Samsung PS50A756 review

Last year we awarded the Samsung 50-inch plasma our Editors' Choice award for best TV. We picked it over an excellent Pioneer because the price was much lower and it offered a very decent level of performance. This year Pioneer has come back with even better TVs -- some of the best we've ever seen, in fact -- so when the new Samsung PS50A756 landed on our doorstep, we couldn't wait to see what it could do. 

Would it offer the same sort of picture quality as its rivals? To find out we've put it through its paces, and we have to say, it's an impressive TV. The A756 will be out in the UK soon, but pricing information is yet to be determined.

Design
Love it or hate it, the red finish on Samsung's 'touch of colour' range is certainly different. Honestly, we aren't that keen, but we don't especially want to mark the TV down for it, because the world of consumer electronics would be a boring place if everything looked the same. To be honest, in most homes you'll barely notice that this TV has red mixed into the bezel, and we'd say it's certainly not enough to put us off buying one.

The red finish also extends to the remote control, which has another new addition in the form of a scroll wheel. This device is designed to help you navigate menus and quickly adjust the volume and other similar settings. We actually like the remote supplied with these new screens, as it feels solid and the buttons are a decent size, even for people who have larger-than-average digits. It's also got a funky backlight, which should help you control the TV when the lights are dimmed on movie night.

At the back of the TV are a host of inputs and there are some more on the left-hand side of the screen too. The rear connections include three HDMI inputs, component, VGA and two Scart sockets. On the side there are USB, a fourth HDMI and composite and S-Video inputs.

Features
The Samsung is jam-packed with features, so we'll run through the most interesting ones here. Suffice to say, if you love toys, this TV has plenty to keep you happy for some time.

Wiselink Pro is Samsung's way of letting you look at photos, listen to music and now, watch video from USB devices. It includes a slick interface that allows you to chose what you want to watch or listen to. Even formats like XviD and DivX are supported, which means video from the Internet is easily playable.

InfoLive is a new feature that allows limited access to some RSS feeds provided by Yahoo. The list is hardly exhaustive, but you get on-screen access to stock information, weather data and the day's news. It's a nice extra, and saves turning your computer on to find out what sort of clothes you'll need for the British 'summer'.