Panny or Samsung

[ranman444]

Looking at these two models. Panasonic TCP50S1 or the Samsung PN50B530. What do people think? Pro and Cons? Thanks

[DSgamby]

Samsung TV
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=111017

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...217#post969217
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...685#post970685

The connections, it has 3 HDMI, 1 Component and 1 Component/Composite slot.

[David Susilo]

From brand standpoint alone, I'd go with Panny. I've had enough bad experiences with Samsung TVs (plural), BD players (plural) and cellphones (plural). The first bad experience being in 1998 and the latest being in 2009, totalling close to 100% failure rate just after the warranty period is over, a problem I've NEVER had with Denon, Panasonic, Pioneer or Yamaha and only on 3 ocassions with Toshiba (DVD players).

[Mark 47]

Purchased TCP54S1 about a month ago on sale...excellent TV!...was considering the same 2 models as you...completely satisfied with the Panny choice...no regrets!

[DavidM_Calgary]

I would go for the Panasonic.

The Samsung buzzing problem is real and may or may not drive you nuts. I'm on my second buzzer and replacing it for a Panasonic as soon as the model I want is available.

[grog]

For plasma I would go with Panasonic. If you were considering LCD it would be more of a toss up but when it comes to plasma Panasonic is consistently top rated.

[cdn_tbird]

I've got both a Sammy FP-T5084, and a Panny TH-42PZ800. Love both sets, but based on my experience with Samsung's service dept., I'd go with the Panny.

[nursedude]

We bought a 50" S1 back in July. A nice set. I'm very pleased with it.

[eimaj]

I am having a very difficult time with Samsung and the one unprofessional service technician they have been sending over (of which he is not allowed to set foot in my house anymore as I've told the service company and Samsung), as well as Samsungs own engineers giving advice to the service department in my area that does not solve the issues I am having at all (turn off the led motion plus, an option that I highly covet, that has odd flickering issues in only one area of the tv in order to eliminate the problem?!?! BRILLIANT!!! It still does not fix the problem.)

This is the 3rd set I have bought from them, the first had unrepairable issues, of which each attempted repair actually made the tv worse and was replaced after much to long a time and then I sold it (4665). The second worked perfect and I completely regret selling it (4681) in order to get the larger and problematic 55a950 (I know none of these are plasmas, just relating a very tainted experience I am having with Samsung).

I am beginning to wonder what my legal options might be as it seems they do not want to repair the tv under there own warranty guidelines.

DO NOT BUY SAMSUNG!!!

[TorontoColin]

Both are excellent choices and quality brands, and for the record I own 4 Samsung LCD monitors, 1 LCD TV (LN46A580), a Samsung washer and dryer, and have owned several Samsung mobile phones and have never had any problems and love them all. I'm not saying the people who have problems aren't justified in being upset, just thought I should add some balance to the discussion.

[PPL4GOLF]

I'll give some user feedback. As noted in the signature, I have a Samsung plasma and a Sumsung LCD I just bought when I was in the US.

The 50" plasma has very impressive picture quality for what I paid. Actually, it rivals ANY 50-52" plasma or LCDs, even the ones that cost twice as much.

There are certain really annoying things that I can't believe are still there :

1. When the MUTE button is pressed, the MUTE LOGO is on the left all the time and would just walk up and down and this has to the stupidest thing. My brand new B540 LCD still does the same thing! I wonder who they are copying this annoying feature from LOL. There is an option to turn off speaker completely but that's not the point. The only solution is to turn volume down to zero when I use 5.1 speakers.

2. Samsung has a uncommon stretch mode called WIDE FIT for 4:3 content on 1080i/720p ATSC channels that is very plasma friendly for the extreme burn-in conscience crowd like myself. OTOH, it has an absolutely useless ZOOM2 mode that is a big joke. ZOOM1 is perfect for the letterboxed 4:3 so you get widescreen with near correct aspect ratio. The ZOOM2 furture stretches everything taller and I have no clue what it is for. I will also admit the rendition of Set-top-box SD contents on my 5-series 1080p plasma wasn't good either but I don't buy it to watch SD nor do I subscribe to cable/satellite now.

3. Remote is too big but I use Harmony anyways. Actually, Harmony is a must as it allows 'direct' source selection and those buttons are not on the Samsung remote, not do they exist in many other brands including Panasonic.

There is some subtle improvement like the program info for the digital tuner on the B540 shows what program is coming up next. The nevigation of the CHANNEL LIST (which is like a EPG) is still clunky. Well at least there is a guide which I value a lot.

There are obviously a lot to like about. I am just being overly critical and 'rant' on these dumb things that are beyond my imagination. As long as they are durable, these will not the the last Samsung TVs I buy. I am overall very, very satisfied with them.

[57]

Zoom1 may be for 1.78:1 aspect ratio material, while Zoom2 may be for 2.35:1 aspect ratio material.

Wide-fit is quite a common stretch on most TVs, although Samsung didn't have it on many of their previous models. It's usually a non-linear stretch designed to have 4:3 material fill the screen while keeping as natural a look as possible. On Panasonic it's called "Justify or Just", on Sony it's "Wide-Zoom", etc.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76074 Widescreen Stretch Modes.