Customer Reviews

Samsung LNT4053H 40-Inch LCD HDTV

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

When my old 36 inch CRT finally went bust I was ready to upgrade to a flat panel. And after a ton of research I settled on this one. And I think I made a great choice. From what I have read, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference actually checking out the TVs in the stores because their settings are way off etc etc. This TV was picked as the second best LCD (behind the much more expensive sony) by the CNET editors, and from everything I was able to track down this new TV looked like a winner.

So I just bought online from amazon without actually seeing it in person. Which turned out great! The delivery company (eagle) was very fast and nice (although I did call them and they did NOT have my number-very glad I called). They came in and helped me set it up, and even helped me move my old enormous one out of the way.

The TV is beautiful! HD programming is simply amazing. Just amazing. I have never seen something this nice on TV before. DVDs look just ok compared to it. Like on all HD tvs, standard defintion programming and DVDs don't look quite as good as on my old CRT, but it is very close. The connectivity is great, (even better than the devices I am connecting it to actually).

The glossy black finish is pretty cool-although it does get dusty pretty fast. And the surround sound is darn good as well. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase.

The only problem I have found so far is that occasionally the sound will go out for some reason. If I change input sources or turn the TV off and then on again it comes back, but still-it is a concern.

UPDATE!
The sound problem was bugging me, and I eventually called samsung customer service. After a few fruitless merry go rounds I was finally directed to something called "Tier 2" customer service. Apparently this sound drop out problemis a known issue with this TV, and they have a very easy firmware update fix. They are overnighting me a thumbdrive with the updated firmware and said that it would entirely fix the sound problem. I think it is pretty cool that they are going so far as to send me an actual thumbdrive with the firmware on it because I don't have one already.

I am very happy with this fix, but will report back if there are any other problems. I am still absolutely loving the TV, despite this sound problem.

After months of research about brand, screen size, screen type, and resolution, I settled on this 720p LCD from Samsung. Don't believe the hype about 1080p sets at this size: it is absolutely the case that at this size (40 inch) the difference between the look of 720p and 1080p signals are negligible at the viewing distance most people will sit from their sets (6-10ft). Do yourself a favor and save some cash, unless you absolutely must have the newest tech toy. Me? I'd rather put the $500 toward a pair of speakers that look and sound the part next to this marvelous LCD.

Colors are rich, sharp, and with no noticeable ghosting or pixelation. I've heard some folks complain about the hidden speakers sounding muddled, or uninspiring. With a bit of EQ tuning I think they sound fantastic for on-board speakers.

Ordered from Amazon on a Monday evening with free shipping (and at $500 less than retail in BB or Circuit City!). The set was at my door by Wednesday afternoon. Unbelievable!

No complaints. This is a gorgeous set at a fantastic price.

I've spent the last 2 months shopping TVs both online and in-store. I ended up picking this unit as my bedroom TV and am supremely happy with its performance.

The pros:
Plasma was out because my bedroom is bright and I needed the anti-glare surface of an LCD. LCDs are also lighter so I could handle moving it around myself. It feels lighter than the ~40 pounds it's supposed to weigh.

Lots of inputs including 3 (count 'em) HDMI connections. I have an HD Tivo and upconverting DVD player hooked up and still have a spare HDMI port. It's also got 2 sets of component video if you have HD equipment from a couple years ago. There are more inputs that I won't bother listing here since you can get the list elsewhere.

Visual quality is stunning with HD signals. 720p and 1080i look amazing though I'd give the nod to 720p for slightly better image quality. High quality standard def signals still look very good. Poor quality signals look worse than you'd expect from a CRT based TV. I sit ~8 feet from the TV (I like the immersion) and barely notice the compression artifacts. I'd rate the noise performance at a very good 8 on a 10 scale. I wouldn't pay the premium for 1080p unless the screen size was encroaching on 60".

The included stand swivels. I used to have my 36" Sony Wega Trinitron on a turntable so the included swivel stand is a really nice addition.

The high gloss, "piano black" finish isn't as obnoxious as I thought it might be. It also doesn't pick up fingerprints the way I expected.

The cons:
Switching inputs is painfully slow. Especially when switching to the HDMI connections. The HDMI and component inputs are "on" as long as a cable is plugged in, even if the device is off. So when I want to pass through my DVD player (which is off) to get to my HD Tivo (which is always on). I have to wait for it to scan for a signal, realize it's not detected, and then tell me so on screen before I can move on to the next HDMI input. You can select from the main setup menu, but it takes about as much time as it does to cycle through. For this many inputs, I wish they used the Toshiba method and put up an input menu whenever you hit the source button. Direct input selection buttons on the remote would have been ideal.

The stand does have a tendency to lean a couple degrees forward. I'm not concerned, but it's not as sturdy feeling as I'd have liked.

It produces as much heat as my 36" Sony CRT did.

The picture-in-picture was an afterthought. It doesn't have enough options to be useful. Since I have an HD Tivo and the cable set-top-box, I'd like to be able to set one for HDMI and one for component video. Unfortunately, it only shows me the built-in tuner for the in-set window. My parents have a 15 year-old Mitsubishi that let you select any combination of inputs for PIP.

I've had the sound drop-out issue twice over the last week. I'm waiting on Samsung to send me the updated firmware.

Bottom line:
If it weren't for the incredibly frustrating input selection, I'd consider giving it 5 stars. But this peformance issue is enough to withhold that last star.

After several months of research, and changing my mind between Plasma vs. LCD, 1080p vs. 720p and size (40" to 46"), I am happy to say that I got just the TV I wanted.

- Glad I went with an LCD, because glare was a bit of an issue with my room and when comparing this set side-by-side with comparable Plasma sets, I actually thought this looked better on some programs. It's really amazing how much glare comes off of Plasma's when you look at them in stores (not always an issue for everyone though depending on their setup, of course).

- I ruled 1080p out because after comparing side-by-side from real viewing distances (7 to 10 feet) I could not tell the difference. 1080p is just not something I need at this time.

- I had thought about going for a 46", because when looking at a 46 vs. 40 in a store, it made the 40 seem so small. I am soooo happy I ended up getting the 40". It fits perfect in my room (max sitting depth from TV is about 10'). Anything bigger would have looked too big in my opinion. When my wife came home to see the tV for the first time she actually thought I ended up getting the 46" because of how big it looked. =)

I have had the set for just over a month and I still am in awe when I watch stuff on it. HD programs are sweet and even the Standard Def. programs look pretty good. It really all depends on your source for how good they look.

This set has plenty of easy to access options to adjust colors, dynamic mode, sound, etc...

Even when the set is off, it looks amazing. The design is very nice and would make a nice, classy addition to any room. A week after I bought the TV I saw a magazine ad for this series of Sammsung's that focused purely on the beautiful design and looks of the TV. The ad was right on.

If you get one too, enjoy it!

I've been researching LCD HDTV's for some time now and with the advice of my techy friend I decided to purchase this LCD HDTV by Samsung, seeing as it was a great deal, and of course it's the newest model. First off, it came in a HUGE box, so be prepared. The TV was packaged nicely by the Office Depot branch I purchased it from. The TV itself is beautiful, sleek, shiny black exterior, and the plastic see through bottom piece is a nice touch. Upon setting out television up to standard cable the picture of channels obviously varied because I don't have HD Cable. But my boyfriend discovered a couple HD channels which looked AMAZING. We found Discovery Channel HD and the picture was beautiful, it shows the real capabilities of this television. My boyfriend's an avid XBOX 360 player and we tried out Call of Duty 3, Gears of War, Madden, Forza, and Rainbow Six and they all looked great. The detailing of the characters and spacing is incredible. My only complaint is getting used to such a huge TV. Overall a great LCD HDTV, and a great value!

I am writing this review PRIOR to buying this unit. Based on my research thus far, I'll give it a 5 star rating if/when Samsung takes care of their audio issues and I buy the unit instead of the Sony or Aquos/Sharp. Am seriously considering to buy 2 actually...BUT I've read on the Amazon LNT3253H forum having 21 RECENT comments on audio problems with that model!!! I see now that there is an audio prob on one comment here with the 40" and reference made in the 50" product as well. I'm going to cut and paste a comment from the 3253 forum that seems to point to a problem with this generation of Samsung LCD HD units. This comment out of all of them seems to point to THE FIX by the Samsung service techs needing to swap out the main electronics board that includes the sound card...read on: In reply to an earlier post on May 23, 2007 7:26 PM PDT
Andrew Chabak says:
I had the same problem: as directed by Samsung I replaced the Comcast cable box, and then even replaced the HDMI cable. The problem remained. I contacted Samsung again, and they sent a Samsung repairman. He then replaced the main board which contains the sound card. Now it works correctly...no sound dropout! Also, I was told by the repairman, that this is a newer version of the board, and this problem has been fixed by him in the past. Call Samsung and ask for someone to come by and fix it. They have some bad boards in these. - Further comment by me: I see in the 3253 forum that there is reference made to other firmware or software updates/fixes being developed...yet those customers that have applied them still have the problem but at a lesser level of occurrence. I'll be calling Samsung tomorrow to see if they want my business .... and will judge how serious they are about tackling the issue that exists. Remembering that there is only a 30day return policy and 1yr warranty. I don't want a temporary bandaid that doesn't hit the actual root cause in longer term use after the warranty has run out. Let's keep them HONEST!!!

UPDATE - 6/10/07: Ok I've received an email from Samsung. I've replied back asking what they would do if the main board/audio card fails from audio issues after the 1yr warranty expires. Who pays? Read on:
Samsung says: We are aware of the issue with the television and audio problems. We have a fix that can be applied on with a thumb drive provided if needed. In some cases if the drive is not successful we do swap out components. Hope this helps.If there is anything else you would like assistance with, please feel free to write us any time. Additionally, if you would like live technical support, you can also contact us at 1-800-SAMSUNG (1-800-726-7864).

Mark says: I'm chasing a prob with your 3253 and 4053 platforms that seem to have intermittent audio probs. I want to know about the thumb drive firmware updates AND the main board and sound card hardware swapout programs. I'm seriously considering buying 2 40' and one 32' units...but do not want to have to deal with your audio problems on new sets. I've talked to a number of consumers and retail outlets about this but before I spend my money....I want to hear Samsung's official proposal and commitment as to how they are going to handle this in the most efficient way for me as a new customer of 3 new LCD HD tvs? Please email and call me about your repair policy. I'm unwilling to chance that this might only come up in the first year of your warranty period on a new set. And I don't think I should have to buy an extended warranty for what appears to be a factory design flaw to begin with????? Mark Vreeland 801-787-4040

Honestly, I could not be happier with this TV. It is incredible. It has a beautiful finish, a BEAUTIFUL picture, great sound, plenty of inputs, etc...

PROS: Crisp, Clear on HD content, lots of inputs.

Cons: Could be better at upscaling 480i content (but this is a very tough job to do)

**People, this TV has a sound issue and an issue called 'tearing' (where a ripple will appear on the bottom of the screen and move upwards) THAT IS EASILY FIXABLE. Call customer support, they ship you a thumb drive with the firmware fix....all is good. Please don't make this out to be a negative issue when the fix is so easy and so FREE**

I bought this unit from Amazon, not one of the stores on Amazon. Amazon sells great products at great prices.

This unit is beautiful, definitely exceeded my expectations.

The delivery was on time. No damage.

The TV is beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful on the market today. Simple, clean, elegant lines. Very impressive. I was leaning towards a similar product made by Sony. But then the look of the unit, the price, and the better reviews it got won me over. It is piano black (except the screen, of course, which is matte black). I was concerned about reflection but it was not a problem while watching it for several weeks now. Shiny black looks sharp especially when it has smooth, elegantly lines. Straight or hard edges, which this unit does not have, can make shiny black look cheap.

Hooked the TV up. Wow. The picture is, of course, beautiful! Not much tuning was needed. Looked great right out of the box. The pictures are so realistic that I kept saying "wow" for at least the first 10 hours of watching. Great color, contrast, brightness, etc. Things just jump at you when you watch a HDTV channel. Samsung certainly has made a great product and Amazon did a good job selling it.

By the way, my old TV was 27" Sony. I had concerns too about LCD's contrast ratio and/or brightness compared to the top of line tube/CRT TV. No need to worry. I found this unit to be as good as or far better than the tube/CRT TV in every regard.

For those of you who need advice on size and resolution, here are some thoughts. I debated it for a while but I am happy with my decision on this unit. I sit about 12 feet from my TV. I found out that, for a 40 inch TV at this distance, 720p is all you need even though you have 20/20 eye sight, which I do. 1080p would be a waste unless you want to watch it closer than 10-12 feet or you want a bigger screen. You can pretty much calculate what you need using your actual numbers and 720p, 40", and 10-12 feet as baseline. I hope this can be helpful to you.

If you do buy this TV, I suggest you try turn on and off the "edge enhancement" feature. When it is on, the picture jumps at you more. However, facial features and hair details look more realistic when it is off.

Another thing interesting to mention, which is not the TV's fault, is the HDTV channels. 720p channels look fantastic. 1080i is good with static pictures only. If anything moves, including even the head motion during a person's not-too-energetic speech, motion blur occurs, very annoying. Effectively the motion blur comes and goes all the time no matter what program you are watching, not just sports which I don't watch very offen. This appears worse than it does on the old TV perhaps because the static picture is so good with the new TV. I do not understand why the networks even think about offering HDTV that is interlaced (the i in 1080i means interlaced.) Unfortunately NBC, CBS and public television HDTV channels all use 1080i. ABC and two other local channels in the San Francisco Bay Area use 720p, which was a sensible decision.

Good luck finding your perfect TV.

Did my research for two-three months prior to committing to this model. Have owned three other Samsung televisions and have been very happy with each. When needing service, Samsung provides excellent support.

I was looking for a 32 to 40 inch LCD for my office. I was originally looking at a 1080p model but when I saw the extremely positive reviews for this model, I had to go to the store to see if it could stand up to the more expensive units. I was impressed. This TV is only 720p but its picture is just as good as any other. From a distance of 6-8 feet, its very difficult to tell them apart.

The TV has a very slick design and its speakers are hidden on the underside of the front panel. Sound is decent quality but video is amazing. This has so many picture settings to adjust right from the main menu. The only bad thing is that there are two known issues that numerous people are reporting. One is an audio drop-out when using HDMI, the other is what they call "tearing" when watching HD content. A horizontal line will appear about 2/3 down the screen for a few seconds. These issues have been resolved via updated firmware, so if you experience this, call Samsung and they'll email you the update.

Shipping via Amazon was impressive. Ordered Sunday night, it shipped Tuesday and scheduled delivery via Eagle Freight on Friday. They delivered White Glove service as promised.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase, its craftsmanship and Samsung,

I was reading reviews and wanted to say Samsung's warranty service is excellent. I bought the LN-s409D in 3/06 and the tv was a 2005 model. in 3/07 the last day the warranty was valid. the HDMI cable stopped working and the board was on back order. so rather than making me wait or giving me a refurbished unit they are giving me this TV as a replacement. (can't wait to get it) This tv is soooo much better than the one they are replacing.