Samsung Series 4 HD D450

Say what? – TV clarity was good, connectivity options were good, form factor was good as well. Even the remote had a nice shape to it and was entirely intuitive. Now, granted that most people would be using the TV in conjunction with a separate sound system when watching movies, we, however, watch Free to Air on this TV as well. Unfortunately, the built in speakers are just plain awful. No matter what audio setting I use, it's just hard to understand what people are saying. This problem is not isolated to this particular model though as my cousin has another Samsung in a different series and has the same problem as well. So, if you will be watching anything on this TV without a separate sound system, I suggest you think twice.

Sound is underpowered and not clear.

Great quality for little money – As the person in charge of researching and purchasing TVs for the family, this is my 6th TV purchase and my first plasma. At 43 inches, the D450 (PS43D450A2M) is an unusual model. With a resolution of 1,365 x 768, it is not 'full HD' but being only a medium sized screen, this isn't a problem. Picture quality is very reasonable. CGI and animations look fantastic. The lighting is quite dim and night scenes are badly affected at times. I'd recommend viewing it in a dark room for best results.

I have the screen plugged into a PC to watch movies. It does this splendidly although due to its resolution, I wouldn't recommend using it as a PC monitor as the image is not refined enough for computer text.

The menu system is pretty standard and easy to use. You can plug in a USB stick or USB HDD to view media. It was pleasant to see that the Samsung would accept some MKV files as other TVs with USB often do not.

Surprisingly, the D450 has an energy star rating of 5.5/6 stars! It actually uses less energy than comparable LCD screens from manufacturers such as Sony. So if anyone tells you plasmas are the least efficient, you can say, 'Not necessarily'.

Where cost-cutting is evident is with the connections. Among the usual ports, the D450 only has 2 HDMI ports. One must decide if this is enough for all their media needs.

Physically, the unit is very tidy if you don't mind the shiny black plastic look.

What makes this unit stand out is the pricing. In January 2012, this unit was obtainable for around $486! At this price, one can usually only purchase Chinese brands or LG. Still, I would have paid at least $100 more for this unit - makes me feel silly for ever considering paying over a grand. Excellent value, energy efficient. Only 2 HDMI connections.