Samsung PS50A556 plasma TV

Sporting a vast 50-inch screen and a pixel-tastic 1920 x 1080 resolution, this plasma TV comes geared up for full 1080p viewing. Pair it up with a PS3 or other Blu-ray player and you’ll be kicking back to watch movies and games at their most detailed. What makes it all the more amazing is its price tag: it’s just over £1,000.

Okay, so a grand is hardly pocket change, but you’d generally expect to shell out a lot more for a full HD screen this big. And this isn’t some flimsy, cheap and nasty piece of plastic either: it’s a well-built set with a swanky black gloss finish, touch sensitive controls and a cool blue power light blinking under the screen.

The picture quality can’t match some of the pricier plasmas on the market – the colour reproduction and intensity of the black levels doesn’t even come close to what we’ve recently seen on the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 – but feed it some hi-def material from your Sky HD box, Blu-ray or games machine and you’re treated to sharp detail and impressive colour reproduction.

The screen doesn’t kill off background noise as well as some of its competitors, so lesser quality material – stuff from the built-in Freeview tuner, for instance – can look a little grubby at times. Still, Samsung’s DNIe and Movie Plus technology ensures that moving objects remain smooth and judder-free.

Games look gorgeous on the screen, with edge enhancement adding an extra crispness to images and a total lack of ghosting keeping even the speediest games like PES 2008 blur-free.

Connectivity also gets a thumbs up from us, with the three HDMIs and one component video input ensuring you’ll never run out of space when hooking up hi-def kit.

Verdict
Good, solid picture quality, slick design and an affordable price tag make this a highly recommended plasma.

Overall
4 out of 5

Love it
Good design and build quality
Smooth motion
Three HDMIs

Loathe it
Black levels aren’t the best
Some noise from poorer quality sources

Visit the Samsung PS50A556 product page >>

Also consider
Pioneer PDP-LX5090
The best 50-inch plasma screen bar none – but very expensive.

Sony Bravia KDL-46W4000
This slightly smaller LCD TV comes packed with features.

LG 50PG6000
An even cheaper 50-incher, but this plasma lacks the full 1080p screen that makes the Samsung stand out.

Get chatting about all the latest 1080p televisions over at the PriceRunner forum

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