Customer Reviews

Samsung LNS2641D 26-Inch LCD HDTV

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review is intended to be a little technical, so if you want an easy description of this TV, this would be it: it's a great TV with features most entry level LCD buyers are looking for: great contrast, decent response time, good color reproduction and an extensive jack panel including a FANTASTIC VGA PC connection.

Here's the technical break-down of what I think makes this TV great:
1.) It's an PVA (Patterned Vertical Alignment) LCD panel. PVAs and S-PVAs (not usually available in this size) are my favorite over the other two common LCD panels: TFT (Thin Film Transitors) and IPS (In-Plane Switching). TFTs (used most commonly by Sharp) boast excellent response/lag time (usually around 6ms); however, they suffer from the worst color reproduction and artifacting problems. IPS panels (most commonly used by Panasonic) can be thought of as the older predecessor to PVA panels. While they boast excellent color reproduction and moderate contrast, they generally have the longest response/lag times (usually in the range of 12ms). PVA panels (used by Samsung and Sony) offer the best of both worlds with excellent color reproduction (keep in mind, color reproduction also depends on the set's lamp), the best in contrast, decent response times (usually around 8ms) and excellent viewing angles (up to 178* on S-PVA panels).

2.) It's made by Samsung. Samsung and Sharp have long been the leaders in LCD panel technology, investing large amounts of money into LCD R&D. Samsung can take a lot of the credit for the dip in prices of larger LCD screens with the construction of their generation seven LCD plant (the generation number of a plant refers to the size of the glass panels they are able to cut to use in TVs). Samsung built the plant and Sony rents/shares part of it. SAMSUNG DOES NOT MANUFACTURE SONY'S LCDs. This is a common misconception. Samsung owns the plant in which Sony does its glass cutting, but the panels are independently manufactured by each company.

3.) The PC connection is great. Many LCDs come with a VGA connector to attach a PC and use the TV as a monitor (recently, Sharp has been removing this feature from a lot of its TVs). What makes this PC connection great is that it will accept a full screen signal from a compatible video card, up to 1330 by 768 if my memory serves me correct. Many LCD TVs will only accept a 640 x 480 or 600 x 800 PC input.

4.) The matte black bezel. You might think this is purely a cosmetic perk, but it has serious implications! The whole reason that TV cabinets were originally black after the console era was because black draws the eye out, to make the screen appear larger and more vibrant. The 51 series that Samsung offers does boast higher qualitative statistics such as a wider color gamut and higher contrast ratio; however, I still like the 41 series better because the high gloss finish on the bezel of the 51 series is extremely distracting. Sharp started this trend last model year by offering glamourous "piano black" on their TVs, but think of this: a piano is beautiful because it has a high-gloss, COMPLETELY FLAT finish. The high-gloss finish on these TVs accentuates all the bumps and fluctuations in the plastic of the TV. It merely looks like high gloss plastic (that is far from completely smooth) instead of the glamoursly intended piano finish. LCDs are great for brightly lit areas because they absorb, not reflect, light like plasma TVs do. This high gloss finish makes a bigger difference than you might think.

5.) The remote is ergonomically comfortable. Anyone who has a Sony TV will tell you they're remote is confortable and easy to operate and anyone that owns anything JVC will tell you there are more words on the remote than in the manual. Samsung has developed a remote control layout this year that the company has used across the board on almost all their TVs. It's a perfect balance of functionality and ergonomics. And it looks great too...

6.) It's light. And it's lighter than most LCDs in this size, especially over Panasonic. Sony had issues with weight last year which that have since mildly addressed, but just compare the weight of this item to that of Panasonic's models as well as the depth. The Samsung is slim and light, making it easy to mount on the wall without fear of it pulling the wall in.


And in closing, I wanted to address a previous review posted here: YOU DO NOT NEED AN AV SWITCH TO OPERATE THIS TV. Your connection set depends completely on what you are hooking the TV up to. In the case of Time Warner Cable, they use a box to descramble some channels, so a box is necessary. In most markets, a box is necessary from your cable or satellite provider to provide HDTV (this TV is an integrated HDTV, meaning it will receive high def broadcasts over the air if they are available in your market, but just like an old antenna, you have to be able to receive those signals; things, such as buildings, will interfere). Usually you will hook your box up to the TV via component cables or a single HDMI cable, depending on your cable or satellite provider. Hooking any TV up to standard cable with an RF cable IS ONLY GOING TO GIVE YOU STANDARD TV, unless your cable company provides un-encrypted digital cable. This is EXTREMELY rare because a box allows the cable company to encrypt pay stations. Unencrypted digital cable systems are usually only available in mass-purchase markets, such as on college campuses. Be sure you understand your connect scheme and HD availability before you purchase a TV or explain your setup to a store salesperson. Any QUALIFIED salesperson should be able to tell you what is right for you.

(BTW, I often get people asking me if I work for any specific company--I do not work for an electronics company; I'm still in college. I sell electronics at my summer/part-time job, but I sell lots of different brands and items, not just Samsung or any other brand.)

We just got this cd a week ago and so far we love it. It has all the connections that you need. As always if you want the best picture use the best connection, in this case the HDMI. Our cable box works flawlessly with this tv using an DVI to HDMI connector, which sends a pure digital singnal to the TV.

The picture is great. The colors are vibrant and have excellent contrast. This display is bright! Because our bedroom is dark and the tv is relatively close to our viewing area it almost hurt our eyes, we turned on the energy save to low level which decreases brightness and the display is still brighter then others I've seen. That means this TV should function well in well lit rooms as well.

If I had any compliants is that the sound quality and output level is not very high. In our case this isn't a problem because we have it hooked up to a mini-hove theatre system.

The HD picture is staggering. Watching sports or nature programs on HD channels almost mimic being there. I was truly amazed at the quality of the picture. This is my 2nd HD set and I thought my first TV had a great picture but this Samsung is by far superior to the set made by the famous Japanese company. Non HD programs appear very sharp compared to regular television sets. And it was a bargain.

I bought this baby a little over a month ago and it has yet to fail my any of my expectations. For just ~$800, I got a decent sized HDTV that just brings woas to my friends when they see it in my room. Its picture quality is great and when I hook it up to my laptop, it is exceptional. I use it occasionally as a monitor and it is crystal clear. (I just might never get off my bed.) When I watch DVDS on this TV, it is amazing and feels as if things could not get any clearer. I can't wait till the day every channel is HD. :D

The sound quality on the set isnt as bad as everyone said it was. It is very decent but I am thinking of adding a surround system just for my own personal preference. The TV itself is very sleek and very enjoyable to watch. It is very light and I can pick it up and move it around by myself.

One con I have about the system is the remote control. The buttons are located in the weirdest spots and it takes getting used to. It is really annoying to press the enter button all the way towards the bottom middle of the remote. And where the enter button usually is, there is a jump button that takes u back to the previous channel you were on.

There is also a couple seconds lag to turn on the TV and that bothers me a lot.

But for the price of the Tv, I am very glad I got it and am a proud owner of this set.

The picture quality on this unit is pretty good. Nice and bright with good contrast it looks just as good if not better than any other LCD in it's class. The unit itself is very stylish in mono-black and a gray bottom and the included stand is nicely modern. The TV also includes a cover for the hole into which the stand plugs into, which I find odd since now I have to carry around this extra piece in case one day I want to wall mount it. It should have come with the wall mounting kit.

Peak power usage is 110 watts and it has "power saving modes" that should save energy but the picture will be less bright. That's ok, I usually end up running it on high energy savings since it easily overpowers my light.

The dual HDMI inputs are great. I have a lot of consoles and A/V equipment usually all into the same TV and while I'm going to have to keep my composite and component switch boxes, it's nice to know that for now I'll be ok in the HDMI department. Loss of a dedicated DVI connector (one that wouldn't need an HDMI adapter) is slightly disappointing, though.

Others say the audio is average at best but I find it good for my usage. You *could* get an LCD panel that fits in the same volume with a bigger screen but it would have speakers hidden along the bottom and I can't imagine those being any better. At least with the setup out of the box with speakers on the side I get good spacial surround sound. It's nice having a 5.1 sound setup, but I find in everyday usage I just don't want to be bothered turning on another device.

Bad points? The remote control is horrible. I programmed a few additional devices into it and I find myself having to point pretty exactly in order to get them to work with it. I guess the IR LED on it is pretty weak. To make matters worse, the IR sensor on the TV is located in the lower right of the panel instead of a central location like the lower middle or something. Basic channel and volume and power functionality I already programmed into another remote and it works much better. The TV supports a lot of features that are useful, like putting the picture into Film Mode and Game Mode, but they don't have buttons and you HAVE to go into a menu to use them. That plus the poor communication of the remote to the TV makes it frustrating navigating menus when you're not sure if your button push is going to "count" or not. Other less useful things ARE on the remote. There are buttons I simply have never and are unlikely to ever push.

Remote glut isn't new to Samsung devices, but the older ones I've seen at least had good IR blasters and receptors.

The PIP feature is pretty misleading, in my opinion. You will not be able to simply cycle through all your inputs in a little window. There's a chart in the manual with sources that are "compatible" to be displayed simultaneously. I find it very poor and would rather they had left it out if it was going to be so bad.

For MSRP this TV would be sub-par, but Amazon's got it for a price where it's a good deal in my book. I'd buy it again.

The TV is more than I expected. I live in a remote wooded area without access to Satelite, cable or high speed of any sort. I rely strictly on my antenna in my attic. The reception is awesome! The additional HD channels available are worth the price of the TV.

The only downside to the unit is the small channel ID in the corner and the placement of the buttons on the remote. It will take some getting used to but I'll survive.

Received this unit and had it set up and operating in 20 minutes. Great picture with standard signal from Direct TV. Can't wait to see HDTV. This is the best name brand unit at 26" that I could find for less than $900. At $799 and free shipping it is the best deal around. As a prime customer, 1 day shipping cost a whopping $3. Paid for itself in one transaction.

I bought the Samsung after comparing it with the Sony and Panasonic equivalent models. I found that the Samsung had the best picture as well as stylistically looking the best. When I hooked it up, it gave a very good picture for SDTV. However, I found one big flaw that may not affect most people. My cable provider does not scramble local HDTV broadcasts, thus if you don't have a HDTV receiver, you can access these channels. On my Panasonic 32" plasma, I'm able to view these HDTV channels. These channels are access through my cable provider by using the dash (or dot) button. For instance, my NBC HDTV channel would be 92-3. My plasma is able to access these channels because it has a digital signal tuner. The Samsung has only an analog signal tuner. I could only access HDTV channels on the "Air" (antenna) mode and not in the "Cable" mode. Using an antenna on the plasma, I could pick up all of my local channels. However, on the Samsung I could only pick up 1/2 of the local signals. Granted, the antenna is small, but again, the plasma could filter the signal where as the Samsung could not (the TVs are only 1 wall apart). I returned the Samsung because of this fact and am going to get a Sony that has a digital signal tuner. I could be wrong and this Samsung can access digital channels, but after about 1 hour, I couldn't figure it out. Also, the instructions that came with the Samsung are lacking in description of the more technical side of the TV settings.

All in all, if you've got a cable box to get your HDTV setting or getting your HDTV with a strong antenna, this LCD delivers a really crisp vibrant picture. However, it just didn't work for me.

Did a LOT of research trying to decide on the brand, features, looks and price point. This was going to be a Christmas present for my wife and was going on the bedroom wall. Wow! For $739 direct from Amazon, I feel it was not only a great buy but a steal. Just put it on the wall and attached a local HD antenna. The picture is amazing! I currently have a Dish Network standard DVR tuner hooked up and the picture is also very good.
On order is Dish HD tuner, can't wait for it to arrive. This is the best 26" LCD.

I'm not a TV or game nut. I use Phillips rabbit ears and watch what I need from local stations. I had to buy a new tv cause the old CRT one quit. I got the 2641d partly based on an Amazon reviewer's good luck on an air antenna.
I wanted a light tv cause I live on the gulf coast(evacuating). That said, I started looking for an LCD, built in dual NTSC/ATSC tuners, PC monitor capable. The 2641d has them all and is light weight.

When I set it up, I just plugged it in and clicked on all the local channels I knew of. Some were OK and some snowy/bad. This made me buy another bigger(more expensive) antenna--It worked no better than Walmart's Phillips so I returned it.

I figured I'd have to live with what I had, but one night I was playing with the auto set up and let it go through the channels and wow!
Don't know what I did?, but now I get two or three signals from each channel, analog, HD, 480, weather and such. ex: ch 5 is CBS analog; move up to 5-1 and same program but HD, 5-2 is weather, and 5-3 is 480/720.
On my PBS channel I get 4 different programs. 42,42-1,42-2,42-3. One is HD others are clear as can be too. Forgive me if most of you already know about this, but I told you I'm not a TV watcher and this feature blew me out. The 3000:1 contrast ratio is one of highest too.

Lesson is: read the manual and let the tv select the programs through the auto mode. Best thing is that either the digital station is great or it won't pick it up. I live nearly 40 miles from the broadcast antennas.

This TV works great on air antenna signals. Price was reasonable and picture is amazing. Can't imagine seeing it on satellite or cable. Now I'm playing with the favorites, PIP(PC+tv--not multi tv channels), and other stuff. Highly reccomend it.