I just bought a Samsung LNT 4061F and many have complained on other forums about the buzzing/humming coming from the power inverter for the flourescent backlight. Other brands have had some complaints as well (like Sony, and especially plasmas), but this Samsung especially seems to be bad.

If I set the backlight to max, the humming goes away, anything less than that and that humming returns, driving me nuts. I can hear it if the volume is low or if I mute the set, and the tone of the hum changes according to how bright the scene is.

I have asked for an exchange at Best Buy where I bought it and the new TV will be delivered in a few days. Is it a futile excercise?

I wanted to see just how common this problem is, whether it be on this Samsung model, or other brands too. Am I just being too picky or is this `normal' for all LCDs because of the technology?

Besides turning the backlight down, have you performed a calibration on the TV - turned off the various auto settings, etc.?

FAQ - What You Need To Do To Your New HDTV

all the auto features are off except noise reduction when watching SD TV programs. I don't believe any of these auto features would affect the buzzing of the power inverter however.....

Im interested in purchasing this
TV for my Parents ,should I be worried by this buzzing? or is there another model in that price range you might suggest.

IMO, it really depends on how sensitive your hearing is, and how big of a room you're putting it in. Buzzing aside,it's got some of the best picture quality and connections for this price range and I do love this set alot.

I think I hear the buzzing more than my plasma downstairs because the Samsung is in the bedroom, which is a much smaller room than the living room where teh plasma is. Everything sounds louder in a smaller room, which is why this buzz is driving me nuts.

Once i get my replacement set this Saturday, I'll post to let u guys know how it goes.

For the same price range, the Samsung has the deepest blacks and best colour to my eyes. It's even nicer than the Pioneer plasmas to me. It's all subjective of course. Maybe you can bring your parents to the store and let them pick from the LCDs in that price range, what might look good to u and me may look terrible to them. For all you know, they might pick a cheapie brand for half the price and u can pick one up for yourself too!

I have one of the LN-T4061F sets, and am not aware of any buzzing on it at all.

My S.O. has very good hearing, so I assume she would have noticed it were there any buzzing in the room.

I wonder if this is related to the version of the TV? It appears there have been several versions of the internal electronics.

Thanks for the info rfielder. I think different versions of the TV makes a difference.

I also wonder if the buzzing is due to dirty power like some people suggested. If I may ask, do you have a plasma or another LCD in the house that buzzes? If so, then that may rule out the dirty power theory.

My plasma in the liviing room does buzz, but I can't hear it because it's in a much bigger room than my bedroom, and I always assumed plasma buzzing is normal.

I have that TV (which i also bought at Best Buy) and it hums when the backlight is on anything but 100%. I got my set last November.. maybe Best Buy got a bad batch.

I didn't return it because I don't mind keeping the backlight at 100%.

Are you certain, your not experiencing a ground loop, it can
cause horizontal "waves" travelling up the screen, and/or a buzzing sound.

Some tv's are more sensitive to this then others.

I suggest you unplug everything except your tv, and only leave your sat
or cable tv hooked up, and go from there.

If it's indeed a ground loop, you will be able to determine the source,
to remedy it, you have to plug this device on another wall outlet,
that's not on the same circuit "breaker".

its not ground loop. I've used a cheater plug btween the tv and the wall socket to eliminate grounding interference and also turning off everything and unplugging the cable. Hum........

Ground loop interference typically would come throught the speakers, not the mechanics inside the TV.

I'm not spending hundreds on a line conditioner as most people report it doens't solve the problem. Set #3 coming in a few days, I'll live with the hum if it's there again, sigh.

My Sony 52XBR4 has zero buzzing. Nil, Nada, zip. And that's in a room that is 10' x 12'.. a little small for a 52" TV.

My 5 year old 42" Panny plasma on the other hand, buzzes like there's no tomorrow.... which is why I got the Sony. I was originally going to get the Panny 52" plasma, but after hearing the buzz on that one and many other plasma sets, I decided to go with LCD. I didn't really want to live with the buzzing for another 5 years.