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PS50Q97HDX Setup & Design
Setup
Weighing in at 44kg and spanning 4 feet in width, the Samsung PS50Q97HDXBuy this for £760.49 at Dixons
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Inside the box I found the usual accessories such as infrared remote, power cable and operation manual. I thumbed through the manual at record speed – I've tested so many Samsung HDTVs in recent months that I'm sure I could operate this plasma blindfolded. Still, because screen burn prevention was mentioned a few times on the very first page of the manual, all credit to Samsung for highlighting this issue so early in the game.
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Interestingly a couple of ferrite cores are included with the Samsung PS50Q97HDXBuy this for £760.49 at Dixons
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Design
The PS50Q97HDX is fitted with Samsung's patented Ultra Filterbright™ anti-reflective film which works by absorbing external light and allowing internal light coming from the TV to pass through. If you're expecting LCD-like matte quality, you're going to be severely disappointed because all the Ultra Filterbright™ did was to "dampen" the reflections – I could still see objects reflected especially during low-light scenes, just slightly more diffused compared to regular plasmas.
The screen is framed by a now-ubiquitous piano black bezel that widens at the bottom to accommodate Samsung's logo and round power button at the centre. A chrome strip which extends forward a quarter of an inch along the whole bottom of the panel differentiates it cosmetically from the Q96 series. Sandwiched between this chrome strip and the power button is a blue LED that can be lit either when powered, during standby, or all the time.
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| Logo, power button, light & chrome strip | Back of the panel |
The oval swivel base is finished in gleaming black, nicely complementing the bezel. Unlike the LE40M86BD LCD, the glossiness does not extend to the back of the panel, but I would have appreciated a couple of handgrips tacked on there to make lifting this beast easier. Still, the whole unit seems solidly screwed together... for those among you who value the aesthetics of a TV even when switched off, the Samsung PS50Q97HDXBuy this for £760.49 at Dixons
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Connections
The Samsung PS50Q97HDXBuy this for £760.49 at Dixons
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Then code 'DELTV' for free delivery has enough connection interfaces to satisfy most viewers. At the rear in a recessed compartment lie two HDMI (albeit version 1.2 only, but there's so little material out now that fully utilises 1.3 anyway), one VGA, two Scarts, one component and one RF connection. Here you can also choose to output analogue or digital (optical) audio from the plasma TV.
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An S-video, a composite, one additional HDMI port and a headphone out jack complete the bundle of connections found on Samsung PS50Q97HDXBuy this for £760.49 at Dixons
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Then code 'DELTV' for free delivery. On the right side you will find a few control buttons whose functions are duplicated on the infrared remote.
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