Any opinions on Westinghouse LCD's?

[JasonRR]

Does anyone have any experience or feedback on Westinghouse LCD's?

I've been looking for a 37"-42" LCD for my bedroom, and really want one with a built-in DVD player so that the install can be as clean as possible.

Sam's has a 40" Westinghouse LCD w/built-in DVD player for $900. It's only 720p, but that meets my needs.

I don't need the latest and greatest TV out there, but I don't want to buy a piece of crap either.

Thanks!

- Jason

[SY04Mustang]

check the user reviews on the tv youre lookin at

[RiceStang]

Have heard not so good things about Westinghouse and Sylvania brand TVs. Stick with your Panasonics, LG, JVC, Sharp, Philips type brands.

I do know that Circuit City has a 32" LCD with dual HDMI, 720P, side-load DVD for $1099. And a 32" is plenty big for a <500 sqft bedroom.

[JasonRR]

Thanks for the quick feedback.

The problem with most user reviews is that they're usually posted within days/hours of the person having owned it, and most times the opinions are based on very limited experience.

I've looked at the 32", and just thought that it was too small. I've got a big master bedroom and want the TV on the opposite wall from my bed. I'm going to make a cardboard template though and tape it up on the wall to see what that 32" would actually look like.

Thanks again.

- Jason

[dman]

most reviews even quick ones are accurate. If i plug a tv in, and im having issues 2 days later, im pissed and posting....Westinghouse is junk, as most people will agree. If your making a investment for yourself like that, make a good one right off the bat. I personnally dont like built ins...If your dvd player quits on you, then you get to lose the tv as well waiting for repair, with external (as cheap as they are), but another if it goes bad, and you dont lose your tv, just run down and buy another cheap dvd player.

[RiceStang]

most reviews even quick ones are accurate. If i plug a tv in, and im having issues 2 days later, im pissed and posting....Westinghouse is junk, as most people will agree. If your making a investment for yourself like that, make a good one right off the bat. I personnally dont like built ins...If your dvd player quits on you, then you get to lose the tv as well waiting for repair, with external (as cheap as they are), but another if it goes bad, and you dont lose your tv, just run down and buy another cheap dvd player.

I agree with all of that.....

[silvercobra03]

I know of someone that owns the 42 1080p and has had it for around a year with no problems and my cousin just bought a 47inch and likes it so far. I personally was thinking about getting the 32inch 780p for my computer monitor/tv it was for sale at best buy for $560.00. Next to that there was a Sharp and Sony 32inchs also 780p which looked so much better the sharp was $8 something and the sony was like $1300.00 but just for a monitor i thinks its a good deal and will probably go thur with it.

[JasonRR]

I did a bunch of shopping today, and think that I have decided to drop the whole LCD/DVD combo idea. For around $100, I can run some long ass component cables through the wall from the TV to my nightstand, where I'll "hide" the DVD player. Sticking with the combo TV just limited my options too much.

I went to Best Buy, Circuit City, Starpower, Sams and Wal-Mart looking at LCD's, and at the end of the day, I think I'm going to end up with a 42" Vizio at Wal-Mart for $899. It's only 720p, but that'll be just fine for my bedroom.

Now, for the next question......

Do I need to drop $80 on a mount??? They look SO basic in construction, and I'm just having a hard time paying that much money for a bracket. I don't need a full articulating one, just one that tilts forward. I checked Ebay, and they have some less expensive ones, but they all seem to want to try and scam on the shipping ($30-$50 I've seen), which brings the cost back fairly close.

Anyone have any insight on mounts for 42" LCD?

Thanks.

- Jason

[silvercobra03]

I did a bunch of shopping today, and think that I have decided to drop the whole LCD/DVD combo idea. For around $100, I can run some long ass component cables through the wall from the TV to my nightstand, where I'll "hide" the DVD player. Sticking with the combo TV just limited my options too much.

I went to Best Buy, Circuit City, Starpower, Sams and Wal-Mart looking at LCD's, and at the end of the day, I think I'm going to end up with a 42" Vizio at Wal-Mart for $899. It's only 720p, but that'll be just fine for my bedroom.

Now, for the next question......

Do I need to drop $80 on a mount??? They look SO basic in construction, and I'm just having a hard time paying that much money for a bracket. I don't need a full articulating one, just one that tilts forward. I checked Ebay, and they have some less expensive ones, but they all seem to want to try and scam on the shipping ($30-$50 I've seen), which brings the cost back fairly close.

Anyone have any insight on mounts for 42" LCD?

Thanks.

- Jason


Starpower <----- Not cheap :o If you are going to spend $900 I would check ebay the one friend that bought the 42 westinghouse paid that much and it was 1080p. Since Vizio and westinghouse are similar 1080p for the same money is a better deal.

P.S. you could also check out Ed Kellum's as well sometimes they have good deals

[johnny1999]

We have the Westinghouse 42 LCD at work. It is OK at best. The picture is good for a cheaper tv. The Westinghouse is inferior to my Vizio and the JVC plasma. I personally think you could do better for marginally more money.

[silvercobra03]

We have the Westinghouse 42 LCD at work. It is OK at best. The picture is good for a cheaper tv. The Westinghouse is inferior to my Vizio and the JVC plasma. I personally think you could do better for marginally more money.

Really I did not think the Vizio was so much better? If he wants a better picture and does not mind a 720p that sharp I saw at best buy for around 800 would be a fine TV.

[Grant]

Why not get a 42" LG 1080P for not even $100 more?

http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/Ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=5822342&subid=20074738&type=

As far as Westinghouse vs. Vizio, both are both about the same. In the past Westinghouse has seen a lot more use in commercial setups where as Vizio for the most part has been aimed towards residential use. Neither are that much better than the other. Neither are a "top-tier" TV. I would pay the extra $100 for a good brand like LG and also get the 1080p capability.

[dman]

im not sure on the 42" vizio, but i would check the mount patterns for sure. I went to hang a 37 this past weekend, and the mounting wasnt even visa compliant, even though it stated it was. I had nothing that worked, called vizio and found out the mount pattern was 200x500, which is really stupid. They wanted to sell me their own mount. We ended up fabbing a bracket plate for our customer. what a mess.

[JasonRR]

Thanks very much for the link to that LG, Grant! I think that's my new TV!

I'm going to go look at the LG today at Fry's, and likely either buy that one or that Vizio as a back-up.

I appreciate all the advice. I'll let you know where I end up.

- Jason

[Grant]

No problem. Stop over at www.monoprice.com and pickup a mount for it.

[Beej]

I have a 32'' Viseo, I have had it for over 3 months and had no problems with it. It is a good TV for the price. I am not super concerned about impressing everyone with brand names and how much money I spent. All my friends who have big high dollar tv's are actually impressed with the picture quality of my cheap Westinghouse TV. When I purchased it compared it to a few other TV's and for me the price difference to go to a Samsung or LG, it just didnt look that much better. This TV to me when I compared was just as good as the olivia's and Visio's

[Grant]

http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/Ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=5829429&subid=20104989&type=

Here's a 42" LG for $899, but it's 720p.

Beej -

What did you spend on it? Nearly all 32" LCD TV's should have a pretty good picture, regardless of 1080p-1080i-720p. That's why they barely make any 32" that are 1080p.

I don't think anyone has made a post boasting how much they've spent on their TV's. I think most posts are around how to get the best TV for the cheapest price, which has always been my goal for my personal choices and when I offer advice/links for the cheapest I can find the TV for.

I like Westinghouse TV's vs. the Vizio TV's. Based on your post though, I'm confused as to which one you have. Also, just FYI - Syntax Olevia TV's are some of the worst TV's you can buy.

[Beej]

http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/Ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=5829429&subid=20104989&type=

Here's a 42" LG for $899, but it's 720p.

Beej -

What did you spend on it? Nearly all 32" LCD TV's should have a pretty good picture, regardless of 1080p-1080i-720p. That's why they barely make any 32" that are 1080p.

I don't think anyone has made a post boasting how much they've spent on their TV's. I think most posts are around how to get the best TV for the cheapest price, which has always been my goal for my personal choices and when I offer advice/links for the cheapest I can find the TV for.

I like Westinghouse TV's vs. the Vizio TV's. Based on your post though, I'm confused as to which one you have. Also, just FYI - Syntax Olevia TV's are some of the worst TV's you can buy.


I bought mine at best buy for $545 before christmas. It is a 32'' 720p. model number SK-32H240S.

I thought it was a good deal, and I am very happy with it.

[Jae11]

i have had the 47" Vizio LCD 1080 for 4 months now and love it, bang for the buck i think its the best

[Grant]

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/113572 42" 1080p, 4 HDMI's - $999 with free shipping and no tax in Texas.

[JasonRR]

Update...for those who might care.

I got fed up with all the research and comparison shopping, and went out today and bought a 40" Samsung 720p LCD. I looked at several units, and just kept getting drawn back to the Samsung. It was on sale for $999 at Best Buy right up the street from my house, so I bought it.

It feels incredibly good to have this decision behind me. I'm nearly certain that within months (probably weeks!) I'll see a better 1080p unit for sale, probably cheaper, but I really like this TV and know that I'll be happy with it. It should look dope in my bedroom.

Thanks again for all the input and advice guys.

- Jason

[Grant]

There's a philips ambilight 1080p, with 3 hdmi's on sale for the same price at Fry's. You can already get a similar size 1080p LCD. As long as you're happy though..

[JasonRR]

I looked at the Phillips TV's, and thought that they weren't quite as bright or defined as the Samsungs. I know that might have had a lot to do with the way the TV was set up at Best Buy, and/or the quality of the signal going to the TV, but I kept getting drawn back to the Samsung.

As "snobby" as this may sound, I really wanted a nice, quality brand-name TV on my wall. I have a Samsung 61" DLP in the living room that I love, and have an upconverting Samsung DVD player for the bedroom with the same piano black finish as the 40" I just bought, so aesthetics played a pretty big role in the decision too.

There were some good deals on LG's (42" 720p for $900 and 1080p for $1069), and they had a new in-the-box Panasonic 42" Plasma (supposed to be a very nice TV) for $999, but again, I kept getting pulled back to the Samsung, and ended up buying that one.

I'm having a little trouble doing the install exactly the way I wanted though. The DirecTV guy came out and said that it wasn' possible to run the wires where I wanted to because of the slope of the roof. I'd like to get a 2nd opinion on it, so can anyone recommend a good installer to come out and either confirm what I've already been told or do the install for me???

- Jason

[JasonRR]

Well, here's what I ended up with. I need to go get some of those staples to finish getting the wires all tucked up under the shelf and hidden, but this is pretty much the finished product.

Because it's an exterior wall with fire breaks, I was unable to fish the wires the way I wanted to. I ended up just going to Ikea and buying that shelf for $50 and running the HDMI's and TV power cord down that piece of channel.

I really, really wanted a cleaner install, with only the TV on the wall, but it was just going to be too difficult.

Breakdown of components:

- 40" Samsung 720p LCD
- Monoprice.com wall mount (the only way to go!)
- DirecTV HD cable box
- RCA Upconverting HDMI DVD Player
- Ikea stainless steel shelf

Everything was originally going to be hidden in my nightstand, so when I bought the DVD player, the most important things to me were size, HDMI output and upscaling. I didn't mind the aesthetics or brand name then, but now it might have to be replaced with a nice Samsung piano black unit to match the TV.

Should be pretty decent set-up for the bedroom. Thanks for everyone's advice as I worked through this project.

- Jason

[silvercobra03]

Well, here's what I ended up with. I need to go get some of those staples to finish getting the wires all tucked up under the shelf and hidden, but this is pretty much the finished product.

Because it's an exterior wall with fire breaks, I was unable to fish the wires the way I wanted to. I ended up just going to Ikea and buying that shelf for $50 and running the HDMI's and TV power cord down that piece of channel.

I really, really wanted a cleaner install, with only the TV on the wall, but it was just going to be too difficult.

Breakdown of components:

- 40" Samsung 720p LCD
- Monoprice.com wall mount (the only way to go!)
- DirecTV HD cable box
- RCA Upconverting HDMI DVD Player
- Ikea stainless steel shelf

Everything was originally going to be hidden in my nightstand, so when I bought the DVD player, the most important things to me were size, HDMI output and upscaling. I didn't mind the aesthetics or brand name then, but now it might have to be replaced with a nice Samsung piano black unit to match the TV.

Should be pretty decent set-up for the bedroom. Thanks for everyone's advice as I worked through this project.

- Jason



It looks like it’s not lined up right?

[8mpg]

Well, here's what I ended up with. I need to go get some of those staples to finish getting the wires all tucked up under the shelf and hidden, but this is pretty much the finished product.

Because it's an exterior wall with fire breaks, I was unable to fish the wires the way I wanted to. I ended up just going to Ikea and buying that shelf for $50 and running the HDMI's and TV power cord down that piece of channel.

I really, really wanted a cleaner install, with only the TV on the wall, but it was just going to be too difficult.

Breakdown of components:

- 40" Samsung 720p LCD
- Monoprice.com wall mount (the only way to go!)
- DirecTV HD cable box
- RCA Upconverting HDMI DVD Player
- Ikea stainless steel shelf

Everything was originally going to be hidden in my nightstand, so when I bought the DVD player, the most important things to me were size, HDMI output and upscaling. I didn't mind the aesthetics or brand name then, but now it might have to be replaced with a nice Samsung piano black unit to match the TV.

Should be pretty decent set-up for the bedroom. Thanks for everyone's advice as I worked through this project.

- Jason

Not bad...Id run another piece of panduit under the shelf to clean that up a bit. But other than that, looks like you did a good job, especially if its your first time.