Customer Reviews

Samsung FPT5084 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is my initial review of this television after owning it for about three days.
What I love:
Watching Blu-Ray in 1080P is just spectacular! I own a PS3 and have a 1.3a HDMI cable for connection and the picture is superb. I watched "The Prestige" and "Casino Royale" in 1080P and was blown away. No pixelation or judder during fast-moving action scenes and the colors and details were impressive. This is clearly what this TV was designed to do. No complaints
I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma(720P) on PS3 and it looked amazing. The background was so beautiful I couldn't even play the game. I was just staring at the details and vivid colors. Once I have broken-in this TV (at least 100-200hrs) I will play more games. I get nervous about image retention. However, this TV comes with "Pixel Shift" which is supposed to help prevent this problem. Also, there are several built-in programs that will help alleviate the problem if, God forbid, there is image retention. I like that very much and it is a nice feature. I talked to an ISF-trained tech from a local store and he told me with these new plasmas that you would have to leave an image for several hours for "burn-in" to occur. He also said that there is no "break-in" period like I said above, but that I should NEVER use the DYNAMIC picture setting because it will turn your plasma into toast. So take this for what it's worth. I am being very cautious with my $3000 newborn.

What I like:
I have DirecTV HD service and the picture is VERY NICE. There is some pixelation during extremely fast action or explosions, but trust me that is the crappy satellite feed and NOT the plasma. No complaints here.

What I think is OK:
The SD channels are good, but not great. It definitely varies from channel to channel and this, again, may just be DirecTV. Don't get me wrong they are MUCH better than on my Samsung LCD, just not amazing or anything. I am so spoiled. It's funny, you'll be watching a show in SD and the picture is not so good and then it goes to commercial and they look awesome. I guess what they say is true "Garbage in, Garbage out."

Other observations:
I only listened to the sound for about 10 minutes because I have 7.1 surround, but it sounded good and that is all I will comment on that.
I read that the pevious model Samsung 5054/64 has problems with judder or skipping frames with tickers(CNN,ESPN,etc.) on the bottom of the screen. I don't see this problem and I am LOOKING for it big-time. Nothing that I can detect. Do not worry about this cause it is not a problem.
Sorry about the long review, but I know there is not much out there on this one. I can't wait to see what the fellas/gals at CNET or CR have to say. Good Luck and feel free to ask me about anything specific.



Update Jan. 7, 2008
I have had this tv for 6 months now and I have no regrets. I will say that it can get very hot and doubles as a heater. Especially after watching for several hours. But it is a minor annoyance.
The picture is still fantastic and I would put it up against a Pioneer Kuro anyday. It will absolutely destroy a Panasonic. They are very good plasmas, but I would go with SAMSUNG everytime. I saw the price has dipped below $2000 for this set now. People, if you want a 50" 1080p Plasma, DO NOT WAIT. THIS IS YOUR SET. I love it and it is my baby...You can thank me later.

After a significant amount of research and a post in response to one of the other great reviews here on Amazon regarding this product, I decided to take the plunge. I was looking for a TV that had the following qualitites: 1080P, 3 HDMI inputs a beautiful piano gloss black casing and a reasonable value (Pioneer Elite need not apply). I went to BB to look at all of the TV's both plasma and LCD "side by side." Because I watch mostly sports, I badly needed a smooth picture during fast action. I noticed that even the good LCD's still have frequent pixelization. I decided to go back to a different BB just to double check and I did indeed see the same thing.
I have had 2 Panasonic plasma TV's in the past and they were very good, but the Panasonic 1080P model that has 3HDMI inputs is significantly overpriced and just not as physically appealing as the Samsung. When I turned on the TV and switched to an HD channel, I literally said, "WOW." outloud. The difference in brightness, detail, clarity, and picture smoothness were evident immediately over the 50" Panasonic that I had purchased only 6 months ago! I was immediately thrilled with my purchase. After hooking it up to a Toshiba Up-Converting DVD player, I was amazed once again. The picture on this TV is absolutely amazing. Even my wife, who is not a techie, noticed immediately how wonderful the picture is.
Positives:
-It's hard to imagine a better picture.
-3HDMI inputs
-1080P capability
-Beautiful Piano Gloss Black finish
-Great stand that is piano gloss black and also swivels
-Very reasonable price point for 1080P
-1 Set of inputs on side of TV

Negatives:
-The speakers are on the side for a cleaner look and the sound is horrible. It's downright bad. Use your surround sound system.
-To go from one source to the next you must press the source button several times vs. pressing it and choosing which source you want through directionals on remote.

I just purchased this TV a few days ago and I have mixed feelings about it. Here's what I like and dislike about the set.

Likes:

- Aesthetically it is one of the nicest flatscreen TVs I've ever seen. I also purchased the SANUS Flat Panel TV Stand for the set and it looks fantastic on the stand
- Picture quality is stunning Dynamic mode.
- Sound quality is above average for a television
- Excellent value for the money, 50" 1080P for under $2400--what a steal!

Dislikes:

- picture quality (PQ) on older non-HD channels is terrible. I was watching an old NBA game on ESPN Classics and it was unwatchable. I tried tweaking the settings, but nothing really improved the picture.
- the PQ was about the same--and at times--not as good as my wife's Panasonic 720p Plasma. I'm hoping it was due to a weak cable signal.
- The picture seemed somewhat washed out while using "Movie" mode
- Phoned Samsung for a minor issue and they were no help

Conclusion:

I'm on the fence about this TV and will probably swap out my TV cables and try some setting I found on the Internet. I'll update this post with my results.

Updated on 8/21/07:

The PQ on HD channels is mesmerizing; especially, Discover HD and NFLNet. I find myself watching these channels more and more because of their excellent PQ. I've decided to deal with the poor PQ on the non-HD channels since they'll probably be going away in the year or two. Also I'm planning on purchasing a Blueray DVD player to experience the full potential on this set.

After a couple of weeks and endlessly tweaking the settings on the TV, I've come to the conclusion that the default settings provide me with the best PQ. However, I did change the following setting:

Color Tone: Cool1
Digital NR: Auto
DNIe: On

Under the "Detail Menu":
Black Adjustment: High
Color Space: Auto
Edge Enhancement: On

Hope this Helps

First I would like to say that SD channels do not look very good on this set. But unlike some reviewers, I know this is to be expected. Whenever you have a 480i/p image, spread over 50 inches of screen, and over 2 million pixels, it's a no-braner that quality is going to suffer. So, just deal with it until all or the majority of channels are fed in HD.

Now, to the review. First, HD quality is phoenominal, as expected. I have directv and the uality is great. But this pales in comparison to Blue-ray quality. It is razor sharp and superbly colored, even at factory settings. Bottom line is, if you understand that SD on such a Hi-Res and Large screen, is going to be poor, you'll be extremely happy with you're purchase. If you expect every channel to look like a Blue-Ray movie, you'll be very disappointed.

Secondly, you need to understand formatting. You're likely going to have to stretch you're image on you're screen. Unless the movie you're watching is in a certain format, it will NOT fill the entire screen. This brings us back to the poor SD quality. If you fill the screen, the image will be stretched in order to do so. This makes the SD quality even worse. But you can't blame the TV, it's the television stations and broadcasters, who are still broadcasting in such a low res, poor quality, that is to blame.

Thirdly, the set is a plasma. It draws lots of power and puts out alot of heat. But this is normal for a large plasma television. So don't be alarmed.

Fourthly, the anti-glare coating Samsung uses in this set is outstanding. I have very little to no glare at all from my lamps/windows. I'm very pleased with this.

Fifthly, the sound from the set sucks. Don't buy this and run sound through them. You're movie/viewing experience will suffer greatly. Get a decent surround setup, with a good subwoofer and you'll be very pleased with you're overall experience.

Lastly, like all high end sets, this tv is at the mercy of the quality of the signal being fed. Give it a high res source, and you'll be floored by the quality of picture. Blacks are very black and 1080P through Blue-Ray is untouchable.

Overall, fantastic value. Excellent features, near perfect picture.

I bought this TV today and am very tech savvy. I know all there is to know about interlaced vs. progressive, resolutions of different formats, hdmi vs. dvi vs. vga, as well as 480i, 720p, 1080p.. you get the picture, no pun intended.

That being said, take it from an expert techie that this is without a doubt the best 50" HDTV available on the market, and I HAVE looked everywhere. (I have seen a 58" Plasma from Samsung as well that is mind-blowing.. but for around a grand more that is out of most people's price range.)

I bought this unit for 2300.00 from Best Buy today, and getting their credit card doubles RewardZone points, essentially giving me 10% back for the entire cost of the unit on top of that. Don't let their 2800.00 price tag fool you, you can talk them down alot on this baby if you get a warranty and buy a couple accessories. Getting a competitor in on the deal helps too. They love to fight with H.H. Gregg :)

Pricing aside, I love absolutely everything about this TV. I did my homework, looked at literally hundreds of HDTV's, and from store to store this one consistantly outranked the rest.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING:
-Picture Quality. Best, bar none. You will not find better. I promise.
-Viewing angle and anti-glare. Screen can been seen in true color from ANY angle, but because of the way the anti-glare is designed, the display looks fuzzy if you are close and at a very sharp angle. Anything 170 degrees or less looks spectacular. I get no glare from any angle in a room with multiple lamps on each side of the television. It's as good as a matte LCD with the durability of plasma's glass.
-Side input has EVERY type of connection. HDMI, USB, S-Video and RCA. All there for your video game systems :)
-USB Connectivity is pretty cool and much better than expected. Can browse folders and play MP3 / WMA's, as well as view or slideshow pictures.

NEGLIGIBLE CONS:
-Switching sources is a bit slow, and the remote seems to have some lag. You cannot quickly (under a second) switch from channel to channel or switch sources. Minor inconvenience.
-USB Connectivity is great, but cannot play video. (Probably due to throughput issues)
-The sound is bad. It is loud and fills the room, but is completely devoid of bass. This is to be expected. You're buying a TV. Whatever crappy speakers they have to tack on to a near-flat unit are there for CONVENIENCE, not quality. Get a nice reciever (Yamaha) and some decent speakers, and hook it all up via Optical. Remember, the RECIEVER makes for great sound, not 600.00 Klipsh speakers. I spent $600.00 on my reciever and $80 on my speakers, so trust me.
-The unit can get pretty dang hot. This is completely normal for plasma TV's, but heat significantly reduces the life of any electronic device. For that reason, I hooked up 3 silent fans to the back of my TV. The unit is very well vented both on the top and on the back, so I found some Just Cooler monitor fans that even had a perfect hanging hook and an enclosure that work and fit PERFECTLY for this unit. GET THESE. They're silent, really move some air, and will keep your TV alive. The only downside is they use a molex connector found in any computer to get their power. A simple molex power adapter found in any external 3.5" hard drive enclosure will power these babies with a wall socket. See a review and pictures here:
http://www.xtremods.com/?pg=review_3dcoola1


THE ONE REAL CON:
-Picture in Picture. Samsung added this feature, but it is basically worthless. The TV has one tuner that handles not only flipping digital channels, but also EVERY digital input. This means that you CANNOT view anything other than an ANALOG SECONDARY COAX INPUT ONLY inside PiP. In other words, you don't even have an input button for the PiP box. It draws from the 2nd Analog Coax input only. That being said, PiP has a few modes such as split-screen, but is ALWAYS locked at 4:3 ratio since it's analog only.

Don't buy this thinking I must be crazy and that you can watch a blu-ray while your son uses the PC input or plays PS3. Won't happen.. I have triple verified. While this makes PiP pretty worthless, is not enough to keep me from loving my TV. Most people rarely or never use PiP anyway.

OVERALL:
I'd give this thing 6 stars if I could. Read the reviews, save up 2.5 grand, and do yourself a favor. Don't even bother looking elsewhere, this TV is unbeatable :)

...everyone is asking for another person's perspective - so here goes... First, this TV is massive. Its one thing to see it at the store, but taking it out of the box and squeezing it into a SUV to take home (not purchased from Amazon) is another. With the size comes weight. At around 100#'s you need to think ahead on this one. After dead lifting this thing onto the TV stand I sat and admired this piece of work. Quality plastic bezels, wonderfully sized screen, all without being tacky or cheap. After hooking it up and running through the menu for a quick few minutes, I realized that there is quite a bounty of options from the typical color balance to the most welcomed screen burn-in support. I haven't spent much time tinkering around but I must say it's a nice setup. After surfing for a while on both SD and HD stations I would say that the SD channels are on par with what one would expect from a 480i. The real gem is seeing the 1080i channels (no 1080p channels yet). I was ready to reach out and touch the screen given the size and resolution I was looking at. Though I don't watch 'Wheel of Fortune', once aired on 1080i I was ready to take a spin! As far as movies are concerned I haven't hooked up my DVD player to it yet, but that review will be added on. I do, however, have my Wii connected and it looks great through component cables. I haven't noticed picture quality issues with either regular TV station or during gaming, but you do get out what you put in. The sound quality on the stock speaker setup is farley nice, though I'll be upgrading to 5.1. The arrangement of the silver side bezel actual pans the sound from the back of the unit and spreads it around the room more effectively. The remote is what it is, either you like it or hate it. It has some nice button setups so you don't have to go hunting for things in the main menu. I would definitely recommend purchasing this TV if you're looking for a nicely designed TV with great picture quality. If you have any questions, don't hesitate.

Update: The image on the Amazon site is not the FPT5084 model. Go to Samsung.com and check out the actual image.

I did a lot of research before purchasing a HDTV. I considered LCD at first (Sony's top of the line looks good) however I feel that the colors on LCDs are a bit too vivid and at times even cartoony. Plasma has the quality of a CRT which I believe looks best but 50 inch tube sets don't exist and if they did they would probably weigh 1000 pounds.

So I ordered this TV about three weeks ago from Amazon. Hard to beat a great price, no tax, and no shipping. I ordered it on a Sunday and it arrived the following Saturday.

First off I am truly impressed by the picture quality - especially in HD. Almost true to life. Standard definition quality depends on the input. Using the built in tuner with a standard definition signal results in a fairly decent picture. However I have found that with an HDMI 480i input the TV does its best to deinterlace the signal but introduces odd vertical banding upon closer inspection. Using the component input does't exhibit this artifact. I believe this might be my old Moxi cable box or perhaps the nature of displaying a low resolution picture on a high resolution panel - I need to do some further experimentation.

Update: It's the TV that is causing the vertical banding when the input is at 480i. From a distance it cannot be noticed. An HD signal is the way to go with this TV.

I have connected the plasma to my Xbox 360 through the component cables. Unfortunately I have an older Xbox without the HDMI output. I was happy to find the TV accepted the Xbox output of 1080p. I also have the HD-DVD drive attached to the Xbox but unfortunately when playing movies the Xbox will only output 1080i. In order to get 1080p when watching HD movies I need to use the VGA input (new cable) or get a newer Xbox 360 with the HDMI output. Nevertheless the HD-DVD movies look fantastic even at 1080i. I suppose the set might deinterlace the 1080i films to 1080p internally through a 3:2 pulldown process the specs say nothing of this however.

Update: TV does not support 3:2 pulldown with 1080i input however I'm not sure if one would notice.


I have also experiemented with connecting this TV to my computer which supports 1920x1080 through an HDMI cable. I was surprised to find that at 1920x1080 @ 60 hertz the characters on the screen appeared a bit blurred. I suspect that the HDMI input at 60 hertz causes the set to use the scaling circuitry that introduces some artifacting (that's just guess). When I set the computer to output 1920x1080 @ 30 hertz the characters appear crisp and clean. Bit of a bummer since its all about having a high refresh rate when using this panel as a monitor. I haven't tried the VGA input yet but maybe it will bypass the scaling circuitry.

Update: Changing the TV to "Just Scan" bypasses the scaling and results in a fantastic 60 hz picture.

So now the bad news. After a couple of weeks of watching some steller HD content my television started to turn off sporatically. Now it doesn't turn on at all. When I plug it in I hear some relays click a few times as if its trying to start up and then silence for a few seconds, then click a few times... There is another reviewer on this site that wrote about the same problem so I know I'm not alone. Looks like there may be a few defective units out there. At any rate I called Amazon and they are going to send me a replacement. I haven't given up hope on this TV just yet. Hopefully I just got a lemon and it's not a pervasive problem. I'll let you know...

Update: The replacement TV arrived in a week. No complaints and I'm still in love.

Update 6-8-2011: Another blown fuse. I cut an access to get to fuse easy as suggested by another reviewer. I'm lowering my rating to one star because Samsung will not admit there is a problem with this TV.
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Update 4-27-2011: Almost 3 years and the TV cut off. No sound, Picture, Red indicator light. I called a few TV repair shops who wanted a minimum of $200 to fix with no warranty. I did some research on-line and found the problem is a 250v 12A ceramic slow-blow fuse and there is a You-tube video to show you how to replace. There is two fuses and I recommend changing both since they are so inexpensive. This fix lasted only 4 months so be prepared to do it again and again. Buy plenty of fuses because it will cost a lot for shipping and no one sells these fuses locally. I'm going to use another reviewers suggestion to cut an access hole where the fuses go next time they blow. It's worth fixing yourself for a couple dollars then to get rid of it!
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I'm no expert on TVs, but I feel I owe this to others on the fence between plasma and LCD. I have been on the fence now for about 4 months and read many reviews, reports, and visual comparisons on differences between the two. After much turmoil between them, I have decided on the Samsung 5084. This plasma is replacing my 36" JVC family room TV.

How I made my choice was:
First off, you can't go wrong with either choice. LCD's seem to cost much more in the 50" or larger size. In my case, the 52" Sharp LCD I was looking at cost $600 more then I paid for my plasma. It seems there is not much of a difference in picture quality. The sales people in Best Buy and Circuit City want to sell you the LCDs for some reason. I'm not saying you shouldn't listen to them, but, they couldn't give me a good enough reason to swing me. They tell you go for the LCD because of the dull finish to reduce light glare. I didn't see much glare on the Samsung to sway me. Even under the bright lights in those stores. Some will tell you there is loud buzzing which comes from plasmas, but, that is if you live in a high elevation area. I live in Southern New Jersey and I have to say, I hear no buzzing.

Before TV was delivered:
Buy the HDMI cable for best resolution in advance of delivery. If you are using Comcast, be sure to get the new cable box that allows you to connect HDMI from box to TV. You might have to go to a few stores till you find one. Comcast may even give you the cable.

After TV was delivered:
I like to say I was prepared, (for better or worse) after reading some of the horror stories. I had everything ready for the delivery men, all they needed to do was take TV out of box, connect HDMI cable, and plug it in. A little on the delivery first; TV came in not even a week after I ordered it (2 weeks ahead of the promise date) and was delivered a couple days latter. The guys were very nice and moved the big 36" JVC to another room for me. They unpacked the plasma, set it up, turned it on to be sure it worked, and offered to take the packaging with them (which I didn't take them up on, just in case). Don't forget to tip them. I read some reviews where the TV came in damaged, so I checked the box carefully before it was unpacked. Mine was fine!

Setting up TV:
I had a little problem finding cable channels, but that was my dumb fault. There is a setting you need to go into and change TV to HDMI. After you do that, WOW is all I can say, WHAT A PICTURE. Now, a little on the Glare Problem so many have written about. You have to be kidding! It is far better then my old 36" JVC. I would not let glare stop me unless you are used to watching TV in a very dark room. You should be fair to yourself, if you saw glare before with your old TV and it didn't bother you, why should it now. But, if it does, pay the extra $600 and enjoy your perfect world. Please don't get mad at me! But, this was one of my main concerns as to swing for the LCD. And to be honest, I see less glare with the plasma compared to the old TV.

DVD:
I was under the impression you needed a HD DVD or Blu Ray to watch movies; but, that is not true. Sure, I won't get that perfect 1080p picture. But, at least for now I don't have to plunk down another $300 for HD or Blu.Ray. For now or until the war is over, stick with what you have. If you are like me, it won't bother you much for now.

First week and Conclusion:
Yes, I have not had the TV very long. I hope I helped some people on the fence between plasma and LCD. Normally I don't say so too much in a review, however, I'm sure people have many questions I hope I addressed. Like I said in the beginning, I'm no expert. I'm happy with the default setting on the plasma, the light in the room (glare) does not bother me, I don't hear buzzing, and make sure you get HDMI cables and I think you will be happy. I know I am!

I ordered this set on Thursday, October 11th, and it arrived exactly a week later, on Thursday, October 18. For free shipping, not bad at all.

After calling two days in advance to notify us of the date and four hour delivery window, Eagle arrived on schedule and carried the set down some stairs to my lower level family room. Unfortunately, my wife did not insist that the delivery guys open the box to examine the contents before they left, but in fairness them, they offered to do so and my wife thought it unnecessary. Grrr.

So...I spent all day on Saturday buying cables, drilling holes, installing a wall mount, stringing speaker wire etc..., and on Sunday morning I was ready to unbox this baby, hang it on the wall and let the good times roll.

The set is shipped sitting upright on its stand, and you open the cardboard box it comes in by lifting straight up a single piece that constitutes the top and all four sides of the box. Afterwards, the set remains standing in a remaining bottom piece of the box, covered in a thin protective padding material. The bottom part of the TV and the stand were further protected by some large styrofoam pieces. So far, so good.

After digging out the plastic bag that contains the manual, remote, registration card, etc..., I reviewed the "getting started" guide and I was ready to proceed. While facing the back of the set I cut off the thin protective material, and then summoned my wife to help me lift my new toy from the bottom of the box so I could attach the wall mount brackets. Just as we were squatting down to lift, my 9-year-old and very excited daughter asked, "Dad, what are those thin little lines on the screen?"

Thin little lines, you say? What thin little lines? We don't need no stinking thin little lines! But sure enough, there they were. Lots of long, thin, profane cracks in the glass. Oh, the humanity.

After regathering my composure, my first call was to Eagle. The lady who answered the call asked for my shipment and phone number, and promised to have someone call me on Monday. She also suggested that I notify Amazon. I did so, and after requesting a phone call via Amazon's online help page, a nice Indian gentleman called me almost immediately. He was a bit difficult to understand, but he assured me that I would receive an email from Amazon in 2-3 days acknowledging the problem and indicating the status of a replacement TV. He also assured me that I would not be charged any shipping expense in the exchange.

A couple of hours later I got an email from Amazon asking me to reply to the following questions about the problem:

- What specifically is damaged on the television and when did it occur?
- Does the damage prevent the television from functioning properly?
- Did you sign the delivery checklist?
- Have you contacted Samsung about Warranty service, and if they were
unable to assist you, what is the case number you were given?

Although I'm assuming this was largely a form letter, the tone of the questions sounded a bit ominous to me, so I replied by saying that I assumed the damage occured in transit, that I didn't know (or care) whether the TV still worked since I never removed it from the box and never plugged it in, and that I had not contacted Samsung Service as I didn't consider this to be a serviceable problem. I just want a replacement TV. I haven't heard back from them yet.

I know this "review" is long and has nothing to do with the quality of the Samsung 5084, but I thought I'd post it anyway for the benefit of those who are wondering (like I had) exactly what happens in the event that the "unthinkable" happens and you order a $2,281 TV from Amazon that arrives broken. Since Amazon's communications have so far been good and I have no reason to fault anyone at this point, I'm leaving 5 stars.

I'll update this post as things play out, and hopefully we'll all come away from my unfortuate experience with renewed confidence that Amazon can be trusted to do the right thing even for big ticket items like my broken flat screen. I suspect they will.

**** UPDATE November 3, 2007 ****

I'm happy to report that Amazon replaced my damaged TV promptly (within a week or so) and without any conflict. Everyone with whom I came into contact, including the Eagle delivery people, were apologetic about the damage, courteous and thorough. After lodging the original damage report via Amazon's telephone contact service, subsequent communications with them were all handled via email. I did speak with Eagle a couple of times by telephone to arrange for pickup of the broken TV and delivery of the replacement. All in all, a very good ending to what could have been a very bad experience. Three cheers for the good guys.

Regarding the TV itself, it simply rocks. Like any TV it can only be expected to be as good as the signal you provide it (don't expect to be blown away by standard definition channels because you won't be - they are only so-so), but give this thing a clean hi-def signal and you'll be amazed at the depth, clarity and color it delivers. My daughter and I watched "Happy Feet" this morning over 1080i digital cable, and the image quality was stunning. I can't wait to see what it can do with a BlueRay 1080p feed, which my daughter and I hope to accomplish in the future using a PS3. Santa, I hope you're reading this too.

The first TV delivered to my house was damaged in transit. Amazon very graciously exchanged it for a new one. While waiting for the replacement TV to come, I enjoyed this one, except for the disturbingly loud buzzing that emanated from the back of the set, particularly when the screen was brightly lit (i.e., loudest buzzing on a pure white screen). The replacement TV that eventually came experienced the same buzzing, only 10 times worse. Also, within about two months, an entire row of pixels went black. In about the bottom third of the screen, I now have a black line exactly one pixel high the full width of the TV. Hmm. Is that bud luck, or what. Too late to send back to Amazon (only 30 day window for return), so I contact Samsung customer service.

BEWARE of Samsung customer service.

I'm informed that a third party support company will come out and look at my TV. They do, and confirm that the panel is bad. I'm told, however, that they will replace the panel, and not the TV. At least they leave it in the meantime, so I'm not without a TV, although I am suffering with a defective one.

One month later, still no replacement panel. The third party support company indicates that Samsung keeps promising to ship one, and keeps not shipping it. The third party support company submitted a request for a replacement TV, given the time that had elapsed, but Samsung DENIED this request, apparently hoping to run out the clock on a 12 month warranty by indefinitely delaying a replacement part. I checked "my samsung" to track the status of my repair, and have verified that the part is "on order" with an estimated ship date of "00/00/0000." I'm optimistically interpreting that as the year 10,000 AD, not 20,000 or 30,000. We'll see, though.

In short, don't buy a Plasma from Samsung. The buzzing is apparently endemic, they don't stand behind their products, and I'm lucky to have my panel develop a black line (another common problem with plasmas, apparently) while still within the anemic 12 month warranty period. I'd recommend an LCD, and preferably one from another vendor.