How come the B650's are discontinued?

The 2010 models are coming out soon.

Products are sometimes discontinued

Because they introduce new models every year which means they have to get rid of the old models. You really can't be serious with these questions?

Why would you be using factory resources to make old panels when they can be allocated to making new ones?

For some reason supply of plasmas have been low this year (maybe demand has been unexpectedly higher?) and they have or will be discontinued earlier than usual. Hopefully that means seeing 2010 panels earlier than usual. We'll find out in a week with CES around the corner.

I think he's more or less asking why the B650 series plasma is being discontinued yet the B550 and B850 are still around. I personally think that's crappy because the B650 was basically an B850 without the thinness. That was my favorite Samsung panel from this year.

Oh well. Out with the old, in with new.

Then you don't understand the meaning of the word. It means they are not producing it because a subsequent model is replacing it. Guess what? They have discontinued the 1946 Fords also Every year, every TV manufacturer discontinues the previous year's model.

They've probably been discontinued because there's plenty of stock out there still and they don't want too many left over when the 2010 models are announced; I had no problem walking into a store and picking up a B650 just a few weeks ago.

I want to know why this kid is still allowed to even post here?

Hard to figure out a firm's internal economics. The production lines making the 600 series might be the ones chosen to move to the 2010 models. Or they might have an unacceptable failure rate. Or they're rationalising the range - there was a bit too much crossover with 3 series after all. Or or or or or......

+1

First of all, do we really know for a FACT that the B650 has been discontinued? That was first posted here at least a couple months ago (maybe longer) after Best Buy ran an ad labeling clearance on the set and some people said their local BB reps told them it was discontinued. At the time, other people reported that their retailers disputed that. Then there happened to be a shortage of the units right around then so it seemed to jive with the reports. But subsequently stores have gotten more units and I have even seen them at Best Buy and out of curiosity asked if they were still selling them and had them in stock and they looked it up and said yes. Odd, given that they were supposedly discontinued that new inventory keeps showing up. I also just did some Internet searches and this thing is in stock all over the place, at online and B&N stores (though not at Best Buy.com right now). I have never seen or seen anyone link to an official report from Samsung or any other news source that this was discontinued. The Best Buy ad and what people said they were told by retailers is it - and we all know how accurate retailers statements typically are. (It's also worth noting that one of the people who originally pushed this discontinue discussion, HiFiFun, also insisted the entire 2009 Samsung plasma line-up had been discontinued, so his credibility is clearly weak.)

To be clear, I am not disputing that it was discontinued. I have no idea. I just would like to see the proof. Without it, I remain skeptical.

Now if it was discontinued, contrary to what omeletpants writes, it is unusual. They would have done it (when it supposedly happened a couple months ago) less than 6 months after release and approximately 6 months before the replacement model was likely to be released. So the normal idea that they are discontinuing it because they have a replacement wouldn't apply. Further, if you are going to preemptively discontinue one model in your product line, the 650 doesn't seem like the logical choice. Based on industry reviews it is particularly well rated among the line, including the Consumer Reports top pick. Why kill your stand out model and leave others? Perhaps they wanted to force more people toward the 850/860, the only other models in the line with the Internet capacities. But this seems like a stretch. Some others, of course, speculated it was because of the buzz issue and they decided it was easier just to kill production early and focus on the 2010 model. But there is no evidence for this theory. The 650 is no more prone to the buzz than other models and if anything the 850/860 would be more so. Second, because time and shown that there was not a preemptive release of a replacement model - we would have heard something about it by now. Certainly we will see the eventual replacement models in a week at CES. But it will be months until they hit the market and if they were about to hit the market immediately we would have already seen something.

I just got my 58" set that manufactured around 11-30-09 so the factory was or is pumping out for new orders.

Well, so much for that. That is well after they were supposedly "discontinued."

But he's asking because he thinks it's being discontinued only 6 months after it first became available for sale. That's a lot different than being discontinued because they're starting to make next years model. He's wondering why it's discontinued early, only halfway through it's production run, and if there's a problem with the model that caused them to discontinue it early. They didn't discontinue the 46 Ford halfway through it's model year did they?

But exactly who is saying it's discontinued? Unless Samsung officially says they've discontinued it i would presume it is still in production. Does anyone know if it was really introduced in June? Or was it more like Jan or Feb?

It came out sometime in the spring, much later than Jan/Feb, but it may have been before June.

This whole discontinued thing is just a false rumor.

Well for whatever reason, Best Buy stopped carrying them a few months ago; everyone else still seems to have them though.


How do you check the manufactured date?

every TV that I have ran across always has a tag on the back of the set that says the date of manufacture. As for BB not selling that model anymore, maybe it was a poor seller for them.

Found the tag, my B650 was manufactured in November as well. And about Best Buy, it may have been that they didn't want to carry the B650 series when it only sells for $100 more than the B550 series.

Really dude? Are you still trying to justify your hatred for the set?

Randy, for good or bad it's no secret that Samsung is on 1 year cycles on most of their products. His presumption that there is a problem with the product is just trolling as he has been a critic of the product in the past.

Samsung still shows the B650 available for purchase on their web site. That sounds like it is still being made or they still have lots of inventory.

That's wrong. I was at BB yesterday and the 650 is not even in their system nor their website. I wanted to purchase the 650 as I have been researching for the last 9 months for a replacment for my 57' Hitachi Ultravision rear projection. I ended up getting the 58' 550 for $1499 instead of the 850. I am now looking for cal setting and spending countless hours in these forums. So far this tv has none of the buzz people talk about and very minimal heat after 5 hours od CODMW 2, this thing performs like a champ!

Just because it's no longer in BB's system or on their website does not mean it's been discontinued by the manufacturer.

When BB stops carrying a model or they run out of stock on it or if it's on backorder from the manufacturer - the BB personnel will often tell you that particular model has been discontinued but it's a lie in order to sell you something that they actually have in stock. This has been going on with them for years - they're notorious for it.

When did Best Buy become the only store in the universe? Do you have a Sears near you? According to their website they have it in stock. In fact, if you do a search on CNET, Price grabber, Nextag, Pronto, Amazon, there are tons of places with it in stock right now.

You seriously bought an entirely different model than you wanted just because some dude making minimun wage at Best Buy told you it had been discontinued?

For whatever reason, I do think Best Buy -- and just Best Buy -- decided to stop carrying the 650. They did label it as clearance in their ads a couple months ago. My best guess is they decided the competitive price was close enough to the Series 5 that they were better off forcing people to either get a Series 5, for which they have a lower wholesale price, or pushing them up to the Series 8. But who knows what was in their heads. They were clearly banking on the fact that most of their customers wouldn't competitively shop elsewhere and find the model they don't carrry, which based on the other posters comment above does seem to be true for some people.

The B650 has been available since ~1 May; (I keep tabs on good plasmas). So, we are at 8 mos. into the cycle. If I wanted this TV, I, too, would wonder why it would be discontinued with 4 mos. left in the cycle, if I believed the info. However, I am quite skeptical of the info. Apparently, plenty of vendors have the B650 TVs, so I am doubting it has been discontinued. That said, it could be soon, if Sammy decides to go a bit early on a new line, but I am fairly certain it would last at least two more months; we'll know in a few days.

There are probably many things you don't have a clue about.

Please base your question on something you have read or learned from Samsung anything else is total BS. And present it to the adults to see if it passes muster.

Now go play with your toys...what ever they may be.

Now perhaps cobraspyguy has some important input here too.