Westinghouse still the best choice?

[GoodRevrnd]

I had been considering getting one of those W37w3 panels for a while now, but I see they don't really make them anymore. I also was thinking about it and would probably prefer a 42" or 47". I see you can still get the W42w2, but that one was never released in the w3 which I understand had better electronics in it. I also see they now have the TX series out which is fairly reasonable, but how do those compare in panel quality?

Is there better stuff I should be looking at for this size in the $1200-$1500 range?

 

[Slammy1]

There are some better options, the Westy's more of a budget model (good bang/buck ratio). Check out AVS forums for some reviews on sets. What's your viewing distance?

 

[Tiamat]

some Vizio models in that price range looks good as well.

 

[tatteredpotato]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2070571&enterthread=y

Good deal, but 1 dead pixel.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

viewing range probably at about 8-12 feet. this can be difficult to say though because i'll be moving by the end of the year.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

How about Vizio? Can we rank the budget TVs in order of quality and price?

 

[GoodRevrnd]

ok avs forum is informational overload, and their no price talk rule seems to make comparison difficult. mostly a bunch of discussion on opinions on a specific tv, very little good information on side by side comparisons (from what i could tell anyway).

also, whenever i go to those types of forums (i went through this when i was looking for headphones at headfi =/ ) i find and latch onto something way outta my range
someone buy me a samsung 81 series

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: GoodRevrnd
ok avs forum is informational overload, and their no price talk rule seems to make comparison difficult. mostly a bunch of discussion on opinions on a specific tv, very little good information on side by side comparisons (from what i could tell anyway).

also, whenever i go to those types of forums (i went through this when i was looking for headphones at headfi =/ ) i find and latch onto something way outta my range
someone buy me a samsung 81 series

Translation: I scanned the site for 10 minutes and couldn't find what I wanted

AVSForum is a wealth of information. Sure it's got a lot of information, why not read it all? You'd rather be LESS informed about your $1000 decision? There are side by side comparisons all over the "official" threads, you just have to read them.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

i think i was on there for an hour and a half. admittedly i got sidetracked on a flame war over SED, but...

 

[Slammy1]

Yeah, at 8-12' 42" is probably a minimum size. I guess the next questions are what you intend to use the display for (PC, video, gaming) and what sources you have (DVD players, consoles). It's hard to do side-by-side, in stores the displays are usually poorly calibrated and often on split signals plus it's cost prohibitive to have several different displays. I played with calibration a long time before I finally settled for what I have, I can't imagine having a number of displays to have to go through that with.

One thing about cost, focus first on what you want. With the way HDTV pricing tends to move around you can probably wait a little bit before the technology you want will come into your price range. What I recommend to friends is to watch for deals then research the displays, because you are correct there is a whole lot of information out there.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

If you're looking for a rather inexpensive, but quality 42" I'd recommend the Toshiba 42HL67. Its only 720p (1366x768) but the picture quality is far better than Westinghouse, and it has 3 HDMI, 2 Component A/V, 2 Composite A/V, 1 D-sub. As a 720p, its not quite as nice as a 1080P would be as your primary computer monitor, but will still work fine as an HTPC display.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I guess I'm mostly looking for something the 360 would look good on (which I realize only necessitates 720p), we don't watch movies all that much and the type of movies we watch aren't really going to benefit from the awe inspiring 100" view with septuple mega 4 dimensional surround sound. I tell myself I would want to hook the pc up to it, but in reality I kind of doubt I would.

I only have a standard def tv currently, and let me tell you, game like R6:Vegas are literally unplayable. It's impossible for me to see what's going on.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Unless I'm not looking hard enough, it looks like the 42HL167 (1080p) is only $100-$200 more than the 42HL67 (720p). Is it really worth the savings?


Now if only I could get the 47HL167 for about $300 less.

 

[Slammy1]

Kinda depends on your goals. Right now, 720P is your target so you'd be better looking for some better "other" specs (scaler, contrast-though that's a bit random). Now, if you possibly foresee BR or HD in your future then 1080P all the way.

It's sounding like you may be happier with rear projection, depending on ambient lighting. You could afford more size at your price point. LCD would be preferred under bright lighting conditions.

 

[Shawn]

Vizio or Olevia are much better.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: Shawn
Vizio or Olevia are much better.

Westinghouse are much better

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Originally posted by: Slammy1
Kinda depends on your goals. Right now, 720P is your target so you'd be better looking for some better "other" specs (scaler, contrast-though that's a bit random). Now, if you possibly foresee BR or HD in your future then 1080P all the way.

It's sounding like you may be happier with rear projection, depending on ambient lighting. You could afford more size at your price point. LCD would be preferred under bright lighting conditions.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a rear projection that looked that great to me. And aren't those sensitive to gaming devices? Or was that an old problem that was corrected long ago.

 

[Slammy1]

There are a lot of people who use them for gaming, and the technology has improved dramatically. At the high end of your range, you could expect to get a very nice unit. OTOH, what is best is a personal choice, and if you do not like the technology the question is answered.

It's been a bit since I bought my display, and I apologize that I cannot offer you more specific advice in your search. What I would recommend is to follow some of the deal sites and research the displays as they become available. It helps a lot to diminish the buyers remorse. Aside from the Hot Deals forum, here are a couple of more.
http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/
http://www.gottadeal.com/Deals/Category/televisions

It should give you a perspective on pricing and, more specifically, what you want.

Another note on resolution. At the distances you describe, the higher resolution only becomes important for larger displays. Where the cut-off occurs is another personal preference sort of thing, so you may find a visit to the electronics store to see important to the decision. The best display is a matter of tastes and the specifics of your environment, so long as you approach the decision from that perspective you'll be much happier.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Originally posted by: GoodRevrnd
Unless I'm not looking hard enough, it looks like the 42HL167 (1080p) is only $100-$200 more than the 42HL67 (720p). Is it really worth the savings?


Now if only I could get the 47HL167 for about $300 less.

I can't see a difference between a 42" 720p and a 42" 1080p from 8 feet away (my seating distance) so I chose to save a few hundred $.

If I were going for either a smaller TV (for use as a PC monitor + TV combo) or a larger (46"+), 1080p would be higher on my priority list.

 

[MrWizzard]

I just thought I would put my 2 cents in...

The 42 inch westinghouse w2 and the 37 inch westinghouse w3 are the same thing. Just different pannel sizes. The reason the 37 inch is a W3 is becuase the 37 w2 was a 720P model. The w1 was the first 37 inch they released but it also did 1080P.

The difference between the 37 w1 and w3 is just more inputs and some nice firmware updates for HDMI handshaking, it also is much better looking case.

If I were you I would be looking at the 47 w1 westinghouse it has the size you want and does 1080P, I am seeing that you can pick one up for about 1400 a good deal. It's W1 but they only released 1 model so far. The brains are pretty much as good or better than the 37 w3s.

Just my opinion. Let me know if you have any Qs.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

wow, you could have totally just msged me on aim to tell me that... lol

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian

Originally posted by: Shawn
Vizio or Olevia are much better.

Westinghouse are much better

hahahahahaha

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
I just thought I would put my 2 cents in...

The 42 inch westinghouse w2 and the 37 inch westinghouse w3 are the same thing. Just different pannel sizes. The reason the 37 inch is a W3 is becuase the 37 w2 was a 720P model. The w1 was the first 37 inch they released but it also did 1080P.

The difference between the 37 w1 and w3 is just more inputs and some nice firmware updates for HDMI handshaking, it also is much better looking case.

If I were you I would be looking at the 47 w1 westinghouse it has the size you want and does 1080P, I am seeing that you can pick one up for about 1400 a good deal. It's W1 but they only released 1 model so far. The brains are pretty much as good or better than the 37 w3s.

Just my opinion. Let me know if you have any Qs.

Very helpful post. Do you know anything about the new TX series? I'm interested in grabbing the 47" w1, and don't really like the lack of DVI ports on the TXs, but if they offered a better picture I might switch my choice.

 

[BirdDad]

you could use an DVI to HDMI convertor they are around 10$

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
I just thought I would put my 2 cents in...

The 42 inch westinghouse w2 and the 37 inch westinghouse w3 are the same thing. Just different pannel sizes. The reason the 37 inch is a W3 is becuase the 37 w2 was a 720P model. The w1 was the first 37 inch they released but it also did 1080P.

The difference between the 37 w1 and w3 is just more inputs and some nice firmware updates for HDMI handshaking, it also is much better looking case.

If I were you I would be looking at the 47 w1 westinghouse it has the size you want and does 1080P, I am seeing that you can pick one up for about 1400 a good deal. It's W1 but they only released 1 model so far. The brains are pretty much as good or better than the 37 w3s.

Just my opinion. Let me know if you have any Qs.

Very helpful post. Do you know anything about the new TX series? I'm interested in grabbing the 47" w1, and don't really like the lack of DVI ports on the TXs, but if they offered a better picture I might switch my choice.

Im pretty sure the TX vs the LMV model difference is just the fact that the TX has a tuner box. That and the TX has 4 HDMIs the LMV has 1 HDMI but 2 DVIs. But both claim they are 1080P. You could always call Westinghouse they usually are happy to help.

You could just use a converter, DVI to HDMI; (I use a HDMI to DVI currently on my 37 W1 for my PS3 with no problem) it?s a digital signal so it should not affect it. You will loose sound but I really hope you are not planning on using the Westinghouse?s built in speakers, that is something I do not recommend they really are not very good.