Samsung PN42B450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

5 Responses to “ Samsung PN42B450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ”

1. Slo-Hand
   December 7, 2009 at 10:47 am

   the price looks good on these televisions but the catch is plasmas use significantly more power than LCD’S. I love the picture and the price but I don’t love what it’s doing to my power bills. For me this television amounts to a 1 -2kw hr/ per day increase in power consumption and at the end of the month to me that’s significant amount. If it wasn’t already on the wall I’d exchange it for a more expensive LCD model. LCD televisions are also lighter which can be important when it comes to handling and mounting.
   Rating: 3 / 5
2. D.B.
   December 7, 2009 at 12:02 pm

   I have a Samsung 450 series plasma TV. When I watch a 4:3 picture, even during a very dark movie, the gray bars throw off so much light I can read the TV guide. That means my eyes never really adjust to the dark so I can’t even get used to the actual film! But I bought a plasma so I could watch *dark* movies. I just wanted a rich black, but now I have a rich black next to a pair of shimmery columns of flaring light.

   You don’t realize how much good 4×3 content is out there until you can’t enjoy any of it.

   They admit they did it to reduce burn in, which is an admission that Samsung TVs have a serious problem with it. Don’t take my word for it, read the Samsung tech team’s admission to my query here:
   
   [...]

   Rating: 1 / 5
3. BearyBeary
   December 7, 2009 at 2:15 pm

   First of all, this is a great TV despite my 2 stars. After two weeks, everything is perfect with DirecTV HD. The sound, the picture, everything.

   Everything, that is, except the lack of a headphone jack.

   Now, I knew it didn’t come with a headphone jack when I bought it. But on the Samsung web site, it stated that I could use the audio out to connect to headphones.

   I use headphones for about 50-60% of my TV viewing. They are of utmost important to me because there are kids next door, and I can’t turn up the volume after a certain hour. Plus, I have a loud fan going so it’s more comfortable to listen with headphones rather than turn up the volume at full blast.

   When the TV arrived, I immediately tested the audio out to headphone connector I bought at Radio Shack. But I soon discovered that in order to listen to the headphones exclusively (without the speakers blasting) I had to turn off the TV volume.

   Unfortunately, turning off the TV volume disables the volume control and mute buttons on the remote.

   Thus the sound on the headphones, which is VERY, VERY LOW, can’t be turned up or down.

   In response, I bought $22 external computer speakers to try to boost the volume. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.

   Then I called Samsung, and they said there was no hope of boosting the volume. I was scared I just wasted $680 on a TV that I can’t truly enjoy most of the time.

   I assumed listening to a TV with headphones would be a very basic component on a TV set, like it is for possibly every other device.

   I had all but given up hope and was going to return the TV, when I discovered the Boostaroo headphone amplifier on Amazkon, which costs about $22. So I bought it, and it actually works great. It boosts the volume. But unfortunately it requires AAAA batteries, which are expensive and hard to come by (unless you buy them en masse).

   So because Samsung didn’t include a headphone I had to shell out the following:

   Audio out cable and headphone jack connector: $12 at Radio Shack
   
   External speaker: $22
   
   Boosteroo Headphone Amplifier $22 (it now lists at $42).
   
   50 AAAA batteries: $30

   I spent $86 to use this TV with headphones.

   Anyways, sorry for the drawn-out review, but nobody mentioned a headphone problem in other reviews. Hopefully this will help anybody interested in purchasing this TV.
   Rating: 2 / 5
4. Otis Maxwell
   December 7, 2009 at 3:26 pm

   This is going to be a non-technical review among some very good detailed commentary, so please take it for what it’s worth. I’ve owned two LCD HDTVs, an ancient but good viewing Syntax Olevia 27 inch, and a 46 inch Sharp which was burgled before I really got to enjoy it. On both the HDTV viewing experience was fabulous to my non-technical perspective, while standard def shows had bigger images and better colors, but no drop in quality.

   I was about to buy another LCD but was lured to this Samsung plasma by a great price and deal at Amazon… thinking if it gets lifted like the last one, my out of pocket loss is reduced. And I’m surprised by my disappointment. I’m 30 miles north of Albany, NY, a Direct TV subscriber, so lots of standard def channels and relatively few HD channels. The regular def shows, especially on a light background, have a fuzziness or halo effect around the edges of images, such as a person’s face, that is really distracting. Switch it out for my venerable Olevia attached to the same HD Direct Tivo, and the problems go away.

   I was also concerned about the elaborate instructions in the (excellent) manual on how to avoid burn-in. Other reviewers say this is less a problem with newer plasmas, but why should I even have to worry about it? Also, the screen when it is turned off is not a dramatic dark black like my LCDs but rather a dull grey, like an old tube TV.

   I’m not so unhappy as to send it back, but certainly would not buy this same model again. And probably would think twice before buying another plasma from any manufacturer.
   Rating: 2 / 5
5. Karen R. Johnson
   December 7, 2009 at 6:14 pm

   What was advertised is what was received. The delivery was prompt and the product was in good condition. Would definitely buy from this vendor again.
   Rating: 4 / 5