Customer Reviews

Samsung LNS4041D 40-Inch LCD HDTV

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been looking at HDTV's a lot lately and finally came to the conclusion that I wanted an lcd. I thought that would make things a lot easier but there are so many choices. I started with a Westinginghouse 40" with a built-in dvd player. I didn't think it was too bad so I tried it out for about 25 days through my retailer's 30 day return policy. As I got down to the final days, I began doing some more research and found that the Samsung's were rated fairly high for performance. Wow, what a difference! With the Westinghouse I figured that I was going to have to settle for a so-so analog off-air picture on any lcd but boy, was I wrong. The Samsung LN-S4041D is a fantastic set and I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind paying a little more for a whole lot more! I really struggled with spending that kind of money until I tried the Samsung out and now I am more than satisfied! Great set!

I have been looking at 40" LCD HDTV's for 2 months now and decided on this set. After pricing it at many retail stores and online retailers Amazon beat everyone by $500, no tax and free 3-5 day shipping. I received the TV 3 days after I ordered. The TV is light and took about 15 minutes to set-up. The only thing I am not crazy about is the base does not swivel. I plan on wall mounting so it's not an issue, but the base does feel cheap. Sound is great even without a surround system.

I have Time Warner HD service as well as an air HD aentenna from Radio Shack. I can not believe the image and coor quality of this set for under 2k. It is simply amazing. Unfortunately it has ruined any non-hd broadcast. The difference between HD and non-HD is unbearable. DVD's even look poor compared to HD broadcasts, I'll definately be buying a HD-DVD player as soon as I can get one.

Bottom line, this is the best deal for the size and quality, I am blown away!

After about 6 weeks of researching LCD TVs I decided on this model and I am very satisfied with it. I started out looking at 32" inchers but realized that 40" is significantly bigger for a marginal price increase. I also knew I wanted to go Samsung all the way because the are supposedly the best but I'd just like to mention most of the Westinghouses I saw looked just as good for significantly less money. So, yes, I bought the name. After all the time I spent looking into these it really came down to a few Samsungs the LNS4096D, LNS4095D, LNS4051D, and the one I bought.

There were 2 reasons that I ruled out the 3 that I ended up choosing against. Money wasn't one but I'll point out here that the 96D is about $800 more while the 95D is about $650 and the 51D around $200. All of these TVs have speakers on the bottom and the 95 & 96 have little panels that serve to reflect the sound out to the viewer. In my experience with adjusting the volume at pretty much every TV in best buy these TVs just didn't have the sound quality that this one has. Sound wasn't a very high priority of mine going in but once I heard what I did it did become a concern. I also like the look of the speakers on the front it makes the TV look bigger.

The biggest and ultimately overwhelming aspect that turned me off on the ones that I didn't pick is their gloss finish. I know that might sound bizarre but read the amazon reviews of these other TVs and you'll see the owners even mention that as the a negative (one even saying he would return the tv if shipping wouldn't be such a hassle). I had ultimately wanted the 96D because of the 1080p capability but having seen it in person I couldn't get over the gloss finish. It really makes these TV's look like [...].

I have mostly spoke about why I didn't take the others making it sound like I just settled on the wonderful LNS4041D by default but this isn't the case at all. 90% of the reason I wanted an HDTV is to play my xbox 360 in HD so visual performance is a top priority. This TV delivers. The picture looks incredible. It is every bit as good as the other TVs that I spend hours comparing in the stores. It has a 3000:1 contrast ratio (which means the difference in contrast between the brightest white and the darkest black for those of you who don't know). 3000:1 is very good it is surpassed by some of the other newer samsungs but TRUE 3000:1 is among the higher end of the market. The TVs that make outrageous claims like 10,000:1 are using slanted data based on certain modes that aren't practical for the everyday user. 2 HDMI inputs is a very definite convenience that we will appreciate more down the road as the cable companies and other devices use this as their main connection port. I don't have HD broadcasting from my cable company as of yet and this thing broadcasts the regular signal incredibly. Also this TV has a presence to it. When I round the corner from my kitchen to my living room it flies out at me - this thing commands attention. I wanna show it off to my friends. Let me also point out by ordering it on amazon I got it at about $380 cheaper than best buy. I used my amazon credit card for x3 the points which I will probably use toward a surround sound system. All with free shipping.

Lastly, let me comment on the shipping. I chose not to join amazon prime and get 2 day $3.99 shipping because I don't like to join things that I'm just going to have to cancel in a month. I got free super saver shipping that told me it would arrive in 5-9 business days. After the order completed I got an email that told me I could expect it between Nov.30 - Dec. 8th. 14 to 24 days after I ordered it! I was pretty upset. However, I got an email sometime during the next day saying that it had been shipped. There was a link to Eagle's website (the shipping company that amazon uses whom I'd never heard of before them). The link showed me just where the package was and it also had the expectation date of December 8th. The TV arrived in my area just 4 days after I had placed the order and was delivered 6 days after my order! It would have been a day sooner had I returned their first call in time. The delivery guys brought it up the stairs to my apartment and set it where it needed to go and I was good to go. I would also like to mention when deciding on what type of shipping to get you should check if there is an amazon distribution center near you before you order. I noticed after the fact that there was one just one state over in PA and that may be why I got my TV so soon and at times you'll notice people who've said with the super saver shipping their products didn't come for weeks.

I bought this TV for my parents about a year ago. I did a lot of research, as usual, since this is a big purchase. It was either this TV or Sony Bravia. At the end of the day, Samsung and Sony use the same LCD pannels. They have a joint venture called S-LCD (for Samnsung's expertise in LCD and Sony's know-how on TV's) which supplies all LCD pannels used by Sony and Samsung. I figured this is a good thing for both companies and TV's from both should be in a compatible quality. I furthered my research based on this and looked at all specs, functions, and prices. I paid a little less than $2,000 for Samsung TV and it was a great purchase. I would have been happy with a Sony TV, but Samsung seems to be up and coming thesedays (and recent deterioration of Sony products), even beyond Sony, at least in my opinion. Anyway, my parents love this TV and my brother mastered how to manipulate all the functions. Clear picture, no lag time, fast responding, good angle, very light, easy to install and use, etc. I stop by at my parents' time to time, and I love this TV. I am planning to buy a TV soon, but price is falling sharply, so I might wait a little bit. But I will buy another Samsung LCD.

Okay, so you're trying to find a TV and you can't debate between plasma or LCD HDTV. You're mixed up & broken between screen resolutions and screen sizes. You're worried about details involving burn-in, contrast-ratios, and which brand is the best.

I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN.

Face it, you're basically going to have to do the research by yourself, or simply take advice from people you really trust.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Here are the reasons why I bought this TV:

It's LCD HDTV. Plasma may have better contrast ratios, and may provide smoother picture but I am a gamer. I play games that involve overhead displays (health bars, ammo meters, etc...) that are essentially frozen on the screen. Buying a plasma would only provide agonizing burn-in with those regions.

It's Samsung. Samsung produces really amazing LCD HDTV's. If it were a plasma, I'd definitely opt for a Panasonic.

It's 40". I originally wanted a 42" TV, but then realized that I'd be spending several more hundreds of dollars for 2 more inches. Reality check---I recently graduated from college and I am broke. 40" is still very big (and quite a luxury) for a college graduate.

The resolution---it maxes out at 1080i, I know. Higher numbers are wonderful and all, but usually end up yielding higher PRICES (at least $[...] more). If you really think about it, there isn't much that outputs 1080p, besides the PS3. If you didn't know already, the PS3 is $[...], and is probably the cheapest BluRay Disc player on the market.

Besides the PS3, your current DVDs & gaming-consoles & HD Cable Television will not improve, since they are currently maxed out at 480p - 1080i. To me, 1080p is not big enough of a technological jump for me to shell out another $[...].

The price. Of course you have been shopping around. You know that this TV's price is pretty darn cheap. Unless you're gonna find yourself a magical mail-in-rebate, or some type of employee discount, this is gonna be THE DEAL for you. Think about it---Amazon's free shipping. No tax (depending on where you live, i guess). This is the price that you pay!!!

The one *one* complaint I have regarding this TV is that there is only one Component input (RGB). As a result, I plug in my Nintendo Wii via Composite (yellow-cable for video) and my XBox 360 into my Component.

This basically forces me to purchase an HDMI cable for my XBox 360, so that I can up my Wii to Component cables.

All-in-All, this is really a great deal. Amazon is a very reliable source, and the TV is outstanding.

Pros:
If you are looking for a high quality, reliable 720p LCD with gorgeous gaming potential and dramatic HD - this is the unit for you! I'm sure by now you know the differences between LCD and Plasma. More than likely you want a sharp HDTV with great viability (about 170+ degrees), and much easier to hang on a wall weighing in at about 40 lbs (half the weight of a comparable Plasma). The ATSC tuner drives the picture and compensates for low dull pictures and removes haziness. Screen preforms well with fast gaming in HD with Xbox 360. If you are going to be using the speakers they sound great and even simulate surround sound.

Cons:
The remote must be within about 20 degrees of center. So if you actually use the remote or use your cable/satellite remote to control the volume, you won't be able to do it from everywhere in a big room unless you are almost directly in front of the screen.
Image refresh on dark scenes and fast motion sports is not as good as plasma. Black scenes will have a 1 or 2 second memory until refreshed with a new scene. Closeups of turf or grass and fast motion on the playing field leave a bit to be desired vs. plasma.

Conclusion:
If you need an all around flat panel 720p (not 1080) HDTV with brilliant color and good sound without the worry of burn-in from a plasma then this is a great choice.

So I'll be the odd man out here: I didn't purchase this tv through Amazon. I heard too many horror stories about how the shipping was a hassle with delivery time windows. Most worrisome, though, were the bad stories about the warranty on the tvs. You're basically putting your tv's life in the hands of the mfg's. I didn't want that so i bought mine from BestBuy and got their warranty which works great since I live right down the road and a 4 yr contract was only a few hundred dollars. So, the tv itself rocks! It's not the latest model (at the time I wrote this) but it much more elegant looking than the shiny plastic new model right now. Picture's great, cost is amazing (mine with 2 HDMI cables, warranty, high powered surge protector AND upconverting DVD player was only $2500 from BestBuy). So, regardless of where you get this tv, it's definitely a great buy. Kudos Samsung!

After MUCH comparison shopping in retail stores and online, this 40" Samsung from Amazon was an amazing deal because it was less expensive than the 32" Samsung I almost went with from a retail store, and it offers all the same features. I'm very pleased with the picture, sound quality, and I really like that it doesn't weigh a ton and that it's easy to move. This TV also doubles as my computer monitor, which is working out great! My wireless mouse & keyboard make it possible for me to be far away but still clearly see the screen since it's so large. I'm very happy with it and highly recommend it!

I've been drowned with so much information about which hdtv to get. I finally decided what fit the bill as the most ideal, perfect tv for me. At first I thought the dlp. It was so much cheaper than lcd or plasma's in the same size, so why not? Well I don't like dlp because the rainbow effect and if you ask me the blacks were good but not great. There's also an annoying lag when playing games with these tv's. Do yourself a favor and don't consider dlp's for gaming. LCD is the way to go. Plasmas have too much of a burn-in risk. Would you wanna break a 2,000 dollar toy because you want to play games on it? So obviously lcd was the ideal tv I was looking for. The picture on it is perfect right out of the box. For watching DVD's I use movie mode. For OTA or DTV I use either dynamic or standard settings, which both look fantastic. Oh and let me just say that the quality of the over the air hdtv channels is amazing. HD channels show as clear as the sky and they are totally free!! What a deal! And if you don't know already in 2009 everyone will be broadcasting 100% digital, HDtv for all you folks who are still deciding whether they should make the move or not. I made the move and I couldn't be happier. This TV performs like it should and it's always fun watching your favorite music videos or xbox 360 games in amazing hd glory!!! Take care and good luck in your hd journey.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Samsung LNS4041D 40" Wide LCD HDTV. I use it with regular cable, HD cable set-top box, DVD, and VCR inputs. From the set-top box, I am running both S-video and component cables. I have yet to try an HDMI cable. I get a good picture with regular cable or VCR inputs, a better picture with with DVD or S-Video, and the best picture with component cables. I briefly experimented with an amplified antenna before going to HD service from Comcast, but I could only receive 2 HD channels and they were both from PBS. (HD from Comcast only costs me an extra $6.50 a month which allows me to receive ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS in high definition. I discovered this option after some searching of the Comcast web site when I balked at having to pay $50 a month for the digital-channel package in order to receive any HD channels.)

By big complaint is that I cannot use closed captioning when receiving the best HD signals via component cable or HDMI. This is why I had to add the compromise S-video input. So if I need to understand the dialog, I watch HD using the S-vido signal and settle for a better picture. If I am watching golf or football, I use the component signal to get the best picture. Let me hasten to add that this captioning limitation is not specific to Samsung. From what I have been able to find on the web, this limitation happens because of how HDTVs process component or HDMI inputs. I am bringing up this issue because I was caught by surprise. So, if you regularly use closed-captioning, be prepared to compromise, and don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out what you have set up or connected wrong when you can't closed captioning.

I have been using this TV for about six months with no problems so far. We really like the sleek black, space-saving design of this LCD HDTV.

This TV has a lot of features which tends to make it complex to set up if you want to go beyond factory presets. For me, I am willing to spend the time and effort to make adjustments to picture settings that produce a more pleasing picture to my eye. Also, I am using this TV with a surround-sound system which adds to the comlexity on the one hand and negates some of the options such as automatic volume control on the other.

The bottom line is that I am very satisfied with this HDTV, and would recommend it or similar models.