Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD + free HTIB $1599 BestBuy

[imported_BS]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
horrible tv, westinghouses are absolute crap

---




Ok you dont own one and are talking crap. Yep makes alot of sense.
For the price these are awsome monitor/ TV's.

 

[AMCRambler]

Originally posted by: Zap
Are you sure the Samsung you were looking at was an LCD and not a plasma? 6000:1 sounds more in line with plasma screens, which will have much better contrast and possibly better colors.

I'm gonna head over to BestBuy in a couple of hours to look some more.

Nope he's right. The samsung 40 has 6000:1 ratio whereas the Westy only has 1000:1.

Samsung 40in Specs

Westy 42in Specs

 

[rugger29]

Originally posted by: shoRunner

Originally posted by: Snakexor
they are about 10-20db darker than most other good lcds

or maybe your just 10-20 IQ points to dumb to use one properly

Seriously... while I don't agree with the hostility of this thread, and I normally would never comment on this, if you're going to attack someone for being dumb, use the proper English to do so.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: shoRunner

Originally posted by: Snakexor
they are about 10-20db darker than most other good lcds

or maybe your just 10-20 IQ points to dumb to use one properly

shorunner i dont own one, nor do i own the other ones but i do work around the 40" sony xbr2s and the new samsung 4095 that blow that tv/monitor away. sure they are more money, but also a better name brand. all of the tvs are set to "vivid" in the picture menus. (all you tv nerds like to play with settings, so there you go they are all the same). the westinghouse is even hooked up through component video (thanks to the lack of atsc tuner) and it still does not even come close to the sony or the samsung.

thank you shorunner, think before you open your mouth, thank you.

So what you're saying is that you work at Best Buy? There goes your credibility.

 

[NaughtyGeek]

I have the 37" and use it with my Comcast HD service as well as my PC. Day of Defeat:Source looks phenomenal at 1920 x 1080 on this thing. I would have to assume the 42" is a newer version than mine so it is probably even better. Definately hot as I paid close to that for my 37" alone.

 

[Abel007]

Originally posted by: iseestars
I think part of what he's complaining about is that this doesn't have as high contrast as the more expensive sets. The Samsung I was comparing it with had 6000:1 contrast version 1000:1 on this one. Higher contrast means darker darks, but also the brights will look comparatively "brighter" since there's more variance betweent he two. I own a 19" widescreen Westinghouse monitor and I wouldn't complain that they aren't bright enough. It's about the same as a Dell Ultrasharp in that regard... Contrast is a different issue though.

There is no standard for contrast ratios. Each company has its own way of measuring it. Therefore the numbers really don't mean much.

Someone has linked to the avsforums. If you are interested in this monitor then PLEASE go visit their forums for correct information. They have many geeks in-the-know and will be glad to answer any questions you may have in a proper mannar.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: esquared
Good reviews from:
Audioholics.com
Soundandvisionmag.com
Homethreatermag.com
17 reviews from Amazon.com
Five more reviewers from Newegg
PCMag.com
And here's 117 pages about it on AVSforum.com here

But if a Best Buy employee with the nick of Snakexor says it's "absolute crap" then the deal's off.

 

[kellehair]

Any thoughts on the HTIB?

 

[ivol07]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there is also free shipping on this. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

 

[araczynski]

picture quality/brightness/contrast is all a matter of taste, i wouldn't take anyone's opinion of taste over my own.

if the price is right, go to the store and compare it for yourself and see what YOU think of it, don't make a taste decision based the opinion of anyone on the net, that's just stupid.

if someone has some details about brand X or Y lcd's dying quickly or something like that, then THAT is usefull information to share with people.

 

[Firsttime]

I have a 17" WS Westinghouse monitor, I really like it. I was a little nervous buying a monitor from a company that makes blenders and such, but I have been really impressed.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Firsttime
I was a little nervous buying a monitor from a company that makes blenders and such, but I have been really impressed.

The name is just licensed, the company itself actually has nothing to do with the manufacture of the sets.

Viper GTS

 

[Marm]

I have the 32" and it is only 720p and so far I am very pleased with the picture quality. I use it for OTA tv, wathcihg DVD's, and as my monitor for my PVR. Like most of the people have said for the money it has been great and I would buy one again when I am shopping for a bigger TV if the price is right.

 

[modestninja]

Originally posted by: araczynski
picture quality/brightness/contrast is all a matter of taste, i wouldn't take anyone's opinion of taste over my own.

if the price is right, go to the store and compare it for yourself and see what YOU think of it, don't make a taste decision based the opinion of anyone on the net, that's just stupid.

if someone has some details about brand X or Y lcd's dying quickly or something like that, then THAT is usefull information to share with people.

The only problem with that is that most big stores that carry these (like BB, CC, etc...) set the TVs up horribly and often have horrible signals going in to the TVs. The old adage garbage in -> garbage out would apply there. The only way to really know for sure about PQ would be to set a couple of these up and try them out for yourself, which unfortunately is quite an investment and can be a hassle with returns and all.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: modestninja

Originally posted by: araczynski
picture quality/brightness/contrast is all a matter of taste, i wouldn't take anyone's opinion of taste over my own.

if the price is right, go to the store and compare it for yourself and see what YOU think of it, don't make a taste decision based the opinion of anyone on the net, that's just stupid.

if someone has some details about brand X or Y lcd's dying quickly or something like that, then THAT is usefull information to share with people.

The only problem with that is that most big stores that carry these (like BB, CC, etc...) set the TVs up horribly and often have horrible signals going in to the TVs. The old adage garbage in -> garbage out would apply there. The only way to really know for sure about PQ would be to set a couple of these up and try them out for yourself, which unfortunately is quite an investment and can be a hassle with returns and all.

Years ago I remember people recommended that you actually take your own DVD (HD-DVD or Blu-Ray now?) player in and use it on each of the TVs. If I was investing $1-4000 in a TV, maybe I'd do that, but it seems kind of odd. Anyone actually try that? Did the salesmen give you a WTF look?

 

[Todd33]

Comparing manufacture contrast ratios is pretty .. dumb. They are marketing numbers, especially Samsung. My friend has a so called "3000:1" Samsung LCD and low and behold it looks just like every other LCD. You need to buy both sets and connect them to the same source if you really ever want to compare them.

 

[Zap]

Okay, I made the purchase. The screen actually looked kinda small surrounded by 50" plasmas. Got it for under $1700 out the door with free delivery and that Philips DVD/surround package. Anyone want to buy that Philips package for cheap? I was thinking of using it but it is not meant to integrate into an existing system. The unit is a 5.1 surround with an 8" powered sub. The DVD player is also the receiver, with 2 stereo inputs and various video outputs, plus AM/FM radio. It uses what looks like a VGA cable to connect to the subwoofer. The amp is in the sub and all five speakers hook into the sub. I was hoping for more standard fare so that I can just replace my DVD player and use the sub with my computer (already have 12" powered sub for living room).

 

[kki000]

This deal is absolutely smoking.
For the dude who mentioned the sony as being better, the cheapest i found that set was 2900, cheapest from a dealer i would buy from is 3400.. its 2x almost 3x the cost.
IMHO when the price is that far apart, you CANNOT make a reasonable comparison.

 

[mshan]

I read over AVS Forum that Westinghouse is just a brand name and that they have other companies design and build their tvs and lcds, so there probably isn't any consistency over the whole brand.

The 37w3 is supposed to be superb, but some have apparently had problems with the 42 inch model.

 

[Todd33]

Originally posted by: mshan
I read over AVS Forum that Westinghouse is just a brand name and that they have other companies design and build their tvs and lcds, so there probably isn't any consistency over the whole brand.

The 37w3 is supposed to be superb, but some have apparently had problems with the 42 inch model.

More FUD. Please link your source. I have read all 117 pages of the 42" thread and never seen this claim.

Known problems with the 42" according to the thread:
1. Power lockups, older firmwares will have to be unplugged and plugged back in to respond to remote. It is semi-rare and Westinghouse claims they are going to do field firmware fixes.

2. Banding, all LCDs have this issues. You have 30 days to replace it, buy and try.

3. Sparkles on HDMI in 1080P. It was found that the HDMI chip is 1080i not 1080P. No fix yet, but 1080P is claimed in the literature, so they should have to fix it. Buy the extended warranty and have them buy you a new model in the future is my advice. Though 1080i deinterlaced to 1080P looks the same by many people's accounts.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: Todd33

Originally posted by: mshan
I read over AVS Forum that Westinghouse is just a brand name and that they have other companies design and build their tvs and lcds, so there probably isn't any consistency over the whole brand.

The 37w3 is supposed to be superb, but some have apparently had problems with the 42 inch model.

More FUD. Please link your source. I have read all 117 pages of the 42" thread and never seen this claim.

Known problems with the 42" according to the thread:
1. Power lockups, older firmwares will have to be unplugged and plugged back in to respond to remote. It is semi-rare and Westinghouse claims they are going to do field firmware fixes.

2. Banding, all LCDs have this issues. You have 30 days to replace it, buy and try.

3. Sparkles on HDMI in 1080P. It was found that the HDMI chip is 1080i not 1080P. No fix yet, but 1080P is claimed in the literature, so they should have to fix it. Buy the extended warranty and have them buy you a new model in the future is my advice. Though 1080i deinterlaced to 1080P looks the same by many people's accounts.

Now I don't want to thread crap because a). I've seen this monitor, and it's pretty darn good, and b). the price is great, buuuuuuuuut....

This is a huge issue, man. The biggest selling point of this (other than the price) is the 1080p, and now supposedly it's not 1080p? I just don't understand the "hope they do right by you" mentality of buying something this expensive, and hoping they'll fix it later.

Now perhaps I'm reading this wrong or something, but if the darn thing isn't 1080p, I don't see how you can pull the trigger.

But, for those of you on the fence, just look at it this way: There's a guy over on AVS forum who has a home theater set up -- like a real theater. I think he said it was over a quarter mil. And what does he have in his bedroom (if I remember correctly?): This panel.

Just thought you might wanna know.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Todd33

Originally posted by: mshan
I read over AVS Forum that Westinghouse is just a brand name and that they have other companies design and build their tvs and lcds, so there probably isn't any consistency over the whole brand.

The 37w3 is supposed to be superb, but some have apparently had problems with the 42 inch model.

More FUD. Please link your source. I have read all 117 pages of the 42" thread and never seen this claim.

Known problems with the 42" according to the thread:
1. Power lockups, older firmwares will have to be unplugged and plugged back in to respond to remote. It is semi-rare and Westinghouse claims they are going to do field firmware fixes.

2. Banding, all LCDs have this issues. You have 30 days to replace it, buy and try.

3. Sparkles on HDMI in 1080P. It was found that the HDMI chip is 1080i not 1080P. No fix yet, but 1080P is claimed in the literature, so they should have to fix it. Buy the extended warranty and have them buy you a new model in the future is my advice. Though 1080i deinterlaced to 1080P looks the same by many people's accounts.

Now I don't want to thread crap because a). I've seen this monitor, and it's pretty darn good, and b). the price is great, buuuuuuuuut....

This is a huge issue, man. The biggest selling point of this (other than the price) is the 1080p, and now supposedly it's not 1080p? I just don't understand the "hope they do right by you" mentality of buying something this expensive, and hoping they'll fix it later.

Now perhaps I'm reading this wrong or something, but if the darn thing isn't 1080p, I don't see how you can pull the trigger.

But, for those of you on the fence, just look at it this way: There's a guy over on AVS forum who has a home theater set up -- like a real theater. I think he said it was over a quarter mil. And what does he have in his bedroom (if I remember correctly?): This panel.

Just thought you might wanna know.

if it's not 1080p, you might as well save 1/2 the cost and buy an emprexx from outpost

 

[iseestars]

Originally posted by: Todd33
Comparing manufacture contrast ratios is pretty .. dumb. They are marketing numbers, especially Samsung. My friend has a so called "3000:1" Samsung LCD and low and behold it looks just like every other LCD. You need to buy both sets and connect them to the same source if you really ever want to compare them.

Hey thanks for calling me dumb, but actually the sets at BB WERE all off the same source and yes I fiddled with the settings on both and yes the Samsung looked better and had better contrast and no spending thousands of dollars to compare sets isn't a smart investment, nor is it any more accurate than going into a store that has the same source sent to both sets already and you can see obviously the differences in contrast and color. One person recommended bringing in a dvd player or whatnot with your own material to compare them. Now THAT is a good idea. On the other had, calling people dumb and presenting suggestions involving spending much more money and time to compare them to the same effect is not. But thanks for posting.

Oh and btw, it's lo and behold, not low and behold. And if neither you or your friend can properly adjust the tv to take advantage of the increased ratio, I'm sorry. They are not just marketing numbers. DLP's have much higher contrast "numbers" than LCD's and strangely, they have much higher contrast in reality. I'm not sure why that's so hard to understand.

con?trast /v. k?n'træst, 'k?ntræst; n. 'k?ntræst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[v. kuhn-trast, kon-trast; n. kon-trast] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

9. Television. the brightness ratio of the lightest to the darkest part of the television screen image.

I think that is fairly clearcut and their competitors would never let them get away with marketing something as higher contrast ration than it is so as to sell more than them. Just think about it before you call others dumb.

 

[kki000]

if it's not 1080p, you might as well save 1/2 the cost and buy an emprexx from outpost

Oh man...
This panel has a native 1920x1080 pixel grid. The problem is only with 1080p based inputs.
1080p input is unecessary and generally meaningless with regards to even real 1080p content, which is hd dvd and bd.

please read this -
projector central hd dvd and br article.

What they fail to mention is that it makes absolutely no difference which transmission format you use?feeding 1080i or 1080p into your projector or HDTV will give you the exact same picture. Why? Both disc formats encode film material in progressive scan 1080p at 24 frames per second. It does not matter whether you output this data in 1080i or 1080p since all 1080 lines of information on the disc are fed into your video display either way. The only difference is the order in which they are transmitted. If they are fed in progressive order (1080p), the video display will process them in that order. If they are fed in interlaced format (1080i), the video display simply reassembles them into their original progressive scan order. Either way all 1080 lines per frame that are on the disc make it into the projector or TV. The fact is, if you happen to have the Samsung Blu-ray player and a video display that takes both 1080i and 1080p, you can switch the player back and forth between 1080i and 1080p output and see absolutely no difference in the picture. So this notion that the Blu-ray player is worth more money due to 1080p output is nonsense.

So for all intents and purposes, the problems with the 1080p INPUT on this tv is just as moot as the 1080p output on the new br players. Just use 1080i, the tv will correctly assemble the 1080i into 1080p with no loss of resolution.

 

[ElFenix]

westinghouse makes nuclear reactors. sony can't even make a battery properly.

/thread