Samsung PN50C540 Plasma Television

It took a long time to do it but I finally plunged and bought a new television set. My old DLP was showing a bit of age when compared to anything that's being released these days - or for that matter, anything released in the past two or three years. My old set was a 50" DLP Samsung that has served me well for four years; but, loving to play with new tech and the surge towards 1080p material, I couldn't resist any longer. On the "Black Friday" weekend I indulged in a fairly sweet deal from a local stereo shop.

I ended up sticking with Samsung - I never thought I would be a person who would participate in brand loyalty but here I am. My generation is notorious for swapping brands, stores and generally, chasing the best deal there is. You can't hold on to us, but my experience with Samsung has been too good for me to just jump ship to another brand. I have friends and family who all have Samsungs and it would be safe to say they are all happy, as am I.

What also did not help in making the decision on what set to go with is that they all look so much better than what I have, yet what I have is not so terrible. I could sit down, watch a Blu-Ray and be amazed at the image quality on my DLP. There was detail, depth and a good feel - that little something you just can't quite describe but is there. But when you visit a friend with a brand new set, you see what you've been missing. And now, with the new plasma I get a piece of that. I get deeper blacks, I get 1080p with even more detail than before (I wasn't sure if 1080p would make a huge difference, but it does, and I notice it a lot), and better , rich colours. It's a real joy to view.

But, it's not without its problems and I believe these are compromises for going with a set that is so inexpensive. Noticeable image retention, and the infamous Samsung buzz. Neither of these are deal breakers, as the buzz is inaudible unless you have dead silence, and image retention goes away naturally as you continue to watch: it really only rears its head after extended video game playing, and those are notorious for static screen items. My old DLP made noise, but I guess it all became white after a while. The DLP could never burn in or retain images. There is a worry that you experience with a plasma in regards to burn in: you think about it all the time. You worry about it, and I fear it takes away from the viewing experience. Then you realize, it's not that big of a deal as it doesn't happen, and with an inexpensive set like this, it would be easy to justify buying another after a couple of years - should the problem ever present itself.

The thickness of a television does not concern me: the DLP was about a foot and half deep, fit perfectly on my stand and delivered a great picture. The plasma is about three inches thick, sits slightly back on the stand a bit. Perhaps I should have gone with a bigger set, but I'm very happy and quickly accustomed to the size. There are other features on the set that I haven't really explored, mainly because I have little to no use for them. I did not op for a model where I could download apps or surf the internet (although this does, thankfully have an ethernet jack for future updates). I do all those things through the multitude of devices connected. It has media playback capabilities, and so did my old one. I never tried them once.

The television has been in use for about four weeks now, and I only write about it now because last weekend, I sold the DLP. For those four weeks it sat on the floor next to me; with a frown it looked on as I played with the new one, knowing that it would not be loved in the same way. But, bringing it into the home I did the other day, I believe it can be happy again. We set it on a nice, wide television stand, surrounded by audio towers with fogged glass and a small, (probably) twenty seven inch curved tube TV sitting on the floor. Yes, it will be quite the upgrade for the new owner, just as this plasma was quite the upgrade for me.