Samsung PS51E550 Owners' Thread - First impressions, Reviews, Issues, etc.

[ritzman]

Background: I recently shifted to a new house & was very keen on buying a large TV to replace my 6 year old Philips HD CRT 29PT8836. I started my research 6 months back & had zeroed in on Panny 42ST30 & Samsung 51D550. Panny 42ST30 was a superb model with low reflection but the cost was too high when compared to Samsung plasma.

Had seen madhavk8's review of D550 & many other experts had talked good about that model. Finally decided to put my money on Samsung 51D550, but due to some personal problem I had to delay my purchase for few months & decided waiting for 2012 models to hit the stores.

Models shortlisted: Panny 42 & 50 ST50, Samsung PS43E490 & Samsung PS51E550.

Winner: Samsung PS51E550, because
1. 42" Panny prices were very high & for the same money (actually less) you were getting 51" Samsung.
2. The 2012 3D glasses cost only 1300 bucks now & they are very light weight.
3. Samsung comes with a free blu-ray player & a BD disk (Offer only till Aug 31, 2012)

Roadblock: I'd been checking for availability of this model since July & most of the places (in Bangalore) did not have any new stock. The prices had also appreciated everywhere (cheapest was 78k, donno why) & was told that it was due to BD player offer. Meanwhile, I had also explored group buy option, but again saw not much progress happening due to non-availability of this model in stores.

D-Day: I got a call from Samsung plaza where I had given my number saying they have an unused piece. I could not resist myself & bought the TV on Aug 10, 2012. The TV was delivered on the same day & Samsung service guy came, installed it on my wall the next morning.

Price: <78k as I got Samsung employee discounted price

My initial impression after using it for two days:
Pros:
1. Excellent picture quality: Watched ZNMD @720p & the clarity bowled me over
2. Reflection: Less compared to D550, but it is still there
3. 3D: Watched 'The final Destination 3D' & had amazing effect although it was not the best 3D movie
4. Slim model... Looks as slim as LED TVs
5. Built-in Wi-Fi

Cons:
1. Rio 3D MKV did not work when connected via USB
2. Unimpressive sound
3. Slight reflection when there are lights around
4. Only 3 HDMIs D550 had 4
5. Remote layout

More later as I'm yet to get the Hathway HD connection & have very few HD content... I've also attached few pics taken from my mobile.

Regards,

 

[ritzman]

More images

 

[umeshdhingra]

Thanks for sharing yr review .I have the last year version and yes the reflection is an issue.cheers

 

[rajatk]

Congrats on your purchase, its a good decision. ZNMD pictures look good... do post some pics of SD/HD channels as well...

One thing that I noticed was the MRP mentioned is Rs 82,000 whereas others the Samsung website & others who have brought it had seen a MRP of Rs 86,000.. don't know how... its a July 2012 piece so not old either. Probably thats why you got a lower price than 78K - my guess is 74-75k.

 

[curious]

Congratulations!

Pics are looking stunning. I may also buy this TV soon. Did you notice any buzzing from the set (the most common complaint at least for the last years model -D550)? Also please post some pics with SD and HD channels.

 

[ritzman]

Congratulations!

Pics are looking stunning. I may also buy this TV soon. Did you notice any buzzing from the set (the most common complaint at least for the last years model -D550)? Also please post some pics with SD and HD channels.

Not found any buzzing sound as of now. As of now I don't have much HD content, will post more photos when I get time & also I'm yet to get Hathway HD connection from the operator. Hoping that he will give the connection today

 

[ritzman]

Congrats on your purchase, its a good decision. ZNMD pictures look good... do post some pics of SD/HD channels as well...

One thing that I noticed was the MRP mentioned is Rs 82,000 whereas others the Samsung website & others who have brought it had seen a MRP of Rs 86,000.. don't know how... its a July 2012 piece so not old either. Probably thats why you got a lower price than 78K - my guess is 74-75k.

Even I was surprised to see 82k on the box... This might be the new price, not sure... people who bought recently can confirm

 

[Techila]

Even I was surprised to see 82k on the box... This might be the new price, not sure... people who bought recently can confirm

I bought this end of July for 73400 but it also has price tag 82k on the box.

Do you know how to check running hours on this model?
Also, does it retain time and date after turn OFF and ON from mains?

 

[ritzman]

I bought this end of July for 73400 but it also has price tag 82k on the box.

Do you know how to check running hours on this model?
Also, does it retain time and date after turn OFF and ON from mains?

In the standby mode press Info+Menu+mute+power & check usage under SVC. Mine was 0 hr, u can find in one of my photos

 

[just4kix]

@ritzman,

Thanks for the review. Please continue posting more details on the TV. Makes a very useful reading for fellow members.

I wouldn't worry too much into MRP stamp, manufacturing/import date, etc. As long as the TV is new with zero usage hours and what you saw is what you got, it is fine.

@all, guys how about a thank you to the OP.

 

[madhavk8]

Have you calibrated the picture?? You need to calibrate to get the best results picture quality. I have some expert calibrated values which i use for my D550 which should work for E550 pretty much with a bit of tweaking i think. Will post the values once i get home.

Also to get the best results you need to name the hdmi port you use as PC or DVI and that will increase the picture quality even further for hdmi inputs. For doing that go to source->Tools->Edit and you can choose from a Pre-Set names.

 

[viper08]

Congrats Ritzman. I could see a 29 inch CRT (looks are like Sony DRC-MF or panasonic tau) in the reflection.
Have you compared the output on both? Are you going to keep the old one too?

 

[ritzman]

Have you calibrated the picture?? You need to calibrate to get the best results picture quality. I have some expert calibrated values which i use for my D550 which should work for E550 pretty much with a bit of tweaking i think. Will post the values once i get home.

Also to get the best results you need to name the hdmi port you use as PC or DVI and that will increase the picture quality even further for hdmi inputs. For doing that go to source->Tools->Edit and you can choose from a Pre-Set names.

Will do the naming, but not sure of how to calibrate my TV, will appreciate if you could share the steps

 

[ritzman]

Congrats Ritzman. I could see a 29 inch CRT (looks are like Sony DRC-MF or panasonic tau) in the reflection.
Have you compared the output on both? Are you going to keep the old one too?

It's Philips 29PT8836 HD CRT, one of the best HD CRT TVs. It still produces the best image quality for 29" CRT. I used to watch HD over Kodak HD media player. Will share the comparison photos later.

 

[ontherocks]

Will do the naming, but not sure of how to calibrate my TV, will appreciate if you could share the steps

Use the following for free. Download the USB or Bluray or DVD version and use accordingly following the instructions

http://www.avsforum.com/t/948496/avs-hd-709-blu-ray-mp4-calibration

 

[Techila]

In the standby mode press Info+Menu+mute+power & check usage under SVC. Mine was 0 hr, u can find in one of my photos

I verified the Panel Display Time and it showed correct ~145 Hrs. Curiously I just went through some options but when I exit of this menu, I'm not getting original colors...it is not that bad but not as good as earlier. Even after factory reset, I didn't get the original colors :sad:

One thing I noticed that Panel Display Time is also got reset to 0Hrs after factory reset.

I tried many settings in Picture menu(not Service Menu) but I'm not getting original colors. Is there any way to verify if my settings in service menu got changed ?

Otherwise I think I will have to take help from Samsung support.

Thanks

 

[santu]

While taking a demo of this TV,I played a tennis match downloaded from youtube.But the motion of the tennisball wasn't smooth at all.It was as if it was leaving a part of itself behind which got deleted in a moment.
Am I missimg something here?Some settings ( motion)?
And the video was 720p.

 

[just4kix]

... One thing I noticed that Panel Display Time is also got reset to 0Hrs after factory reset.
...

This is very surprising and disturbing. This is equivalent to allowing the car odometer reading to be reset.

 

[curious]

This is very surprising and disturbing. This is equivalent to allowing the car odometer reading to be reset.

I agree. Dealers can easily cheat us using it.

 

[longshanks]

While taking a demo of this TV,I played a tennis match downloaded from youtube.But the motion of the tennisball wasn't smooth at all..

This effect is called judder and it is there in all televisions, this was first over come by Philips by using some thing called as digital natural motion, these days all top end tv's use similar feature but it introduces a soap opera kind of effect.

Samsung 7 and 8 series plasma has judder reduction algorithm but this may be be that great while watching movies.