Samsung PN58A650 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV with Touch of Color

Samsung is pushing the envelope of what's possible in plasma HDTVs with its new line-up of plasma models, notably the 58-inch PN58A650, profiled here.

Aesthetically, these series 550, 650, and other sets share the "Touch of Color" bezel design with Samsung's newest LCD offerings. The subtly colored bezels are a matter of taste, perhaps a quesiton of whether the color matches the design scheme in your viewing room.

But as the saying goes, it's what's on the inside that counts, so let's dive in with this quick feature review of the PN58A650.

Getting the obvious out of the way, the PN58A650 delivers full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080p, which lets you see your high definition content from sources like Blu-Ray disc players, and Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 gaming consoles, in their full glory.

The PN58A650 is powered by Samsung's unique Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) which has been praised for delivering stunning picture quality in comparison vs. other top LCD TVs from the likes of Sony, Toshiba, Sharp and others.

The PN58A650 registers a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, a number that reflects the deepest blacks and brightest whites that a set is capable of producing, enhanced by various technologies to deliver the most natural looking colors and vivid detail.

And speaking of color, the PN58A650 employs Samsung's Natural True Color 18-bit processor to produce a vast array of stunning color that has to be seen to be believed.

But don't forget sound, as it's half the home theatre experience. The PN58A650 is no slouch here, benefiting from Samsung's SRS TruSurround XT system, which aims to simulate the surround sound you hear watching movies at your local multiplex.

Samsung says the panel life of the PN58A650 should be 100,000 hours, which means if you watch 6 hours of television per day, you'll be enjoying this television for in the range of 45 years.

An essential point to consider in any HDTV purchase is: does the set have enough inputs for all my components? Here the PN58A650 won't let you down, offering 4 HDMI connections and a wide array of other inputs to ensure virtually all your gear can connect.

Finally, don't let any Internet review make your decision for you. Complete your research by finding out what other "real people" think about the PN58A650. Here's a link to some reader reviews of this set at Amazon.com.

Compare the Samsung PN58A650 to these big-screen Plasmas: