Samsung Plasma Television Reviews

Samsung has been manufacturing plasma display panels since 1999. Since then, Samsung has become the top supplier of raw plasma display panels worldwide.

...there is more!

Samsung is also the number one manufacturer of massive plasma display panels; the latest is the 80-inch HP-R8072.

A prototype of this impressive cinema-sized 80" Samsung plasma HDTV was exhibited during the CES 2005.

The HP-R8072 offers the highest level of HDTV support. It has a high level of brightness (1500cd/m2), a high contrast ratio (5000:1), 12-bit processing, and a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

The Innovation Award honored the Samsung HP-R8072 plasma TV as the world's largest consumer television.

It is true that the HP-R8072 is not available yet even though it was supposed to be released for the consumer market in Summer this year. At the same time, this development goes to prove Samsung potential and commitment in the field of plasma display manufacturing.

Introducing the 2005 line-up of Samsung Plasma Televisions

Selecting a product line from within the present 2005 range of Samsung plasma televisions is not easy. There are seven product lines to choose from and the latest generation of plasma displays all come with great features and display performance.

A really interesting feature supported by all models within the present range of Samsung plasmas is a PC input. Surely, this would come in handy especially on HDTV sets.

Similarly, connectivity is consistent throughout the full product line, and includes a pair of component-video inputs, optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, and one HDMI input. Some manufacturers tend to offer two HDMI inputs; this is not the case with Samsung line-up of HD plasma televisions.

All Samsung plasma televisions are extremely competitive and are in line with present industry leader - Panasonic - when it comes to price. Picture quality of the latest Samsung plasmas is also very good and will surely give Panasonic some tough competition. However, Panasonic plasma televisions still have a competitive edge when it comes to grey-scaling and black-level performance.

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Samsung HP-R52 Series of Plasma HDTVs

The HP-R52 series is Samsung's top-selling product line from within the full 2005 line-up of high definition Samsung plasma television sets.

Other HD plasmas from this year line-up include the entry-level Samsung HP-R4262 HDTV, and the step-up series HP-R72.

The HP-R72 is in reality a step-up over the HP-R52. The main difference - feature wise - between these two product ranges is that the HP-R72 incorporates an extra A/V input located on the side of unit; a 10-speaker setup is also used instead of the standard 4-speaker system used in the HP-R52 series.

The HP-R52 series of Samsung plasma televisions covers two models - the Samsung HP-R4252 42" HD Plasma TV and the Samsung HP-R5052 50" HD Plasma Television.

These two Samsung plasma television sets come with identical feature set except for a different native resolution; the 42-inch model supports a native screen resolution of 1024 x 768 - as against the 1366 x 768 pixels for the 50-inch set. This somewhat lower screen resolution for the 42" model is typical for all 42-inch HD plasmas irrespective of brand - in fact, we do not know of any 42-inch HD plasma TV that supports a screen native resolution higher than 1024 x 768.

As already indicated, the Samsung HP-R52 is proving to be one of the most popular product ranges within the 2005 line-up of Samsung plasma televisions. There is a very simple reason for this - both models in this series of Samsung plasma HDTV sets come at an affordable price tag. The 42" Samsung HP-R4252 is presently selling online at less than $2,500, while its big brother, the 50" HP-R5052, is selling at under $3,700.

At $2,500, the 42-inch HP-R4252 is among the 'cheapest' HD plasma televisions presently available from one of the top manufactures in the industry. The real major competition that this model faces comes either from within the same company's line-up - more specifically the HP-R4262 42-inch HD Plasma TV, or from the Panasonic 42" TH-42PX50U Plasma HDTV. (More info on this Panasonic plasma TV is available in our detailed product review here).

The Samsung HP-R4262 is a step-down version of the HP-R4252 Samsung plasma television. It is presently selling online at practically the same price as the Panasonic 42PX50U i.e. at around $2,200. It shares almost the same feature set as the set-up model i.e. same screen native resolution, built-in ATSC tuner for reception of over-the-air HDTV content, same connectivity support, etc. The only significant difference being that it does not include the CableCard slot found on the HP-R4252. This may or may not be an issue depending on your requirements.

The HP-R52 Samsung Plasma Television Series in Detail

Design: Samsung has employed a new floating screen design that creates an image that looks as if the display is suspended in mid-air. The new, premium 'bezel-less' design means there's no frame around the TV for a big, beautiful picture without boundaries.

The overall design also incorporates bottom-mounted speakers, while its silver/black color scheme provides a perfect match for most of today's modern decors.

Display: This series of Samsung plasma televisions are equipped with Samsung 5^th generation wide screen plasma display panels; these boast a brightness level of 1,300 cd/m².

Samsung also quotes an almost unrealistic high contrast ratio of 10,000:1. Surely, the display contrast performance is exceptional - the ability to deliver subtle color detail without being washed out by ambient room light is really impressive. At the same time, we cannot but remark that the 10,000:1 contrast ratio quoted by Samsung seems a bit unrealistic.

Samsung 5^th generation plasmas have a half-lifetime of 60,000hrs - that's over 20 years at 8hrs per day!

In addition, these Samsung plasma televisions support a 175-degree horizontal viewing angle, while anti-glare technology is excellent - thus providing a picture-perfect entertainment experience from anywhere in the room.

Directly associated with the plasma display is the use of advanced Anti-Burn Technologies - including the use of Auto Pixel Shift that keeps the images moving imperceptibly.

Note: The use of anti-burn technologies does not mean that you can abuse of your plasma display as if it is not susceptible to burn-in; the usual precautions highlighted in our 'Protecting Your Plasma TV unit' article still applies if you want to ensure continued best performance over time.

3D Y/C digital comb filter is used to constantly analyze the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time, to reduce dramatically edge image artifacts while improving transition detail.

Built-in Tuners: The HP-R52 series is also equipped with a built-in HD/Digital tuner (ATSC) for over-the-air High Definition broadcasts, and a 181-channel tuner (NTSC).

Picture-in-picture (PiP) with side-by-side split screen enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources. Other adjustable video features include color tone, picture mode, aspect ratio, and sound mode.

DCR: This product line is also Digital Cable Ready (DCR). This means that you can enjoy digital cable without an additional set-top box or remote. Worth mentioning here however that the current generation of CableCard slots do not support video-on-demand or electronic program guide services.

DNIe: This is Samsung Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe); it is Samsung's proprietary video enhancement system that refines all analog NTSC and wideband video inputs for an overall improvement in picture quality. DNIe improves contrast, white level, picture detail and incorporates digital noise reduction to improve lower quality video inputs.

Because everyone sees colors differently, Samsung's DNIe My Color Control allows you to adjust the individual colors of your set without distorting other colors. The range of color adjustment includes Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, and White. This ensures true to life colors such as green grass, blue sky and realistic skin tones. White Tone Enhancement also ensures the purest whites possible.

Sound:  These Samsung plasma televisions come with a 30-watt stereo audio system (two 15-watt 2-way speakers). Though not enough for serious home theater applications, yet the built-in audio system should provide ample sound for general TV viewing.

SRS TruSurround XT™: This is Samsung patent virtual surround sound - which solves the problem of playing 5.1 multi-channel audio content over the set's two speaker set-up. It provides a compelling, virtual surround sound field through the two-speaker internal playback system.

Connectivity: The Samsung HP-R52 series offers a good range of connections for DVD, DTV, PC, and HDTV sources; full details are given below:

Other features include Fan-less cooling design for low noise operation, VESA wall mount compatibility, and discrete IR codes for use with a macro/programmable remote for creating your own functions.

Additionally, you can also control all your Samsung A/V components through a single TV remote with Samsung's Anynet system - a network control solution for operating a wide variety of Samsung devices.

Product Dimensions and Weight

 

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Concluding Remarks:

The HP-R52 series of Samsung Plasma Televisions - like all plasmas in the 'value' category from top manufactures - are not cheap, but still come with an affordable price tag.

Picture quality is also very good. It is clear that Samsung has made many improvements here although Panasonic still leads in this respect. The complete feature set, massive array of inputs, and stylish design surely make the HP-R52 series a tempting purchase for the price.