[HX_Guy]

I've been looking for information on the new LG 50PK550 plasma that are 2.2" thick and went by Sears to see if they had any in stock. They didn't...but they did have a Samsung 50B850 ($1489).


At first I thought it was the Samsung LED that I've seen many times and didn't even glance at the price, knowing it was in the $2200+ range. I love the thinness of the TV and the picture was blowing me away...so I looked down and was surprised at the price.


I had no idea that Samsung made a plasma this thin at this price. Now it is ~$300 more than the LG, but it is thinner by 1". I'm a huge sucker for super thin TVs.


I know there are zero reviews on the LG out there but how do you guys think this might compare? How is brand reliability between the two?

 

[qphillips06]



Quote:
Originally Posted by HX_Guy /forum/post/18207453


I've been looking for information on the new LG 50PK550 plasma that are 2.2" thick and went by Sears to see if they had any in stock. They didn't...but they did have a Samsung 50B850 ($1489).


At first I thought it was the Samsung LED that I've seen many times and didn't even glance at the price, knowing it was in the $2200+ range. I love the thinness of the TV and the picture was blowing me away...so I looked down and was surprised at the price.


I had no idea that Samsung made a plasma this thin at this price. Now it is ~$300 more than the LG, but it is thinner by 1". I'm a huge sucker for super thin TVs.


I know there are zero reviews on the LG out there but how do you guys think this might compare? How is brand reliability between the two?

Check out Panasonic's TC-P54Z1. It is the thinnest PDP ever at 1".

 

[D-Rex]

There is no comparison between the LG and the Samsung 850/860! The Samsung 850 was the best Plasma I had the pleasure of seeing so I bought it right before the Super Bowl from Best Buy. I ended up buying the Samsung 550 from Sears for the bedroom. Regardless, the 850's thinness is cool and makes it easier to move (much lighter than the 550!) but it is th epicture that is the best feature!

 

[HX_Guy]

The thing with the Samsung that worries me is the buzzing issues that I've read a lot about.


To get the best deal, it seems I have to order online (about a $270 savings vs buying local), and if it has the buzzing issue, I image is a pretty big pain to ship it back, not to mention the shipping cost back to them.

 

[kevinmscs]

Best bet when buying a Sammy plasma is buy from Costco. Easy return.

 

[HX_Guy]

Yes but Costco does not carry any of the super slim Samsungs.

 

[kevinmscs]



Quote:
Originally Posted by HX_Guy /forum/post/18211505


Yes but Costco does not carry any of the super slim Samsungs.

Not yet.


Be patient.

 

[Steve S]



Quote:
Originally Posted by HX_Guy /forum/post/18207453


I've been looking for information on the new LG 50PK550 plasma that are 2.2" thick and went by Sears to see if they had any in stock. They didn't...but they did have a Samsung 50B850 ($1489).


At first I thought it was the Samsung LED that I've seen many times and didn't even glance at the price, knowing it was in the $2200+ range. I love the thinness of the TV and the picture was blowing me away...so I looked down and was surprised at the price.


I had no idea that Samsung made a plasma this thin at this price. Now it is ~$300 more than the LG, but it is thinner by 1". I'm a huge sucker for super thin TVs.


I know there are zero reviews on the LG out there but how do you guys think this might compare? How is brand reliability between the two?

I work in a large Sears electronics dept. That 850 is the set most of us associates would pick for ourselves in a heartbeat. It combines the sharpness of an lcd with the gorgeous color accuracy and black levels of the best plasmas at half the price of an 8500 series lcd. Should be at least as reliable as the LG, probably more so. Buzz issue is a concern but we haven't had any Samsung plasmas returned because of it.

 

[klperry1]

I was blown away by those thin plasmas when I saw them the other day.

 

[HX_Guy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinmscs /forum/post/18212053


Not yet.


Be patient.

Are we talking be patient for a week or two...or a couple months down the road?


I can do a couple weeks but longer then that I'm thinking no.

 

[ClarkeBar]

Amazon is very good about returns. And their pricing for the 850/860s is very much in line with the low end online. I am seriously looking at the 860 myself and consider it likely the best of all the plasmas out there currently. I was reminded by another AVS member that the newer AR coating allows for it to give great PQ even with bright flourescent lighting like at Sears. But I also want to give the Panny 54V25 a look-see first. Not a thin model like the Sammy but that isn't a deal breaker for me.

 

[PNR]

Steve S

Can you comment on how the sharpness of the Samsung 850/860 series compares to the Panasonic V10 series. I am looking for a new TV and really like the sharpness of LCD but want the motion resolution and viewing angle of a plasma. Thanks

 

[ClarkeBar]

Not Steve S but Sammy delivers a naturally sharper image than Panny. Combined with the attributes Steve already mentioned it's hard to go wrong. The very sleek styling doesn't hurt either.

 

[Steve S]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PNR /forum/post/18213103


Steve S

Can you comment on how the sharpness of the Samsung 850/860 series compares to the Panasonic V10 series. I am looking for a new TV and really like the sharpness of LCD but want the motion resolution and viewing angle of a plasma. Thanks

Can't honestly comment as I have not seen a Panny higher than the G10 series. At our store the 850 is on an end cap with a glass security wall about 5 feet in front of it--ya can't get more than about 4 feet away from it so can't use distance to make a soft picture look better. My best suggestion would be to actually go to a store and look for yourself. BB also usually has these on an end cap rather than up on their Wall-O'-screens so it's easy to evaluate the upclose sharpness of the picture.


What I can say is that up close the Sammy is not as soft as the Panny, looks more like a properly adjusted (i.e. sharpness not high enough to induce ghosting) lcd. Color is vivid without the blown out neon look of torch mode lcds. In short it's the ideal set for people who lament the demise of high quality crt direct-view sets.

 

[DocuMaker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve S /forum/post/18212226


I work in a large Sears electronics dept. That 850 is the set most of us associates would pick for ourselves in a heartbeat. It combines the sharpness of an lcd with the gorgeous color accuracy and black levels of the best plasmas at half the price of an 8500 series lcd. Should be at least as reliable as the LG, probably more so. Buzz issue is a concern but we haven't had any Samsung plasmas returned because of it.

Hey, I'm not knocking the B850, but it does not have all that great of black levels, even for a PDP. The B8500 has much deeper blacks than the B850/B860.


The colors, sharp pic, excellent processing, dark filter, thinness, styling, are its strong points.

The buzzing, weak blacks, image retention, and broken Cinema Smooth are its main weaknesses.

 

[Derry]

Costco can be slow to obtain some of the latest gear,, our local store does not even offer any Sammy TVs,, our store has Sharp, Sony, Panny and Vizio,, seldom see a top model in any of their offerings,, guess it depends on the region,,


I'm also a photographer and their compact flash cards offered are still two + years behind the rest of the street,,


do like their return policy and the two year extension on electronics,, just had a 24" HP LCD monitor develop a power on issue and only had one month left of the two years,, called their concierge service and took about 15 minutes and had a new monitor on the way,,


Derry

 

[Servicetech571]

Careful about super slim designs, you don't get something for nothing. Compromises were made and/or cost was increased to make it thin. Samsung made some "slim fit" DLP sets a few years ago and the geometry was never right.

 

[wmwilker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DocuMaker /forum/post/18215310


Hey, I'm not knocking the B850, but it does not have all that great of black levels, even for a PDP. The B8500 has much deeper blacks than the B850/B860.


The colors, sharp pic, excellent processing, dark filter, thinness, styling, are its strong points.

The buzzing, weak blacks, image retention, and broken Cinema Smooth are its main weaknesses.

For about $1000.00 more.

 

[DocuMaker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wmwilker /forum/post/18217108


For about $1000.00 more.

Yap. You get what you pay for. If you want really deep inky blacks you have to pay more. The B860, now that it can be had on the cheap, represents an excellent value. It didn't interest me as much when the 50 inch was first released for $2100+, but for half that...not too shabby at all.

 

[wmwilker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DocuMaker /forum/post/18217926


Yap. You get what you pay for. If you want really deep inky blacks you have to pay more. The B860, now that it can be had on the cheap, represents an excellent value. It didn't interest me as much when the 50 inch was first released for $2100+, but for half that...not too shabby at all.

I could buy a Kuro for close to the cost of the 8500.

Much better tv for a little more.