The PN51F4500 ($849) is Samsung's entry-level plasma series for 2013. That means no 3D, smart content, or wacky features. For that cheap price, you're buying a basic display with a 720p native resolution.
We put the F4500 through the usual rigorous paces in the lab, and discovered decent performance in all the key areas. Its healthy contrast ratio is bolstered by both quality black levels and an acceptable amount of light output. As usual, the F4500's plasma tech makes for smooth, blur-free motion, especially at 720p or lower resolutions, though things tend to interlace and blur more with 1080p source material. The F4500 preserves subtle color detail, but is not as vibrant in hue as it could be.
samsung 51 plasma 720p best picture settings for lg
Contrast is hugely important to good picture quality. A TV's contrast ratio is a measure of its maximum luminance divided by its minimum luminance, and the resulting number (which averages around 1000:1) says a lot about its overall quality. The F4500 may be the runt of Samsung's plasma litter, but it's a litter that's literally littered with quality shadow tones.
The Samsung F4500 is a great entry-level plasma with beautiful blacks and shadows. If you are sitting close to the television, though, its low resolution (720p) will bother you. Also, the panel reflects a lot of ambient light, so this television is more suitable for a basement or for those who watch television at night.
This TV is perfect for that dark living room environment or home theater due to its relatively low light output and brightness. Viewing and testing showed the deepest black levels to be very rich, even as peak white was less than average. Combined though contrast looks good and the TVs picture quality is fantastic with smooth motion, excellent realistic color rendition, inky blacks, and top quality dark shadow detail. In a very bright room with lots of sunlight, this may not be the best TV for you due to the lower brightness levels.
When getting a plasma TV you reasonably expect a high-quality picture, but there are certain factors that may impede it. Flimsy cables, old sources (tech such as VCRs) and even poor location can all degrade the picture of a good TV. With a bit of tweaking and calibration, which you will find in this article, you can significantly improve your quality experience without much effort.
Our recent reviews and especially comparison reviews have shown us that Samsung is making a superior plasma television. Realistic colors, rich contrast and fantastic overall picture quality. We continue to be impressed by Samsung's plasma offerings.
Samsung F5300 Series Near the bottom of the line, the F5300 series loses all the bells and whistles of both plasma models above it in the 2013/14 lineup. What remains is a plasma TV with excellent picture quality at a budget price. All of the sizes are available making this an excellent budget choice for just about any room.Samsung PN64F5300, Samsung PN60F5300, Samsung PN51F5300
Samsung F4500 Series The F4500 series plasma falls at the bottom of the totem pole for Samsung's plasma lineup this year. It features a 720p screen and a slim design. That's about all that is included, but the strong picture quality of plasma displays is present as always. Samsung also has a F4550 version that features a cool gray cabinet.Samsung PN51F4500, Samsung PN43F4500
Samsung E490 Series In a push to get 3D into every one's living room Samsung produces series like the E490, a 720p 3D plasma television available in 2 sizes. They replace the popular D490 from last year and should be good sellers in 2012. The E490 is improved with the Real Black Filter that was found on top tier models last year and improve the contrast of the plasma panel.Samsung PN59E490, Samsung PN51E490
Samsung E450 Series The E450 replaces last year's budget priced line of D450 plasma televisions. The 720p plasma panel sees a significant improvement with the addition of the Real Black Filter, a feature found in top tier plasmas last year. The Real Black Filter improves contrast and black levels b absorbing ambient light.Samsung PN51E450, Samsung PN43E450
Samsung D6500 Series See ReviewThe D6500 is another line of +1 plasmas from Samsung for 2011, lacking a few features of the more expsinve D8000, the D6500 retains the looks and near perfect picture quality of the flagship model at a lower price. This mid-price 3D plasma packs plety of features.Samsung PN59D6500, Samsung PN51D6500
Samsung D490 Series The D490 are entry level 3D plasmas, they feature a 720p and active 3D technology. These plasma offer 3D at a budget price. As a 720p 3D plasma the D490 series is unique in the 3D market offering this desireable feature at a very low price point.Samsung PN51D490, Samsung PN43D490
Samsung D450 Series The D450 represents the entry level for Samsung plasma in 2011, it also contains the only sub 51" plasma for this year. This budget priced model eschews many of the bells and whistles of the higher end models to bring plasma picture quality in at a very low price.Samsung PN51D450, Samsung PN43D450
2010 Samsung 4 Series The 2010 4 series plasmas continue Samsung's affordable 720p plasma line. Most HD programming is still in 720p so the majority of the time you won't be missing out on resolution. Samsung PN42C430, Samsung PN50C430, Samsung PN42C450, Samsung PN50C450
Full-array local dimming backlight: This term refers to a TV technology in which the backlight is behind the LCD panel and has individual zones that can turn on and off depending on the content. Such TVs are usually larger and more expensive to build and design, and more zones cost more. However, TVs with full-array local dimming typically provide the best LCD picture quality by improving contrast ratios and shadow detail.
Budget HDTVs don't usually have great pictures, they don't often come in large sizes, and they very rarely have 3D. The Samsung PN51E490B4F surprises us with a solid picture, a 51-inch plasma screen, and active 3D with two pairs of glasses included. At $689.99 (direct) there are some compromises, though; it's only 720p in a world of 1080p screens and its black levels aren't the greatest. Still, it's an affordable way to get a big-screen 3D movie experience into your home for less than $700. As a result, it's our new Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs.
We test HDTVs with a Konica-Minolta CS 200 ChromaMeter, DisplayMate test patterns, and SpectraCal's CalMAN software. According to our tests, the PN51E490B4F did surprisingly well in all fields except black levels. Since it's a plasma, it put out only 43.43 cd/m2 with the entire screen lit up white, but its spot white level was a solid 225.08 cd/m2. Its black levels were disappointing but not surprising for a budget TV; it only reached 0.08 cd/m2, a mediocre score at best. Combined, the screen has a contrast ratio of 2,814:1.
The color levels were nearly perfect. The PN51E490B4F has only a few picture settings: three picture modes and a basic red-green tint slider in addition to the standard brightness, contrast, sharpness, and saturation levels. The Standard and Dynamic settings produced terrible results, but Movie mode made the screen render colors with excellent accuracy, as seen in the CIE color comparison chart below. Green leaned slightly cool, but red and blue channels were spot-on.
I watched scenes from Apocalypse Now Redux on Blu-ray, and the PN51E490B4F performed very well for its price. The overcast skies were neutral and the colored smoke of the signals and the flames of the napalm strikes popped out vividly. While it was slightly weak in shadow detail, it still produced fine aspects of the dark patterns of the uniforms, and I could see every contour of Robert Duval's cavalry hat. Colors seemed slightly oversaturated out of the box, but that's one of the few picture settings you can adjust to get it to the right level.
Since it's a plasma HDTV, the PN51E490B4F is a power hog. With no energy saving features turned on, it consumes an average of 176 watts. With the energy saving feature set to Medium, it consumes an average of 123 watts, but the screen borders on too dark to watch comfortably. The best compromise is the Low energy saving setting, which keeps the screen bright and consumes an average of 150 watts.
For less than $700, the Samsung PN51E490B4F is an inexpensive way to get a large, 3D-capable HDTV into your home. Its colors are surprisingly accurate, and while its black levels are unimpressive, it looks good for its price. Its only weaknesses are its 720p resolution and its lack of online services, and you can fix the latter issue with almost any 3D Blu-ray player, set-top box, or game console. We haven't tested many large HDTVs in this price range, since there aren't many models to which this is directly comparable, but the Vizio M3D550KD our previous Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs, comes close. If you want a big, 3D picture in your home and don't mind making a few compromises for a very low price, this is the screen to beat. 2ff7e9595c
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