Samsung LN-T4661F 46" LCD TV

Excellent television

Posted Oct 27, 2007 - The picture is outstanding. We chose this model after spending more than six months reviewing various stores and websites and finally seeing it in a store. We thought about plasmas, but it seems the industry is favoring LCD's and have noticed that plasmas have not progressed that much over the years while LCD's are practically their equivalent now. Originally, we were targeting the Sony Bravia and Toshiba Regza, but after seeing them together, the Sony was more expensive and the Toshiba comparable but the Samsung outperformed them both. The detail, color, and sharpness are lifelike, especially watching in HD. We thought about getting the 4665 model that has a slighter better resolution, but the glare effect would not work in our living room as we have large windows that would have reflected the outside light, making the picture difficult to see. Two things you should keep in mind before purchasing any HD television. First, the viewing angle is NOT what they advertise. It is substantially less. Although you can see detail at the 176 degree angle, the color saturation seems to begin fading around 120 degrees, unlike plasmas that are nearly 176 degrees, similar to tube televisions. Second, although no one really addresses this, you should set it for 16:9 at all times which stretches the picture on non HD broadcasts so that the picture is displayed with everything looking shorter and fatter. Although plasmas are more susceptible, if you set the LCD for 4:3, be careful not to watch more than two hours at a time or risk a burn in of the black vertical stripes. A work around is if the station broadcasts 16:9 commercials or you regiment yourself in flipping the channel or source video to a 16:9 view for a few minutes to clear it out. Otherwise, a great TV and a great value in comparison.

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Review for LN-T4661F 46

Posted Dec 12, 2007 - Overall, I love this product. It is a perfect size for my living room; and I love the design ,slick but cute. The only compliant I have is the sound. The volume has to be maximum in order to hear well, since I do not have a home-theater or surround sound system. That function bothers me a little bit, because now I have to spend $$$ to buy a surround sound system if I want to enjoy the TV at its best.

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LN-T4661F 46

Posted Jul 8, 2007 - This TV set has so far exceeded my expectations in picture quality and ease of set up using a Direct TV Satelite System. I highly recommend that anybody looking to purchase a TV go to a store with a large display of TVs (that are operating side by side) and compare picture quality against this set. It will be hard to find a better picture.

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High Definition Nirvana

Posted Nov 20, 2007 - After debating for a couple of months on what LCD to buy, it finally came down to 2 candidates. The LN-T4665F and the LN-T4661F. Both TVs have almost the same specifications with only a few exceptions. They're both 1080p and have a 46" screen. The LN-T4665F has a contrast ratio of 15,000:1, while the LN-T4661F was 10,000:1 but the difference is barely noticeable. I read a lot of bad reviews on how the LN-T4665F had a greater glare problem than the other model, but I guess it all depends on the room where you end up putting it. To keep it short, I chose the LN-T4661F and a $500 difference made it even sweeter. As far as where I got it from, I went to the local BrandSmart in Miami and since they had the Thanksgiving week sale going on, I was able to grab it for $1,498.99. That's a good $400 less than what it is going for in most places. I have Digital Comcast and I've been looking for good HD programming and I think that the best channel was HD Theather. I can spend hours watching it, it eases the pain of regular broadcast and soothes my eyes. The beauty of this TV really shows with that channel. Oh and my Xbox360 loves it too... Overall I am very pleased with the product I ended up buying. Another point to Samsung for their great line up of LCDs. I would greatly recommend this TV to others.

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Simply the best

Posted 1 year ago - I had compaired this TV to countless others in its size and class. None came even close to hitting the mark especially for the price. Right out of the box this thing has been great. Not even one dead pixel. I could not belive that when I hooked it up it picked up 40 HD channels I did not know I even had. All in crisp 1080i. I am considering buying a Blue-ray player to go along with this so that I may beable to get the full experience. If anyone is even thinking about buying this tv...DO it! Its worth it.

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Absolutely amazing LCD

Posted Oct 10, 2007 - I was a little apprehensive about jumping into the HDTV market after not having purchased a new TV in over a decade, but I have no regrets about buying this LCD. I have been impressed with the TV since opening the box for the first time. The high gloss finish on the TV is beautiful and the antiglare screen does its job perfectly. My satisfaction went way up after setting up the TV (in about 5 minutes) and watching an HDDVD for the first time. The picture quality blew me away, from the stunning detail to the brilliant color. As a sports fan, I was very impressed with the picture from HD digital cable. Watching sports in HD is so much better than SD. I read several reviews stating the sound quality wasn't great, but I don't find anything lacking from the TV's speakers. I also use the TV as my laptop external monitor and have no problems reading small fonts from about 9 feet away. This TV has definitely been worth every penny.

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Samsung 46" LCD - Great Picture

Posted May 20, 2007 - I would absolutely recommend this TV. I did a great deal of research and this model was absolutely the best combination of performance and cost when compared to the Sony models. The 1080i option is definitely worth it as is the higher 10000:1 contrast ratio. I compared this model to the Sony equivalent in the store in side by side settings and the Samsung had a more 3D look where the Sony had a more picture frame look. The setup is fairly straight forward. The only thing I still do not understand is what is the best way to "stretch" the picture to fully fill the screen when viewing the HD vs. non-HD channels. I am hoping the HDMI cable will do this automatically. The audio is very good, it has a nice, full sound. We watch a lot of sporting events and have not seen any pixelization during basketball or baseball games which makes viewing these events incredibly enjoyable. It has 3 HDMI jacks so I am not concerned about being limited in the future at all. Our room is very bright with lots of windows and the picture still looks awesome. Going with an LCD in such a light room is the way to go compared with Plasma. Getting this TV through PriceGrabbers saved me over $700 compared to the local stores.

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Great TV - I'm delighted I have it

Posted Jun 27, 2007 - This TV really impressed me from the moment I took it out of the box. I did tons of research before my purchase and narrowed it to a couple of Samsungs (the LN-T4665 and LN-T4661) and some others. I opted for Samsung due to the high quality of their TV products. Specifically, I opted for the LN-T4661 over the LN-T4665 for aesthetics and the non-reflective coating. Ever since I got the TV out of the box, I haven't thought twice about my decision. The TV is VERY bright. At night, in very low light, I have to turn down the backlight of the TV or it is actually a bit painful to watch. The contrast is amazing as is the color. I also love the non-reflective screen. It does a wonderful job of sucking out the reflected light, even in heavily lit environments. But, what has impressed me the most is how the TV handles various inputs. I have hooked up three different computers, a set of bunny ears, and a straight cable line (no cable box) to the TV (at different times obviously). In each setup, the TV performs wonderfully. Most impressive to me was how it handles the direct cable line. The tuner picked out channels, including high def channels, I didn't even know I had! I almost wanted to call my cable company and let them know that I might be stealing channels, but, why in the world would I do that!?!? In any case, when I hook computers up to it, the image is incredible as the TV performs like an oversized computer monitor, with every detail and pixel coming through. In all, I have been really delighted with this TV and I have found that it is just old enough now that you can bargain your way to a good deal. I purchased this from a local vendor and paid $2350 with tax and everything. For what I received, I think it was a heck of a deal. If you are like me, and you are doing hours of research on this TV and its competitors, I'd recommend you stop and just buy this one - you won't be sorry.

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Samsung 46" LCD - stunning Picture at 1080p

Posted May 29, 2007 - Picture is stunning at 1080p viewing KING KONG. ATSC tuners can pick up 10 more local FTA DTVs (1080i, 720P). many improvement can be made: 1) allow scan for DTVs only Or can separate DTV and analog TVs into different groups. 2) "info" button displays signal bars to help positioning attenna. 3) JPGs display on USB flash drive is too slow 4) firmware update via USB interface.

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Awesome Value for the Price

Posted Aug 28, 2007 - I have been researching and looking for an LCD for the past 3 months. I narrowed it down to the LNT 4665F & LNT 4661F. The major difference between the two is 15,0000 to 10,000 contrast ratio and glare on the 4665F. I went with the 4661F because my living room is extremely bright and I didn't want to deal with reflection that 4665F gives off due to the brightness in the room. I couldn't be any happier with this purchase. The TV looks great, sounds great, and the HD channels & HD movies blow you away. I got it for $1920 with a free 19" LCD monitor (valued at $400). You won't regret it.

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Great LCD TV!!!

Posted Aug 19, 2007 - Right out of this box, this tv looks great! I did alot of research on LCD's and it came down to the Samsung LN-T4665F and the LN-T4661F. The 4665F definitely had slightly better blacks than the 4661F but I ultimately decided on the 4661F to avoid possible chances of natural glare. HD channels are great and I wish all my channels were HD! Movies are much better to watch now too!! am very happy with my choice and saved ~$300 by choosing the 4661F. The only thing I see as a weakness is that when the screen goes black for commercials, the center of the screen is more black than the left and right edges. I've tried the tv with my XBox 360 and it is awesome. No ghosting and performance is spectacular!! I also tried connecting it with a CPU but haven't gotten it to a good setting that I am happy with. It could be that an HDMI would be better but don't have any right now to test. As mentioned earlier I have done alot of research and critics rate Samsung LCD's very high. If you're in the market for a great LCD that performs, then Samsung is it. If you like glossy, shiny LCD's then 4665F will fulfill your needs and pleasure but if you're looking for a slightly cheaper alternative that has very marginal differences with the 4665F than 4661F won't disappoint. I've had the 4661F for 2 weeks now and it's still great!!!

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Battle of the Panels

Posted Dec 1, 2007 - I visited many many electronics stores to look at TV panels and unlike most people, the Samsung was not a contender for me. Given an unlimited budget, I would have gotten a Sony XBR4 or tried harder to find a Samsung 4681 LED based panel on display to compare it against. Since my budget was more down to earth, and because my 32" Westinghouse had filed for an early retirement program - Black Friday seemed like it would be a good time to find a deal to upgrade. So unlike most people, my contenders were chosen not out of desire but of fiscal limitations. This meant that the choices I had were: the Olevia 24TFHD, the Samsung 4661, the Sharp 46D64U, and possibly a Sony if I could splurge for one. The Sharp was not bad. I had high hopes for this unit, being that the panel was made in a new 8th gen fab factory in Japan by Sharp. The dealbreaker was the lack of 1920x1080p support on their VGA port. For most people this shouldn't be an issue - DVI over HDMI works fine for that resolution. The colors on the Sharp tended toward very neutral, which I don't mind. Among the many stores I visited, some chain and some not, it seemed apparent that Sony across the board had the most consistently natural color balance and good level of sharpness and detail, whereas Samsung consistenly had strong pushes in the orange and red spectrums (even in their 4671 panel). I was not able to find a 4681 on display. As for the Olevia - well, for the price it can't be beat. However, if one puts it up against more accurate displays - you will see that the Olevia's black levels are out of wack. They are literally grey. And the colors are really not accurate - greens are pale/sickly, and reds are magenta/dark pink. Ok, so that was just one Olevia in one store. And we all know about the disclaimer on how TVs are never calibrated right in the electronics stores. But this review is not really about the Sharp, or the Sony, or the Olevia. It's about the Samsung. Looks-wise, the only panel that gives it a run for its money is the Sony XBR, a set costing a lot more money with a floating glass design. Overall, I think I like the XBR design more, but the Samusung has its own flare. A simple gloss piano black finish, with s chrome metal on the bottom to say - dark and sophisticated with a little flare. It has the round Samsung button and logo in the front that is all too familiar but not old. What Samsung has made is a competitive panel but carries the Samsung heritage of a strong color palette that I am not 100% comfortable with. The screen is nice and bright with plenty of detail. Blacks are a deep black, but has the characteristic loss of details in the shadows and is not better than an average LCD panel in that regard. It will take me a while to fully calibrate this set. But in the meantime, runs of bluray movies and PS3 games on this set, and hidef / DVD movies played through the VGA port from my computer all seem to be of quite good quality . No worries about banding or clouding, no blacks that are grey, in house-warranty service for issues, and a 46" TV that weighs less than most 20" tube tv's? There's alot to like. Once the set has broken in and I've done a full calibration, I will report on whether there has been any improvement in the color palette and shadow details. But i can tell you that out of the box, and in the store, these are by far the greatest weaknesses of this TV set. The latter is not something that is easily addressed with current LCD technology, but the first is a bit of a shame.

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Samsung 46" LCD -- Amazing Quality and Value

Posted Jul 6, 2007 - I recently purchased this television after extensive in-store and online research. I am very glad that I did. The picture is quite stunning and there is very little to no pixelation during fast-moving scenes. The numerous inputs allow for many set-up options. While I have read other reviews saying that the audio is not good, I have found it to be very adequate. A big plus for me compared to the LN-T4665F is that the non-reflective coat on the LN-T-4661F is really that. My room is extremely bright with numerous windows--you would never know watching the tv. The LN-T4661F would be a better option for a room with no potential glare from windows. Overall, I am extremely satisfied and feel that this television offers an optimal mix of quality and value.

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Great product

Posted Feb 14, 2008 - I did alot of research on LCD TVs. C-net and consumer reports rated this TV really high. The next higher TV was like $1500 more. For the price, it was a great deal. The picture is great. It would be nice to have more inputs in the back. However, I am very happy.

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1080P output is quitey good -- lots left to be desired, though.

Posted Sep 9, 2007 - I got this TV to replace/add on to a Pioneer PDP-4340, whichi is a plasma screen TV that is aging very gracefully, but with a resolution of 1024x768 just didn't seem to do 1080P soruces justice. The move to this TV is a mixed bag at best. On the positive, blu-ray movies (at least those that have good sources and encoding) are stunning, and those (unfortunately few) PS3 games that really can utilize 1080P look much, much better than on the Pioneer (using either 720p or 1080i). Brightness is quite good, and the set itself is visually very clean looking. Sound sis adequate, but less than stellar (I'm guessing that here is where corners are cut assuming people buying in this range have external audio systems, and that's true for me -- but it would be nice to have a good integrated focused/directional sound for when other people in the house are sleeping, etc.) The bad: HD over cable looks horrible -- I'm sure in part due to the source limitations, and at least in part to the upconversion from the 720p sources. That fact that my cable provider has recently reduced HD bandwidth in favor of pushing high-speed internet and digital phone service doesn't help, but as I sit watching NFL games it really makes me want to go upstairs to where the Poineer resides and put it back on, since the output jus tlooks *better*. Menus/controls are also inexcusable for a TV in this price range -- I use two primary inputs (an HDMI that comes out of a switch and a PC/SVGA), but cannot easily switch only between those two... Have to static surf. PIP functionality is limited, and no side-by-side is available (which was quite convenient at tiems with the PC hooked up ). Luckily, I do most of my routing through the HDMI switch, so I dn't have to get overly frustrated with this too often. And it seems very difficualt to get a good color saturation/depth balance, especially considering the brightness and contrast specs this TV has. Aside from in a few PS3 games where I could move contrast and brightness a LOT and still have it look OK due to the color palattes used, I've yet to get black tones that I'm really happy with (read: better than the 2-year-old Pioneer's). Overall, this is agood TV for someone who wants a good 1080P *monitor* -- play with the settings on your other components as it will be less frustrating than playing iwth this TV, but with a good 1080P singal gonig in, the output does seem worth it, if only at the margins. If you don't have a 1080P input source for this TV (and aren't planning on getting one ASAP), I honestly think you r money can be better spent.

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