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Westinghouse - 42" 1080p LCD HDTV for $989.99

jman19

jman19

Lifer
Is this a good price for the above set, and is it worth it? I want to pick up a 42'' set, and the price seems good, but should I wait for something better?
 
Is that one at BB? It might be the set I have. I paid 1199 for it but they lowered the price a few weeks later and they paid me the difference. I was happy about that.

As far as the tv goes, it's a budget lcd. It's not going to look as good as a sharp, samsung, or sony. However, in your living room, without anything else to compare it to, it looks pretty good.

Mine has an occasional problem where it won't detect my dvd player on an hdmi input. It isn't a big deal, all I have to do is cycle the input to have it detected. The only other problem I have is that when watching digital QAM content (I only have basic non-digital cable) on a few of the networks, the audio and video doesn't sync after it's been on a channel for a few minutes. Some channels work, some don't and I really can't tell if it's a problem with the tv, a problem with the networks, or a problem with my cable provider.

Mine also doesn't have pip. This surprised me because I thought that was a standard feature these days. I kept the tv anyway, I don't really use pip much. It's weird though, because the remote has pip buttons on it.
 
Originally posted by: Dman877
Is that one at BB? It might be the set I have. I paid 1199 for it but they lowered the price a few weeks later and they paid me the difference. I was happy about that.

As far as the tv goes, it's a budget lcd. It's not going to look as good as a sharp, samsung, or sony. However, in your living room, without anything else to compare it to, it looks pretty good.

Mine has an occasional problem where it won't detect my dvd player on an hdmi input. It isn't a big deal, all I have to do is cycle the input to have it detected. The only other problem I have is that when watching digital QAM content (I only have basic non-digital cable) on a few of the networks, the audio and video doesn't sync after it's been on a channel for a few minutes. Some channels work, some don't and I really can't tell if it's a problem with the tv, a problem with the networks, or a problem with my cable provider.

Mine also doesn't have pip. This surprised me because I thought that was a standard feature these days. I kept the tv anyway, I don't really use pip much. It's weird though, because the remote has pip buttons on it.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the set that is on sale this week at BB. I read about the HDMI issues, and saw that your solution, or turning the set on and off, fixes the problem. Doesn't seem like a deal breaking issue...

The audio issue is interesting though. I'll try to find out if this is a problem other have reported with this model.

Thanks for the input - I realize that the set won't look as great as a Sharp, Samsung or Sony set, but it is decent amount cheaper. Is there reason to believe some higher quality sets will drop in price any time soon?

Also, thanks for the bump RD :thumbsup:

 
I got this TV from in Dec '07 for $959 w/ 3yr same as cash. It's well worth the price.

I have a 360 and a TivoHD hooked up via component. I have the same input switching problem sometime. I just have to cycle the inputs like Dman said. I haven't had the sync issue that he mentions, so I can't comment on that.
 
I got one a few months ago fo dat price less 12% coupon ($871), rewards credit, pricegrabber, ebates, and naturally CC cashback... so around $815 pre-tax. Part of my reasoning was that it seemed a good el cheapo set which could be enjoy'd while waiting for better technology to materialize. I could not justify paying 1.5 to 2x more for only an incremental improvement. It is used soley for PC output and beat my expectations -especially for lo-def. For possible caveats check out the thread at avsforum.
 
Thanks for the info guys.

Another quick question for owners of this set. I took a look at it in person, and as expected it didn't look quite as nice as some of the other sets. For several hundred dollars cheaper, I expected this of course. I did notice that the color seemed to be a bit washed out and not vibrant. The guys in the store said they do not change the sets on display from their factory settings. Has anyone noticed that the color seems a bit washed out, and can this be changed by tweeking display settings at home?

Thanks again!
 
I have this as a desktop monitor at home, yes, you can tweak the colors. there is a thread at avsforum with recommended optimum settings
 
Originally posted by: daveymark
I have this as a desktop monitor at home, yes, you can tweak the colors. there is a thread at avsforum with recommended optimum settings
Click to expand...

Did tweaking the colors produce a nice change from the factory settings, or will the colors not get too much more vibrant?

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Over 4,300 posts: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=851860
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Yeah, I'm reading it now. I almost pulled the trigger on one today but now I am more confused than ever 😛

Every TV thread on that board lists hosts of problems... lol
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I wouldn't buy it after reading the first few pages and known problems/bugs/glitches.

Have you considered a Sceptre, Olevia or Vizio?
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Over 4,300 posts: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=851860
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm reading it now. I almost pulled the trigger on one today but now I am more confused than ever 😛

Every TV thread on that board lists hosts of problems... lol
Click to expand...

I wouldn't buy it after reading the first few pages and known problems/bugs/glitches.

Have you considered a Sceptre, Olevia or Vizio?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm considering a lot of things at this point 😛

I'd consider one of the above sets, though, but of course I'd have to do a lot of reading before making a decision.
 
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: daveymark
I have this as a desktop monitor at home, yes, you can tweak the colors. there is a thread at avsforum with recommended optimum settings
Click to expand...

Did tweaking the colors produce a nice change from the factory settings, or will the colors not get too much more vibrant?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes, the tweaking resulted in a nice improvement. I also know of 5 other people who bought this TV, and they are all happy with their sets, with no known problems.
 
Mine is almost 2yrs old now.
Westinghouse WAS a great TV for its price when I bought it (especially when a comparable Samsung cost almost 2x)

I wouldn't buy it today tho, I'd pay a little more and get a Samsung 71f.
But if you really want to futureproof your purchase, you should pay a little more and get Samsung 81f.

I finally saw Samsung's new 81f LCD yesterday, it was brilliant. I almost dare to say that it's comparable to Pioneer Kuro.
Made me want to regret my Westy.. 🙂

If you still think Westy is for you, maybe you'd be interested in buying a used one that has zero dead pixel and can do 1080p on all inputs? 😀
 
The audio sync problem I have is only for channels that are QAM encrypted and only some of them have this problem. It's very odd. Normal cable channels are fine (of course the video quality is crap).

As for the hdmi thing, I did some more research. I think this set just has a crappy hdmi chip so sometimes there are handshaking issues. /shrug

It definitely needs some user calibration to get the best picture. I haven't looked at avs thread but I do have a dvd calibrator I use.
 
If you decide on a 3rd-tier LCD I would only go with Olevia by a wide margin over Westinghouse or Vizio ... picture quality & color accuracy comes close to many of the best screens available. Aside from a funky menu setup which you'll get used to and potential unexpected out-of-pocket costs for any warranty service beyond 45 days of ownership (varies by model) theres really no downside to them.

The best suggestion would be to save a few hundred dollars more & get yourself a nicer set ... I routinely see 42 inch Toshiba's & Samsung LCD's & Panasonic Plasma's on sale for right around $1200 & in the long run you'll be much more satisfied with your purchase then if you rush into somthing to save a comparatively small amount of cash.




Originally posted by: Dman877
The audio sync problem I have is only for channels that are QAM encrypted and only some of them have this problem. It's very odd. Normal cable channels are fine (of course the video quality is crap).
Click to expand...


This problem occurred intermittantly with two seperate Westinghouse 32-inch LCD's I had on ALL video sources (OTA SD/HD, All Cable channels & DVD) ... Westinghouse support said it was a "known issue" for which they could offer no solution & I so I finallly returned the 2ed unit I purchased for a refund.
 
For what it's worth, Consumer Reports just rated the westy 42 inch right below toshiba and above every other budget lcd.
 
Originally posted by: Dman877
For what it's worth, Consumer Reports just rated the westy 42 inch right below toshiba and above every other budget lcd.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure I trust Consumer Reports for rating things like TV picture quality any more then I trust their reviews of PC equipment ... reliablity rankings & things like that are another story though & for that kind of thing I swear by them. (CU is the last paper magazine I still have a subscription to)


My second LCD purchase was a Westinghouse 32 inch LCD which as I said above had the audio-sync problem (and terrible SD picture quality) ... I exchanged it for another of the same model & had the same issues so I returned it for a refund.

Next I went with a Vizio 32 inch which worked ok but had downright poor color reproduction & black-levels combined with even worse SD picture quality then the Westinghouse so I returned it too.

Finally I saw a fantastic deal on an Olevia 532H right after Black Friday & went for it ($449) ... at first its menus gave me trouble, but once I figured them out & ran my calibration DVD on it I was blown away by how much better it looked then the first two "budget" LCD's ... IMO its actually very close in picture quality to the Toshiba 37HL67 I have upstairs in my den in terms of sharpness & although the black-levels/color accuracy don't compare well, it did cost $400 less so I can't complain.



 
I have one of the first 47" 1080p monitor's from Westinghouse and it looks great, colors are very bright and vivid, accurate even. black levels arent that great of course, but nothing to complain about with the price I paid.
 
FYI, firmware updates are available now... did mine a couple days ago.

The USB service port did factor into my original purchase decision too since problems are so commonplace with "modern" TV's. For awhile it was doubtful whether WDE would make updates available to the public but happily they have.
 
thanks, will have to check into the firmware update. looks like all i need to do is load the FW onto a thumb drive and we're off and running
 
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