Samsung PN50C7000 50 inch Plasma TV
Nov 17th, 2010 | By SimonThe TV Menu has only seen minor revisions from when I started reviewing Samsung TVs. We still have the same primary menu pages: Picture, Sound, Channel, Setup, Input, Application and Support. One thing I did notice is the default picture modes have changed, in addition to Standard we have Dynamic and Movie but new to the group is Relax. Everything else appears to be pretty well the same.
Samsung has come up with a slightly more interactive menu to switch between the built-in applications: AllShare, Media Play, Internet@TV, Channel List and 3D. The content page can be activated from the remote with a press of a single button.
From here I can access MediaPlay and find my shared pictures on my computer or switch to a USB if I only want to share a selected number of videos, songs or pictures.
Here I have the first episode of Fringe playing off my USB drive. We can see that the black shadows are completely black and there’s no bleeding of color around the edge of the TV. The video is smooth and there’s no skipping or stuttering resulting from slow USB performance.
Music played off Media Play is also clear and crisp. Despite only have two 10 watt speakers and a small subwoofer, the sound is impressive. The bass is deep and the trebles are soft and don’t screech.
The last feature of Media Play is picture viewing. Images can be loaded onto the screen and you can create your own slide show with background music while entertaining guests.
The last tabbed menu in Media Play is configuring the settings.
More subtle in Media Play is how to change media sources. At the bottom of the screen you can change the device or view all of them by pressing the A (red) or D (blue) button on the remote.
Part of being able to browse my networked PC is having an active network connection. The network connection also unlocks a ton of other features on the PN50C7000 including news, weather, stock ticker, Facebook, Google Maps and twitter to name a few. You can activate the internet by pressing the Internet@TV button on the remote control. You will need to accept a few licenses and allow the apps to download. It only takes a few minutes and is well worth doing for the novelty factor.
Samsung has also partnered with Yahoo! to provide another set of widgets for the PN50C7000 – these can also be loaded with the push of one button on the remote. The widgets include pictures, weather, stock and sports. It’s very similar to the Samsung Apps so I won’t get into very much detail about them.
Looking at just the extras, Samsung has tried to make the PN50C7000 a very well rounded TV. Instead of just providing a great TV watching experience, they have tried to integrate themselves into your life by allowing you to stay up-to-date with friends, family and the world by using one of the many apps.