» Samsung 40 inch LN-T4061F and 46 inch LN-T4661F 1080p LCD TV Review

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Editor's HDTV Pick

HP 47 inch MediaSmart 1080p LCD HDTV "Out of the box" digital media platform. Enjoy videos, pictures and music from home network + digital media delivered over your broadband Internet connection + 3 x HDMI

HP 47 inch MediaSmart 1080p LCD HDTV on Amazon

LCD or plasma interactive flat panel overlay

March 10, 2008

Samsung 40 inch LN-T4061F and 46 inch LN-T4661F 1080p LCD TV Review

The Samsung 46 inch, 1080p, Full HD LN-T4661F LCD TV has been a popular model. According to Amazon, its sales figures have been tipped slightly by its slightly higher specification sibling, the LN-T4665F – see the end of this review for details.

Samsung LCD HDTV

The Samsung LN-T4061F and LN-T4661F are both full high definition format at 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. At the bottom of display with black surrounds are twin 10W hidden speakers. Both models are suitable for wall mounting having rear holes to VESA standards. The swivel stand’s +/-15° range of movement provides set-up flexibility. The wide viewing angle of 178º(H) / 178º(V) provided by Samsung’s S-PVA (Super Patterned Vertical Alignment) display technology makes it even easier to find a spot in front with a clear view..

You won’t require a separate set-top box for the 61F models as they come with a digital ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) HDTV tuner. ATSC, a collaboration of broadcasters, consumer electronics manufacturers, semiconductor manufacturers and other ATSC member’s, publishes sensitivity specifications for televisions.

Dynamic Contrast Ratio

The dynamic contrast ratio of the S61F models is of 10,000:1. Dynamic contrast levels are produced by adjustments on a scene by scene basis. This dynamic contrast ratio is well ahead of all of the competition including the 7,000:1 ratio for Sony BRAVIA LCDs and 3000:1 and 1,000:1 for Panasonic and JVC.

HDMI-CEC

With the LN-T4661F, Samsung have implemented the optional HDMI-CEC (consumer electronics control) of HDMI 1.3 which allows global control all CEC-enabled peripherals using a single remote. Samsung call it Anynet+. Up to ten HDMI-CEC enabled devices [LINK] can discover and communicate with one another through HDMI cabling across a system.

HDMI-CEC also allows individual CEC enabled AV devices to command and control each other without user intervention. For example; closing the DVD tray could trigger the DVD player to switch the TV on, select the correct video source on the TV and set the appropriate video and audio modes for playback.

SRS TruSurround XT

The Samsung LN-T4661F only has twin speakers but manages a surround sound effect through SRS Lab’s TruSurround XT surround sound. TruSurround XT. TruSurround XT is able to produce two channel stereo output from mono, stereo or multi-channel input signals.

Quick Response Time

For clear action scenes without motion artefacts a fast response time is necessary. The quoted response time for the LN-T4661 is 8ms which compares favourably with those for Sony and Panasonic LCD televisions but falls short of the blisteringly fast 4ms of the Sharp AQUOS.

Response times can be reported and measured in different ways. The two most common measurement methods are “rise-and-fall” and “gray-to-gray”. A technical specification for rise-and-fall is available from VESA (the Video Electronics Standards Association) but, not for gray-to-gray. Rise-and-fall is measured as the time taken for a pixel to change from black to white (rise) and back to black again (fall). Gray-to-gray is the time to change from one shade of gray to another. Consumers should make sure they are comparing measurements to the same standards.

Useful Picture Controls

Picture adjustment features provided with the Samsung LN-T4661F include:

Picture-in-Picture (PIP): two channels at once
V-Chip System: block objectionable content
Multi-lingual on-screen displays: English, Spanish and French
Variable sleep timer: TV shut down after a set time
Auto volume leveler: maintains the same audio volume across channel changes
Illuminated remote control keys: volume, channel and device control
Five color temperature presets
Detailed color temperature controls: gain and offset adjustments for red, green, and blue
Three picture modes: independent for each video source

AV Connections

The Samsung LN-T4665F has three HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) which are the latest HDMI version 1.3. A full connection list is provided in the specification at the end of this review.

Other Samsung LCD HDTV Options

Samsungs 65F LCD HDTV series has the benefit of;

Wide Color Gamut CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) for more realistic colors
Premium audio with dedicated low-range from 2.2 channel dome speakers
Game Mode for more contrast in dark areas, enriched bass sounds and quicker response time

Neither the 61F or 65F series have LCD motion blur reduction for which you would need to look at the Samsung 71F series.