- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 51 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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37 out of 37 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"SAMSUNG is the new KING of LCD ."
Pros: Produces deep blacks with excellent shadow detail. Incredible amount of picture control. Excellent connectivity. Very sleek looking package.
Cons: Input cycling is a little slow. VGA input will not accept XBOX 360 so far.
Summary: Like many of you out there, I research all my expensive purchases before I buy. This model was just released so not even CNET has it rated yet. Choosing a television at your local electronics store is no help either. Sure its fun to look but poor calibration, split signals and pushy salesman prevent us from making the perfect choice.
Not wanting to regret my purchase, I went to a yearly held electronics expo held in my home town. I saw many displays that day and they all looked great but only one in my price range really caught my eye. The SAMSUNG LNT5265F was running PEARL HARBOR off a new Blue Ray player. This TV was a little big for my needs but the picture was estonishing and really put SAMSUNG on top of my list of contenders.
The LNT4661F is one of SAMSUNG's high end 1080p displays and its size was just right. Altough it does not have the same contrast ratio as its brother the LNT4665F. It does retain most of the same specifications and features but without the reflective coating. This actualy was the deciding factor in my choice because of the anoying reflections I would get with my old bubble screen. I have had it for a little over 3 weeks now and tested it with pretty much everything I will be using it for and so far the good defenetly out weights the bad.
Design
This is one of Samsung greatest achivements in design. The bezel is made of black piano plastic with an approximate 1 inch and a half inch border which really helps perceived contract. There is a stylish mirror trim at the bottom of the screen that serves to redirect sound from the speakers but also gives it a very classy look. It is mounted on an oval shaped base made of the same material that swivels 20 degrees both ways. The remote is somewhat disapointing. It lacks dedicated input buttons. This is a minor anoyance because you have to cycle trew each input to get to the right one. It also lacks propers backlighthing for every button. I already had a LOGITECH HARMONY remote so it dosent really mater but I really expected more for the money.
Connectivity
The amount of inputs on this TV is impresive. I won?t name them all, I will let you check out the specs on SAMSUNG's web site. I will say that there are more inputs then on most other units. All of these Inputs give the user plenty of options but it also causes a small problem. This TV has input detection so that you only jump to inputs that are receiving a signal. The problem is that this detection is a little slow. Add the fact that you can?t go directly to the right input with the remote and you can get quite annoyed. Samsung has however allowed you to directly access the proper input by selecting it trew the main menu.All three HDMI 1.3 inputs are 1080p capable so you can benefit from the latest in digital signal transfer technology. I also connected my PC via the VGA input. The picture quality at 1920 x 1280 is great but small text is hard to read so you have to sit much closer to the screen then you would think. I also tried hooking up my XBOX 360 via the VGA input. I have been unsucessful so far in receiving a signal. I was forced to use one of the component inputs which luckaly accepts 1080p.
Video Performance
I highly recomend video calibration using a DVD ESSENTIALS or AVIA disk. Like most electronics companies this Display is sent out of the plant with extremely abnormal settings. I was pleased to see that SAMSUNG included alot of customization settings in the menu but I found that at times these settings would often cancel out each other making it a little difficult to get a perfect picture. The color accuracy on this unit is very good except for a small decoding error in the green channel that is unnoticable during regular viewing. I am pleased to report the Black's and shadow detail is extremely good without any noticable black crush like its predecessor.
Picture quality from HDTV and HD-DVD deliver excellent results. I watch alot more discovery channel then I normaly would because of the prestine life like images I get on this set. Most HD channels look great. Digital channels differ from one to the other but the best looking compare to DVD in quality. Standard definition TV is subpar when compared to CRT but that is to be expected with these types of sets. The best picture is still from HD-DVD. The shapness and contrast of the picture really showcases this displays talents. I was so mezmorized by the picture that I ended up going trew my entire collection in a week. DVD was much better than I expexted. Altough not as sharp as HD it is still very pleasing to watch.
High definition gaming with the XBOX 360 is extremely satisfing. Every game I played brought a smile to my face. The increased brightness and sharpness of LCD coupled with an 8 ms response time equaled many hours of killer gaming time. Gaming enthusiasts will be plased to know that Samsung worked closely with Microsoft to create a special Game Mode that optimiizes image quality, sound and response time for more realistic video game play. Activating this feature in the main menu makes the screen noticably brighter, Allowing me to see in darker portions of the image.
Viewing angles on this TV are very good with a 178 degree Horizontal and vertical range. There is a slight wash out past 35 Degrees but the picture is still very watchable.
Audio performance
Sound is adequate considering the small size from the speakers. Samsung has included a custum EQ in the main menu so you can tweak the audio all you want. This TV is equipped with SRS surround for simulating 5.1 but obviously does not replace a good sound system.
All things considered I beleive that SAMSUNG has a real winner on its hands. The LNT4661F has almost all of the benefits of its slightly more expensive brother the LNT4665F but without any reflections. Altough its not the case for me. If you have no problems with ambient light I would defenetly go for the 65F because of the small price diference. No matter what model you get I'm sure you will be happy.
- 1 reply to this review
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Just wanted to say that this LCD TV will accept a 1080p signal over VGA from the Xbox 360. I currently have the Xbox 360 hooked up to it through VGA set at 1920x1080, and HD DVD playback at 1080p looks amazing.
Where to buy
Samsung LN-T4661F:
$799.95 - $1,719.00
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$1,719.00 | Yes |
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$799.95 | Yes |
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