Samsung PS50Q7HD |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Good
Impressive build quality, features, and superb colour.
The Bad
Only one HDMI, picture noise, and black levels not up to the best.
Design
Keep looking at the Samsung PS50Q7HD, look at the price, and keep pinching yourself. For the money, this has to be one of the most attractively styled screens around.
Features
Screen size & shape: 50in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound system: Nicam Resolution: 1366x768 HD Ready: Yes Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 Brightness: 500cd/m2 Weight: 49.3kg OTHER FEATURES: DNIe (Digital Natural Image engine) SOCKETS: 1 HDMI input, component video input, PC input, S-video, 3 scarts (2RGB), composite video input, stereo audio input, digital audio output
Connections, although adequate, would benefit form another HDMI connection, there is just the one. Also, three scarts would have been better than two.
Samsung has added a pc input and a CI slot for adding subscription channels and a digital audio output for shipping out Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Samsungs DNEi system is also on hand with its processing tricks for improving black levels, fine detail, motion clarity and colours.
Performance
There is little evidence here of traditional plasma screen gripes such as grain, colour stripping and dotting. Samsung has come on leaps and bounds in the colour department recently. Vibrancy is noticeably improved, flesh tones look more realistic and far more subtle than before.
Its not so clear exactly how much benefit is derived from the PS50QYHD's smooth motion driver system. It does make motion look a little smoother but at the cost of slight shimmering and the odd judder and flicker. What is clear on this model however is that black levels have gone from just average to class leading.
HD pictures on the PS50Q7HD are a little disappointing, not being as crisp as on the top notch competitors. The sound system cannot match the grandeur required from a 50in stage but it doesn't detract too much from the whole experience.
The PS50Q7HD has certainly got the odd shortcoming, but for the price the whole package offers superb value for money, and the overall screen performance requires that the PS50Q7HD warrants serious consideration.