Samsung PN51E530A3 Plasma HDTV Review

Connectivity

All of the ports on the PN51E530A3 are located within a square, recessed area on the back of the TV. While you're facing the TV, they are placed to the left side of the back. The E530A3 doesn't swivel, meaning to get to the ports you either need to plug everything in before settling the TV into its desired position or reach around the left side/over the top. Either option sounds like a mild annoyance, which could have been easily avoided if Samsung had engineered this plasma with a little more swivel.

As we've said, the available ports are few, though this is standard for TVs in this price range. You've got one dedicated USB input for photo, music, and movie playback, two HDMI inputs, a cable input, an EX-LINK port for service updates, a component AV input, and an analog audio output for wiring to a surround system or any external speakers.

There are probably enough ports here for the average user, especially if you're just looking for a cheaper TV for watching cable broadcasts or playing some video games. We don't recommend using the PN51E530A3 as the cornerstone of a home theater set-up, however.