for the first 200hrs , after that you can set the contrast as high as you like , unlike some current sony lcds , where the backlight has to be turned down to limit clouding , not just for 200hrs , but permanently , why buy an lcd for its bright vivid picture and then have to lower the backlight ?? kinda pointless me thinks ..

 

[tvspecv]

i`m not a fan of sony but the 37inch panasonic lcd dont have a backlight option

they sould have made them up to 50inches they1re pretty good sets

 

[professorhat]

Backlight issues tend to show themselves more on larger sets - I suspect that was partly the reason Panasonic decided to go plasma only above 42" (though this is only my suspicion, I have no factual evidence to back that up).

 

[D.J.KRIME]

tvspecv:

i`m not a fan of sony but the 37inch panasonic lcd dont have a backlight option

they sould have made them up to 50inches they1re pretty good sets

I am not entirely sure what you mean by the 37" Panasonic LCD not having a backlight option? Do you mean issues regarding backlight bleed?

All LCD sets have a backlight and when this is set to higher settings to give the screen more brightness there is a distinct possibility of backlight bleed during darker sceens, having the backlight set too high can also make the picture bloom. So to minimise the issues regarding backlighe bleed you turn the backlight down but in doing so the brightness dips dramatically so the relationship between backlight settings and overall screen brightness go hand in hand. Also the lower you set the backlight the more screen detail you loose.

As to your previous post regarding lower contrast settings for the first 100-200 hours on a plasma, well the aim of any TV is to achieve a reading of 30-40ftl at 100IRE, my Samsung after correct calibration achieves this at a contrast setting of 80, so say for the running in period you set the contrast to 70 thus lowering any chance of "BURN" I can still achieve a 28ftl reading which is still more than acceptible for daily viewing.

 

[Bazzy]

D.J.KRIME:
Have you seen one in the flesh Bazzy?

I would like to see what WHSAV have to say regarding the sets ability Re-Black levels. IMHO the set was better than my older PS-50P96FD but again IMHO anyone refering to this sets ability as "just way to far behind last years Panasonics yet alone the KURO" is just wrong. My PS-50P96 has very good blacks and IHMO this set betters mine easily.

As regards to the set buzzing, I am yet to come across a Plasma that does not buzz to some extent or another (from experiance the buzz is more evident during high contrast images) Yes the PS-50B850 did have a slightly louder Buzz than my PS-50P96FD but this is hardly supprising seeing how thin the set is, but I found you could hardly notice it from a normal viewing distance and forgot all about it when you were watching anything with sound.

Even the mighty KURO have Buzz issues as well documented on these forums.

Hi,

Alas, I have not despite lots of visits to various shops in an attempt to do so! On the black levels, I am refering to measured data which at 3 reviews so far measured the black levels of the B850 at between 0.08cd/m2 & 0.12cd/m2. Only one review managed to get a calibrated black level of 0.05cd/m2 which is just about on par with last years Panny Plasmas in some cases and worse with others. The G9 Kuro's have a measured black level of 0.0031cd/m2 so I am afraid the numbers tell the story - they do not lie. If you do not pay for caibration, then the former figures of the B850 are, respectfully, quite a way behind last years Panny's and not even in the same league as that of the Kuro's.

As for the buzzing, yes all Plasmas buzz but that does not mean they should buzz to any level - it may be the case that you have one that does not buzz as badly, but most/many owners who have bought these sets & posted info both here & overseas have returned their sets as the level of buzzing was unacceptably high and was extremely distracting and intolerable. Despite several supposed fixes, none have so far worked. I doubt people would spend thousands on a set only for the hassle to return it for minor buzzing. Apparently, in the US, Samsung have now acknowledged the level of buzzing as a issue (after denying it for a while) and are now trying to deal with the issue officially - what does that say?

Yes, even the mighty Kuro's have had buzzing issues but the difference is that the extent of buzzing was no where near as bad enough and those affected were in the minority of cases and not the majority as in the B850 - very few Kuro's have been reported to be returned for buzzing reasons - almost a negligible amount compared to the numbers sold.

I am not attacking the B850 - if you read my previous post, you will see that I started by saying it has received very positive reviews and gave it some very high compliments and highlighted it's benefits and strengths very clearly. As for the black levels and buzzing - this is not an opinion, it is fact based on measured data and user reports.

Bazzy!

 

[Anonymous]

Bazzy:
Yes, even the mighty Kuro's have had buzzing issues but the difference is that the extent of buzzing was no where near as bad enough and those affected were in the minority of cases and not the majority as in the B850 - very few Kuro's have been reported to be returned for buzzing reasons - almost a negligible amount compared to the numbers sold.

Bazzy!

I don't hear buzzing at all .

A friend has just got a 5090 on seeing mine, he too can't hear anything.

 

[tvspecv]

bazzy buzz i think it rhymes! a poem but still this is true u do get this sound if you turn down your volume completely

 

[m.j]

with no volume at all, i have to put my ear about an inch away from the screen to hear a buzz !!! so from 7-9 ft away i hear nothing and i know people with pioneers and this aparent BUZZ is something they have never come across !!