Samsung LN-T4066F 40" LCD TV

Hello again! I haven't posted a review for a while, but I feel I need to clue in folks as to the excellent value and performance found in Samsung's 40" LCD offering: the LN-T4066F.

I'm a bargain hunter through and through. I like value. Love it in fact and, at times, I'm willing to sacrifice performance for value if the price is right. However, I wanted to replace my 32" ILO 720p HDTV with a slightly larger high-end unit. My potential targets were Sony and Samsung 40-46" 1080p units to pair with my Playstation 3. I set my budget @$2000-$2500.00 for such a purchase.

So imagine my delight when I was able to acquire a pristine "open-box" Samsung LN-T4066F (which my local Best Buy uses as a "reference" set for it's Blu-Ray player) at an incredible $1,340.00. Nothing was wrong with the set at all. No clouds, backlight issues, or dead pixels. The original buyer simply purchased it, never turned it on, thought it was too small for his family room and returned it. Best Buy then decided that they wanted to get rid of a ton of open-box LCD HDTV's at the quarter-end (prime time to find bargains, BTW). Their loss is my gain. After owning it for a few weeks, I'd recommend this unit even at full retail (@$1,799- $1,999).

We've seen a few iterations of the LN-T406XF series. The 40" LN-T4066F is a Best Buy "exclusive" even though I've seen a few for sale online from other retailers. There are differences between this model and the more common LN-T4061F and the LN-T4065F:

1. The 4066 and 4065 models have reflective screen coverings. This is not a bonus if you want an LCD unit in a room with a good deal of ambient light. In short, if you've got a ton of windows and/or light sources you want on in the room while viewing, this set may not be for you. However, the backlight is strong enough to compensate for anything resembling mid-range ambient light. This is the only major potential "con" I can find that might sway some folks away from this unit.

2. The 4066 has, to my knowledge, a more recent main board and starting firmware than the 4065 and 4061 models I've encountered although I've also read about 4065 main board upgrades. I've heard accounts of pink and green screen "flashing" with older boards used with the 4061 and the 4065 (prior to August, 2007). I have neither found nor heard of any issues with my current main board (v.1009) I haven't updated to the most recent firmware, but moving off my firmware version (v.1029) would also mean that I'd need to completely re-calibrate- something I don't want to do given the exceptional picture I get from my current settings.

3. The 4066 speakers are set on the bottom of the set rather than the sides. This shaves a couple inches off the TV's width for a better fit if space is limited.

4. The "curve" on the bottom of the set produces a rather pleasing aesthetic design versus the straight bottom offered by the 4061 or 4065. We have a bit of chrome at the very front bottom of the set and a blue light below the "Samsung" brand name. Let's see…chrome and blue on a glossy black TV shell...I wonder what they're trying to match?

5. The 4066 model provides a 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio versus 10,000:1 for the 4061.

Video:

The LN-T4066F, when properly calibrated, produces exceptional blacks, crystal-clear detail, and spot-on color when fed a 1080p source. It produces a decent SD picture with decent depth and black levels depending on the source. The strength of LCD HDTV's has never been the ability to produce a great picture from SD sources, but this model does an adequate job. I'm watching a non-HD presentation of "The Bone Collector" on Bravo right now and the video is no worse than normal DVD quality, although non-HD local channel video takes a bigger quality hit.

This model has three distinct viewing modes. Only "Movie" mode will allow for proper calibration. The good news is that the settings for any mode are specific to the input source. This means that the owner can calibrate for every source they're inputting. My current calibrations for 1080p input via my PS3 in "Movie" mode are:

Picture: Movie Mode

Contrast: 93
Brightness: 46
Sharpness: 25
Color: 55
Tint: 50
Backlight: 7
Color Tone: Warm1
Size: Just Scan
Digital NR: Auto

Detailed Settings:

Black Adjust: Low
Dynamic Contrast: High
Gamma: -1
Color Space: Auto

White Balance:

R-Offset: 21
G-Offset: 20
B-Offset: 21
R-Gain: 0
G-Gain: 21
B-Gain: 26

Setup:

HDMI Black Level: Low

My Color Control:

Pink: 20
Green: 15
Blue: 15
White: 15
Edge Enhancement: On
xvYCC: Off

Those settings bring out striking detail from my Blu-Ray collection via my PS3. I used "The Wild", "Casino Royale", and "Crank" as my reference material while calibrating. I'd like to attribute the baseline calibration settings to avsforum.com member WPWoodJr. After tweaking the suggested settings for the amount of ambient light (low-to-mid-range) in my viewing room every detail is sharp, the picture is crisp, colors are bright as well as accurate, and blacks are deep and detailed. This set is capable of processing a smooth-as-silk 24fps video signal and does not suffer from any 60fps "stutter" during fast-motion scenes. IMHO, asking for a better picture from an LCD unit just feels greedy.

Audio:

Via satellite input, the sound is rich with good lower tones after tweaking the settings and the unit reproduces clear dialogue along with decent base (for a television). The unit does come with a number of pre-set audio modes including Movie, Speech, Music, Standard, and Custom. Using the "Custom" mode, I've tweaked the settings to push low, low-middle, and middle-pitched sound while backing off the higher-pitched tone reproduction. SRS TruSurround XT and Auto Volume are both set to "On". The result produces, for my ears, as solid a sound as I've heard while watching television.

I've tested the SRS TruSurround XT by inputting "Layer Cake" Blu-Ray uncompressed sound (a robust and diverse audio experience) to the TV from my PS3 via HDMI. My audio connection to my Sony HT-DDW900 surround sound system is fiber optic. I switched the sources back and forth from TV to surround sound. Certainly, the surround sound dominated from an audio quality perspective. However, I also found that the simultaneous feeds could be paired for solid effect. My surround sound volume is set at 49 with the Samsung set at 13. The result is just a slightly better sound (especially "detail" and music) than if I had enabled the TV's Internal Mute. However, any variation higher from the TV may produce a bit of an "echo" for dialogue (think "Stadium" setting).

It's an almost-imperceptible audio quality improvement, but it's there. For my last HDTV, I muted the set internally for the PS3 input, but I won't do so for the Samsung. However, the volume "mix" may need to be tweaked from movie to movie. That's either a plus or a minus depending on how much work one wants to do.

One additional note is that this HDTV is equipped to input MP3 audio (and display photos) via its "WISELINK" USB input from a USB flash drive. While that may make this the biggest MP3 player I own, it's not a feature I'll be using. But it's there.

Inputs/Outputs:

Three HDMI inputs top the list of reasons to consider this product. It's a dedicated high def video machine. Two of those HDMI inputs are at the back of the unit with one on the side (HMDI IN 3). I actually like the thought put into that because as we continue to move forward into the world of high-definition, having an easy-access HDMI port is nice. IMO, we'll eventually see portable high-def sources and if this set is wall-mounted, we'll need quick HDMI port access. On the side, we also have S-Video and Composite video and audio-in ports (AV IN 2). That's again welcome placement for feeding from my Archos 504. As noted earlier, we also have a USB "WISELINK" port here which can import MP3 music and pictures from a USB thumb drive. The television displays menus for replay and viewing.

In the back we have the other two HDMI inputs as well as a plethora of other connection options. Two antenna coaxial inputs are there for over-the-air and digital cable or satellite. We find two Component inputs as well, which pushes the high-def inputs to five. Nice. Another set of Composite inputs assists me in hooking up my PS2. We also have a DVI input and an audio input for using the set as a PC monitor.

The Samsung LN-T4066F is easy to connect to. Setup is simple, and the set can automatically identify new sources as soon as the input cables are connected. Initially, I ran into some issues with finding the proper channel for my satellite source, but when paired with a satellite or cable input, the "Auto Program" function finds the right pre-set for the source. That's awesome and the feature saved me a heaping helping of time.

The outputs are where this TV falls a bit short. The set can output sound to a home theater system via fiber-optic or Composite audio cables and has a headset jack (on the side), but there is no Video-Out connection. That bugs the heck out of me because there's no way to set up my Archos 504 as a recording unit via this television's outputs. For all the future-proofing this Samsung set has, I question why it wouldn't extend to a single simple S-Video or Composite video output. The absence of such won't affect my rating as my satellite setup doesn't allow for an optimal input and I know that the absence of a video output won't affect most folks, but color me grumpy about that. Moving on…

Special Features

We've already talked about WISELINK. While a good "to-have", it's a bell or whistle that really doesn't do much that can't be done by an external source. The Samsung "Anynet " system is also an option, which allows the remote to control any "Anynet " equipped Samsung devices via HDMI. IMHO, that's a nice way to push the Samsung brand, but I'd suggest that "Anynet " is little more than a novelty at this point. But hey, the touch sensitive buttons we can't see on the right hand side of the unit are cool.

The TV does offer Picture-in-Picture, but only from two different sources. For example, if I'm watching a Blu-Ray movie via my PS3, I can also keep track of a football game via my satellite receiver. With one touch on the remote, I can also switch audio between sources. That's nice but nothing revolutionary.

The Bottom Line:

While I've noted a personal negative or two, the Samsung LN-T4066F is a real prize. It has a few features that I won't use, but the unit's ability to properly push 1080p video is outstanding. HDMI 1.3 compliant? Sign me up. It's sleek and sexy. And it's exactly what I wanted for hundreds of dollars less than I expected to spend. The best news is that I've seen this set new on sale for $1799 and it could be had for less in the next month or two even if you're not looking at an "open-box" item. I'd say that's a five star review.