Samsung PN50C6500

PN50C6500

As 50-inch 1080p plasma sets go, the Samsung Series 6500 PN50C6500TF (listed at $1500 on Samsung's site, available for approximately $1200 to $1300 at online stores as of April 10, 2011) delivers all the connected features you could ask for in Samsung's typically user-friendly package. This set is an older model (from 2010), however, and--though its image quality was quite good--its so-so audio, bare-bones hardware, and lack of 3D support reflected its age. In our juried subjective image quality tests, the Series 6500 earned the highest average scores (by a small margin) in its test group of four HDTVs for brightness/contrast, detail/sharpness, and overall image quality. Judges particularly noted its good off-axis image quality. But the tests also demonstrated that the days when plasmas routinely trounced LCD TVs at handling motion are long gone: The three LED-backlit LCDs in the test group significantly outperformed the Samsung plasma set on our motion tests, especially on a diagonal panning shot of a city. This may not be the plasma TV to buy if you want to watch fast sports on it. The Series 6500 PN50C6500TF may not appeal to people who are watching their energy bill, either.