Customer Reviews

Samsung LNT4061F 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(175)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I have been putting this television through its paces since I got it a few weeks ago, and it is by far the best TV I have ever owned, and very difficult to beat. The image quality is really good, with bright, vivid colors and wonderful detail, especially for 1080i/p content, but even lower-resolution 720p content, which is what's more commonly-available on OTA HD broadcast, looks phenomenal. I also have an Apple TV hooked up to it, and even though most of my content is encoded at either 360p, 480p, or 720p, it still looks quite good.

It does take some time to get the image tuned to perfection, and the default settings are way too bright with too much color saturation boost, and the DNIe processing system actually seems to make some motion effects worse. However, it's very easy to change the settings and see immediately what effect they have.

Like all LCDs it does have some slight black point problems; these aren't noticeable for fullscreen 16:9 content, but for older 4:3 content it's pretty obvious that the black isn't pure black. However, this is again tunable.

The only thing I really notice which is pretty annoying is that it doesn't do a very good job of upscaling 480i content, such as the output from most video game systems, and for DVDs to look good you really need an upconverting player since even with a progressive-scan player there is a lot of visible pixelation when the 480p content is scaled up. It's really more a sad reflection on how the previous "next-generation" video looks downright primitive by today's standards.

The other noticeable issue is that unlike many televisions with digital tuners, it doesn't have an on-screen program guide. My previous TV (also a Samsung) had an on-screen program guide, but it was rather cumbersome to use and took several minutes of scanning every channel to see what was on, and most local channels are pretty inconsistent about providing the EPG information anyway, so it's not really that big of a deal. You can still see the detailed information for the program that's currently showing, so it makes use of EPG, just not as much as it could.

This television's tuner is also quite phenomenal. My previous TV required a very carefully-positioned powered antenna which was very sensitive to every little nearby fluctuation, while with this one I only have a piece of wire jammed into the antenna port and I get perfect reception of every local digital station.

Another nice improvement over Samsung's older HDTVs is that it has a wide variety of zoom modes which allow you to counteract some of the stupider things that TV stations do (for example, pillboxing a letterboxed 16:9 show, which is very common for widescreen non-HD programming). Also, analog TV stations and source inputs get their audio signals upconverted to digital, so you only need to run a single optical audio connection to your stereo (while previous Samsungs required running both analog and digital cables and switching between the two inputs based on source material).

As a PC monitor this is also quite nice. I have a Mac mini hooked up via SVGA cable, and even with an analog signal it looks perfectly sharp and crystal-clear, and of course you can hook it up via HDMI (with a DVI to HDMI adaptor) as well. The only gripe there is that the supported resolutions are a bit quaint - at least on analog SVGA the only 16:9 resolution it supports is 1920x1080, which can be difficult for some older systems to handle. However, on HDMI it should support all the standard HD resolutions.

This television may be more expensive than others in its size class, but it also far outshines every other TV I have seen, aside from the newer LN-T4065, which is nearly identical aside from providing a higher dynamic contrast ratio. If you want to only buy one TV which will last for a long time, it would be hard to go wrong with this one.

I've had the LN-T4061 for a week now and am still very impressed. The picture quality is excellent, build quality is solid, and ease-of-use is very good too. I am using it with an HD cable box, a Media Center PC, and a home theater receiver. In all cases, connecting and configuring the various inputs was completely obvious and pain free.

General Image: The colors are absolutely amazing. I've looked at a LOT of LCDs over the past few months and I can't recall any of them looking this vibrant. The 10,000-to-1 contrast ratio really makes for a stunning image. The black level is very good for an LCD too, but not quite pitch-black. Since I like to watch movies at night in a dark room, I can pick out a tiny amount of dark grey if I'm looking for it. Still, it's much better than most LCDs and the high contrast ratio makes dark scenes look much better. If you look at LCDs in a store, you'll notice they always play bright, contrasty video. That's because most LCDs have a problem showing the difference between dark colors, like in shadows and night scenes. The Samsung isn't perfect, but it doesn't wash out nearly as bad as the others I sampled.

Image Settings: You can fine tune picture settings (Color, Contract, Brightness, etc.) or use one of the built-in presets. The default setting was a little "over driven" for my eyes, so I stepped it back to the next level and haven't had to touch it since. All settings are stored per-input, which is how it should be.

High Definition: Both of my sources output in HD, the cable box at 1080i and the HTPC at 1080p. I give it 5 stars each in image quality, color fidelity, lack of pixilation, and lack of motion tear.

Standard Definition: I don't really have an SD source anymore as my cable box and HTPC up-convert the content to HD. I did connect an S-Video cable just to try it out though, and was generally satisfied with the picture. There were definitely artifacts of scaling and de-interlacing, but they mostly disappeared to my eye at couch distance (about 12 feet). I didn't give it the close scrutiny I did with the HDMI and component connections though.

HDMI Inputs: I am using only one of the three HDMI jacks, and that for connecting the cable box. In the past I would leave the TV volume at 100% and use the PVR's internal volume control to set the final level. Over HDMI though, you always have full volume going to the TV. The easy work-around for this was to train the cable remote to use the TV codes for volume. This works great and the picture quality is excellent. I also read a forum post about the TV "handshaking" intermittently over an HDMI connection, but I haven't experienced it. Also, on a side note, do NOT buy expensive HDMI cables. The signal is 100% digital and doesn't benefit in any significant way from a $150 "OFC" or "directional" cable. If you need a run of 50' or more it's a different story, but at 6' it's a non-issue.

Component Inputs: Before I got the HDMI cable, I used the component jacks for a few days and I can't say that I noticed any difference when I went to HDMI. It's nice having a single cable instead of the 5 for component, but I couldn't tell one way or another.

Audio: The built in 10-watt speakers are not enough for immersive movie watching, but they do just fine for regular TV shows. Coupled with a home theater sound system, you've got the best of both worlds; easy operation for normal stuff and theater sound for movies.

On-Screen Menus: It has a nicely polished translucent on-screen menu system. The layout is simple, features that don't apply are grayed out, and the hierarchy is logical. What more can you ask for.

Remote Control: I use the cable PVR's remote most of the time, and had no trouble adding Samsung's codes to it. The Samsung remote is actually quite nice, but there are enough special features built into the cable remote (PVR, guide, A B & C buttons, etc) that I prefer to make that the normal clicker. I still keep the TV remote handy though as there are a few features the other remote won't do when watching movies. I wish I could do it all with just one, but I guess that's where remotes like the Logitech Harmony come in.

Cabinet: Personally, I don't like "shiny" media equipment; they just cause glare and distract from what you are really watching. The frame is somewhat shiny but the screen it totally matte. In my opinion, it's a nice mix and looks quite professional. I was worried about the WAF, but the first words out of her mouth were "wow, its pretty". That's good enough for me.

Other: I played around with the "digital picture frame" mode some and it is kind of neat. You plug a USB stick into the side and it does a slide show of the photos and music on it. I probably won't use it as I have a media center PC, but those that don't might find it useful. That same USB slot is also used to do firmware upgrades, which is a lot better than shipping it off to a service center if an incompatibility ever crops up.


All in all I am extremely pleased with this TV. I waited a long time for 1080p prices to fall to levels that would fit my budget and I'm really happy I chose this one. There aren't many reviews out there for this year's model yet, but I expect this one to take off big time.

There are some really good reviews of this TV already, and I will add to them my own good (and bad) experiences.

PROS: Excellent picture quality. Plenty of input sources, including VGA (for computers/laptops.) Sexy design and good value.

CONS: Some minor design issues. Remote control is laggy.

SUMMARY: You can't go wrong with this unit. I like it a lot.

DETAILED REVIEW:
Like Phil, I also had in mind to use this TV for all my multimedia needs: computer, Playstation 2 Slim, Over-the-Air (OTA) HD TV, and of course, movies. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment and didn't want anything less than 1080p. I also do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV due to the fact that I do not (yet) see the necessity to pay $50/month for something I don't really use.

The television brands I was primarily considering were the Sharp Aquos and Samsung units. I settled for this TV due to the number of input options, good value (price), and sexy looks. I chose LCD over Plasma because of what I intended to primarily use the TV for: computer use, gaming, and lower chances of picture "burn-ins" that older-generation Plasma is known for.

Keep in mind that this review is written with the TV brightness set at 70%, as running it at 100% would shorten the lifespan of the LCD. At full 100% brightness, the television definitely is a stunner! The unit has also been configured to detect changes in room lighting and automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.

COMPUTER USE:
This is what I use this unit for primarily. Excellent image quality despite connecting a 1920x1080 resolution laptop to the Samsung with a regular VGA-to-VGA cable. My next laptop will likely have a DVI video port -- when that happens, I definitely recommend a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Text is sharp and images are bright and vivid. Playing recorded HD television programs is bliss, and playing BBC's/Discovery Channel's Planet Earth mini-series at 780p has blown away the mind of every single person who wanted to see what this TV is capable of. My laptop could not smoothly handle the 1080p version, but that has nothing to do with the TV.

Computer games looked excellent and no blurring was noticeable. Games included Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, Need for Speed: Carbon, and many more.

I agree with one of the reviewers who mentioned how amazingly bad DVD movies look when compared to today's available HD programs. But again, this has nothing to do with this TV at all as DVD video is becoming an outdated standard. The DVD movies were played through the laptop with no upscaling whatsoever. Blu-Ray simply looks amazing on this unit when my friend fired up his Playstation 3 with a Blu-Ray movie! The same can be said about HD-DVD when my brother hooked up his Xbox360 and a HD-DVD movie.

PHOTOGRAPHY USE:
When viewing my images, they look absolutely amazing! I am a hobbyist photographer (with ambitions to go pro) with a Canon EOS 30D digital SLR (see some examples of these images posted on Amazon.com by searching for the Canon 30D and going through the customer-supplied photos. The camera itself is astonishing.)

Friends and family marvel at how sharp and vibrant the photos look on this set.

PLAYSTATION 2 SLIM USE:
Picture quality was horrible when connecting the PS2Slim to the TV set with the included PS2 RCA cables. I read that buying the optional PS2 S-Video cable would improve picture quality, and so I went out to get one. It sure did help, but the games still look bad (but playable.) Suffice to say, the PS2 was never designed for HD. Get the PS3 or Xbox360 instead.

OVER-THE-AIR TELEVISION USE:
There wasn't true 1080p content available for me to receive over the air. The closest was 1080i, and although most people said that it looked amazing, I'm a picky computer professional when it comes to picture quality. Nonetheless, it definitely played analog broadcast channels better than my dad's Philips set. Those channels that I am able to receive (mostly 720p) looks pretty stunning.

One qualm I have about this unit is that it doesn't seem to have an auto-resize functionality that would turn everything into widescreen. The manual recommends that full-screen content not be played for too long on ANY television set (not just this Samsung), as the difference between the actual video content and the black bars on the side may become a problem over time. You can force any video (except for the computer feed) into widescreen by using the included remote. I like how my dad's Philips unit resizes everything into widescreen, though I don't like how fullscreen content looks stretched when forced to widescreen.

Personally, I leave fullscreen content at fullscreen and take my chances. I did not know that LCDs could have "burn-in" problems, but hey, never say never.

MOVIE USE:
Video quality looks STUNNING. The blacks are, of course, not as black as Plasma televisions, but it's really not that noticeable. There's no noticeable ghosting and action sequences look quite good. Colors are vibrant. I watch my movies with the lights on.

SOUND:
The built-in speakers are not bad, but when compared to the THX-certified Logitech Z-5500 Digital speakers I use with my computer, it's like comparing a Honda with a BMW. I like both car makers. I have hooked up the television unit to the Logitech speakers with an optical audio cable, and you can definitely notice the difference in optical vs standard RCA-type cables. Surround sound comes from the right places, and some of the television shows actually provide engaging surround sound! The problem with optical cables is that audio is always sent at full volume to the speakers. So, you'll have to control the sound volume with the speaker remote instead.

The unit boasts a feature that would auto-level sound coming from each TV channel so that while you're flipping through the channels, the difference in volumes of those channels would not be so noticeable. In other words, as you're flipping through a more silent channel to a loud one, the loud one should automatically be adjusted by the TV to match the quieter one. I was not able to get this feature to work even though it's turned on in the setup. Perhaps it's because I'm having the sound go through the optical audio cables. Remember, optical cables always sent the full volume to the speakers. I haven't had a chance to try it without the optical audio cable yet. I like optical audio too much to let go of it :-)

VISUAL DESIGN OF THE TV:
It's sexy and gets compliments from everyone who has seen it. The glossy piano finish definitely gives it a high-class edge. I chose not to buy the 4065F model because the 4061F one does a better job of minimizing glare. The television does work like a dust magnet. Dust collects easily as another reviewer pointed out. Keep your feather duster handy for once-every-2-week use.

The swivel base is nice. It allows you to turn the TV into a desired position.

MISC:
- This unit allows you to label the various input sources so that when you switch between them, it shows what you're looking at. It does not, however, allow you to completely customize the names of the predefined labels.

- There's a feature in the setup that shows you the signal strength of the TV source. This has helped me optimally position my antenna.

- The remote control doesn't feel as nice as it looks, and pushing the buttons shows noticeable lag between then they were pushed and when the TV responds. Somebody else pointed out this minor flaw too.

- Another reviewer also pointed out that there is a lag between the power button is pushed and when the display shows something. He/she shared that his/her mother kept turning on/off the TV while thinking that it wasn't working. Indeed there is such a lag while the television "readies" itself. You can tell whether the TV is responding or not by looking at the red LED of the power button: when you push to turn on the set, it starts blinking, followed by a sound after a couple seconds. When you turn off the set, a sound is played to indicate that it has been turned off. This lag is true with most LCDs, however, including computer LCDs.

I do wish that instead of utilizing a blinking status indicator that the TV is turning on, that they would transition the solid red (off) into solid blue (on), for example. I think the 4065F model does that.

All said and done, I highly recommend this television and would give it 5 stars if it weren't for some of the minor design issues.

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EDIT 11/7/2007: TV's still functioning beautifully and I am still very happy with the purchase.

This is the most wonderful yet impractical purchase I have ever made. Samsung did a great job on this one. The first impression is that your living room has become a movie theater. Yet this home cinema is without a doubt a totally unnecessary luxury. Having said that let me share with you a few useful remarks that'll help set your expectations.

Attributes & pointers:
1- Picture Quality: it is so awesome you can see a blemish on someone's face as if they were standing in front of you. You can see every drop of sweat on Kobe's (Lakers!) biceps with such definition; you would think he is playing in your living room. You get the point...
2- Watching Movies: you need a DVD player with upconverting capability to watch movies in full HD (1080p) - under $100
3- Computer Monitor: you need HDMI-DVI cable [$5 or less] & 1/8' miniplug to red & white RCA cable [$10-25] to transform your TV to a computer monitor which operates in full HD (1080p). It only works with "HDMI in1" port. The shock effect here is beyond any considerations especially if you tend to use your computer to watch video. Note: I have not tried the DVI-15pin video + 3.5 mm M/M audio connection to compare, but it can not be better since I am getting 1080p resolution in my current HDMI-DVI configuration.
4- Cable/Dish: you need a cable box (or dish receiver) [$10-15 monthly] with HDMI port in order to take full advantage of the HD channels. The TV has an aerial port but it is poor quality in comparison. In addition, component video and DVI connections from cable box to TV are also poor quality compared to HDMI.
5- Non-HD TV channels: this TV has DNIe technology chip with converts the standard TV (non-HD) channels from 480i to 1080i resolution, which is awesome. No other brand has this kind of capability. It might be 18 months or more before the standard TV channels start broadcasting in HD. Meanwhile everyone else is painfully tracking the movements of an object on other brand LCD panels and you're watching it in movie theater quality. No visibly flying pixels in Samsung land so far!
6- HDMI cables: to connect your cable box or DVD player to your TV you need an HDMI-HDMI cable. These cables are one of the biggest scams on the market. Belkin & monster cables are selling them for $70-150 for a 6 feet cable. You can find the equivalent for $2 (Inspire Electronics- an Amazon seller). I mean it, and they work as good. You won't know the difference; I guarantee it. I own both the $100 & $2 cables and I use them interchangeably. Man, the mercantilism.
7- Sound: the TV panel comes with true built-in surround sound. I am happy with its quality. I know it is not as good as a bulky surround with multiple speakers over which kids can trip or two good neighbors may easily fight; but it is mighty good.

Drawbacks:
1- if you are reading this, then you are already on the right track in choosing a TV. However, it takes a fair amount of research to get here.
2- after purchase, you have to have some technology savvy and willingness to spend few hours in research and shopping for equipment to fully transform your new TV into a home theater/computer monitor.
3- THE MISSING STAR: (Picture in Picture) this TV only has a single NTSC tuner, which means it runs one HD source at a time. You cannot see two TV channels in HD simultaneously or use the TV as a computer monitor and still watch HDTV at the same time. However, there is a solution to that. You may re-install your radio frequency (RF) cable from your cable box (RF out) to the TV (RF in). This way, while using your TV as a computer monitor, you can watch a TV channel using old-fashioned standard TV quality.
4- we know nothing about this TV's longevity. this is one of the latest Samsung rollouts, and no one knows whether it'll live for 5 months or 5 years. My old SDTV lasted 9 years. I doubt it will be the same this time.
5- there are no full HD (1080P) channels on Comcast cable TV yet. There are few 1080i channels like espn & TNT and your local news blablabla and subscription sports packages but no 1080p channels, none. It might take until 2009 until you can see those. Essentially when it comes to full HD you can only see it watching movies from your DVD player or while using the TV as a computer monitor.

Overall, wonderful yet completely unnecessary upgrade to your media experience.

UPDATE 10/16/07:
TV still running impeccably; no problems at all. sound is good & everything and the image ah! as good as it gets. Calibrating an HDTV has proven to be a real challenge though. this is not specific to samsung however. One additional drawback, the TV is slow to respond to the remote, and sometimes you have to click twice in order to execute. no big deal, a universal remote is needed for most entertainment systems anyway.
Note: there is plenty of contrast on this TV. no need for the additional expense to get the 4065!

I knew that buying an HDTV on line was a bit risky. However, I went and found this model television in the stores and thought that it looked great. So I decided to give it a chance. Now I know there is usually a reviewer that gives a product a bad rating based on his experience... and I hate to be that guy... but the television hasn't worked right from day one. I have two long rows of dead pixels in my TV. Furthermore, the optical out wasn't functioning correctly. A guy "from Samsung" eventually showed up with a board that he replaced and that fixed the audio problem but not the image. I am now waiting in Limbo for Samsung to make up their minds as to what to do next. I have had this TV for almost a month now and believe me if I had known what I would be going through I would NEVER have purchased it. Sure it's a good price for a TV... but beware this TV can end up costing you more than you think.

UPDATE: Well I DID get a new TV from Samsung. I wish I had gone to Amazon first... but... well live and learn. Since I got my new- new TV I have to say I love it! I'm watching HDTV for free with a cheep digital indoor antenna that I got from a local store. The picture is amazing. Watching Heroes and Lost in HD 5.1 surround sound is awesome. I have an Xbox 360 HD player and the image is fantastic. The contrast ratio on this TV is fantastic, and the 1080p DOES make a difference to a video junky like me. I can't seem to change my review stars... but for the record I'd now give it 4 stars having overcome the initial disappointment and now using a very solid product... recommended.- Oh and a special note to those that wrote in with encouraging words and advice... thanks.

This was one of the most nerve racking purchase decisions I have ever made. I poured over reviews, worried that I would regret not waiting for the next gen product, fretted that I should go for plasma after all.

Well, I took the plunge, and now I can't believe I waited so long. This product is gorgeous. If you, like me, want to watch your TV, not measure it with test instruments, this thing will surpass your expectations. Not only that, it will do it at half the price of "this year's model".

I studiously input all the settings advised by CNET and didn't like the results. Then tried those much maligned factory settings (Standard, in a room with the blinds closed), and found them to be perfect for me.

There may be better sets out there, but if you are above a "certain age", I'll bet your eyes couldn't see the difference anyway. So place your order, relax, and think about what to do with the $1400 you just saved!

In purchasing this TV, I had in mind that I would use this for all of my multimedia needs--using it as a PC display, my 360 display, and as a regular HD cable TV display. Simply put, this TV met every one of these challenges.

First up on my agenda was hooking up the PC. I hooked this up via a DVI to HDMI adapter. My PC recognized it immediately and I quickly had my PC looking as vivid as ever on this Samsung. However, I did have some driver issues in attempting to set a resolution of 1920x1080, but after a few tweaks, I had it running flawlessly. My only complaint is that 1920 resolution is kind of hard on the eyes from a distance--more pronounced during web browsing and text reading. I do, however, always use 1920 res for gaming as it looks quite marvelous and requires little to no squinting for text reading (many games such as WoW allow you to increase the font size anyway)! I tested Half-Life 2, Quake 4, World of Warcraft, and a multitude of other games. In a word, it was simply breathtaking. It took a while to calibrate the display accordingly, but I eventually found a sweet spot for it. This TV will surely provide bragging rights if any of your gaming friends decide to hop on over to your place.

The 360, like the PC, looked wonderful. My connection was through an HDMI cable provided in the X-box 360 Elite. Games looked crisp and colorful, and the blacks were quite impressive for an LCD. Movies through the Xbox Live Marketplace were truly a sight to behold as well. Why bother with HD-DVD and Blu-ray when you got great HD movies right here?! Unfortunately, I do not possess any pure native 1080p games, but i'll be sure to test them out soon enough.

After I was done with the 360, it was finally time for regular HD cable TV. It was amazing to be sure. Again, calibration took some time, as you can't use the same PC/360 calibrations as you do with regular HD movies. I made sure to take a brief look at the AVSforums for some recommended calibrations--make sure you do the same too! As for cable channels, my only complaint is that Comcast doesn't carry enough HD channels! I don't know the reasoning behind the hold up for television stations not making the HD jump yet. It's almost heartache to try to watch SD channels after watching a few HD Sopranos episodes or some HBO/Showtime HD movies. So in that sense, the only flaw of this TV is that SD pretty much sucks, and it needs to pass away as soon as possible. The HD programming, otherwise, was top notch, and looked sharper than ever on this Samsung display. It's almost scary to imagine what 1080p is like in comparison with 720p--although, the difference is sure to be more pronounced with larger displays than this 40 inch one.

As for the general features of this TV, they are clean and simple enough for the general layman to understand. The TV menu offers simple calibration settings which can be furthered by some advanced calibration settings--again, I would try to test out some of the calibration settings provided by the AVSforums. The audio and video hook ups were rather plain, but the bare essentials are obviously there. The most appealing aspect of the AV hook ups is that this Samsung monitor provides 3 HDMI inputs--for the techies out there with multiple HDMI devices, this is a wonderful treat. The frame of this TV is quite clean and while it can reflect light, my TV is placed in a certain angle to avoid any reflections what so ever. The onboard sound of this Samsung is mediocre at best--but, hey, what internal sound is ever good? If you're buying a nice TV like this, then you're most likely buying a nice home theater set up as well. So make sure to pick one up!

Ultimately, this TV is a must purchase. I was skeptical after viewing multiple HDTV's at Circuit City, Best Buy, and Tweeter. In fact, the one Best Buy model was constantly having drop outs (a somewhat minor but known issue). As such, I was quite hesitant and was leaning more towards the TV next to it, the 40 inch Sony XBR, whose quality was more of the same, except without the drop outs. Additionally, I was debating between the 4065f instead of the 4061f, as the former provided 'better' technical specs, and more specifically, an emphasis on contrast ratio and impressive blacks. However, after purchasing this TV and evaluating it for quite a while, I can honestly say it is generally without flaws. If you find yourself teetering on the border of purchasing either this, the Sony, or the LNT4065f, go with this. I can't imagine justifying a 200 dollar increase for a reflective screen, and 'technical' stats (contrast ratio) that can barely improve on what already exists on this TV. As for the Sony, well, we all know the ridiculous dollar increases with that brand. This TV wins hands down.

We finally decided to take the plunge and get a digital TV. We're only getting digital/HD signals over-the-air (OTA) because we're not ready to upgrade to an HD satellite receiver or HD DVD/Blue Ray DVD player. But since reception of analog TV in our area is horrible it's nice to be able to get a clear picture with the digital broadcasts. Now we can watch the local channels that Dish Network doesn't carry.

We decided on the LNT-4061F for it's size, features and price (got a "Black Friday" door buster deal). We have limited space for a wide-screen TV in our entertainment center so a 40" was about as big as we could fit. It's perfect for the distance we sit from the TV (about 8 feet). We like all of the input options, especially the ones for legacy systems since we don't have any HDMI components yet. But we wanted a "future proof" set because we plan on keeping it for 10+ years. We currently don't get any 1080p signals but at least this unit will be able to display them when we do.

Features we like best:
* Great picture on OTA digital signals.
* Great viewing angle, almost as good as a CRT TV.
* VGA PC input.
* 2 S-Video and composite video inputs
* 2 Component video inputs
* 3 HDMI inputs (for future use)
* Optical audio output (to send 5.1 audio to A/V receiver)
* USB input for showing pictures and playing MP3 music.

Things we are disappointed with:
* Only fair quality on non-digital sources (like most digital TVs)
* None of the listed remote control codes work on our DISH Network
satellite receiver.
* Remote control cannot operate an A/V Receiver
* Cannot custom name input options (must select from a list)
* Cannot directly access input options, you have to scroll through all of the inputs that have something connected even if the connected component is off.
* No video outputs (to record directly from the TV)
* Mute icon appears when you mute the sound, won't go away until you un-mute. I did find out how to do an internal mute but you have to go through the setup menu to turn in off and on.
* The Picture In Picture (PIP) feature sucks! It can only be used to view analog TV in a sub picture while viewing Component, HDMI or PC source. Can't understand why you can't view another source (like S-video) while watching OTA digital channel??? You also can't swap the main picture with the sub picture, however you can view both pictures side by side. But it's only useful if you want to watch an analog TV tuner source. Makes the PIP feature practically useless.

One thing to consider when getting a flat panel TV to replace an old CRT TV is that you can't put your old center speaker on top of the TV anymore because it's too big. Also, fast action video can look blurry, especially when the camera pans back and forth. This seems to be common as we noticed it when looking at other LCD TVs. Supposedly this is mitigated with 120HZ refresh rate but we were'nt willing to fork over an extra $400 for this feature (see Samsung LNT4069 40" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV). But after watching for a few days it doesn't seem to be as noticeable anymore. It's kind of like when we first brought home our 32" CRT TV and noticed the tiny black lines that didn't show on our 19" TV. Eventually we got used to it and it didn't bother us anymore.

Since this is our first Digital TV we're generally satisfied because we got a smoke'n deal. The limitations of the universal remote is a big draw back for us since we thought it would be able to control our satellite receiver. But at least our Sat. receiver's remote can control the TV so we'll be able to live with it.

Update: After a couple of years we noticed that there is major burn-in on the screen after watching a program in 3:4 format. Even after only a couple of hours the side bars get temporarily burnt in. Fortunately these go away eventually. I'd recommend getting something with burn-in protection after this experience.

PROS: HDMI v1.3, great picture w/ deep blacks, lots of calibration options, minimal profile
CONS: glossy finish, annoying menu quirks

I've had this TV for a few weeks, and now that I've gotten the set calibrated I've been amazed by the picture. I had a Sony Wega CRT HDTV (30") that had a fantastic picture but I wanted a bigger TV. I also have a relatively bright room, so I wanted to see how a matte screen LCD would perform with a lot of ambient light. (This is why I didn't go with the Samsung LN-T4065F which has a highly reflective glass screen.) Having the matte screen has been great, there is considerably less glare that I have to deal with which makes up for the minor reduction in PQ going from CRT to LCD. Also, the hidden speakers on the bottom give this set a fairly minimal profile; it doesn't have big speakers along the sides or bottom which - in my opinion - make a TV look bulky. Other folks have mentioned poor sound quality from the hidden speakers but I haven't been disappointed. For games and movies I'm running the sound through my stereo system anyway.

I'll provide my impressions by content.
- XBox 360 (via component) output at 1080p: *amazing* detail and color. Since these are video games I'm not concerned about getting color "right", I'm more interested in "pop". Very vivid without crushing blacks too much. Response time is excellent, no noticeable lag.
- Dish ViP 622 DVR (via HMDI) output at 1080i: this is a tough one to rate since most of the processing is happening in the DVR before it sends the picture to the TV. I can say this much: pure 1080i content that doesn't have much motion (such as "SNL" on NBC-HD) is fantastic. If you're willing to spend time getting the picture settings correct you will be very impressed. Unfortunately the compression that Dish uses (MPEG-4) leaves a lot to be desired for fast moving content. With a TV of this size sitting at normal viewing distance you will see the artifacts, but again it's not the fault of the TV. 720p broadcasts (such as ESPN-HD) appear to be a little better if you switch the DVR to output at 720p.
- Sony DVD player (via component) output at 480p: the Samsung does a very good job upscaling the picture, it's not jittery at all. The level of detail during dark scenes is extremely impressive; the blacks are not as good as my CRT but still very deep.


My only complaints about this set are very minor. The glossy finish is OK when the set is turned off but I don't like the glare when I'm actually watching TV. Using the menu (as noted by others) is a little slow, but it also skips back to the previous menu screen after only a few seconds. Somewhat annoying if you're doing lots of calibrations. I've also been unable to get truly white whites when using the Warm2 picture mode (even though Warm2 is as close as this set gets to 6500 K) but I still need to play with the settings a bit.

Overall very very happy with this TV. The picture settings definitely need work out of the box but all LCDs do. Spend some time calibrating the set and you'll get a great picture. And with all the connection options (and HMDI v1.3) this is a TV you can keep for a long time. Looking forward to getting a combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD player later this year to really take advantage of this set's picture quality.

I would like to make everyone aware of a known problem associated with Samsung Television sets. This is a known problem that occurs in Samsungs LCD and Plasma television sets 32" up to 55". The problem is in televisions made between 01/01/2006 to 12/31/2008.
Samsung has acknowledge the problem and is covering television sets made between 10/01/2007 to 01/30/2008 due to the majority of the complaints falling within those dates. However, any television outside of those dates will not be covered. The problem is due to faulty capacitors installed in the power control board. The capacitors tend to fail within 18 to 24 months of purchase or about 700 to 1000 hours of use. This is conveniently outside of the warranty period.
The symptoms of the fault capacitors include;
-Taking longer than normal to turn on
-Producing several clicking noises before turning on
-The red power button cycling on and off several times before the set come on
-Sound working but no picture
-pink dots when turned on that disappear when the power is cycled
Please help me in keeping consumers safe and large corporation honest. Pass this on to as many people as you can. Feel free to sign below if you have been a victim of corporate greed.

Thank you,
Jesse Waters-(rampage4805@aol.com)