Customer Reviews

Samsung LN-R408D 40-Inch Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD HDTV

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After spending WAY too much time researching all of the various televisions in the market between 37 and 45 inches, I finally decided on this beautiful looking Samsung 40" LCD HDTV. I wanted a set that would work great now but also in the future; because Tivo has yet to produce an HDTV capable DVR (and I'm NOT giving up Tivo), I knew that I would only be using this TV for Digital Cable and DVDs in the meantime, so I was concerned about non-HDTV signals and how they would look. Well, let me just say that I'm pleasantly surprised. Sure, regular cable channels are a bit grainy if you sit too close to the screen, but to be honest they look better than I expected, even when I put it in "panoramic" mode and it's technically stretching a 4:3 picture to fill the screen ... and I know in a year or so many more channels will be in HD and they'll all look spectacular then. And of course DVDs are already amazing.

Some of the reasons I opted for this LCD over some of the popular Plasma flat panels such as the 42" Panasonic or Pioneer, or an LCD rear projection:

- I have an XBOX, and with plasmas the burn-in effect is definitely a concern. This isn't to say that LCD screens aren't susceptable to burn-in, but it's far less likely.

- Plasmas start out as bright as they'll ever be and the screen pixels slowly dim over time, until eventually they die. LCDs have a much, much longer lifespan.

- LCD Rear Projections are nice (Sony offers a new one that looks pretty good), but this flat panel LCD has a much better viewing angle, the picture is a little brighter and more vibrant, and you'll NEVER see any digital pixelation when objects are moving quickly on screen. This TV was over $650 more than the aforementioned Sony, but to me it was worth the difference.

Samsung offers a nice variety of viewing modes, and while the 16:9 setting almost always makes people look "wide" when viewing television (not the case with DVDs, just remember to change your DVD player's settings to 16:9 and not 4:3, otherwise it will stretch), the panoramic and Zoom1 settings are great... especially for people who always want to fill up the whole screen.

To ease some general concerns about LCDS, this Samsung utilizes new technology to offer a 3000:1 contrast, matching most plasmas. What this means is you don't see the same "ghosting" effect that LCD screens are notorious for. There is some slight ghosting when there are bright objects over a dark black background, but I've only seen this during production company intros (such as Miramax) and not during an actual movie, even in darkly-lit scenes. However, if you watch movies in brighter (dynamic) viewing modes and not the richer, warmer "movie" mode, you may see some occasional ghosting in dark scenes, such as people sitting around a fire in a dark forest. This isn't a problem, though, because I feel movies look best in the movie mode anyway.

As for the built-in speakers, they're nothing special, but I wanted a TV where I could at least have sound when just clicking through cable channels and I don't feel like turning on the stereo speakers. Having the speakers at the bottom instead of the sides is also nice because it wastes less space, especially if you have large speakers to the side of the TV anyway.

Overall I'm very pleased with this TV and I highly recommend it. And remember, a 40" screen is a heck of a lot larger in your living room than it is on display at Best Buy.

Not sure why the other reviewer was so disgruntled over this TV. We just got it last month and really like it. The display is gorgeous, we have Dish TV, and DVD on S-video and the quality has been fantastic every time we watch.

We love the design- it's quite elegant. Compared to the other prevailing technologies- LCD is a good way to go for the $$ spent. The feature sets are robust- amybe too much and it does add to complexity but we familiarized ourselves with it enough to get what we need.

To be careful we did by a 4 yr extended warranty -a good idea for any electronics where you are forking over more than 400 bucks. If I see a dead pixel- well then it's covered- so far every pixel appears a live and content.

There are many choices out there but 40" seems like a good size -beyond the typical old school 32 and 36 in TVs of old and with flat screen- it is an excellent size for movies. Doesn't feel as excessive as going for the really big screens and yet is very satisfying. We liked the overall dimensions- fits perfect in an entertainment armoire. All of the ports/jacks in the rear are abundant and quickly accessible. We looked at a lot of different models and even test drove 3 in our house for a a few days each and this TV simply had the brightness/clarity and design that the others didn't. We tried Sharp, ProView, Toshiba, Phillips- and looked at a dozen more. In the end we were very happy with our selection.

I have been waiting to purchase our main TV for a couple of years--constanly worried that technology would render my purchase "old" or that prices would slash by half within a year.

However, after thorough researching, I decided to take the plunge and went with this Samsung.

This is the best picture I've seen for an LCD. The viewing angle is fairly wide. And the picture is still clear and bright despite our brightly-lit room. The 1366 x 768 native resolution means that every single pixel of HDTV is displayed without any "downconverting." In addition, it uses half the power consumption of a plasma TV.

Cable card from Comcast works (no box is need for HDTV or digital channels). I am a little disappointed that is is only a single-tuner PIP (note: if you use a splitter with your cable and plug one cord into Antenna 1 and the other in Antenna 2, I'm guessing you could overcome this limitation.) However, the PIP picture is extremely clear and displayed in 16:9 ratio.

So far, I am very pleased with the television.

I did a lot of research and comparisons before deciding on a flat panel HDTV to buy. After all this was a huge chunk of change to invest in. After looking at several models I ended up setting on this model. It seemed to be reasonably priced and fit my viewing needs.

Actually I was originally looking for a 36 inch TV, 40inch, although very nice seemed a bit "too big" if such a thing is possible. But after doing some comparisons with other models, the Samsung 40inch was only a few hundred dollars more than it's competitor's 36inch model and a heck of a lot lighter. This unit only weighs 60lbs while the 36inch competition weighs nearly 90lbs!

Although it is 40inch it doesn't look that big because it's widescreen. Comparing it to my old standard 29inch cathode ray tube just isn't a fair comparison. Television sizes are determined by the length from opposite screen corners. Overall the picture quality is great! Unfortunately it really makes you aware of the limitations of your standard cable signal, ugh, how did I ever live with normal non-digital signals before? Even regulars DVD's show their limitations. But I guess I'm ready for HD-DVD now! I hooked up my PS2 and unfortuanately it really made me wish for the PS3 or even the XBOX 360 for HD mode.

Anyway the picture quality was just amazing. I'm very impressed with the video capabilities. The menu system is also fairly easy to use and very intuitive. I was a bit nervous because when I first set it up I had a hard time setting the channels, but I was just too impatient. It just took a little time for the system to warm up it's auto-channel detection. When you order the unit from Amazon, the delivery guys helped us plug it in and made sure it was working properly before I signed acceptance. Make sure you check it out before accepting delivery.

Anyway I highly recommend this great product, I don't think I'll ever want to leave my house for entertainment now. I need to have a flatpanel-warming party now. :-)

But here a couple of caveats before ordering.
1) Don't bother getting the extended warranty. Your basic warranty covers you for a year and honestly most electronics will break down fairly quickly if there are problems. But if it helps you sleep at night by all means get the extended warranty.

2) Amazon seems to put TV's on sale a few days out of the week. After I purchased the TV I checked the web site again and the price fell a couple hundred dollars! But then the next day the price returned to the amount I paid for. If you can wait, I would advise you to just check prices every day for a while and get it when it's at it's all time low. It could save you a few hundred dollars off the price.returned my order

I've had my set for about 6 months now and there are few issues
that make me regret the purchase. The LCD screen is brilliant and no other set delivers as much for the price.

My disappointment centers around the PC connection. A feature I like which I seek, is the ability to use your laptop or even a Media Center 2005 equipped PC with your screen. Certainly, the unit is equipped with an input, but standard video cards with most pc's won't work as the Samsung manual (lacks any real detail on pc connection or troubleshooting problems) states a video resolution of 1360 x 768 is required, on a frequency of 60MHZ.

Most newer pc cards are capable of 1280 x 1024 or even less..1024 x 768. Laptops are usually up to 1280 x 800 with exceptions.

But 1360? Why such a non-standard? Was this feature centered on a non-US pc sales standard or capability?

The unit recognizes the properly connected cable but gives a screen error message that it is not the right mode. Every combination I tried doesn't make a diffrence, even rebooting the pc between setup changes so it will recognize the set, and the limitation sof the manual make it impossible to have the LCD TV recognize the pc or laptop using an "auto adjustment" feature listed but grayed out in the on-screen menu.

Newer units have more resolution settings, apparenly as a newer model in my office had no difficulty working with a laptop.

All in all, get this model, now somewhat dated (that mean more than 6 months - one year old in flat panel terms) just on price and performance alone if you can find one new or in good shape. The picture quality in terms of contrast, color, and luminence won't disappoint. It is one of the new generations that overcame all the limitations of LCD. Plasma units are getting more reliable but don't be fooled by the gorgeous look: the brightest they will ever be is the day they are first turned on straight out of the box. They are three times heavier than LCD units, and you can fry an egg on them all because they generate so much heat. And, broadcasters like me know, as do TV engineers, thermal heat is the enemy of all electronics over time.

Now.....a plug for Amazon.com.

I bought it and within a week I had expert delivery that was flawless and without damage as the unit was packed well and palated. The deliverers were courteous and professional. If this is the "white glove" service, it was worth it as they brought the unit into the house, and unpacked it and took the shippings materials away. I'm now looking ot repeat the experience with another unit.

This was an okay tv in its day. It cost $2 grand new back at the start of 2006. It suffered from motion blur and only had one HDMI port but my biggest gripe is that it last only 34 months before the picture died completely. There was sound so I was stuck with a 40 inch Korean radio.
Any repair on an LCD is prohibitively expensive so you better make sure you are getting a workhorse when you buy.

The LCD repair business is a really shady affair too. I don't care what anyone says: if you buy online you have zero comeback. Purchase from a bricks and mortar place where at least there is some tie to you and the retailer that sold you the thing.

Here's my advice after my current experience: AVOID SAMSUNG AT ALL COSTS. Go for Sony for LCD and Panasonic Viera for Plasma.

Its performance is average for an LCD set. Sound went out after 18 months.

This is a very nice HDTV for the price. I did a lot of research on HDTV's and finally chose this LCD. One of the reasons I picked a LCD is because they last longer and use less power. This is a brilliant picture on my DirecTV HD reciever. The only downside is only one HDMI port. I recommend it to anyone looking for a LCD within this price range.


I also have a Xbox 360 which looks stunning on this display.

The picture on this TV is OK. I would highly recommend the Sharp Aquos 1080p series instead - it is 100 times better. If you insist on purchasing a Samsung, buy an extended warranty. This TV started giving me intermittent problems at only 6 months old. The picture kept shutting off. After being in the repair shop for two months, it has returned home and less than 24 hours later - same problem. Samsung replaced the entire main circuit board. It took 2 months for the repair facility just to get warranty approval and the part, and now either the new circuit board is bad or the problem was elsewhere. Buy a Sharp instead - you will be glad you did! And don't forget the extended warranty. Even though I was opposed to them, it pays off with LCD TVs since the cost is about $600 or more to repair (I have been through this twice with two different brands of LCDs).

The other reviewer is likely a Samsung employee planting a glorious review of this ugly-looking, poor-quality LCD TV. First of all, you should be aware of the company's industry-lagging dead pixel policy; this is not published in the documentation, but a web search revealed that they would not consider the LCD panel defective even if it had a dozen dead pixels (i.e., pixels that are stuck on one color, usually blue or green, but also white, red or black). Now, you need to know this because the set I examined had at least 5 dead pixels, one green one that was very prominent in the *center* of the screen. You call this "beautiful"? Not by a million miles.

Otherwise, the video tends to be fuzzy on this 40" set, esp. when you display regular NTSC (i.e., non-HD) TV. This includes all the DVDs on the market today. (Hi-def DVD is coming this spring, hopefully.) Watching a DVD on this is rather unpleasant, probably because of the high response time which causes streaks across the screen. I seriously thought the image quality was much worse than a similar-sized Sharp Aquos LCD TV that was costing hundreds less than this. I even judged it to be worse than the so-so quality on a 37" Syntax Olevia set.

Accoring to a recent Consumer Reports magazine ranking, Samsung TVs rated very low in both quality and ease of use. The top brands are Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, and Pioneer. You can check their website (consumerreports dot org) for detailed rankings. If you are going to spend a lot of money on a TV, be sure to stick with a high-quality namebrand.