Samsung PN58B650 — High-End Plasma From An LCD Leader
Posted by hdtv buying guide on July 16, 2009 under HDTV Reviews, Plasma HDTV, Samsung | 
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If you’ve been surfing through reviews of flat-panel televisions, you know the drill. Samsung, Sony and Sharp lead the way for LCD televisions. Panasonic and Pioneer make the best plasma-screen models.
But even though it’s known worldwide as a premier LCD television manufacturer, Samsung is making strides in the plasma-screen market.
With the PN58B650 — a 58-inch, 1080p resolution model — Samsung can stake its claim as a leader in both flat-screen formats.
The Samsung PN58B650 retails for $2,899.99 and can typically be found online for around $2,500. It’s a steep price, but it’s also a feature-packed television. It’s a part of Samsung’s Series 6, which typically includes internet connectivity and other advanced features.
The panel itself uses Samsung’s e-panel technology to display crisp, blur-free images. The screen refreshes at a rate of 600 times per second (600Hz), and the panel’s .001 millisecond response time means no matter what’s being viewed, it will be crisp.
For years, HDTV enthusiasts have claimed plasma as the only logical technology for those who love movie-theater quality screen images. Plasma’s ability to display the brightest whites and deepest blacks only adds to the performance of the PN58B650.
Like many other high-end televisions — plasma or otherwise — the PN58B650 also offers a wide range of connectivity options. It’s internet-ready, which allows content to be viewed from a number of different sources. The first is Media2.0, which displays online content from Yahoo, Flickr and other news widgets. Photos, e-mail, weather and news can be delivered straight to the television.
As a DLNA-certified television, the PN58B650 can work wirelessly with other internet-connected devices. A high-definition movie stored on a networked computer can be streamed directly to the television. Music or photos stored on the computer can also be streamed to the television, making it the center of a home entertainment system.
The PN58B650′s USB 2.0 input can make it easier to connect peripheral devices like digital cameras, camcorders and music players.
Finally, unlike the plasma-screen televisions of old, the PN58B650 is energy efficient. It earned the Energy Star certification, and Samsung claims it uses up to 40 percent less energy than previous-year plasma televisions.
Even at the sale price, the PN58B650 plasma TV isn’t cheap. But for the superior picture of plasma with the reputation of Samsung, it might turn out to be a great deal.
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