Samsung PN-B550 | PN50B550, PN50B450 & PN63B550

Posted in Nov, 2009

Packed inside a sexy new touch of color bezel (charcoal grey on piano black this year) is a television much better and different compared to the PNA550 series of last year. Upgrades have been made all around to the 2009 Samsung 5-series plasma line-up, and these new features combined with the 5 series great middle of the pack price to performance ratio are making the 50″ Samsung PN50B550 Plasma the 58″ Samsung PN58B550 Plasma and the largest, 63″ Samsung PN63B550 Plasma television, very large in demand and highly reviewed and rated products (with scores upwards of 90/100 from unbiased and professional sources) New E-Panel technology with Filter Bright helps reduce the problems common to plasma of glare and reflections, 600Hz Subfield Motion means even better fluent and clear visual action with a blazing .001ms response rate, and mega dynamic contrast with upgraded and new video algorithms and tech help the PN-B550 Plasma series to recreate colors more accurately with deeper black levels for one of the most fantastic and brilliant picture quality experiences available to date (and certainly within this price range). Below is some information comparing the PNB550 vs. PNB450 vs. PNB560 vs. PNB650 vs. PNB860 series; in addition to some links where you can find the pros and cons of individual models and read review comments and ratings from owners of 50-inch PN-50B550, 58-inch PN-58B550 and 63-inch PN-63B550 Plasma models:

Compare Samsung PN-B550 vs PN-B450

The main important differences here are definitely price and resolution. Comparing the PN-B450 vs PN-B550 you should note that the B450 is an entry level HDTV, maxing out at 720p output versus the highest 1080p on the 5 series; this does bring the 4 series plasma down significantly in price, although it lacks the largest sizes and offers a smaller one for more budget seeking consumers with the 42 inch Samsung PN42B450 and 50 inch Samsung PN50B450 Plasma HDTVs.

Compare Samsung PN-B550 vs PN-B560

Pretty small changes to note here, with the important difference between the B550 versus B560 being the addition of Cinema Smooth technology on the PNb560 which can displays 24fps content (movies like blu-ray) at a high enough refresh rate (96Hz) at their native frame rate – so that there is less distortion and flicker which can be noticed by some with a trained eye on sets without this new feature. Nothing major, but neither is the price difference and they both are available in the same 50 inch (PN50B560) and 58 inch (PN58B560) size options although lack the largest 63 inch options of the 550 plasma line-up.

Compare Samsung PN-B550 vs PN-B650

When comparing the Samsung PNB550 vs PNB650 plasma lineups, the most noteworthy and price increase justifying differences would be the addition of internet features such as yahoo widgets which will allow you to pull data feeds live onto your set like current sports scores, weather and stocks for instance… Cinema Smooth 96Hz capability on the 6 series like mentioned above on the B560… a different anti-glare coat that allows for better black levels and picture quality… and added picture settings and control for people to calibrate and optimize the B650 even further to their room for absolute picture. The price increase seems to float around the $150-250 mark, and many have found it to be worth it if are extensive television users. The 6 series PN-B650 line-up consists of a 50inch model (Samsung’s PN50B650 HDTV) and 58inch model (Samsung’s PN58B650 HDTV) lacking the 63inch option for on the PN-B550 line-up.

Compare Samsung PN-B550 vs PN-B860

The Samsung 8-series Plasma is quite a bit different and more expensive than 5-series sets, with the most significant comparisons being those upgrades already listed in the B550 versus B650 paragraph above – and the fact that the B860 simply has the most stunning, realistic and beautiful picture and audio performance of this year’s plasma televisions because of some really powerful (and more expensive) features and technology inside the 8-series incredibly thin, sleek and sexy 1.2 inch thick design. It again does not come available in the largest size of 63 inches like the 5series plasma, with only 50 and 58 inch options being available again with the Samsung PN50B860 Plasma and PN58B860 Plasma models respectively.

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