Dell W5001C Review
Date reviewed: February 18, 2006
Price when reviewed: $3,399.00 from DELL.com. List price: $3,799.99.
Reviewed by: F. Rabi
Dude, I got a Dell. And this thing is huge. Fifty inches of glorious high-definition plasmasm (rhymes with orgasm). I read somewhere that DELL is the fastest growing seller of flat-panel displays and now I know why. The DELL W5001C is almost a glorious entity. A god among heathens that dare compare themselves. A rose petal atop the swine of its competitors. A ...
Anyway, is this thing really as good as it looks while sitting in it's box? And is it worth it? During my first few days with this set there were a few surprises.
Introduction
To be honest, I was a bit worried about buying the DELL W5001C when it first came out. I recalled earlier stories of Dell's previous foray in the high-definition plasma arena, the W4200HD - people complained that it had a fan that was too loud. Several customers also complained of HDMI connectivity issues. Many even heard a buzzing sound from the panel itself. However, having said that - when Dell came out with the W5001C, they seemed to respond directly to these complaints. The W5001C has a fanless design and has an improved connectivity panel. I bought the set from Dell.com for $400 less than the list price using a coupon I found at www.funkyfoof.com. I received the set about 3 weeks later.
The Dell W5001C looked very promising on paper. It had all the inputs I would need and then some, it has a resolution capable of showing "true" high-definition programming, and it has a contrast ratio that is amongst the highest in the industry. What could possible go wrong?
While I was initially impressed with the svelte exterior and the feeling that this display was very well built, I later started seeing some of the problems that this TV has. Mainly, it's handling of darker images. It's true that all plasma displays have a problem with dark on dark scenes, but the Dell W5001C needed a bit more tweaking to maximize its performance. This by itself may not be a deal breaker, however, as this plasma TV excels in almost everything else. Almost...