Samsung's Pretty, Pricey Picture

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I was also less impressed was the TV's "up-conversion" of analog video to high definition, often a distinguishing factor among the multitude of sets available today. (Sony's XBR4 is one of the best LCD performers in this regard.) Although the issue will become less prevalent when analog broadcasts are phased out early next year, I found it less enjoyable watching non-HD shows in the Samsung set's 1,080 progressive resolution

Poetry in Motion

The Samsung also lacks 120-hertz screen refresh, one of the top new technologies introduced last year. When properly implemented, 120-hertz technology doubles the screen-refresh rate to reduce or eliminate motion blur on LCD sets. Likewise, the Samsung set's screen response time of 8 milliseconds to receive and process a signal doesn't come close to the 4-millisecond speeds that rivals such as Sharp offer.

But despite these two apparent shortcomings, the Samsung didn't suffer the motion blurs and ghosting you might expect with action footage. In fact, it passed with flying colors. During the opening scene of Will Smith's I Am Legend, where he's in a Ford (F) Mustang chasing a herd of deer through the deserted streets of Manhattan, the set faithfully rendered the Blu-ray HD images with no discernible blur.

Those who might be disappointed by the 120-hertz omission can take solace in the set's so-called LED Motion Plus feature, which syncs the LEDs with the screen-refresh rate to minimize stray light that might illuminate the liquid crystals at the wrong time. But since I was happy with the set's performance without turning this feature on, I didn't even try it.

Plenty to Satisfy

As with most of the latest sets, Samsung offers a wealth of picture adjustments to make the most discerning video­phile fairly happy. There are three picture modes—movie, dynamic, and standard—with customizable color, contrast, and brightness settings. In addition, the movie mode allows full adjustment of characteristics such as color tone and white balance, as well as the overall light output of the TV. Since Samsung generally sets its backlighting relatively bright to stand out on the showroom floor, adding user control is a welcome feature (though users will want to set the LED backlighting as bright as possible).

Overall, Samsung's LN-T4681F does a good job of standing out in a very crowded field. Because of its high price, though, you won't see it on display at many big-box retailers. Instead, you can find it at specialty shops such as Magnolia and Crutchfield, where you're not likely to get a bargain price. Even so, the HD fanatic will likely be quite happy with the purchase.

Edwards is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau.