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  • Introduction

  • Tour & Design

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Calibration

  • Remote Control

  • Connectivity

  • Audio & Menus

  • Multimedia & Internet

  • Power Consumption

  • Vs Panasonic TC-P42X1

  • Vs Samsung PN50A760

  • Vs Vizio SV471XVT

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparison

  • Introduction
  • Tour & Design
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Calibration
  • Remote Control
  • Connectivity
  • Audio & Menus
  • Multimedia & Internet
  • Power Consumption
  • Vs Panasonic TC-P42X1
  • Vs Samsung PN50A760
  • Vs Vizio SV471XVT
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparison

Introduction

Tour & Design

Front


The front bezel of the PN50C6500 is a little on the shiny side; as you can see in the photo below, it picks up reflections easily.

Back


The main features on the back of the PN50C6500 are the power socket and the gaggel of inputs and outputs in the bottom left corner. For information about the ports on the back of the Samsung PN50C6500 see our Connectivity section.

 

Sides


There are no significant features on the sides of the PN50C6500; there are no side inputs or outputs.  

Stand/Mount


The stand of the PN50C6500 is a simple affair, with a rounded base and a single column that connects to the bottom of the display itself. It feels solid; we would not expect the display to fall over or move in everyday use. Standard VESA monting ports are also present on the back of the display for wall mounting.

 

 

Controls


The touch controls are located on the right side of the bezel, and they are very sensitive; the slightest touch is enough to trigger them.

 

Remote Control


The remote has a similar design to the TV itself, with a simialr glossy front. It's a long, thin remote that has a lot of buttons and is a bit awkward to use.

 

In The Box*(7.0)*


You get a basic, but adequate set of extras with this HDTV: as well as the display and the remote, you get the power cord, quick setup gudie, cleaning cloth and a number of scres and other mounting hardware. If you want to wall mount the screen, you also get a plate that covers the hole in the bottom of the case where the stand fits. The stand itself is farily easy to install; you just slide it into the cavity on the bottom of the display and add a couple of screws.

Aesthetics*(7.0)*


The PN50C6500 has a clean, simple design that doesn't get in the way of the images on the screen. The controls on the bottom left corner could be a little distracting, but the approach of using raised buttons and very small logos works well; they aren't all that visible unless you are specificially looking for them.

Blacks & Whites

Black Level*(6.72)*


Black level refers to the darkest black the TV can display. A deep black level is important, because it allows the TV to display more details in dimly-lit scenes. Typically plasmas are capable of darker blacks than LCD TVs. 

The Samsung PN50C6500 had an above average black level compared to all TVs we've reviewed. Compared to just plasmas, the PN50C6500 is slightly below average. We measured the black level at 0.18 candelas per square meter (cd/m2), which is typically how a good LCD would perform. A good plasma will have a black level under 0.1 cd/m2.

Peak Brightness*(7.21)*


Peak brightness is important for the same reasons as black level. A brighter screen means a higher degree of differentiation in bright scenes. It also indicates how well the TV will be able to deal with external light. When external light shines on the TV, it can wash it out. A high peak brightness will mitigate this unwanted effect.

The PN50C6500 did well on this test. We measured its peak brightness at 218.29 candelas per square meter (cd/m2). This is an above average brightness. Typically plasmas have some issues with brightness, because they can't draw enough power to compete with backlit LCDs. While the PN50C6500 still can't compete with an LCD, it manages to do pretty well. 

Contrast*(6.34)*


Contrast refers to the ratio of the brightest white to the darkest black. Contrast is an important aspect of picture quality, because our eyes are very sensitive to it. A low contrast means fine details will be harder to pick up.

The PN50C6500 didn't have the greatest contrast ratio, but it wasn't horrible either. We measured it at about 1213:1. This is a much lower contrast ratio than many plasmas we've seen, but is on par with mid-to-low-range LCDs. 

 

Tunnel Contrast*(8.10)*


Our tunnel contrast test measures any changes in black level as more or less of the screen is comprised of black. Ideally, a TV should be able to reproduce its lowest black level regardless of how much of the screen is black. Plasmas typically have a hard time with this test, however, due to how their display technology works.

Despite having the disadvantage of being a plasma, the PN50C6500 did well here. Its black level did increase a bit as more and more of the screen was white, which was expected. While the increases are definitely not good, the black level didn't change by an unheard-of amount. 

White Falloff*(5.81)*


White falloff is like our tunnel contrast test, only with whites. We measure the brightness of a gradually growing patch of white. As the patch becomes a larger and larger percentage of the screen, its brightness shouldn't change. Typically, an LCD's output should remain constant. Plasmas have trouble maintaining a brightness, however, because it draws too much power.

The PN50C6500 is not an exception to the above rule. As the white patch grew, it dimmed. When the patch was small, the TV was able to display over 200 candelas per square meter (cd/m2). With 100% of the screen active, the PN50C6500 was only able to output about 67 cd/m2.

Uniformity*(9.0)*


We really didn't find any uniformity issues on the PN50C6500. The white screen was perfect, and the black screen's only imperfection was it had some slight image retention. Since this is a new plasma, this isn't surprising. After ten minutes or so, the ghost images would fade.

Greyscale Gamma*(9.28)*


Our greyscale gamma test measures the curve along which grey shifts to black and white. A smooth curve means a nice, steady progression. On the graph below, which has logarythmic growth along its X-axis, it should appear to be a straight line.

The PN50C6500 did well on this test. It didn't have a perfect progression through the greys, but the errors were very minor.

 

Color Accuracy

Color Temperature*(8.53)*


Color temperature is the overall color cast of the blacks and whites. Ideally, you want every shade on the greyscale curve to be 6500K. Typically color temperature can wander around a bit, either acquiring a bluish or reddish hue.

In the graph below, any fluctuations within the faintly shaded area are outside the limit of human perception. As you can see, the PN50C6500 managed to stay within this area up until the dark end of the spectrum. At that point it starts to wane a bit cool.

RGB Curves*(7.84)*


The PN50C6500 was solidly above average on our color representation tests, but they still had some issues. The reds', greens', and blues' performance results are graphed below. Although the lines had a good curve to them overall, they didn't progress very consistently. This means, as the colors' intensity is instructed to increase, the colors actually shift to a darker shade before progressing. In terms of actual viewing, this might lead to the loss of some minor details.

 

 

In the below table, we compare how a few TVs handle reds. All of them drop off to black before they should. Many of them peak out a bit earlier than they should. Some of them have a slight "staircase" effect, because the color doesn't shift smoothly from red to black. For the most part, the PN50C6500 did about the same as these other televisions. It might have slightly more issues with an even transition than the other TVs.

 

 

The PN50C6500 had a similar performance with green. Some of the other TVs had a slightly wider spectrum from green to black, and some had a smoother progression.

 

The PN50C6500 looks like it had a smoother transition here, but the individual errors are slightly more noticeable. Again, however, the blues drop out before they should.

Color Gamut*(6.65)*


The color gamut describes the spectrum of colors the TV can display. A TV's color gamut is supposed to adhere to an industry standard, called Rec. 709. If the TV's gamut is off from this standard, it means it'll be displaying different colors than it should. Most of the time these differences will be minor, but it can lead to over-saturation or give color cast to certain colors.

The PN50C6500 is slightly off across the board. Greens and reds are too saturated, and blue is slighly shifted towards red. Although none of the differences are staggering, they do exist. Given the TV's odd performance in the above section, however, we were surprised it stayed as close to Rec. 709 as it did. 

Below is a chart detailing our color gamut measurements compared to the rec. 709 standards. 

Motion

Motion Smoothness*(7.5)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 did a good job keeping motion blur to a minimum, something that plasma televisions tend to do very well. We saw very little blurring with a moving face, and a just a slight amount of blurring in middle greys, where televisions tend to struggle. Even with an interlaced signal where things got a bit more muddy you could still make out details in faces.

Motion Artifacting*(4.75)*


Unfortunately the Samsung PN50C6500 didn't fare as well when dealing with motion artifacts. Artifacts are things that appear on the screen that shouldn't be there and indicate problems with the television's processing. We noticed the screen got very noisy with moving objects, and there was some significant false contouring occurring with moving faces when dealing with an interlaced signal. We also saw bright leading edges with moving blocks of color and a rolling shutter effect in areas of high contrast. We've seen worse, but the number of artifacts in one television is a bit much.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps*(8.5)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 did a good job with the 3:2 pulldown process, which is used to convert content into 24 frames per second (fps) in order to give you a film-like look. We noticed some minor glitches with our test pattern, and some crawling when viewing content, but neither was significant. The PN50C6500 also supports native 24fps content from a DVD or Blu-ray player.

 

 

Resolution Scaling*(6.25)*


Televisions often play content that isn't their native format. To do this, they either upconvert or downconvert, which requires a lot of processing on the TV's part. This processing is never perfect and can sometimes create some unwanted visual effects.

480p

The PN50C6500 did a good job emulating 480p, which is the format used by standard definition television. There was some slight overscan: 3% vertical and 2% horizontal. The TV also had some minor issues with Moire interference, meaning fine patterns get smudged together in the processing and create different patterns. In the PN50C6500's case, some patterns had the additional issue of blacks inverting to whites and vice versa.

72**0p**

First of all, the Moire interference was at its worst here. Some patterns had a slight shimmery cast, some boxes were a flat grey color with noise in the background, and some patterns had rolling gradients. It was really a grab bag of artifacting. Text wasn't particularly legible either.

1080i

Broadcast HD content uses 1080i. The TV didn't do so well here. The downconverting resulted in some odd Moire interference. Some patterns changed into odd rolling gradients. Text was also far less legible. On the brighter side, there wasn't any overscan.

 

Viewing Effects

Formats*(10.00)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 is a 1080p HDTV, which means that it can display content at a maximum resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels at 60 frames a second. This means that it can't directly handle higher resolution signals: 1080i and 1080p signals will both be scaled down to fit the lower resolution that this screen runs at. What this means is that you won't be able to enjoy content such as Blu-ray HD movies at their highest possible resolution.

 

Viewing Angle*(11.37)*


As is typical with Plasma televisions the Samsung PN50C6500 help up very well when viewed from a variety of angles. In our testing the contrast ratio did not drop below 50% until it got out to 70 degrees. You can see below that this is comparable to the other two plasma televisions to which we are comparing it, and significantly better than lone LCD model, the Vizio SV471XVT. Not only did the contrast ratio hold up well, but colors also held up well, with no obvious fading even at wide angles.

Reflectance*(6.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's is very reflective, with almost no diffusion on light displayed on it. As the screen is so large this means in practice that light direct light doesn't effect much but a small area of the screen, for example we didn't see the streaking we've seen on other Samsung HDTVs, which made the whole experience only slightly annoying rather than really annoying.

Video Processing*(4.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500, like most HDTVs, offers a variety of different video processing options. Here we look at each and see whether they actually provide any benefit.

The result is that most of these options do in fact make a visible impact. We generally recommend leaving these off, but if you're unhappy with the quality of your picture it can be worth playing with these options.

Calibration

Calibration


[

](http://www.displaymate.com/) Televisions rarely come out of the  box with perfect picture quality. To make sure we're scoring TVs based on their optimal performance, we first calibrate them. Our calibration software is DisplayMate and we take measurements with a CS-200 ChromaMeter.

Below is a chart that outlines the changes we've made. If it isn't listed below, we didn't change it. Feel free to use these calibrated settings. The only caveat is that these settings aren't optimized for your own personal viewing environment. If you really want the best quality, you could pay a professional to bring their own CS-200 ChromaMeter into your viewing area and calibrate the TV for you.

 

Video Modes


The PN50C6500 has three video modes. We dislike a cluttered video mode section, so we see this as a positive.

Remote Control

Ergonomics & Durability*(7.1)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's remote is very similar to other remotes we've seen from Samsung televisions. The remote is long, with a glossy black front and a matte black back. The lower end of the remote is a large bulge that provides excellent balance and makes it very comfortable to hold, although we would have appreciated a slightly more tack surface as the black plastic is a bit slick. The remote feels well made and is studded with buttons up and down the face. The buttons are made of a soft plastic that's easy on the fingers, with good key travel. The tacticle feedback when buttons are pressed isn't very good, however. The remote also lacks a backlight, which is a shame since Samsung usually do a good job with their backlights. Still, overall the remote is comfortable to hold and use.

Button Layout & Use*(6.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's remote is studded with buttons throughout the face. With the remote held at nuetral around the bulge towards the bottom your thumb sits comfortably over the directional pad. Unfortunately the volume and channel buttons are placed a bit further away than we would like, meaning those with smaller hands will have to stretch or shift their hand to reach them. The labeling on the remote is large and easy to read, but some of the labels are a bit arcane. Using the number pad to switch to another channel will require you to shift your hand up to towards the top of the remote, a drawback of it's length. This is also true for accessing the power button. The remote can control the television from a very oblique angle, as long as you make sure to point it towards the bottom right area where the infrared receiver is located.

Programming & Flexibility*(1.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's remote cannot be used as a universal remote to control other devices in your home theatre setup. It can be used to control other Samsung devices connected to the television via HDMI cable, using Samsung's proprietary Anynet+ system. We're not big fans of such proprietary setups, so we're only awarding a single point for it.

Connectivity

Input Ports*(4.25)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's doesn't have the most connectivity options or the best layout for them, but you shouldn't have too many issues hooking up your A/V devices. The TV has four HDMI ports and has a shared component/composite input. You'll also find a VGA input with accompanying 3.5mm audio input and an ethernet port.

 

We aren't fans of the L-shaped port design, because the downward-facing ports are very hard to access. If you're planning to wall mount the display, however, it's definitely a nice feature for keeping cables hidden.

Output Ports*(2.0)*


As with most HDTVs the Samsung PN50C6500 offers two audio out ports, one digital audio out and one analog audio out.

Other Connections*(0.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 doesn't offer any additional connecitivy features like Wireless of Bluetooth.

Media*(0.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 doesn't include any of the media ports we've seen on higher end Samsung HDTVs like a USB port.

Placement*(6.5)*


The Samsung PN50C6500's ports are arranged in the aforementioned L-shaped design, making the downward-facing ports a bit difficult to access. The stand does swivel, however, which makes things a little easier to access.

Audio & Menus

Audio Quality*(7.0)*


The PN50C6500 has two 10 watt speakers built into the body of the display which face down. We found that these produced plenty of volume and decent quality sound, with strong bass and clear, bright high frequencies. There are several different audio modes on offer (standard, music, movie, clear voice plys a custom mode) which determine the settings of a 5-band equalizer. The pseudo-surround sound SRS TruSurround HD system is also on offer, which boosts the bass and provides a slight surround sound effect, but it doesn't come anywhere near the real surround sound that a proper 5.1 or higher surround sound system can offer. One intereting feature is the ability to easily switch between the built-in speakers and an external set conencted to one of the audio outputs, so you could use the built-in speakers for watching the news, then switch over to a seperate surround sound system to watch a movie. 

Menu Interface*(7.0)*


The on-screen menu of the PN50C6500 uses the same cross-tabbed approach as other Samsung TVs. The menu is divided into 5 main sections (Picture, Sound, Setup, Input and Support) and you move between them with the up and down buttons on the directional control. Pressing the right button takes you into the sub-menus where you can access the individual features.

We found that the menu was somewhat laggy; we often had to wait a second or two while the display caught up with the keypresses, which was somewhat frustrating.

Manual*(6.0)*


The PN50C6500 comes with a quick-start guide which is good enough to get you going; it describes all of the basic connections required to set the display up in a good level of detail. A more in-depth manual is also available online here, but a printed version is not included with the display.

Multimedia & Internet

 

Internet Features*(7.0)*


The playing field for streaming content and internet features is slowly being leveled. Earlier in 2010, Sony had a strong lead over all the other TV manufacturers. But now, in November, nearly every TV with an ethernet jack has a decent selection of video and audio selections. Samsung has Netflix, which is really the most important online feature, but it also has a good amount of supplementary content. For the full run-down, read our special article that compares all the streaming content packages from different manufacturers.

 

Photo Playback*(8.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 can play back photos from a USB thumb drive or a full-sized hard drive via the two USB ports. When you plug your device it, the TV will first ask you if you want to access photos, videos, or music. Make your choice. If you pick photos, you'll get a screen like you see below. You can view photos one by one, or create slideshow, complete with music from the same storage device.

Music & Video Playback*(6.0)*


Music and video clip playback is similar to the photo playback described above. You can access media from USB thumb drives or HDDs with USB connections.

Other Media*(1.0)*


The Samsung PN50C6500 can connect to other Samsung AV devices that have the AllShare feature.

Power Consumption

Power Consumption*(7.2)*


As is typical of Plasma televisions the Samsung PN50C6500 uses up a lot more power than your typical LCD HDTV, using an average of 286.3 Watts in our testing. This is with the screen calibrated to a brightness of 200 candelas per meter squared, which is the standard we use to ensure that you can compare our power consumption results. Below you can see the PN50C6500's power consumption at both this calibrated level and with the cell light setting turned all the way up and all the way down.

You can see that the Samsung PN50C6500's power consumption will cost you $55.91 per year. That number is derived from the average price of power and average viewing habits across the nation. Below you can see that the PN50C6500's cost is significantly higher than the LCD Vizio SV471XVT, despite that being a smaller television. This is because the Vizio is an LCD television, which tend to be more power efficient. The other two comparison models are plasmas and also have higher than average consumption for their size class.

Vs Panasonic TC-P42X1

 

Value Comparison Summary


Both of these TVs are larger, entry-level plasmas. The PN50C6500 is eight inches bigger and, understandably, costs more money. Both TVs also performed about the same on quite a few of our picture quality tests. The TC-P42X1 had a much deeper black level, but its peak brightness was absurdly dim, leading to a very poor contrast ratio overall. Both TVs had very similar color accuracy performances and viewing angles. The TC-P42X1 had an SD card slot that allowed for some additional media playback options. Both TVs are budget options, with the PN40B430 representing the more expensive, higher quality option.

 

Blacks & Whites


The Samsung had a higher black level than the Panasonic did, but its peak white was also much higher. The result is a higher contrast ratio overall. If you're looking for a deep black, the Panasonic has the Samsung beat.

Color Accuracy


Both TVs had solid color temperatures. Both had some minor issues with their color representation, but the Samsung managed to have a slightly more accurate color representation overall. Neither TV had the most accurate color gamut. There is very little difference between the PN50C6500 and the TC-P42X1 in terms of color accuracy.

Motion


Both TVs handled blur about as well and had issues with artifacting. The Samsung was slightly better on blur reduction, but showed slightly more artifacting than the Panasonic.

Viewing Effects


Both TVs had an impressive viewing angle. The Samsung's was slightly larger.

Connectivity


The TC-P42X1 has an SD card slot on its side. If your card has photos on it, you can view them on the TV.

Other Comparisons


As outlined in the connectivity section, the Panasonic has an SD card slot. With this you can utilize the TV's basic photo viewer. This is the only major feature one TV has that the other doesn't.

Vs Samsung PN50A760

 

Value Comparison Summary


This comparison elucidates the difference in quality between a lower-end and higher-end set. Both are made by Samsung. Both are 50-inch plasmas. The A760 scored better than the B430 in many areas, but often not by a huge amount. The A760 had a much deeper black level and better overall contrast ratio and had more accurate colors as well. Its LAN and USB connections allow users to access additional content. These improvements all come at a very steep price increase, however.

 

Blacks & Whites


The PN50A760 was capable of a much deeper black than the PN50C6500. The B430 was capable of a slightly brighter white, but not by much. Overall, the A760 had a higher overall contrast ratio and better overall performance on our blacks & whites tests. 

Color Accuracy


Neither TV had much trouble on our color temperature test. Both had very similar results on our color accuracy test. The PN50A750 had a much more accurate color gamut compared to the PN50C6500.

Motion


Both TVs did well on our smoothness tests and both had issues with artifacting. The PN50A760 out-performed the PN50C6500 on both tests.

 

Viewing Effects


Both TVs had great viewing angles, but the PN50A760 maintained an acceptible contrast ratio out to 85º from front and center.

 

Connectivity


The PN50A760 is a higher-end set and, as such, has a better selection of ports. The main two are the LAN and USB ports, which give access to additional media playback features. The VGA port is also useful for hooking up a computer or other compatable device.

 

Other Comparisons


The main differences here come via the PN50A760's USB and LAN ports. Both of these ports give the TV access to additional media content. While the PN50A760's online offerings aren't particularly impressive, that could improve with time. 

Vs Vizio SV471XVT

Value Comparison Summary


Here we've put the PN50C6500 up against the Vizio SV471XVT. The SV471XVT is an LCD TV with a native resolution of 1080p. The SV471XVT also costs significantly more than the PN50C6500. Almost across the board, the PN50C6500 matches the SV471XVT's scores. The main feature the SV471XVT has over the PN0B430 is its USB port. You can hook up a flash drive and play back pictures, videos, and music. While the PN50C6500 has its foibles, it's certainly a better option for those who want a large TV for a small price.

Blacks & Whites


The Vizio's black level wasn't very good, but its peak white was better than the Samsung's. Both TVs had roughly equivalent contrast ratios, but the Samsung's was slightly better.

Color Accuracy


Both TVs did well on our color temperature test. Neither had any flagrant shifts towards blue or red. Both TVs performed similarly on our color accuracy test. Both TVs were off in their color gamut, but the Samsung had more significant mistakes than the Vizio.

Motion


The PN50C6500 had some issues with artifacting, but didn't have too much trouble with blurring. The SV471XVT performed better on both these tests.

 

Viewing Effects


This is an easy comparison. The SV471XVT has a very narrow viewing angle, because it's an LCD. The PN50C6500, as a plasma, nearly tripled  the SV471XVT's viewing angle.

Connectivity


The SV471XVT has many more ports than the PN50C6500 does. The PN50C6500 is an lower-range 50-inch TV, so we expected to see a somewhat sparse port collection.

Other Comparisons


The Vizio has an additional feature set that the Samsung does not: additional media playback functionality. You can plug a flash drive into the Vizio and play back picture, video, and music files.

Conclusion

 

Series Comparison

Samsung Plasma 4-Series


The Samsung PN50C6500 is the lowest-end model in Samsung 4-series of Plasma HDTVs. In addition to this model there are two C6500 models, which are available in 50 and 42 inch size. The key difference between them is that the lowest end B430 model, the one we are reviewing here, has only two HDMI inputs, while the C6500 models have three.

Meet the tester

Mark Brezinski

Mark Brezinski

Senior Writer

@markbrezinski

Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.

See all of Mark Brezinski's reviews

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