Samsung PS51D550, my review after using for 1 week
*Size Does Matter and so does 3D 
- Buying a BIG TV was always a desire i had and in the post Avatar world getting 3D was also a priority so when i came to know about 51D550 plasma which had both i jumped to the opportunity and decided to take a leap of faith and bought this tv .
51 inches though might seem not all that different from 40 inch or 46 inch tv in the showroom will definitely look a lot bigger at home and you will definitely appreciate the screen space and while watching movies and sports do you really start to bless samsung for releasing this very VFM plasma.
*Picture Quality - I had always believed that LED tv's had the best picture quality based on what i had seen in showrooms, but once I saw this plasma in real world conditions i.e in home ambient lighting, really started to see the vibrant and natural colors that a plasma is capable of producing and the uniformity and the range of colors capable in the plasma. There is no oversaturation whatsoever and the deep natural colors it produces deliver Theater quality experience at home. Highly Recommended
*3D Performance - I am obsessed about 3D ever since i saw chota chethan more than a decade ago and now in this post Avatar world buying a non-3dtv was not something i was prepared to do and also expected very high quality of 3D and was not prepared to accept anything less.
The 3D performance of 51D550 plasma is excellent and it is incredible the amount of brightness it is able to produce in the 3D mode in order to compensate for the tint in the glasses. The 3D images look very real and the colors look very natural and bright and crosstalk is not an issue anyone will notice unless you start specifically searching for it rather than enjoying the amazing 3D visuals. The occasional crosstalk is very very negligible and does not break down the 3D effect in any measure.
3D is also dependent on the glasses and Samsung 2011 glasses are very very light and almost feels like passive glasses and also the tint is not so dark and they use bluetooth for syncing with the tv . All these factors allow for a highly pleasant 3D experience.
*Image Retention - Image Retention is NOT an issue with 51D550. I did not notice any IR for the most part. Most people who buy 51D550 will never have any IR issue unless in extreme cases. Only once when i continuously was gaming for hours in 2D did i notice very very mild IR and even that i only noticed because i went searching for it on a white background. That IR disappeared in less than 10 mins after running the scrolling screensaver.
3D Gaming did not produce any IR as inherently 3D gives a lot of exercise for the phospors.
Playing Assassins Creed Brotherhood in 3D thorough nvidia 3dtv play software on the 51 inch screen was one of the most engrossing gaming experience ever. I do not have words to describe the experience 3D gaming will bring on 51D550. Its totally worth the money !!
*SD Content - All samsung tv's so a great job of upscaling SD content and even 51D550 does a wonderful job and except the irritable aspect ratio change from 4:3 to 16:9 of cable tv sd channels, mostly everything looks wonderful.
Even 700 mb rips looks great. Just watched Woody Allens latest film "Midnight in Paris" and the the experience was simply outstanding. It is incredible how it displays just a 700 mb rip and gives almost a theater like experience.
*HD Content - I am yet to get a HDTV connection so i will update my review afterwards. But playing Blurays on 51D550 totally just blew me away. Watching Tron Legacy(3D and 2D), Avatar(3D and 2D), Inception(2D) was enlightening.
*Conclusion - There is still so much i have to explore on my 51D550 plasma tv. From what i have seen till now, just with a bit of sensible usage one can achieve Theater like experience at home for a very very reasonable price.
LED's might be the new fad but plasma is still the way to go if you are a die-hard AV enthusiast and highly recommended for the stunning 2D and 3D picture it produces. And yes size does matter and so does 3D !!!
--Madhav Kyatsandra
