Product Features (from the westinghouse site)

Display Specifications
Viewable Screen Size 32.0" Diagonal
16:9 Aspect ratio
Native/Optimum Resolution 1366 x 768
16.7 Million colors
Compatible Modes
NTSC
HD Ready
PC 480i
480p, 720p, 1080i
640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768
1280 x 720, 1366 x 768
Contrast Ratio 1000:1
Brightness 550 cd/m2
Color Gamut 75%
Lamp Life 50,000 Hrs
Viewing Angle 170° Horizontal
170° Vertical
Response Time 8 ms

TV Features
Audio 2-9 watt speakers
Tuner 1 Cable-ready NTSC
Video Processing Inverse 3:2 pulldown, PIP, Auto Programming, SAP/MTS, V-Chip, Closed Caption

Physical Specifications 25.5"H x 31.3"W x 8"D (with Base)
34 lbs (with Base)
23.5"H x 31.3"W x 3.8"D (w/o Base)
30 lbs (w/o Base)
Connectors 2 Composite In, S-Video In, 2 YPbPr, RGB/VGA/PC Video In, DVI-HDCP, Audio out (Dual RCA), Audio out (mini), 5 Audio in (dual RCA), Antenna-in, Power-in
Cabinet Color Silver
Installation Options 8 hole 75 and 100mm VESAŽ pattern wall mounts

This is currently available at best buy, but my location has no 32 LCD's on display. Interestingly they have the specs wrong on the product card (500:1 cr and different speaker wattage for starters) Has anyone seen this out? The price is good, but how is westinghouse at accurate specs, specifically contrast ratio? I realize it isn't likely 1000:1, but is it even 600 or so? Is it better or equal to sharp or samsung? In the best buy here the samsung 26 has the best picture by far, followed closely by the sharp. The 22" westinghouse on display was one of the very worst. (either the backlight was set way to high, or the stated 500:1 cr was a blatant overstatement.) I am very interested in this display, or possibly the BenQ of the same size and price since the 37" plasma has gone the way of the dodo. (not enough inputs on the commercial version thanks)

Product data sheet: http://www.westinghousedigital.com/support/downloads/dSheets/tvs/32w1-dSheet.pdf
user manual: http://www.westinghousedigital.com/support/downloads/uMan/27w2-32w1uMan.pdf

Best buy has it in stock for that price. Yes I noticed a lot of sites mis-listing the contrast, this will hurt the sales of this unit id imagine.

Good timing on this thread. I'll continue my commentary started in this thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=498013

I looked over the new Westinghouse 32" LCD panel at Best Buy yesterday. Here is my mini-review.

It looks like the 27"-37" size range is the battle ground this year. The number of LCD panels in this range on display at my local Best Buy was amazing.

The Westinghouse is currently on sale at my local BB. There is a current sale on all HDTV's. BB periodically has special days where they hand out 10% off anything coupons, which would potentially lower the price even more. I was told that holders of the Best Buy in house credit card get notified of these events.

The unit looks very nice from an industrial design perspective, with the speakers on the bottom rather than the sides, saving valuable width for tight spaces. The slight "V" shape of the speakers gives it a distinctive look. The speakers are not removable.

Yes, its silver, but my wife has grown used to the silver look. The color bezel options make this a moot point. I did not ask if the color bezel add ons were available in the store.

Though I didn't see the remote first hand, judging from the manual, the remote looks identical to the remote for the myHD and WinTV type tuner cards for PC's, which means they may share codes. Be aware of this if you use a Pronto or other programmable remote, and plan to use a PC in the same room with one of these tuner cards installed.

EDIT: I took my myHD remote to the store andtried it on the 32" Westinghouse. It didn't do squat. Looks like the codes are different, even though the physical design is the same.

The unit is very thin, with only a narrow bulge down the center rear, where the input connections are located along the sides of the bulge. The unit has a standard IEC power connector (like a PC power supply), so it appears it has a built in power supply- i.e. no brick, but I couldn't see the entire length of the power cord to the power socket to confirm.

The unit I saw apppeared to not have any dead/stuck pixels, which I am sensitive to.

I was able to easily lift the unit with both hands- one hand would probably be enough. This is important to me, being sick and tired of lugging 32" SD CRT's around. As I approach the big 4-0, I vow to never own a display device I cannot carry by myself with one arm ;). EDIT: One hand *is* sufficient to lift it :D.

I confirmed all the inputs shown in the manual- DB15 analog, DVI digital, Svideo, 2x composite, and 2x component, all with their own audio inputs.

One of the composite inputs is located behind the lower right bezel, convenient for quick camera/ video game hookups while remaining unseen. Nice touch.

The unit was fed via component analog input from what I assume was an analog HD distribution amp feeding all the displays the same signal for comparison. The signal appeared relatively noise free.

The demo loop looked like a mix of SD and HD material.

During a space sequence, showing a CG Earth in a field of stars, the blacks looked very, very good. Bright outdoor scenes of a rain forest were very punchy and sharp. Some indoor scenes could have had better contrast and punch, but this could be source related and/or mitigated somewhat by simple image adjustments.

EDIT: White field uniformity was excellent- "perfect" to my eyes. There happened to be a lot of mostly white scenes during logos. No yellowish tints or corner to corner issues.

It was difficult to assess deinterlacing, as the signal source was reported as 1920 x 540 by the Westinghouse, read from the menu option called "System Info". The firmware was reported as 0.37 in this menu. Don't know if this means the signal was 1080i or actually 540p, as the timings would be similar and possibly confuse the display.

Screen door was not objectionable to me at normal den/living room viewing distances, which tend to be farther than front projection viewing distances, measured in screen widths. Rather than "not objectionable", I believe "not noticable" to most people would be a more appropriate description. The high 1366 x 768 resolution makes the pixels and gaps relatively small.

The sharpness and clarity of the raw panel was excellent, judging from the graphics of the on screen menus, which I played with using the side mounted menu and +/- buttons. The built in menus were clearly 1:1 pixel mapped, of course.

I watched closely how fast moving objects and edges appeared, trying to assess the pixel response rate- i.e. ghosting, smearing, etc. It appears that manufacturers might be stretching their pixel response numbers, as I could detect some image smearing occasionally. Based on the reported pixel response rating on this unit, I expected to see none. This could be the image source- i.e. the scaler/deinterlacer used by Best Buy feeding the distribution amp. It wasn't enough to drop this unit off my potential buy list, however.

EDIT: Today, my impression was that there was basically NO smearing, and pixel response was excellent. I closely watched a lot of fast moving network logos (Showtime HD, etc) during the demo loops.

Viewing angle appeared to be a bona-fide 170 degress per specs. I shifted around to the extreme viewing angles, and did not notice significant brightness or color shifts. I was worried I might see color or brightness shifts, as my Westinghouse 17" PC LCD monitor has noticable off-axis color and brightness shifts, though it doesn't matter to me, based on normal PC usage viewing angles.

EDIT: Today I did notice some off axis brightness shift- it was BRIGHTER off to the sides than straight on! I assume this is some polarization effect. The caveat is that the contrast is somewhat lower 50-60 degrees off axis, but not a deal breaker for me.

EDIT: I played around with the Picture Parameter menu. The backlight control is very coarse, changing in discrete steps, I really didn't notice lower brightness until the control was 60-80% lowered from the default max (all the way to the right). I found that the black levels were excellent at 30-40 on the backlight scale.

EDIT: The three color temp settings were COLOR1 = warm/reddish, COLOR2= bluish, COLOR3= very blue. I prefered COLOR1 and COLOR2. Those who've read my AE700 reviews know I don't like D65 on digital displays ;).

I have been using the current Westinghouse 17" PC LCD panel for about two months now, and have been *very* happy with its black levels and pixel response, and its general build quality for the price. When I bought the 17" monitor, it set a new low price ($249) for a 17" with 1280x1024 resolution and 16ms or better response- it is rated at 14ms, which I tend to believe based on its visual performance. In the past several days, I've seen new lows on 1280x1024 16ms 17" LCD's, like the LG at newegg for $XXX straight up and $XXX after rebates. I don't count any display higher than 16ms.

While the prices of the 30"-something panels are better than ever, I feel they need to go down even more. Scaling by any reasonable metric- weight, screen surface area, or resolution, a 32" panel, for example, should street for around $900-$1000, based on the resolution and screen surface area of a current 16ms or better 17" diag LCD panel. I know there are other manufacturing issues involved, but I just don't understand how HUGE, HEAVY 32" CRT TV's can get shipped from half way around the world and sold here for $280 - a recent BB price on a Phillips 32" SDTV with compnent inputs! The shipping cost savings alone should bring the cost of LCD panels down ;).

Anyways, my $0.02

Rgb,
Did you get a chance to play with the color menu and the backlight menu?

Originally posted by RobD25
Rgb,
Did you get a chance to play with the color menu and the backlight menu?

Boy, my review wasn't enough? ;)

But you're right, I should have played with the Picture Parameters menu, but I didn't. Maybe I'll stop by again over the weekend.

You might want to see if the thread title can be changed. I thought maybe you were making an editorial comment about Westinghouse.

Is the speaker detachable?

Thanks a ton Rgb, that was better than I expected from an in-store review! very thorough. Surely someone will buy this thing soon, I will as soon as I can sell my 53HS30 (hopefully the next week or 2)

Originally posted by price3
Thanks a ton Rgb, that was better than I expected from an in-store review! very thorough. Surely someone will buy this thing soon, I will as soon as I can sell my 53HS30 (hopefully the next week or 2)

I'd like to hear what you think of this price/performance piece.

I edited the review to include more off axis image observations and comparisons, plus screen door comments.

Originally posted by ZZen
Is the speaker detachable?

I cannot be 100% certian, but judging by how I lifted the unit, with my hands under the speaker on the left/right sides, it didn't look or feel like it was removable. I beleive the back bezel was a one piece affair. Check the manual linked above for any clues.

I went to BB at lunch and saw that the speakers were not detachable on this unit. And up close, I doubt it'd look good with them removed anyway.

Would they be the first LCD maker to achieve the 8 ms response time?

Im pretty sure there are 8 ms monitors, but as for a TV i think this would be the first if it is an accurate measurement (I doubt it though)

I went back after work today.

The speakers are definately not removable on the 32" Westinghouse.

I will update my review with new observations on viewing angle sensitivity, pixel response rate, remote control, etc.

I see the moderator edited out the prices- I should have known better, being on these boards so long. Sorry!

I know prices fly around here at times, especially for the low ball stuff. I guess I was thinking about the Pioneer 1014 receiver threads, where prices were quoted every other post. Perhaps there are different rules for receivers and/or an exception was made for that receiver, due to its mass market target?

Anywho, I won't post prices here again, per forum rules.

Best Buy had all three new Westinghouse LCDs on display- 27", 30" and the 32" reviewed here.

The funny thing is, today I confirmed what I noticed yesterday- I think I like the new 30" better! The LTV-30v2 model, not listed yet on the westinghousedigital product page (its in the press relese from January 2005 on their site), seemed to have better colors to my eyes.

I really only need an LCD panel that matches the image width of a run of the mill 32" SD 4:3 CRT. According to my calculations, a 30" diagonal 16:9 LCD should be the same image width (actually slightly wider) as a 32" 4:3 SDTV.

The LTV-30v2 has the same inputs, menus, and controls as the LTV-32w1, including backlight and color temp. It is 1280x768 rather than 1366x768, which makes PC use easy- most video cards now have 1280x768 as standard.

As I darted my eyes probably a hundred times between the two units, the screen sizes looked basically the same- probably an optical illusion due to the speaker placement differences. The 30v2 has the "wing" speakers on the sides. While I initially didn't want this arrangement, I think the slightly smaller 30" screen will fit where I need it even with the side speakers.

I need to confirm that the 30" unit also has the Faroudja processing...

Originally posted by tropicalisland
Rgb,
Did you adjust the colors, brightness, contrast, etc on all three sets?

I just returned from Best Buy for a third trip to evaluate all three Westinghouse LCD's. This time, I was armed with a tape measure to take some hard numbers as I home in on what I need and want.

The 27" model looks exactly like the 32" model- same industrial design, color and speaker arrangment, down to the V-shaped speaker. I don't know why they didn't go with the same look for the 30" model.

All three units have the same control buttons and on screen menus.

I played with the Color Temps, brightness, contrast and backlight controls this morning.

While my tweaking was far from exhaustive, I couldn't get these sets to match the image contast and colorimetry of a much more expensive 26" Toshiba setting next to them.

Even with the backlight set to about 40 on the on screen scale, the black level of a black field was fairly gray. This was with a black -only field, nothing else on the screen.

As mentioned inn my inital review, black star fields looked great when there was a bright planet or ship in the scene- a known contrast perception effect.

I tried COLOR2 and Color3 settings. I think I liked COLOR2 the best.

I boosted the color saturation on the units to try and make the image look like the Toshiba 26" panel, but only ended up making fleshtones too red. This doesn't mean more tweaking couldn't achieve very good colorimetry.

I think these units really need the backlight turned almost all the way down, maybe to 20 on the scale, plus contrast and brightness tweaks to get all black fields where they need to be.

I set the Sharpness scale to zero. Any Sharpness higher than maybe 5 on the scale made the image noisy. I think a little Sharpness control is needed, though.

My tape measure confirmed the image width issue. I measured nearly every 4:3 32" CRT tube set, and they all were 25"-25.5" wide in the viewable image area, whether flat screen or not. The 30" Westinghouse was about 25.5" wide viewable image. The 32" was about 28" wide viewable., a definate upgrade in image width for those replacing a 32" 4:3 CRT.

The 32" unit is actually narrower than the 30" unit, due to speaker placement. The 30" unit is 34" wide, and the 32" unit is about 31" wide.
"

Can the picture settings be saved individually for each input?

Paul

Originally posted by Paul Bigelow
Can the picture settings be saved individually for each input?

Paul

I didn't try this.

Has anybody purchased one yet?

I was very tempted to pull the trigger on one after seeing it at my local BB store last night. The picture looked very good from the HD BB source.

Here's a pic of the 27" my friend picked up..


that's a std def stretched.

Any more reviews of this?

Originally posted by price3
Any more reviews of this?

Guess no one else can schlep over to a Best Buy and do another in store review?

Haven't been to BB lately but the site indicates "unavilable" in my area.

Paul

The spec sheet for the 30" Westinghouse confirms Faroudja processing.

The sheet is at westinghousedigital.com/

support/ downloads/dSheets/tvs/30w2dSheet.pdf

Argh! Just noticed that to turn the CC on and off, you have to go through the on-screen display setup - no button on the remote. Since my wife and I use the captions extensively, this is a potentially a deal-killer. I could set up a macro on my universal remote, but it's just not a clean solution. In all fairness, I have the same problem with my Viewsonic N5 tuner module, and it's a hassle to have to wait as the macro does its thing, keeping the button pushed all the while.

Maybe I'll head over there and have a look -- maybe the BB site is wrong.

These appear to be attractive sets, the price is right, Faroudja processing. It needs to be determined if these sets can be calibrated well.

Paul

Looks like LCD panel shopping just became harder than comparing response time, contrast, black levels, and colorimetry.

See
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/budget_lcd_roundup_0405/page2.asp

You need to know what panel type these Westinghouse (or any panel you plan to buy) LCDs are, i.e. S-IPS, TN-film, or PVA/MVA. Big differences among them. Looks like advertised pixel response rates are meaningless (no suprise there) without knowing the panel type.

Also, TN-film panels appear to be useless for critical video viewing, as they only do 18 bit color.

Looks like a 20ms panel can actually respond better than a 12ms panel, depending on which panel technology it is.

If I recall,

LG/Philips manufacture the S-IPS panel type -- great speed, some off-axis color shifts, some sacrifice in contrast.

Samsung manufacture the MVA panel type -- have a good balance of performance characteristics

TN+Film is used widely for "cheapie" 17" LCD panels because of cost and response but at the sacrifice of almost all other performance characteristics.

Big topic in the "gamer" world.

Paul

Originally posted by Paul Bigelow
If I recall,

LG/Philips manufacture the S-IPS panel type -- great speed, some off-axis color shifts, some sacrifice in contrast.

Samsung manufacture the MVA panel type -- have a good balance of performance characteristics

TN+Film is used widely for "cheapie" 17" LCD panels because of cost and response but at the sacrifice of almost all other performance characteristics.

Big topic in the "gamer" world.

Paul

The $64K question: Which type(s) are the 27", 30" and 32" Westinghouse panels?

Given the spec'ed 8ms response time for the 27" my first "guess" would be the S-IPS. Usually the S-IPS panels can be determined by a slight "rainbow effect" with off-axis viewing of the panel on, but displaying a black screen.

I haven't seen any of these new Westinghouse displays, so it's total conjecture.

Paul

Originally posted by Paul Bigelow
Given the spec'ed 8ms response time for the 27" my first "guess" would be the S-IPS. Usually the S-IPS panels can be determined by a slight "rainbow effect" with off-axis viewing of the panel on, but displaying a black screen.

I haven't seen any of these new Westinghouse displays, so it's total conjecture.

Paul

Any telltale signs to distinguish TN and MVS/PVS type panels- i.e. rainbow effects, color shifts, etc? This may help anyone going to view these sets to determine what panel technology they use.

I just bought this tv and am relatively new to this hdtv stuff. I already have an edtv (panasonic 37") with cable card slot. With that tv there is no need to worry about which input to use. All I have to do is tune the thing.

With the LCD I have to figure out which input is best. I have comcast digital cable and there aren't many resouces to get info and calling them usually means different answers from different people.

One person even said that the only output on the motorola HDTV tuner is component. I finally found a pdf on their website that said I have to set the output on the box. It also explained how.

I am using DVI for HiDef channels and component for other channels. The guy at BB said he does this and I was confused until I had both inputs connected and noticed that the DVI input when viewing non HD sources added distracting lines to the top, bottom, and left side of all channels.

I cannot tell which input is better on HiDef channels. The performance on non Hidef channels is very noisy. I haven't tried to tune this out yet. The birghtness and black level are pretty good and as someone else here mentioned when tuned next to a sharp, and on a HiDef feed, they are similar.

Perhaps it is with respect to the other inputs/ resolutions that this TV lacks something.,

One has to assume there is some sacrifice at the price they are selling them.

John

Went to my local BB and looked around and asked -- not at the store yet.

Paul

I like the 32" set they have one a the Best Buy here in Lawrence. I have not had time to play with it but from what I have seen it is an impressive set and the prices are good too.

I will say that I did notice a slight hint of green to the set. Of course the Sharp 32" sitting next to the Westinghouse was superior but also $1,000 more. I say save the money and buy more A/V components :)

I agree that saving money and having a really good HiDef set is nice. That is the reason I bought the thing.

I will still complain about the Non HiDef channels, but I still haven't tried to tune it any better.

I have discovered that you cannot change the sharpness when using the DVI input.

I won't use it as a computer monitor. I only have a a laptop now and am fine with its screen. I will use this tv as a tv.

So far I think it produces a very sharp HiDef image (1080I Input).
It shows some jumpiness when there is fast action.
I use the color temp setting of 3 and agree it is best.

since much of these settings are subjective except sharpness and other artifacts, it is best to evaluate those. I am planning on getting a dvd tuning disc and seeing what I can do with it.

When compared to my EDTV, there is no comparison. Plasma is way better. With the built in atsc tuner and the cable card the picture is so unbelievably clear on hi def. I have heard that the tuners in the set top boxes are inferior to some built in atsc tuners, on this unit I would agree.

sorry to get off topic but westinhouse site claims the 30" LTV30w2 has an aspect ratio of 5:3??? What is that?

Originally posted by pollofrito22
sorry to get off topic but westinhouse site claims the 30" LTV30w2 has an aspect ratio of 5:3??? What is that?

Same as 15:9, or 1280x768 resolution. More popular as a computer monitor resolution, but leaves black bars top and bottom watching a 16:9 HDTV picture. The upside is that standard 4:3 pictures will be larger than on a 16:9 (1280x720) 30" monitor, but the screen is not as wide.

^^^ ok i understand now, it seems as though a lot of 30"s are 15:9 yet they claim 16:9??? Is this common??? Will it really make a difference??? How much of a bar are we talking about on the top and bottom??

Originally posted by donrussell
Same as 15:9, or 1280x768 resolution. More popular as a computer monitor resolution, but leaves black bars top and bottom watching a 16:9 HDTV picture. The upside is that standard 4:3 pictures will be larger than on a 16:9 (1280x720) 30" monitor, but the screen is not as wide.

You can set the 30" Westinghouse aspect ratio to fill the screen with 16:9 material. The small amount of vertical stretch would probably be unnoticable to most people. Even in 16:9 mode, the 30" set shows only very narrow black bars top and bottom, less than watching 1.85 films on a 16:9 display.

Any updated reviews? Anybody else purchased this TV? I was at my local BB today looking at TV's and notice this one. I thought it looked really good compared to some of the other LCD's they had on display. I think for the price, you are getting a better than average LCD TV.

Has anyone ever encountered a distorted display when feeding your display with HDMI, or in my case HDMI -> DVI-D? I've enabled 480p std, 480p Wide, 720p and 1080i, and the STB set for Auto HDMI/DVI. The issue only occurs when changing from a 480p/1080i signal to a channel in 720p. Pressing the settings button twiceand then hitting exit or toggleing up or down a channel usually resolves it. If I leave the STB set to 720p I don't encounter the issue, but for my eyes I get a better picture letting my LCD scale in the input.

Any thoughts?

Any updated reviews? Anybody else purchased this TV? I was at my local BB today looking at TV's and notice this one. I thought it looked really good compared to some of the other LCD's they had on display. I think for the price, you are getting a better than average LCD TV.

I bought one on friday. Got a better deal than on-line with bb's 10% memorial day sale and $100 off. :)

The colors are simply amazing and the blacks are, well...uh..., black. I watched "Blade 2" and there was no blurring what so ever and there's a lot of fast action scenes in that movie. I also bought a compnent cable for my ps2. All I can say is WOW!!!

My few pet peeves are:

The remote is a piece of crap, but I can live with that. I can't seem to get the PIP to work correctly. Other than that, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Any other questions, just hit me up...

I went to Best Buy here in Austin, TX. yesterday to pick up some movies and by chance went to go see the LTV-32W1 that I just purchased on 5/27. The price was over $200 cheaper than the sale price I paid. I went to customer service and they pulled up my receipt and gave the price match. Just a heads up to those thinking of purchasing or to those who already have and can still get the price match guarantee.

I was surprised to see the sale price, it was not on the BB website.
Just thought ya'll should know.

I just wish one of my BB's could get this guy in stock.

Saw the LTV-32W1 at the local Best Buy as well as the 37" 1080p set. Thought the 32" set had the better picture quality of the two. One thing I noticed was some motion blur. The BB feed includes a segment on the University of Texas baseball team. Watch the scenes where they put the ball in play and you can see some serious motion blur on the white baseball. Actually, I liked the "comet-like" baseball, makes it easier to follow the play, but I also noticed some blurring of the batter's swing and it just didn't seem like a 8ms set. Very nice 32" LCD product though. Good case design and pretty fair picture quality for the price range. Still a bit steep though as it's competing with the 42" ED industrial plasmas and the Sony 30" 955 CRT set which is a lot of technology for the same money. Hope LCD prices come down this fall as the wave of 37" 1920x1080 sets come in.

Saw the LTV-32W1 at the local Best Buy as well as the 37" 1080p set. Thought the 32" set had the better picture quality of the two. One thing I noticed was some motion blur. The BB feed includes a segment on the University of Texas baseball team. Watch the scenes where they put the ball in play and you can see some serious motion blur on the white baseball. Actually, I liked the "comet-like" baseball, makes it easier to follow the play, but I also noticed some blurring of the batter's swing and it just didn't seem like a 8ms set. Very nice 32" LCD product though. Good case design and pretty fair picture quality for the price range. Still a bit steep though as it's competing with the 42" ED industrial plasmas and the Sony 30" 955 CRT set which is a lot of technology for the same money. Hope LCD prices come down this fall as the wave of 37" 1920x1080 sets come in.


I've seen blurring ocasionally, but I all honestly I really have to be looking for it to see it.

I just got my LTV-32w1 yesterday, and I have some questions I can't seem to find definitive answers to... Can anyone help?

I'm connected by DVI to a Motoroloa 6412 HD box with Adelphia cable.

1. What are people using for settings? I played with it for hours and was never that satisfied..

2. Should I be ouputing 720P or 1080i from the Motorola box? (It doesn't have a setting for "Pass though" unfortunately.)

3. I think this is a Motorola problem, but I have interference at the very top of the screen on SD channels. It's like the TV is showing too much and I'm seeing past the edge of the picture... Anyone have this experience?

My overall bigest complaint so far would be the black levels. I knew they wouldn't be a good as a CRT, but they're worse than I expected. I'm still hoping I can tweak the settings to make it a little better.

Chris

I think I have that same motorola box with comcast.

Comcast will recommend settings if you call their tech support.

I am using the 720p as I feel it is more stable and doesn't have the noise you are talking about. I got that too on non hi def channels.

My set top box went bad and i had a difficult time getting a new one. They kept trying to reset the box from their office. I have had this tv for 2 months now and a pretty pleased.

LCD black levels are sub Plasma. When i want to watch a dark movie, I watch it on my Panasonic Plasma. They rock in the contrast department.

Does anyone have any idea how to zoom correctly? Sometimes a leterbox signal on a sd channel won't zoom on the sides to fill the screen. That is another gripe, if I am understanding the zooms, there aren't enough options.

John

Until someone says otherwise, I'm also using 720P

What are you trying to zoom? Letterboxed SD? I think "Zoom" should work for that. But it also depends on what the box is set to for 4:3 Override. As I understand it, when it's set to "Off" it outputs 16:9 with side bars and set to "480P" it outputs 4:3...

Looks like no overscan on the DVI for the Westinghouse.
-Bruin

I just got my LTV-32w1 yesterday, and I have some questions I can't seem to find definitive answers to... Can anyone help?

I'm connected by DVI to a Motoroloa 6412 HD box with Adelphia cable.

1. What are people using for settings? I played with it for hours and was never that satisfied..

2. Should I be ouputing 720P or 1080i from the Motorola box? (It doesn't have a setting for "Pass though" unfortunately.)

3. I think this is a Motorola problem, but I have interference at the very top of the screen on SD channels. It's like the TV is showing too much and I'm seeing past the edge of the picture... Anyone have this experience?

My overall bigest complaint so far would be the black levels. I knew they wouldn't be a good as a CRT, but they're worse than I expected. I'm still hoping I can tweak the settings to make it a little better.

Chris

Until someone says otherwise, I'm also using 720P

What are you trying to zoom? Letterboxed SD? I think "Zoom" should work for that. But it also depends on what the box is set to for 4:3 Override. As I understand it, when it's set to "Off" it outputs 16:9 with side bars and set to "480P" it outputs 4:3...

I take part of that back. I see what you mean about letterboxed SD... there seems to be no way to get the TV to scale it to fill the entire screen.

I take part of that back. I see what you mean about letterboxed SD... there seems to be no way to get the TV to scale it to fill the entire screen.


With SD letterboxed, I'm zooming with my STB.

Hey guys, just bought the Daytek dt3220. I know I know, this thread is for the Westinghous LTV-32w1, but look at what the Nvidia driver lists this model as : LTV1280M1D. A little different ok. The specs on the two models are identical to the T. The physical layout of the controls, inputs, menus etc, are as close to identical as any OEM worth his R&D costs would spend. They are similarily priced (with this Daytek coming in below 1300 cdn). I can't 100% confirm this as the same panel but based on the above, I'd be comfortable with that assumption.

With that in mind, a few quick observations.

This panel has an awesome black level - similar to the sharp 32" Aquos of recent manufacture. You can adjust the actual light output of the FL lamp, and in so doing reduce your eyestrain in dark environments. *(there is an option to let a sensor auto adjust light output depending on ambient light ... but I prefer it at 0). The contrast ratio does not suffer when turning down the brightness (which is entirely uncommon in LCD terms) - fine detail in dark scenes is good (excellent compared to any other LCD I've personally used) comparable again to the sharp. The black level adjustment is a fine tool, and helps when the dynamic range of your image extends into the nether region of blacker than black (although I find the higher settings tend to wash out the highlights in your image - the best of both seems to be around 40-60).

8 ms may be accurate in the brights, but in the darks I'd say it was closer to ~20ms (some ghosting - bluring of fine detail when image is in motion - although not terrible - it seems to subside substantially if the whole scene stays dark without nearby highlights for more than a few seconds). There is no *pixel sparkle in this display, the fine uniformity is excellent, and RGB pixel structure is non-intrusive (no really blatant blue or red shift on high contrast edges - although it is there if you look for it closely *see Startmenu.jpg). Screen door is not noticeable from more than 2 feet, and even then it looks as you'd expect from a high end trinitron.

Speakers and SRS Wow function as you'd expect, and if you don't like the way they sound, the SRS function is adjustable to 5 different EQ settings. The TV tuner is OK, with a decent noise reduction filter. Bad reception can be negated somewhat by turning down the sharpness.

PC functionality is a no brainer - with DVI, and VGA inputs. Using DVI I am able to run 1360x768 at 1:1 pixel mapping. 6 pixel underscan off to the right hand side (as 1366 is not divisible by 8, and therefor incompatible with a MS graphics subsystem). The other option is 1368 with a 2 pixel overscan - which is okay as well, but I prefer the previous. *(see underscan.jpg)

The menus are easy to navigate, and show relevant information, although the lack of customizable modes per input is a bit of an oversight. (any analog source shares whatever custom paramaters are in use. They are NOT saved per input.) That said... it only takes a few seconds to set up.

The remote has all the controls you'll normally use, right in the pocket thumb position, and are of a fair button size with good tactile feel, and response. Remote works from about 15 feet, and coverage is good. The menu control interface hat switch is covered in some ugly metalic paint that takes away from the overall impression of the remote, but all in all, works well. Learning remotes will take the codes from this remote without issue. (can anyone confirm this as similar to the westinghouse design? *(see remote.jpg)

This is a solid panel, with excellent visual characteristics, with slight response issues in the exceptional darks, packing all the punch you could want in a television with a definate lack of the usuall LCD drawbacks.

1300CDN??? wow.

only available in canada? the set looks beautiful

Hmm. I think Daytek is a Canadian version of Daewoo, and so far I've been unable to track down their equivalent model. This set was manufactured in Korea. As to this set's availability in the US, I'd have to assume at some point (if the set does well in Canada) it would be introduced.

Hey guys, just bought the Daytek dt3220. I know I know, this thread is for the Westinghous LTV-32w1, but look at what the Nvidia driver lists this model as : LTV1280M1D. A little different ok. The specs on the two models are identical to the T. The physical layout of the controls, inputs, menus etc, are as close to identical as any OEM worth his R&D costs would spend. They are similarily priced (with this Daytek coming in below 1300 cdn). I can't 100% confirm this as the same panel but based on the above, I'd be comfortable with that assumption.

With that in mind, a few quick observations.

This panel has an awesome black level - similar to the sharp 32" Aquos of recent manufacture. You can adjust the actual light output of the FL lamp, and in so doing reduce your eyestrain in dark environments. *(there is an option to let a sensor auto adjust light output depending on ambient light ... but I prefer it at 0). The contrast ratio does not suffer when turning down the brightness (which is entirely uncommon in LCD terms) - fine detail in dark scenes is good (excellent compared to any other LCD I've personally used) comparable again to the sharp. The black level adjustment is a fine tool, and helps when the dynamic range of your image extends into the nether region of blacker than black (although I find the higher settings tend to wash out the highlights in your image - the best of both seems to be around 40-60).

8 ms may be accurate in the brights, but in the darks I'd say it was closer to ~20ms (some ghosting - bluring of fine detail when image is in motion - although not terrible - it seems to subside substantially if the whole scene stays dark without nearby highlights for more than a few seconds). There is no *pixel sparkle in this display, the fine uniformity is excellent, and RGB pixel structure is non-intrusive (no really blatant blue or red shift on high contrast edges - although it is there if you look for it closely *see Startmenu.jpg). Screen door is not noticeable from more than 2 feet, and even then it looks as you'd expect from a high end trinitron.

Speakers and SRS Wow function as you'd expect, and if you don't like the way they sound, the SRS function is adjustable to 5 different EQ settings. The TV tuner is OK, with a decent noise reduction filter. Bad reception can be negated somewhat by turning down the sharpness.

PC functionality is a no brainer - with DVI, and VGA inputs. Using DVI I am able to run 1360x768 at 1:1 pixel mapping. 6 pixel underscan off to the right hand side (as 1366 is not divisible by 8, and therefor incompatible with a MS graphics subsystem). The other option is 1368 with a 2 pixel overscan - which is okay as well, but I prefer the previous. *(see underscan.jpg)

The menus are easy to navigate, and show relevant information, although the lack of customizable modes per input is a bit of an oversight. (any analog source shares whatever custom paramaters are in use. They are NOT saved per input.) That said... it only takes a few seconds to set up.

The remote has all the controls you'll normally use, right in the pocket thumb position, and are of a fair button size with good tactile feel, and response. Remote works from about 15 feet, and coverage is good. The menu control interface hat switch is covered in some ugly metalic paint that takes away from the overall impression of the remote, but all in all, works well. Learning remotes will take the codes from this remote without issue. (can anyone confirm this as similar to the westinghouse design? *(see remote.jpg)

This is a solid panel, with excellent visual characteristics, with slight response issues in the exceptional darks, packing all the punch you could want in a television with a definate lack of the usuall LCD drawbacks.

Thanks for the great writeup. I've been impressed with this display, it replaces a 27" Viewsonic that can't compare.

Would you mind detailing how you achieved 1360 or 1368? Pretty please!
I've been trying to get this going for 3 days now with no luck. Even using powerstrip the display always ends up at 1280x768 with window scrolling for the remainder. Did you hack the EDID? I read the EDID with a reader and didn't see 1360/1366/1368 as supported resolutions.

I am using: GF 6600 GT, DVI, XP MCE, Latest Forceware

I just picked up this set. Out of the box with a little tweaking it looks very nice using the HDMI input. For the price, I really don't think this set can be beat. I hope to post some more substantive thoughts later. Fyi.. I will also be using it with Windows XP, so am interested in what it takes to get native rate going.

Hey guys,

Sorry for not including this earlier! It all has to do with what this set reports as it's maximum resolution, and why the driver believes it.

I'm going to base this on the Nvidia driver set 71.89. Which is currently available from www.nvidia.com. (forget the Forceware crap, and just get the standard Geforce drivers)

I had a lot of trouble at first with the 1280x768 + panning to the rest of the display area until I figured out that it was the driver causing the panning - not the display. Of course the display tells the computer that it's maximum resolution is 1280 - so to get around this you must force the computer to output 1360 without panning. Set your display to "Full" under p.mode.

So - first thing first. Let the Display adapter do the scaling. A setting in the video control panel under "digital flat panel settings" allows you to dictate where the pixel mapping gets done. Set it to "display adapter scaling". *See Scaling.jpg - also notice that the driver see's the maximum resolution the display can handle as being 1280x768.

Next you'll need to assign a resolution that matches the panel. You can choose either 1368 x 768, or 1360 x 768. (1366 x 768 is unavailable, as the rules for display resolutions under windows state that they must be divisible by 8 - which you can get round with powerstrip - but for our purposes - won't)

Find the heading called "screen resolutions and refresh rates", and select the resolution you like. If you don't see 1368x768 you can create a custom resolution. Let's use 1360x768. If that doesn't show up in your list of available resulutions, make sure you uncheck the "hide modes that this monitor cannot support". *See resolution.jpg

Now that you have the resolution set, you'll have to also let the computer know how many pixels the display physically has. Jump into the "advanced timing" dialogue box, and add the actual pixel count to the "active pixels" box. Set it to 1366, and then hit apply. If everything went ok, you should see a perfectly mapped 1360x768 with a 6 pixel width of unused space off to the right. *see timing.jpg

i am looking to buy a westinghouse 37" lcd tv and i was wondering what regular tv broadcasts looked like. in my area most channels are not in hdtv yet so i still would be using it to view regular tv alot. thanks

I have the lvm37w1.

By regular TV, you mean analog? I think most stations now are broadcasting digital as well. Get a Samsung sir-t451 tuner ($249) to get digital broadcasts. Even on digital, there are a variety of broadcast types: Standard definition (SD) and HD. And in HD there are different formats (720P and 1080i) Also in HD, to get real HD the station has to broadcast in HD and the program has to be created in HD with HD cameras for real HD. I watched the Belmont stakes in HD and the ground level camera was not HD but overhead camera giving long range shots was. It was spectacular.

Anyway to get to your question, I highly recommend the lvm37w1. It works OK in analog. Not so good in SD digital. great in full HD and STUNNING in 1080i HD broadcasts from networks like CBS and WB. I'm talking about over-the-air broadcasts.

Hope that helps.

Where do you live?

i live in murfreesboro, tn. there is probably 10 HD channels here. i have regular analog cable now and looking to buy an HDTV. the lvm-37w1 is the tv i was looking into buying.

After deciding that maybe plasma isn't right for me at the moment, I might go with a 32" westinghouse. I do want to know, from the people that own them, is the blacklevel on these acceptable. I'm sure many of you have had more time to deal with them and create more sold opinions.

I'm just thinking, the price point on this is amazing compared to the sharp and if it was 2/3 as good then I think i would be happy, though I really do enjoy the nice black levels on my crt. It's hard to say.

Just got a great deal on an open-box 32w1. A very nice unit overall, and I think I could live with the black levels. The DVI input, however, has sync problems with both my SAT-HD300 and LG 3410A DVR. Same result with Native, fixed 720P, or DVI-auto. Component looks just as good, but I want to be able to use DVI.

Unlike what someone posted above, there is some horizontal overscan (maybe 2%). I adjusted my 38" direct-view CRT to zero overscan years ago, so I'm used to that. I don't think there is a service menu adjustment for overscan on the 32w1.

I think I'll return this unit and wait for the BenQ and Sceptre 37" 1920 x 1080P models that are due out in the next couple of months.

Thanks spade! Great how-to.

Just got a great deal on an open-box 32w1. A very nice unit overall, and I think I could live with the black levels. The DVI input, however, has sync problems with both my SAT-HD300 and LG 3410A DVR. Same result with Native, fixed 720P, or DVI-auto. Component looks just as good, but I want to be able to use DVI.

Unlike what someone posted above, there is some horizontal overscan (maybe 2%). I adjusted my 38" direct-view CRT to zero overscan years ago, so I'm used to that. I don't think there is a service menu adjustment for overscan on the 32w1.

I think I'll return this unit and wait for the BenQ and Sceptre 37" 1920 x 1080P models that are due out in the next couple of months.

Does the sync issue pop-up with any particualar signal thru the DVI port. I've a problem with 720p displaying stretched vertically if I leave the display's picture mode set as STANDARD . i Fi SELECT FILL then I've no problem. I'm beginning to become pretty accustomed to using FILL mode for 480p SD programming. I tend to think the issue lies in my STB, an Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. It's very odd that if I call up the STB's preferences menu the sync problems disappear.

Yes. The problem is exactly as you describe. Doesn't FILL stretch the picture horizontally a bit on HD programming?

I have given up on DVI temporarily because this TV does so well via YPbPr. I am thus able to use Native most of the time. On SD however, selecting 1080i lets me use all the stretch modes of the STB (which won't work if 480i is output). Fortunately the SAT-HD300 has a format button on the remote.

The 32w1 will be hard to part with because it is quite amazing on the best HD source material. The Cub game on WGN OTA tonight was incredible. On dimly-lit scenes however, the black level problem detracts. My 4-yr old 38" RCA F38310 direct-view CRT gets a "good" rating across the board. The 32w1 varies from excellent to fair according to the source material.

The PIP on the 32w1 was an unexpected bonus. The built-in NTSC tuner is very handy for this. The PQ of the PIP is quite surprising. For this reason, I wouldn't seriously consider the 37w1 which has no tuner. I would like to have a 37" 1920 x 1080P display, however, so I want to check out the BenQ and the Sceptre.

The 32w1 is much better than I expected, especially for the price I paid, so I'm going to try to sell it to a family member before I let BB have it back.

From what I've observed, enabling FILL on 480p doesn't seem to normaly have an effect on 720p or 1080i, most of the time. I like the fact that I can set the brighness, contrast, color sat. etc. For each input mode using DVI. With component it seems you only have one memory.

It does seem quirky feeding it thru DVI. And according to a phone conversation with Westinghouse there have been reports of sync problems, especially with HDMI->DVI.
They couldn't say for sure if the problem was with the STB or the monitor. It could be worth it to open a support call with them. I just can't consistently produce the anomoly on demand.

This doesn't sound promising considering that the upcoming MPEG-4 equipment from D* will undoubtedly be HDMI-equipped. Likewise the much anticipated HD DVD units.

BTW, we had a DVI sync problem at my nephew's house between an HTL-HD STB and a Sony 32HS510. In this case horizontal lines would appear on occasions when switching from SD channels to 720P HD. Changing to component was the easy solution. Here again I don't know whether to blame the TV or the STB. Since the SAT-HD300, the HTL-HD, and the 3410A DVR are all LG products, I was suspecting them, but since your 8300HD has the same problem it may be pretty widespread. We need more research on this.

I had been looking at the Samsung LN-R328W - LCD TV - 32", and was virtually sold on it. The whole over my budget price was keeping me away however. The Samsung was the only LCD that was large and could fit in an armoire I have. I then checked out a local best buy with a lot more selection and saw the Westinghouse next to the samsung and was very intrigued. It actually looked crisper and had a cleaner picture than the Samsung. Well I did a little more searching and found that there were basically 2 differences. The Samsung had a lamp life of 10,000 more hours, and the contrast ratio was rated as being 3000:1 as opposed to the Westinghouse which was 1000:1. Oh besides the Westinghouse was about 50% cheaper. The other thing I noticed was that the in store price was about 10% cheaper than the online price, couple that with a 10% off coupon from bensbargain, and I believe its quite a sweet deal. Needless to say I purchased it. I am howver currently waiting for it to arrive on truck to the store. Once I get it and hook it up, I'll report back on any issues I may have with it. I also need to pick up a new HD tuner from my cable company, as this will be my first foray into HD television.

Hey, I just came back from BESTBUY & there has been a price drop on the Westinghouse 32''! I'm picking one up tomorrow!

[MSRP only please]

Hey, I just came back from BESTBUY & there has been a price drop on the Westinghouse 32''! I'm picking one up tomorrow!

[MSRP only please]

Yeah, if you can find one. Every place around here is sold out...even the open boxes...

Returned a Syntax olevia 32" today as I totally hated the PQ. Too bad as the deal at compusa had a free 20" LCD by mail.

Anyway, off to bestbuy and got myself this Westy 32". Price went down $200 from last week! Since there was none in stock they gave me free delivery.

Hope this is the last one I get and hope I will be happy with it. In the last two weeks, I had a Westy 30" (great tv btw - eye popping HD!) just wanted something a little bigger. So I got the Syntax Olevia...big, big, dissapointment with PQ!

I Love this forum folks! I'm a newbie but am learning quite a bit from this board!

I've just purchased the westinghouse 32" and I'm totally happy with it. Wife was skeptical about getting a new tv (she's fine with the 27" crt) but she was cool with this one. Picture in HD is just what i expected, remarkable. I'm no guru or anything though so it doesn't take a lot to impress me. I do need some help however. I have the LCD on its base and placed in an entertainment center/armoire, in the corner of the room. The base protrudes from the surface of the television about 8" forcing me to push it back from the edge deeper in the cabinet than I would like. So if you are sitting on one of the edges then a portion of the TV is blocked by the cabinet. Does anyone know where I can get a different base for this? I'm considering building something to allow the LCD to sit flush with the front of the entertainment center, but I'd rather just have a different stand if one is available. Let me know your thoughts.

Unfortunately the only reason I was able to actually get an LCD was so that it could fit inside the cabinet. So having it in the open isn't an option. I am considering wall mounting it on some type of false wall, and puttin that inside the cabinet. Another option was to elevate it on a monitor stand or something and bring it over the top of the magnets.

"Unfortunately the only reason I was able to actually get an LCD was so that it could fit inside the cabinet. So having it in the open isn't an option. I am considering wall mounting it on some type of false wall, and puttin that inside the cabinet."


I'm thinking of something similar, a couple of support 2x4's installed with some L brackets, and a small plywood section to cover the set's mounting holes and support some bolts. Not sure if you actually need a mounting bracket, just drill holes in the plywood.
Add some shelves and use the remaining cabinet space for rear accessed storage.

This doesn't sound promising considering that the upcoming MPEG-4 equipment from D* will undoubtedly be HDMI-equipped. Likewise the much anticipated HD DVD units.

BTW, we had a DVI sync problem at my nephew's house between an HTL-HD STB and a Sony 32HS510. In this case horizontal lines would appear on occasions when switching from SD channels to 720P HD. Changing to component was the easy solution. Here again I don't know whether to blame the TV or the STB. Since the SAT-HD300, the HTL-HD, and the 3410A DVR are all LG products, I was suspecting them, but since your 8300HD has the same problem it may be pretty widespread. We need more research on this.


That's what i've seen.. Componenet is fine, but DVI experiences the occasional sync problem. I suspect that the component input is being scaled to the panel's resolution, while the DVI is pretty much WYSIWYG. I'm just guessing.

There seems to be some conection between the input singal and the display settings (STANDARD, FILL, and ZOOM). I've spoken with Westinghouse tech support, and we coun't nail the issue for sure to the display or the STB. I'm considering getting an SA 3250HD box of for couple of days to see if the same exists for it. It has a DVI out, instead of HDMI.

I still would't part with the display. Overall, it has a very pleasant picture, and I consider it a great value for the money.

I forgot to memtion the other day that the Westinghouse tech I spoke with advised no to use HDMI to DVI. I told him that didn't make any sense, as they're suppossed to be signal compatible (TMDS). Perhaps more folks need to call up Westinghouse, and get them to get to the bottom of the issue. With my particualar situation, they said it would be hard to replicate since they didn't have an SA 8300HD DVR to test with, but DISH or DSS STBs ought to not be a problem for them to test, only a little extra money to spend on Q&A.

Don't get me wrong though, I still love my monitor...

I returned mine, originally an open box special, this morning, partially because of the sync problem, but more because 32" wasn't really large enough. The 37w1 (1920 x 1080P) is looking pretty attractive at this week's 13% off price (see website). I posted in the appropriate thread to see if anyone is having DVI sync problems with a 37w1.

Ok....I have the 32 Westinghouse and I don't know what's going on with it but here are the symptoms....

The picture looks like it's out of wack...the colors look almost like a photo negative but not quite that bad. There is alot of ghosting and smearing. Then all of a sudden the picture will look excellent. I just got this TV so I would prefer to have some idea if this is a setting or something. If it's the TV then I'd prefer to return it.

It does it on component as well as regular coax or rca....
I am not a video expert... I just want to ask you guys.
Is what I am describing a sync problem ?

Sounds like a defective set. The sync problems mentioned in this thread have only occurred with the DVI input.

Another issue is....there is a white "glow" coming from the lower right hand side of the set when I turn it on. If I see that then I know the video is wacked out....if I don't I know the video is good.

Ok....I have the 32 Westinghouse and I don't know what's going on with it but here are the symptoms....

The picture looks like it's out of wack...the colors look almost like a photo negative but not quite that bad. There is alot of ghosting and smearing. Then all of a sudden the picture will look excellent. I just got this TV so I would prefer to have some idea if this is a setting or something. If it's the TV then I'd prefer to return it.

It does it on component as well as regular coax or rca....
I am not a video expert... I just want to ask you guys.
Is what I am describing a sync problem ?


You need to return it for exchange or open a warranty service call with Westinghouse. Something has malfunctioned.

Just wanted to cast another enthusiastic vote in favor of the 32" Westy. I picked this set up because of its awesome price (it's even better with BBY's employee discount ^_^) and the generally high quality of the Westinghouse PC monitors. This forum helped a lot since the in-store display model had horrible smearing and the HT staff were universally disparaging. Thanks to the positive reviews here I decided to go ahead and audition one and boy am I glad I did.

Since others have commented on video quality, I'll focus my mini-review on using the display as a PC monitor. I hooked it up to my PC running a Radeon X700 Pro card via the DVI input. ATI's Catalyst drivers include a setting for 1360x768 which works very well on this monitor. I fired up the freeware Monitors Matter 2 to test color consistency and aspect ratio. Color reproduction is very good, with only some slight darkening noticeable in the corners on the red and white screens. Aspect ratio also appeared true at the 1360x768 setting. Text is easily legible on the monitor at the default setting, even from 10 feet back, with no aliasing problems noticeable. Half Life 2 required a restart to adjust to the new resolution, but offers a 1360x768 under the video options menu. I played the game at this setting with all detail settings maxed out and experienced very smooth play with no ghosting or smearing whatsoever, even in high contrast situations. Black levels were very good as well, maintaining the game's gritty, dystopic atmosphere.

Overall I'm extremely happy with the 32" Westinghouse as a PC monitor. If I have any complaint, it's that it reveals the flaws and artifacts in compressed video files that looked fine on my 420p projection TV or 17" LCD.

For me, the Westy is my main display. I honestly have not had any deal-breaker situations with the set. Apart from what may well be a bug in my STB's output of 720p via HDMI, I really like the set. It's an exceptional value for the money.

I have a similar problem with my cablebox (Moto) from comcast. When I set the output to 720p the picture seems to shake up and down a bit (plugged in via YPbPr) . Anyone else experience this? Is it a problem with the cable box or the LCD?

Thanks!

I have one too, and I noticed a bit of the "white glow in the corner" symptom. I think if the plastics get squeezed so the seams aren't even, the backlight can "leak." Just picking the monitor up fixed my glow problem permanently. Kind of lame that there aren't more ribs in the plastics to prevent the deformation. The other color issues you're having sound more serious, though, and probably warrant an exchange.

As for the set, I really love it. I got the Comcast HD PVR, and it's addictive (too bad the interface is so awful compared to Replay!). The component inputs look good enough that I haven't even hooked up the DVI cable I bought.

I am loving the Westinghouse. HD is awesome. The last reply reminded me though about my DVI cable. I'm with TW in KC, and my DVI cable doesn't work I get "no signal" on the monitor. I figured it migh have something to do with the DVI connection on the cable box being disabled. Does any one else have any experience with this issue?

-K

I am loving the Westinghouse. HD is awesome. The last reply reminded me though about my DVI cable. I'm with TW in KC, and my DVI cable doesn't work I get "no signal" on the monitor. I figured it migh have something to do with the DVI connection on the cable box being disabled. Does any one else have any experience with this issue?

-K


You're at the mercy of your cable provider on that. Unless they push down the software and enable the port from the head-end you're out of luck. Do note that the Westy will accept only 480p, 720p and 1080i via the DVI port. 480i has to be upconverted.

I live in Charlotte and have the SA8300HD from TWC. Try this, it worked for me:

Shut off both the tv and SA8300HD.
Connect the dvi cable.
Turn on the tv first and select the dvi input.
Turn on the SA8300HD.
You should have a picture now.

Tom

Check this...

LTV-32w3 (http://www.westinghousedigital.com/products/prod-32w3.shtml#)

I guess it has the fixes that would have been in the LTV-32w1...

Strangely, it has specifications identical to the 27w6 HD. Sounds interesting, though.

Strangely, it has specifications identical to the 27w6 HD. Sounds interesting, though.

Yeah I noticed that it seemed a bit narrow...

Check this...

LTV-32w3 (http://www.westinghousedigital.com/products/prod-32w3.shtml#)

I guess it has the fixes that would have been in the LTV-32w1...


Didn't see faroudja in those specs! Sacrificed for the ATSC tuner to keep it low budget maybe?

The listed specs are for another model. Click onto the 27w6 HD and you'll see what I mean.

I just bought the LTV-32w1 unit this last week. And, I've noticed that the sound seems to be somewhat out of sync with the video. I've turned off the internal speakers and have the sound going, via RCA cables, to my HK Reciever. When the speakers are set to internal the sound and video sync fine. When I set the speakers to external, the sound actually is slightly ahead of the video. Anyone else experienced this? Is this a configuration problem that I can change to overcome?

I am using standard definition cable to a DVR which is sending the signal, via YPbPr to the TV.

Any ideas why it might be out of sync?

Have you tried getting the audio from the DVR RCA audio outputs (or from its optical or coaxial digital audio outputs - if it has them)?

Just received by DVI-D cable from cablewholesale.com yesterday. I plug into my Comcast STB (DCT5100) and the Westy 32".

Picture looks ok but not as good as on Component. Any ideas why?
Main issue i noticed is that on DVI (with STB set at 1080i output), there seem to be a lot of "horizontal lines"...for ex: I can see Horizontal lines on the INHD logo. Looks like a old CRT.

Switching between YPbPr1 and DVI I can really see the difference.
I tried switching the STB to output 720p and it was ok but i'd rather see 1080i using Component.

Also when switching to 720p, SD channels seem Jumpy with some white lines at the top of the picture (can't remember what you cal this phenomenon).

Also, regarding adjusting Sharpness with DVI. I noticed that if you output 1080i, you cannot adjust the sharpness. You can if you set it to 720p. (wait, is it the other way around?) I will look tonite and verify.

Also at one point, when I turned the LCD on (still on DVI), I got a "double" picture (side by side)...as if looking through a stereoscope or view master (remember those?). Once I turned the set off and on again, it disappeared.

Oh and one more....when I was flipping between DVI and Component to compare picture quality, the remote suddenly stopped working! It determined it wasnt the remote as I tried using my universal remote to turn up the volume, power on/off and nothing happened. Turning the LCD on and off didnt fix that...had to unplug the set and plug it back in.

The "double" picture is a firmware problem in the cable box. No fix yet.

I found a better description of what my picture looks like when I use the DVI-D input...

"Jagged"

The INHD logo is jagged when I use the DVI-D and so is the rest of the picture.

Any ideas?

does anyone have any optimal settings for color, contrast, brightness, etc?

i just got this tv in today. its great, but while im adjusting it , id like to know if anyone else has narrowed down an optimal setting.

i have my cable box connected to the tv via s-video until i get my HD box in the next week. so if you have differnt settings for differnt inputs, just list them all, ill use them eventually lol

thanks

I found a better description of what my picture looks like when I use the DVI-D input...

"Jagged"

The INHD logo is jagged when I use the DVI-D and so is the rest of the picture.

Any ideas?

Here is the response from Westinhouse tech support.

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry.

Is your cable box set to use the DVI output? Some boxes will not output
the signal properly to the DVI port unless it is set to do so, and will
cause such a problem. You can find it either in the menu system of the
box, or as a switch on the back of the box.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.


Westinghouse Digital Support Staff


I have a comcast dct5100. And as far as I know the DVI output is working...anyone know if there is a hidden menu to make sure it is "on"?

I placed a call into Westinghouse and was told perhaps that HDCP was not activated on the box?

Does anyone know what a non-HDCP picture would look like (if connected to DVI)? I thought I would not be able to see the picture if that was the case.

Thanks!

anyone have any suggestions on settings for tv,dvd, or pc use?

I just got one of these from BB since they put it on sale this week.

I am pleased with it, I was debating this one or the proview from costco for the same price. I opted the westinghouse partly for the 2 sets of component ins, wanted to use my xbox and a dvd player.

My one gripe is the remote, I can't seem to find a remote code for my samsung HD Directv receiver remote. In the samsung manual it listed 2 remote codes for westinghouse, but neither seemed to work.
Has anyone been able to make a 3rd party remote work? Is there some secret code for mine?

I just got one of these from BB since they put it on sale this week.


I too just picked up one from BB yesterday... Did you order online to get the free 5.1 Surround Sound system and Prog. scan dvd?

I do have one question. When I opened mine, it came with TOSHIBA batteries. Did yours? If mine was an open box (which is shouldn't have been) then I want to take the 15% off coupon in and tell them to give me the difference. But if for some reason Westinghouse comes with TOSHIBA batteries then I will leave it alone.

I didnt pay attention to the brand of the batteries.
Were your batteries shrink wrapped together?
Might be difficult to prove you have an open boxed tv based on batteries alone and since its open now too.

"'Cuse me I want to use my 15% off coupon on this tv, its open box now that I have it at home" LOL just kiddin.

I did get the free DVD sys though. I went in and said to the dude that online you get the dvd sys, he promptly said they could do that.

I too just picked up one from BB yesterday... Did you order online to get the free 5.1 Surround Sound system and Prog. scan dvd?

I do have one question. When I opened mine, it came with TOSHIBA batteries. Did yours? If mine was an open box (which is shouldn't have been) then I want to take the 15% off coupon in and tell them to give me the difference. But if for some reason Westinghouse comes with TOSHIBA batteries then I will leave it alone.

I am not trying to scam them out of 15%, but if it was a return, I want the discount.

I do agree... Hard to prove.

I too just picked up one from BB yesterday... Did you order online to get the free 5.1 Surround Sound system and Prog. scan dvd?

I do have one question. When I opened mine, it came with TOSHIBA batteries. Did yours? If mine was an open box (which is shouldn't have been) then I want to take the 15% off coupon in and tell them to give me the difference. But if for some reason Westinghouse comes with TOSHIBA batteries then I will leave it alone.


Me too, I just got one yesterday at BB. But I did not see the online free 5.1 until today. Can I go back and ask for it? My box is never open with toshiba battery on it. I also bought 4 years warranty.

I am very satisfy with this TV for the price. I also pickup an Motorola Signal Booster at CC to boost the Comcast HDTV cable. The picture is improve significantly. I've been able to get all available HD as well as crystal clear digital and SD channel.

Update: I just got back to BB and tell them the online sale. They correct it and give me a 500W Insigna Home Theater Free. That's cool

Thanks

I picked up two of these at BestBuy today and it looks like they have different firmware.

In the "General Settings->System Info" of one, it shows:
- Date: 2005.4.12
- Version: 1.12

The other shows:
- Date: 2005.1.25
- Version: 0.37

The Version 1.12 has two additional menu options in General Settings:
a. "LED" allows me to turn on/off the blue LED that indicates power on.
b. "AC Outlet Use: Memory/Off" ... What does this do?

Is there a way for me to update the firmware?
I've checked the Westinghouse website and emailed them, waiting for a response.

I live in Brazil and I'm going to Miami on november 24.

How big is the box? Can I put it on a Toyota Corolla? I need to know cause I'm going to bring one.

Do you know if I can buy one at BB and ask the seller to open the box and test it for me? Because I can't turn on for the first time here in Brazil because if it comes with any problem I'm f..... :mad:

I picked this up last week, and I have mildly happy with the set.

For gaming, DVD, and PC, it has been great. However, I have two cable issues, and I was hoping that someone here might be able to assist me.

The first concern is a DVI issue. When powering up the set or cable box (Motorola 6412 set to 720p) the display will either be in split (when I say split the left part of the screen is on the right like a kaleidoscope), or it is shifted up or down, or I have line of video noise along the top, or it can not find the signal. After a few power cycles it finally gets it right. However, I would prefer not to have to do this.

I have attempted a couple of solutions. One was to replace the cable. No effect. Two, I switched to 1080i, and this solve the problem above, but the picture dropped in quality dramatically. It was very grainy. I connected the component cables to the box, and this lead to concern two.

When I ran the components to either component input directly from the cable box at 720p, the picture would jump. Almost like a ripple in water. The cables are fairly high quality, and I feel that is not the issue. I switched the box over 1080i and it stopped, but the picture again suffered.

My best guess is that the cable box is having problems sending a 720p signal through either output. I live close to the Comcast office, so it is not an issue to get another box myself. However, if anyone else had similar issues, I would appreciate your thoughts or ideas.

As an FYI, I am quite sure that it is not a cable issue. The coax coming in to the box is new and I had no problems prior to this new TV (I had a HDTV in there prior to this one). Also, I checked the signal to the box and it appears that the strength both directions is well within range.

Again any help would be appreciated.

I do have one question. When I opened mine, it came with TOSHIBA batteries. Did yours? If mine was an open box (which is shouldn't have been) then I want to take the 15% off coupon in and tell them to give me the difference. But if for some reason Westinghouse comes with TOSHIBA batteries then I will leave it alone.FWIW, I picked one up yesterday at BB to try out and it also came with Tosh batteries.

good thing you got it yesterday, i was going to pick one up today, but the price went back up....

That was the plan, robd1438. Not to rub it in, but they took an add'l hundred bucks off the sale price as well on an open item, so it was actually well under a grand, and I couldn't really pass up an opportunity to give one a test drive at that sort of price. Didn't get the Insignia 5.1 deal though (shoulda checked this thread first before I went to the store.)

First Impressions of LTV-32w1 with a PC DVI Input

The good news...

Setup of the LTV-32w1 was essentially a no-brainer as most of the picture controls (namely Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Hue & Color Temp) seem pretty-well dialed in for a 0-255 PC input via DVI by default. If your PC DVD player expands the palette of DVDs from 16-235 to 0-255, then you're pretty much stylin'. If you're using an unexpanded palette, then you'll probably need to tweak BRIGHTNESS and CONTRAST to compensate (and other PC apps will probably have blacks and whites crushed as a consequence.)

The default COLOR3/COLOR TEMP seems to offer the best lookin palette and whitest looking whites for PC use. COLOR1 looks too yellow and COLOR2 looks too green to me. YMMV though.

Setting ASPECT RATIO to STANDARD (not the default) allows for 1:1 pixel mapping with basically any reasonable "768p" VESA mode via DVI. 1360x768 creates only slight pillarboxing which is unnoticeable. 1280x768 and 1024x768 will have respectively larger and more noticeable black bars on the sides. Setting ASPECT RATIO to FILL will allow these and other resolutions to fill the entire screen, however the 1:1 mapping afforded by the STANDARD setting yields the best clarity, and perhaps also better display performance overall, since no scaling is required. Ghosting/pixel lag seem to be minimized with the 1:1 DVI configuration, and there was no overscan with the above modes.

VGA seems to works similarly to DVI in terms of 1:1 pixel mapping, and enables an additional setup menu of PC PARAMETERS, to tweak the LCD's synchonization if necessary. Unlike DVI though, some tweaking of Brightness and Contrast will probably be needed for optimum contrast with a VGA input, and pixel clarity may be a bit softer. The SHARPNESS control is disabled with both VGA and DVI PC inputs btw.

As with most LCD computer panels, the LTV-32w1 seems to be limited to certain frequencies for DVI and VGA PC inputs. My PCs simply defaulted to the video adapter's default refresh rate, which seemed to work fine for the moment. Have to experiment some more to see what, if any, advantage/difference there may be with the different supported refresh rates. The display's current refresh (ie vertical frequency) is shown in the display's GENERAL SETTINGS/SYSTEM INFO.

Since Brightness and Contrast, etc. were pretty well set by default for a DVI PC input, the only other control that really needed much adjustment was the BACKLIGHT to reduce brightness of the display to a comfortable level, and improve blacks as much as possible. Any other tweaking of DVDs I did with gamma and contrast controls via my PC's player. If you want a more contrasty image, but don't want to sacrifice blacks by raising the BACKLIGHT, the CONTRAST control on the display should work much the same as the player-based control. Both contrast controls will basically boost shadow detail by crushing/truncating the whites. Some bias lighting behind or around the display, and possibly some darkening of the DVD's gamma (in combination with boosting contrast or the Backlight) may also help to give the picture a bit more depth and punch for nighttime viewing. Again YMMV.

The so-so news...

Although the LTV-32w1 doesn't seem too bad for daytime viewing as a PC display, the blacks and contrast ratio are still a bit weak for nighttime video viewing compared to the CRTs I'm used to. The color palette also seems a little weaker, less realistic and a bit rustier lookin than some newer LCDs I've seen. Faces look a little clay-ish in color. Angle of view also seems a bit weaker than some other recent LCDs in this size.

My verdict (so far anyway)...

Probably a pretty tolerable (and affordable at the sale price, which I'm fairly sure will reappear again, since there's already a successor to this model, the 32w3) display for daytime PC work and casual PC/DVD viewing. But perhaps somewhat lacking in the black level, contrast ratio, color fidelity and pixel response departments for serious nighttime video viewing compared to a good plasma or CRT. PC-friendliness via DVI or VGA and lack of burn-in is surely a plus though for those looking for a low-cost large-format computer display. And it's definitely a step up in terms of clarity, precision and connectability over my old and now very antiquated-lookin by comparison 34XBR800 Trinitron tube.

Firmware Date: 1-25-2005, Version: 0.37

How can you tell this thing is on? I don't have any indication when it's on without input...I think it shuts off but I can't tell.
An LED status light would have been nice. I have the 37 firmware so maybe that updated firmware would be helpful.

Update - only way to update the firmware is to send it to them.
And yes, the unit powers down if there is no signal input.

By default, the bright blue LED was on mine. However, I turned it off in setup since it was too annoying to look at. I do think an updated firmware will do the trick.

Could somebody please verify whether or not this unit (LTV-32w1) has Faroudja deinterlacing? There has been some discussion of this in the BenQ 37" owners thread.

Thanks!
Robin

Well I can't you what's actually inside the unit, but it says so on the outside of the box on the LTV-32w1.

Could somebody please verify whether or not this unit (LTV-32w1) has Faroudja deinterlacing? There has been some discussion of this in the BenQ 37" owners thread.

Thanks!
Robin

Could somebody please verify whether or not this unit (LTV-32w1) has Faroudja deinterlacing? There has been some discussion of this in the BenQ 37" owners thread.

The BenQ owners thread has doubts about the Westinghouse 37" having Faroudja deinterlacing. Unless someone is willing to open up the LTV-32W1 (32" Westinghouse), all indications (website and packaging, but not in manual) are that this does indeed have Faroudja ... the main reason why I bought the TV. I feed it a 480i picture and let it do the deinterlacing instead of my progressive-scan DVD player.

PQ-wise, this is FAR better than the Proview RX-326 which I returned.

After viewing this TV in the store, I was more than obliged to take an offer last week to purchase a 32" for under a grand. It does look very comparable to a Sharp, or a Samsung, or maybe even a Toshiba. From what I understand, tho, according to Westinghouse's own website, they were going to release a TV with a built-in HD Tuner, can't wait to see what that's gonna do.

Just purchased a Westinghouse 32" LCD and first hooked it up via component cables, used AVIA to calibrate and was blown away.

A couple of days later I decided to hook it up via DVI cable. When watching fast paced shows (actually a HD football game on EPSN2), the screen was remarkably clean but choppy.

I switched back to component and it was fine.

Could this be due to cheap DVI cable? Or do you think it is an issue with the Westy?Not sure if this is related, but I think I'm seeing slightly different levels of motion lag depending on the signal and input used on the 32w1. There seems to be more lag via a 480i component input from my DVD player than 480p for example. I think I may have noticed some slight differences between 720p, 768p and 1080i via DVI with an up-converting player as well. Not sure about that though.

I doubt it's your cable, unless there's somethin unusual goin on. Though it could also be transmission-related. Do you see any difference if you change DVI from 1080i to 720p?

Well, right now I just hooked this up to regular old Cable TV, a PC via a VGA Input, and an Insignia DVD Recorder/VCR combo, and it seems to do some good with these three components alone. My PC's a Gateway Media Center, and this TV seems to have a "brain" to adjust the picture, and fill the screen, which is sweet. I really wish that the split-screen PBP would fill the screen, tho. It seems like you're stuck with a letterbox for the split-screen. Not too sure how to fill the screen like you can with a Soyo or Olevia.

Allegedly this thing has 1080p? Best Buy says 1080p but Westinghouse says 1080i.

Anyone capable of getting 1080p?

Could you perhaps be thinking of the 32w1's bigger brother, the 37w1?

My PC's a Gateway Media Center, and this TV seems to have a "brain" to adjust the picture, and fill the screen, which is sweet.The Westy LTV-32w1 pretty much rocks as a PC monitor, and is razor sharp via DVI at 1360x768 in the Standard A/R. Coming from CRTs, the difference in crispness and detail with LCD is like night and day, and truly a revelation.

I'm still not sure if I'll be hanging onto to this item, but the more time I spend with it, the more enthusiastic I seem to be getting about it. With a few different tweaks (some of which seem a little counter-intuitive), DVDs are starting to look much better to me, even for nighttime viewing. Since these displays have fairly limited contrast, getting a good picture seems to be about striking the right compromises.

FWIW, here's what seems to be working well for me so far for nighttime viewing. This is mainly intended for PC playback of DVDs, especially via DVI which has the best color definition on these displays IMO. But it may work for other inputs as well. USE ALL INFO HERE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN PERIL THOUGH.

1) Keep the Backlight fairly low, between 0-15 depending on how bright you want the picture overall, and how much black you're willing to sacrifice.

2) Cranking up the illumination behind/around the display seems to give the blacks a bit more depth. At the moment I'm using four 40 Watt lamps arrayed along a white wall behind the TV. That may be a bit extreme, and if I keep the TV, then I'll probably end up refining that arrangement a bit more, and maybe replacing those with some kind of daylight bulbs, but the basic idea was to create a fairly even bath of light behind the display similar to daylight, to cause enough pupillary construction to make the blacks on the display appear more deep... and it works (to an extent anyway). Also try to keep light (both ambient and direct) from reflecting off the screen.

I'd be reluctant to use fluorescent lights for this bias lighting btw, because I'm afraid that differences in power-cycling between the bias light and the the LCD's Backlight might be stressful on my eyes.

3) Dialing Brightness (aka black clipping/cutoff) down a little below the recommended settings also seems to help give the picture more density... and perhaps just as importantly, it makes colors look deeper, richer and more fully saturated. If you're using the THX Optimizer, then I'd recommend reducing Brightness until the THX logo itself (not the dropshadow) disappears and only 5 of the dark grey squares are visible instead of the usual 7. You'll loose a little shadow detail but what you'll gain in depth and saturation is worth the tradeoff IMO. Since the black level and contrast ratio is limited on the display, what you're sort of trying to do is optimize for the middle tones so they retain the look they would have on a display with more ideal black levels, and sort of fool your eye into thinking you've got a better TV than you do. :) Crunching the blacks a little seems to acheive this, and perhaps help alleviate the clay-face syndrome a little.

4) Try crunching your whites a little by raising Contrast (aka white clipping/cutoff) for the same reasons as above. This is sort of a judgement call and just depends on how much degradation of the whites you can tolerate, and are willing to give up for a little deeper looking blacks. The more white crunching you can tolerate, the lower/darker you can set the Backlight and the deeper your blacks will look. Go to the MONITOR PERFORMANCE screen in the THX Optimizer (the one with the SMPTE color swatches, grid and stepped greys, not the CONTRAST/PICTURE SETUP screen you'd usually use for Contrast adjustment) and increase Contrast until the lightest grey swatch becomes white. Then adjust the Backlight until the overall brightness of the movie is comfortable to your eyes. Then readjust from their until you're comfortable with the compromise between blacks and white detail. Again the more crunching of the whites you can tolerate the darker you can set the Backlight. You may find you can raise the Contrast even higher without missing much white detail in some movies. Or maybe you won't able to tolerate any white crunching at all, and would rather make due with slightly more elevated blacks or just a darker picture. It's your call.

5) Try to the keep the TV centered as close to eye level as possible (or perpendicular to your line of sight). Even a modest angle up, down, left or right to your eye will cause some reduction in contrast.

6) Using 75HZ refresh seems to alleviate some of the latency in the pixel response making the motion appear a little crisper to my eyes. Since 75Hz is not one of the supported refresh rates listed in the manual for 1360x768, I spoke to Westinghouse tech support to see if they thought it would be okay to run the display at 1360x768@75Hz via DVI. And they said they thought it would be okay, but not to use higher refresh rates because it might overheat the display. So far (knock wood) 1360x768@75Hz seems to have worked fine via DVI on the 2 displays I've tried, but I've had some difficulty getting it to sync properly via the VGA input. So I won't be using it for VGA. As a reminder, here's what the manual says about exceeding the recommended refresh rates:

PRESET TIMING MODE (Pre-adjusted to reduce blanking: 1360x768 at 60Hz)
WARNING: Do not set the graphics card in your computer to exceed these refresh rates; doing so may result in permanent damage to the LCD TV.

Again use all info above entirely at your own risk.

Hmm, interesting... Ever since I've owned this TV about a couple of days now, I haven't experienced anything like that yet. Then again, I wasn't about to spend close to $2,000 for a Sharp or Sony, either. Even your $2,000 won't have the same bells and whistles as a Westinghouse, like Split-Screen PIP, or PC inputs. I know that you have Syntax Olevia, but the Westinghouse is a little better with brightness and contrast ratio, IMHO. The PQ's just a wee bit better than Olevia's. I'm not complaining about it.

Are you suggesting my remarks sound a little complainy? ;)

Well, maybe so. I may be a little pickier than the average HT bear, especially with regard to black levels, and given the limited budget I'm willing to spend. It's interesting to me to see how much PQ can be teased out of a relatively inexpensive model like this though. The new Syntax 37" HVS LCD interests me as well, but I haven't tried any of the Syntaxes yet, and haven't worked with enough LCD TVs to really have a good feel how the Westy compares to others in terms of its contrast and black levels.

It's certainly better than my old Samsung LCD computer monitor, but I also have a pretty well-adjusted 27" Sharp analog CRT sitting next to the Westy and, well, there is still a pretty noticeable difference in the blacks between the two. To put it succinctly, the blacks on the old Sharp tube look like a black hole compared to most other displays I've seen or owned, which is why I still keep it around. The only TV's I've seen recently that compare or exceed it are the newer Panasonic HD tubes. Those may have the deepest blacks on the planet. (And it looks like Panasonic may discontinue them due to lack of demand.)

Here's something that might surprise a couple people though (namely the ones who haven't been privy to my rants about this over in the CRT forum)... The blacks and pixel response on this Westy 32" LCD compare pretty favorably with the blacks and phosphor decay on my soon to be unloaded Sony 34XBR800 tube.

The devil you say!?... Here's why. The Sony seems to have some of the slowest decaying phosphors around, so the lag (and haloing) is very noticeable in darker scenes. And in brighter scenes the blacks tend to get fogged up by the diffuse internal reflections in the tube, significantly reducing intrascene contrast. So even though it may have decent on/off contrast my guess is that the ANSI contrast on the 34XBR800 is much poorer, and possibly even worse than some LCDs.

The blacks on the Westy LCD, while not perfect, are at least rock-steady (from optimum viewing angle) by comparison, delivering very respectable intrascene contrast in even moderately bright scenes. And the slight pixel lag in darker colors on the Westy doesn't really compare to the obvious and annoying phosphor trails that tend to pollute darker scenes on the Sony CRT. The Westy also easily wins hands down in terms of detail, clarity and computer connectability via DVI.

Anyway... it's just interesting to me what a little experimentation can do for PQ on even a relatively affordable LCD unit like this. And it gives one hope that even better things may be around the corner. The color still looks a little artificial to my eye, but with the tweaks above (especially the slight reduction in Brightness which helps give color much more substance via DVI) I'm startin to get a bit more impressed with the PQ on these displays.

I have the Westinghouse ltv-32w1. When I watch HD-TV via YPBpR1 I have no issues with the picture filling the entire screen. However, when I connect a DVD player (and I have tried two) into the YPbPr1 or 2 connection, I can not get a widescreen DVD to fill the tv screen.

I have set the DVD players to 16:9 (and 4:3) but it still will not fill the tv screen. It appears 16:9 but with black all around the picture. If I look closely the black bars on the sides, the pixels do not appear to be turned on at all while the black bars on top and bottom appear to have pixels that are turned on but set to display black. I have the TV set to "standard" because if I use either zoom or fill, the picture is obviously distorted.

I know this really shouldn't be hard but I give up after spending a few hours trying various settings, multiple DVD players, etc.

Thank you for any possible help.
-Larry

Set the player to 16:9. Then for Anamorphic Widescreen DVDs, set the TV's Aspect Ratio to FILL.

For Fullscreen DVDs... If you want to see the entire 4:3 frame (with black bars on the sides, aka pillarboxing), use STANDARD. If you want to crop the top and bottom so it fills the whole screen (and displays without pillarboxing), use ZOOM. Also use ZOOM to get letterboxed Fullscreen DVDs to fill the width of the screen. There should be no distortion with any of the above.

Be certain of the widescreen DVD.

Many DVDs are not *widescreen enhanced* and will not fill the screen without zoom or some other trick.

Just an idea.

Paul

hey ADU i followed ur guide and im now getting good color saturation and improved blacks on my westy 30w2. glad i found this thread thanks

Glad you found it useful Mojer21. A couple other tips...

7) The brighter the film is, the less white crunch may be necessary for good depth and contrast.

Examples are Monsters, Inc and The Incredibles (except for some of the nighttime scenes). Since these are already pretty bright to begin with, there's not as much to be gained by increasing Contrast to further brighten the midtones. Dialing the Brightness/black level down a little should still help with color saturation and blacks, but these animated films are so bright to begin with that you can probably set the Backlight relatively low/dark and still have a pretty bright and dimensional-looking picture without blowing out the whites by raising Contrast. Using the THX Optimizer's normal CONTRAST/PICTURE SETUP routine with the four white squares should work pretty OK in this case.

8) B&W films may not need as much white crunch (or contrast enhancement) either.

Since there's no color involved they seem to be less sensitive to the amount of contrast available, and may look pretty good with out tweaking the Contrast (or Brightness) from the normal THX setting. This may vary a bit depending on the transfer though.

Like I was sayin above, the white crunch is more of judgement call, and depends a little more on the content, and personal preference.

9) If your DVD player has a Gamma control, you could also try boosting the intensity of midtones with that instead of crunching the whites with Contrast. (This would generally be done in combination with black crunch as described in step #3 above.) This should increase the overall brightness in the picture when using dark Backlight settings, but without blowing-out any of the white details. This is pretty much the way many TV mfrs create their "Vivid" modes.

It looks like there may be some downsides to this approach on the Westy LCDs though. Although it brightens the image and maintains better white detail than boosting Contrast (in skies for example), it tends to wash out the color saturation more and enhance the clay-face/browns in some films quite a bit. This approach to "contrast enhancement" may work better on CRTs and perhaps plasma displays with strong blacks, and poor brightness (and an internal gamma control) to give them a little boost for daytime instead of nighttime viewing... which is pretty much the opposite of how the Westinghouse LCDs work.

In general it looks like the black crunch - white crunch (as needed) approach may work better on these Westy LCDs than crunching blacks and boosting midtones with gamma. YMMV though. If you have a higher tolerance for browns/clay-face than for blown-out highlights, then the latter may still be worth a try.

(Note: If you're using a lower-end Sony DVD player like my old Sony DVP-NS715P, their "Memory/Brightness" feature may actually be a Gamma/midtone control instead of a black cutoff.)

I just picked up one of these yesterday, brought it home, and plugged analog cable into it so the kids could watch some Cartoon Network.

When I change channels, the new channel does a sort of video shimmey for a split second, and then it's fine. Is that the way it is on other folks' Westies, or did I get a bad one....? BTW, I'm pretty happy with how fast it does change channels, compared to some LCDs that friends have.

TIA

Well, now that I have my Westy hooked up to a separate HD Tuner from my cable company, I don't really have any problems with it. However, when I first had my Westie on regular cable, it did seem to pop once in a while, but the TV was smart enough to adjust to the new channel. With the Faroudja technology, that may take some time to kick in, that's where I feel the delay may come from.

The native resolution is listed as 1366 x 768 which is not 16 X 9 is there black left at the top and bottom or are the pixels being remapped to this 1.7786 to 1 ratio (verses 1.777 to 1) If I input a 1280 x 720p hd tv signal will it be stretched (even if it is slightly)

The 27" model is listed as 1280 X 720

Tony

Back on page 4 a2gti reported a problem where he had to unplug the set to get it working again. I had a similiar problem the other night where the remote stopped working and the power button on the set did not work. Does this happen to others? Often?

I'm not sure what caused the problem. I don't use dvi but do switch between component inputs.

The native resolution is listed as 1366 x 768 which is not 16 X 9 is there black left at the top and bottom or are the pixels being remapped to this 1.7786 to 1 ratio (verses 1.777 to 1) If I input a 1280 x 720p hd tv signal will it be stretched (even if it is slightly)If you're concerned about some kind of obvious pillarboxing/distortion being introduced as a result of scaling 720p to the display's native rez of 1366x768...

A) The difference in A/R between 720p and 1366x768 is so slight as to be inconsequential.
B) There is a slight black border about 1/8" wide around the entire image on all 16x9 content.

Cranking up the illumination behind/around the display seems to give the blacks a bit more depth. At the moment I'm using four 40 Watt lamps arrayed along a white wall behind the TV. That may be a bit extreme, and if I keep the TV, then I'll probably end up refining that arrangement a bit more, and maybe replacing those with some kind of daylight bulbs, but the basic idea was to create a fairly even bath of light behind the display similar to daylight, to cause enough pupillary construction to make the blacks on the display appear more deep... and it works (to an extent anyway). Also try to keep light (both ambient and direct) from reflecting off the screen.After thinking about this some more, I'd be somewhat reluctant to use fluorescents (6500K or otherwise) for this "bias lighting", because I'm afraid that differences in power-cycling between the fluorescent bias light and the Backlight on the LCD might be stressful on my eyes.

I somewhat reluctantly returned my 32w1 yesterday. Overall my experience with it was a very positive one (AOTC looked remarkable on it scaled to 1360x768 via DVI, with some of the tweaks mentioned earlier.) ...but I still want to explore a few other options. For the price I paid though, the Westy seems like it would be hard to beat.

I looked at the new 37" Syntax HVS at Fry's yesterday as well, and was not impressed with it. So not sure exactly where to go from here.

I also tried the Samsung HD950 upconverting DVD player with the Westy via DVI and was pretty disappointed with it's PQ compared to a PC/DVI input. IMO the 480p component input from my old Sony player looked better than the 950's DVI. (I did not try the 720p/1080i component hack on the HD950 though.)

I'm very happy with the Westinghouse, but the IR performance seems off. I want to ask if anyone else has this issue.
Not all button presses register with the TV. I sometimes have to press it again. I've tried both the remote the came with it and my Logitech Harmony 680.
I'm guessing the IR receiver is in that clear plastic at the middle bottom of the screen. I've tried aiming it there and I can't say it's ever consistent. It's a pain in the ass because the macro functions on my Harmony doesn't work all the time and confuses the state of the remote.
I'd like to know if others have this issue and I just got a bad one that needs to be replaced. I'm still under 30 days at BB to exchange it.

Thanks.

I do have to press the power twice to make it work for some reason. Other than that everything is perfect.

Also... I tried hooking up Directv HD Tivo via HDMI-DVI cable and like the component hookup better.. For some reason the DVI connection is choppy... I don't know why.



Has anyone hooked up their freebie 5.1 Surround system yet? Mine is still in the box. Is it any good?

The power button is a little different since it takes the unit some time to power up.
You might not need to press it twice.

It's the other buttons I have a problem with, like changing displays or volume.

I do have to press the power twice to make it work for some reason. Other than that everything is perfect.

Also... I tried hooking up Directv HD Tivo via HDMI-DVI cable and like the component hookup better.. For some reason the DVI connection is choppy... I don't know why.



Has anyone hooked up their freebie 5.1 Surround system yet? Mine is still in the box. Is it any good?

I do have to press the power twice to make it work for some reason. Other than that everything is perfect.

Also... I tried hooking up Directv HD Tivo via HDMI-DVI cable and like the component hookup better.. For some reason the DVI connection is choppy... I don't know why.



Has anyone hooked up their freebie 5.1 Surround system yet? Mine is still in the box. Is it any good?

AFAIK, there is no Faroudja processing on DVI. Also, you're dependent on how well your source performs the A/D conversion if applicable, and component to RGB transcoding, etc.

I use the DVI port to input the signal from my STB (fixed 720p), and component for DVD.

after reading through the thread and seeing the recent price drops for this tv, i think i am ready to purchase it. does anyone have pics of wall mounting this guy? what mount did you use? any suggestions on whether or not i should just wait for the w3? does the fact that it does not take 1080P make it useless in 3-5 years?

Just bought this at bestbuy.

First I hooked it up to my Marantz THX DVD player, which was pretty high end in its heydey but now is missing a slew of things including DVI and upconversion. Wasn't too impressed.

Then I hooked it up to my newly bought Toshiba DVD player and plugged it in via HDMI->HDMI/DVI converter->LCD. Better but wasn't very happy at first. Of course this is my first time with these toys so it took me about 10 minutes to figure out the right settings on both ends. After setting the Toshiba DVD player to output at 1080i and the TV to not stretch or zoom the signal, and modifying alot of the screen options for brightness/sharpness, color, etc, it looked great! I mean, it's night and day compared to what you see at the store.

However, it looks like crap with the coaxial non-HD cable tv signal. Which makes me sad because I don't have HDTV cable.

I attempted to set the output of the DVD player to both 480p and 720p and let the TV do the upconversion, but the DVD's upconversion is noticeably better than the TV's. I'm guessing they're not using a good faroudja chip or something else is wrong (or as previous poster said: Faroudja is not being used for DVI) Which really sucks because anything that is not HD or high quality is really not going to look good on these at all.

Any possible way to make coaxial or other lower quality input not look quite as bad? I mean, the Sony sets at the store were displaying much better video with the same split signal at Bestbuy. (component video in)

Thanks! And take it easy on me, I'm a supernoob at this. :)

Hehe.. I'm laughing because I saw your post on FW. :) Congrats on the new lcd. I think it's a great lcd for the $, probably the best bang for the buck for a 32" lcd..

Anyway, the Westy you have DOES have a faroudja chip so SD content should look pretty good, via component input. Keep in mind, there is little to no PQ difference between component and hdmi/dvi. Try hooking up your dvd player via component cables. If you send the tv an uprezzed signal then it bypasses the chip completely. You should try sending it a non-uprezzed signal like 480i or 480p and see how it does. If the uprezzed output from the dvd player looks better than the non-uprezzed signal, I would stick w/ a 720p output, not 1080i. Your lcd is a native 768p display, so a 720p display wouldn't have to be rescaled like a 1080i. Seeing as how you just bought a new dvd player, people seem to really rave about the Oppo dvd player. Granted it's $200 vs. $100 for your player, the consensus here is that the cheaper upconversion dvd players don't make much of a difference compared to the non-upconversion dvd players. The Oppo, from what people say, has excellent PQ for an upconverting dvd player.. Just an idea in case you don't mind dishing out a little more $ for a better dvd player, since you can proly return the one you just bought..

Like I was saying before, try out your component input, it should look very good. I can't see ANY difference between dvi/hdmi and component personally. If you're viewing plain old analog cable, it's going to suck. No way to really fix that. :p Like the cliche goes, crap in crap out. You can try messing w/ settings to try and make things a little better.

Using a thx optimizer to set the contract/brightness/backlight would make a big improvement to get the settings exactly to where they should be. I used this to get the best black levels out of my lcd possible, and it definetly made a noticeable difference. You can find them on certain dvds like the incredibles and some others. Hope I was of some help. Congrats.

Thanks!

I've been playing around with it some more and the DVDi input is ALOT better than the component video for some reason. I can't figure out why.

I tried component out with both progressive turned on and off. The worse thing about it though is that the component input screen ratio doesn't look right. In STANDARD mode it's a little too compressed left to right, in fill it's slightly compressed top to bottom.

The component out on the marantz is better than the one on the Toshiba. Still cannot compare to the DVI input though. Unfortunately, it still has the ratio aspect problem (just slightly compressed top to bottom, we're talking about only a few lines of pixels on top and a few on bottom, but I can easily notice it). Is this a problem with this particular TV model?

I also just bought this tv at best buy. So far im happy with it. Xbox with XBMC looks great, and my ota NTSC looks great too.

Back to the slightly compressed issue with component in: this only happens on my Star Wars Ep II anamorphic 1:2.35 ratio disc.

I just popped in Beauty and the Beast and it fillsit up all the way for both DVI and component (DVI still is ALOT, I mean ALOT better). Wow, this dvd looks *amazing* on this screen. Very happy. Still not sure what the deal is with the anamorphic stuff... guess I need to read up more about it :/ ??

I was wondering how you guys think this LCD would look hooked up to a computer over the DVI connection? I'm returning my Dell 2405 and need a new uber monitor. Can't beat the price either.

First Impressions of LTV-32w1 with a PC DVI Input

.......... The color palette also seems a little weaker, less realistic and a bit rustier lookin than some newer LCDs I've seen. Faces look a little clay-ish in color. Angle of view also seems a bit weaker than some other recent LCDs in this size.



i went to best buy today .. it was big dissapointment to find out that picture was too rusty to my eyes :( .. is that something i can change with the settings ? :confused:

can anyone tell me that this tv is better than SYNTAX LT26HVE Black 26" 12ms LCD TV Monitor(saw it at egghead ) or ViewSonic N2750w Black 27 8ms LCD TV ???? .. i really dont know what to choose ,sigh :)

Just picked up the 27" westy at bb last night. pretty good looking picture. i got the bb sunday ad today and saw they had the 32" for $899 which is the same price i just payed for the 27". i got them to exchange it for the 32" tonight. i can see a big difference in the PQ in the two sizes. i guess the 1000:1 CR really makes a difference. I am happy with the PQ but still need to play with the settings a bit more. Tuesday I am getting my XBOX 360! Can't wait to see how it looks since this is my first time with HD. I have SD cable right now and it does look pretty bad on the LCD. Also had a concern with screen refresh for the new XBOX. I noticed on my Tivo when i changed menus the lettering blurred when moving fast from menu to menu. This may be due to the fact it is only S-Video and it is a SD Tivo. Has anyone played an older XBOX or PS2 with this monitor? Just wanted to know if there was any ghosting or blurring with gaming consoles. thanx in advance.

Just picked up the 27" westy at bb last night. pretty good looking picture. i got the bb sunday ad today and saw they had the 32" for $899 which is the same price i just payed for the 27". i got them to exchange it for the 32" tonight. i can see a big difference in the PQ in the two sizes. i guess the 1000:1 CR really makes a difference. I am happy with the PQ but still need to play with the settings a bit more. Tuesday I am getting my XBOX 360! Can't wait to see how it looks since this is my first time with HD. I have SD cable right now and it does look pretty bad on the LCD. Also had a concern with screen refresh for the new XBOX. I noticed on my Tivo when i changed menus the lettering blurred when moving fast from menu to menu. This may be due to the fact it is only S-Video and it is a SD Tivo. Has anyone played an older XBOX or PS2 with this monitor? Just wanted to know if there was any ghosting or blurring with gaming consoles. thanx in advance.

I bought my 32" tv this morning

my roommate is playing gamecube on it now, and I dont see any ghosting whatsoever

I've been playing around with it some more and the DVI input is ALOT better than the component video for some reason. I can't figure out why.No A/D conversion with DVI. Even with VGA, the TV has to perform analog to digital conversion. With DVI it's pure digital and you get the best color fidelity. That's the way it looks to me eyes anyway. And yes, I did notice a marked improvement in PQ via DVI (from my PC) versus component and even VGA.

It may depend somewhat on your input device though. Some STBs may do DVI/HDMI well, and others may not. As mentioned before, the Samsung HD950 up-converting player was a major disappointment to me via DVI. My PC looked alot better. Maybe the Toshiba does a little better job though. If it has a 768p mode, that might worth trying too. 768p modes seemed to work best for me because they match the TV's vertical resolution.

Since these Westy displays went back on sale, I went back and looked at em again. This time BB had all their LCDs connected to a component 1080i feed which made comparisons easier.

There did seem to be some visible motion artifacting/lag with interlaced signals via the component input. I noticed the same type of motion artifacts with the 1080i feed that I saw with a 480i component input from my DVD player. So in general, I'd recommend progressive modes (480p, 720p) via component. If the lag/artifacts are related to de-interlacing, then DVI may have the same issues with 1080i as well. If you notice any choppiness or artifacting with 1080i via DVI, then I'd also recommend trying progressive modes there as well if you can (768p, 720p or whatever's handy). FWIW, I did not notice this lag with 480i via composite or Y/C, but the overall PQ was inferior with those.

AFAIK, all the units I've looked at have had the 1-25-2005/0.37 firmware. So I'd be sort of curious to know if users with different firmware have noticed this as well.

I was wondering how you guys think this LCD would look hooked up to a computer over the DVI connection?In a word: outstanding. I felt like I could reach out and touch Yoda, Jango Fett and Obi Wan in AoTC mapped 1:1 via DVI at 1360x786. DVI is this monitor's forte.

Went to 3 BestBuys and finally found one. Been playing with it for hours and LOVE it. I had a Proview 32' and Sharp 32' from Costco, and this Westinghouse is every bit as good as the Sharp if you calibrate it properly. I use a HTPC via DVI.

Question: how do you check the firmware cause I'd like to be able to turn off the annoying blue light.

In a word: outstanding. I felt like I could reach out and touch Yoda, Jango Fett and Obi Wan in AoTC mapped 1:1 via DVI at 1360x786. DVI is this monitor's forte.

How does it work for use as an everyday computer monitor. Surfing, typing, emails, etc. I'm sure games and movies must look pretty sweet.

how do you check the firmwareGo to the icon on the far right of the setup menu, then down to SYSTEM INFO.

How does it work for use as an everyday computer monitor. Surfing, typing, emails, etc. I'm sure games and movies must look pretty sweet.I used it for about a week for browsing and posting here. And it pretty much worked like any other LCD, except for the size. That took a little getting used to. The picture was sharp as a tack via DVI with "768p" modes. Some people may in fact find the 1:1 mapping via DVI a little too sharp for reading and such. VGA has a little softer look to it though.

I'm pretty sure it supported other standard VESA modes as well like 800x600 and perhaps also 1280x1024, in addition to 1024x768, 1280x768, 1360x768. Again, pretty much worked like your average computer LCD monitor via DVI and VGA.

I used it for about a week for browsing and posting here. And it pretty much worked like any other LCD, except for the size. That took a little getting used to. The picture was sharp as a tack via DVI with "768p" modes. Some people may in fact find the 1:1 mapping via DVI a little too sharp for reading and such. VGA has a little softer look to it though.

It seemed to work fine with 75Hz via DVI as well, which is what I mostly used. I'm pretty sure it supported other standard VESA modes as well like 800x600 and perhaps also 1280x1024, in addition to 1024x768, 1280x768, 1360x768. Again, pretty much worked like your average computer LCD monitor via DVI and VGA.

Isn't it better to run it @ 1360x768? I've always understood it to be best to run an LCD at it's native resolution, especially a computer monitor.

I'm @ 1900x1200 so I doubt it could be much sharper than that.

1360x768 was the best fit for me, because it fills most of the screen, and can be mapped 1:1 using the STANDARD A/R setting. So yes, that is what I used. I believe the display supports some other standard VESA resolutions as well though, if they're needed. Not sure it will go as high as 1900x1200 though. And I'm not sure about 1280x1024 either. Since 1360x768 worked well and mapped 1:1, I didn't get round to testing anything higher.

i went to best buy today .. it was big dissapointment to find out that picture was too rusty to my eyes .. is that something i can change with the settings ?Still thinking about this one santa1. One possibility might be to elevate the brightness/black level on the source or using an unexpanded (16-235) versus expanded (1-255) palette.

Using DVI may help too instead of the analog inputs (including component).

Do you know how long does the new price of Best Buy will stay?

I'm going to USA this week and I'm thinking on buying one, the TV is so cheap! :D

Here in Brazil it costs 5 times the price. :mad:

Got one at BB. Can someone tell me a little bit about "System Info"?
I have the LCD hooked up to Dish 811 using DVI cable, my System Info shows:
Connection = DVI
Resolution = 720x480
Date = 2005.4.12
Version = 1.12

Where does the resolution coming from and can it be changed?

Got one at BB. Can someone tell me a little bit about "System Info"?
I have the LCD hooked up to Dish 811 using DVI cable, my System Info shows:
Connection = DVI
Resolution = 720x480
Date = 2005.4.12
Version = 1.12

Where does the resolution coming from and can it be changed?

---
I found the answer. Need to change this from the source, in my case, I changed the Dish 811 to 720p and the resolution is now 1280x720. Picture looks much better.

:)

Not sure if 1366x768 would be possible with Powerstrip or not, since 1366 isn't a multiple of 8. The slight underscan at 1360x768 (mapped 1:1 with the STANDARD A/R) was not objectionable to me though, and worked like a charm.

ADU,

If I remember correctly you were happy with the color 2 setting, then you changed your mind to 3. What setting did you decide on? Could you post what settings you have for brightness, contrast, etc... Can anyone else for that matter post there detailed settings. I'm hoping to get this setup so that SD is manageable to watch. thanks guys.

I have D* and sd looks as good on my 32" as my 42"plasma. Some ch: are just bad on both of them. The more popular ch: look good [cnn,fox news, tbs etc]. HD is pristine................I'm going to hook up HDPC soon and see how it looks. Thats really why I got it, plus the big price drop. The new 32", coming in Dec has a HD tunner.

I was wondering how you guys think this LCD would look hooked up to a computer over the DVI connection? I'm returning my Dell 2405 and need a new uber monitor. Can't beat the price either.

I just got this TV yesterday as well, and want to affirm what others have reported that the DVI connection looks sharp and great and was a breeze to map 1:1 at 1360x768 on my HTPC. It certainly wasn't so easy to get my HTPC to map 1:1 to a Sanyo Z3 projector @ 1280 x 720, nor to a Vizio 32" LCD which wouldn't do 1:1 at all. The Vizio L32, which I replaced with this one, could only go up to 1024x768 over DVI, although it looked great (but not 1:1) at 1280x720 over VGA. I'm only using the LTV-32W1 as a TV, but I can see the DVI image is excellent while standing closeup.

The VGA on the LTV-32W1 also was a breeze to do 1:1 at 1360x768, although I'm not using it since I've got the DVI hooked up. The VGA automatic positioning worked well to center the image, unlike the Vizio, which needed to be manually positioned for different timings.

In terms of TV image quality, the LTV-32W1 looks great with the HD and DVD's on the HTPC and with DVD's over component. Standard analog cable over coax looked OK once I started tweaking the settings, but I need to try ADU's well-written suggestions on optimizing the picture. The Vizio was a lot easier to get looking good with standard cable, just had to turn down the vivid default colors, and also seems to have less graininess with cable than the LTV-32W1.

I was pretty satisfied with the Vizio but was having problems with a defective remote and possibly a problem with the stereo sound. I'm limited in budget choices for a 32" LCD that can fit a narrow cabinet width, and the Westinghouse came along at a good price this week.

So it sounds like this TV is unwatchable on standard cable? Or will I notice an improvement over my 1996 Sony 27" Trinatron?

Thanks!
Mike

I read somewhere the new HD Direct TV boxes were going to sell for $199 or free with a contract. Has anyone else heard anything? I'm waiting because the new HD DVR's are going to use mpeg4 and I'm worried the ones selling now will be obsolete.

Three were sold yesterday while I was there, one was mine. It just fit in my wifes 05 Honda Accord.

i went to best buy today .. it was big dissapointment to find out that picture was too rusty to my eyes :( .. is that something i can change with the settings ? :confused:



Do you mean rusty as in color, or as in picture quality? I noticed the picture quality was lacking when I was checking it out in Best Buy the other day. I looked in the back and realized it was hooked up to analog cable feed (!) while the other TVs were coming off component. I brought this to the attention to an associate, and his response was "We don't have enough cables to hook up to the crappy TVs".

Suffice to say I didn't stay any longer in that store, and they definitely did not get my money.

Anyways, I bought the Westie from another Best Buy, got a free 5.1 DVD system with it, and am very happy with my purchase. I am using it as a monitor through DVI, and the PQ still continues to amaze me. I am running at 1360x768 @ 75 Hz. The SDTV quality is decent, if I squint and am far enough away I can trick myself into thinking I am watching HD -- granted I watch mostly ESPN and Fox sports broadcasts.

The only caveat is that the skin tones never look *just right* to me, I am constantly adjusting during DVD watching and video games. If I had this professionally tuned, or had a calibration tool this would probably not be an issue.

Question for other owners of this set. What is the second icon in the menu next to picture parameters? Is that the system maintenance menu? How do you access it?

you can adjust hue, saturation, black level but i can't seem to get the fleshtones to my satisfation either. then again, i've had this only for a day. and the second icon in the menu is to adjust VGA feed from your computer. t adjusts phase, clock, and position. it'll only work if VGA is in use. i

I bought one of these today at BB, but it won't be delivered until December (my brother was home all day but didn't get it for me, insisting they'd be in stock).

Anyway, I see comments that SD TV looks "like crap." I watch a lot of TV, usually stuff I TiVo... is this going to look WORSE than it does on the old 27" direct view I have now? I can deal if DVDs and games are going to look tons better, but it will be kind of annoying to loss image size (the center extraction from the LCD will be smaller than the 27" tube) AND picture quality.

Does anybody know why anamorphic widescreen 1:2.35 DVDs looks either slightly squished left to right in STANDARD mode or slightly pushed top to bottom in STRETCH mode when using component video? DVI remains perfect. Puzzled.

Have to try to find another 1:2.35 disc.. not sure I have one.

I saw this unit at BB, almost talked my friend into it. It looked really bad when we walked up, working with the controls on the side I was able to improve. Everything looked to be default, I don't think they calibrated any of their displays. I upped the color first, got the rusty face thing, adjusted hue to compensate, that sort of thing. It looked pretty decent, but it was hard when they put the Sammy right above it (at twice the price). It didn't require hardly any adjustment on the Samsung to get a really sharp image, there seemed a lot of blur in the image quality on the WW (prolly not twice the price better, but the Sammy definitely was better under the conditions). 3000:1 contrast on the Sammy vs 1000:1 on the Westy played a part in that I'm sure. He decided he wants to wait (I believe the sale ends today) for the more 3-d effect on the sharper Samsung, I really couldn't fault him. All of the sets in the store that I looked at ran component. It's a good set and a good price, but recognize there will be some compromise depending on source quality.

EDIT: The sale is 4 days, but the 10% off coupon expired yesterday.

I've got a SA8300HD w/hdmi out and I can't get it to work with the dvi on this set. I bought a monster hdmi/dvi converter and a dvi-d cable but it keeps giving me an "error" (something like sync or display error). I've tried different outputs, powering both off etc but nothing seems to work. Component looks fine, but I would like to use dvi. Do I need a different cable? Or am I missing something incredibly easy?

If you are doing this for better PQ you are not missing anything. I hooked up a HDMI converter to DVI cable and the PQ was the same as component. I also tried this cable set up on my plasma, same PQ as component. I wasted $30. But as always ymmv.

It's more a matter of freeing up a component input. I wanted to have my cable box/dvdplayer/xbox all hooked in at the same time without having to swap out.

Does anybody know why anamorphic widescreen 1:2.35 DVDs looks either slightly squished left to right in STANDARD mode or slightly pushed top to bottom in STRETCH mode when using component video? DVI remains perfect. Puzzled.

Have to try to find another 1:2.35 disc.. not sure I have one.


Anyone know the anwer to this question. I think he means anamorphic 2:35:1 and I have the same issue. I chose standard and I got pillar boxes. I thought standard was the universal way to display the aspect ratio correctly. When I hit fill I have bars on the top and bottom which is the way a anamorpic video should be displayed. Any thoughts?

Anyways, I bought the Westie from another Best Buy, got a free 5.1 DVD system with it, and am very happy with my purchase.

How did you get the free 5.1 DVD system? I bought this unit on Sunday for the sale price, but did not see an offer for a free 5.1 DVD system.

Thanks,
Nicktesla

Does anybody know why anamorphic widescreen 1:2.35 DVDs looks either slightly squished left to right in STANDARD mode or slightly pushed top to bottom in STRETCH mode when using component video? DVI remains perfect. Puzzled.

Have to try to find another 1:2.35 disc.. not sure I have one.Anyone know the anwer to this question. I think he means anamorphic 2:35:1 and I have the same issue. I chose standard and I got pillar boxes. I thought standard was the universal way to display the aspect ratio correctly. When I hit fill I have bars on the top and bottom which is the way a anamorpic video should be displayed. Any thoughts?Sorry folks. I had prepared a post on this but then pulled it to do some reworking after realizing avsmurf was using an upconverting player.

STANDARD is the mode HTPCers are using for 1:1 pixel mapping. But that's not necessarily the mode you want for a conventional DVD player.

If you're using a 480i/480p DVD player, then I think this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6522763&&#post6522763) pretty well covers it. Summarizing...

Set player to 16:9.

Use FILL on TV for Anamorphic (ie Enhanced for 16:9) DVDs.

Use STANDARD on TV to watch Fullscreen DVDs with pillarboxing. (Good for 4:3 Fullscreen content if you want to see the entire image, but letterboxed Fullscreen DVDs will have black bars on all sides.)

Use ZOOM on TV to expand Fullscreen DVDs to fill the width of the screen. (This will remove the black bars from the sides of Letterboxed Fullscreen DVDs. And it will crop the top and bottom of 4:3 Fullscreen DVDs.).

You may notice some distortion with the above, but it should be fairly minimal. My recollection is that STANDARD stretched Fullscreen content a little in the horizontal direction to fill the screen a bit more than a precise 4:3AR would, while ZOOM stretched Fullscreen content a little in the vertical.

If you notice distortion on Anamorphic content using FILL, that's probably due more to inconsistencies/variations in authoring and video transfers. I have noticed for example that Star Wars and some other "scoped" 2.35AR films look a little more horizontally stretched/vertically squashed than some other Anamorphic titles. But I'm fairly sure that's normal for those titles on most displays, and just the result of inconsistent authoring.

All the above applies to 480i/480p players.

If you're using an upconverting DVI/HDMI player with 720p/1080i, then I'm less sure what AR(s) would be best to use on the TV, since you'll be making some of the AR adjustments with the player itself. So my advice would be to experiment and see which combination of settings give you the best results.

Thanks for the reply!! I will definitely be playing more with this (once all the headaches pass from putzing around with the unit!)


You may notice some distortion with the above, but it should be fairly minimal. My recollection is that STANDARD stretched Fullscreen content a little in the horizontal direction to fill the screen a bit more than a true 4:3AR would, while ZOOM stretched Fullscreen content a little in the vertical.

Why.. oh why.. do they have to mess around with this!!! I noticed that composite-in results in a perfect 4:3 aspect ratio though.


If you notice distortion on Anamorphic content using FILL, that's probably due more to inconsistencies/variations in authoring and video transfers. I have noticed for example that Star Wars and some other "scoped" 2.35AR films look a little more horizontally stretched/vertically squashed than some other Anamorphic titles. But I'm fairly sure that's normal for those titles on most displays, and just the result of inconsistent authoring.

All the above applies to conventional 480i/480p players.

If you're using an upconverting DVI/HDMI player with 720p/1080i, then I'm less sure what AR(s) would be best to use on the TV, since you'll be making some of the AR adjustments with the player itself. So my advice would be to just experiment and see which combinations of settings give you the best results.
[/QUOTE]

With my 480i Marantz conventional DVD player, I noticed that the ratio is off just a little, squashed top to bottom, exactly like the upconverting DVD player (both using component out) with the Star Wars II disc, but why would it display in the exact correct aspect ratio when using the DVI output of the upconverting player? Just wondering how that could happen.

The player and TV handle Standard-Def (480i/480p), and High-Def (720p/1080i) differently. When you send SD to the TV, the TV itself handles all the scaling to fit it to the screen. When you send it HD, then the up-converting player does part of the scaling (from 480i to either 720p or 1080i), and the TV then scales the HD again to it's native resolution of 1366x768. That's my best guess anyway as to why you may be seeing a slight difference.

Happy with this panel in a non-critical viewing environment consisting of mostly HD football. One caveat: this panel floods the room with signals that overwhelm conventional IR sensing devices that are within 6 feet of the panel. I am having to change out my conventional 780-10 xantech (J box) receivers with Niles plasma resistant targets. This unit will flood the IR sensor and send continuous signals through all the emitters in a conventional IR system, which flood the devices with so much IR information that the information transmitted from an IR remote is unable to reliably reach the destination source device.

Niles assures me there much more reasonably priced plasma resistant (and CFL) resistant targest will work with xantechs distribution blocks.

I am considering one of these but how far off is the PQ from a Sony or one of the others with a much higher contrast ratio?

I just purchased this television, and was still a little confused on the aspect ratio settings. I attempted to watch a widescreen DVD (Matrix Reloaded) and set the DVD player to 16:9. If I left the TV on standard, the picture showed up in the center of the screen with borders on all sides. If I changed the TV to zoom, the picture filled the screen and it looked pretty good. Is this the correct thing to do? I know that previous posts had suggested using the fill setting, but that seems like it is stretching it horizontally to me.

Any service menu for this tv?

Can some one please post your display settings for component. Im having a hard time setting mine up

I've got a SA8300HD w/hdmi out and I can't get it to work with the dvi on this set. I bought a monster hdmi/dvi converter and a dvi-d cable but it keeps giving me an "error" (something like sync or display error). I've tried different outputs, powering both off etc but nothing seems to work. Component looks fine, but I would like to use dvi. Do I need a different cable? Or am I missing something incredibly easy?

Hi, I am also having this issue with the Westy. when I first turned it on it worked great for about 5 minutes and then the image stopped and was replaced with an "Display not compatible with DVI-HDCP signal" message nad I cannot see anything on the screen except the channel guide displays. It is SCA EXPLORER 800HD Box.

Any suggestions?

Well.. played around with this some more.

4:3 DVDs play great via composite video in,in the right aspect ratios. However, if you try component or DVI it will be stretched. It's as if the TV assumes all input via component or DVI to be anamorphic or something (or it just likes to stretch it out for you without asking, which seems weird)

It also seems very hard to get a good balance of being able to see detail on medium to low light areas. Either the screen is set too bright, or it's the right brightness for the light colors but you can't make out the details where there are dark colors. Maybe the Toshiba DVD player just sucks...

Just picked up the 27" westy at bb last night. pretty good looking picture. i got the bb sunday ad today and saw they had the 32" for $899 which is the same price i just payed for the 27". i got them to exchange it for the 32" tonight. i can see a big difference in the PQ in the two sizes. i guess the 1000:1 CR really makes a difference. I am happy with the PQ but still need to play with the settings a bit more. Tuesday I am getting my XBOX 360! Can't wait to see how it looks since this is my first time with HD. I have SD cable right now and it does look pretty bad on the LCD. Also had a concern with screen refresh for the new XBOX. I noticed on my Tivo when i changed menus the lettering blurred when moving fast from menu to menu. This may be due to the fact it is only S-Video and it is a SD Tivo. Has anyone played an older XBOX or PS2 with this monitor? Just wanted to know if there was any ghosting or blurring with gaming consoles. thanx in advance.

Just as a follow up for anyone interested. Today I just got the XBOX 360 and WOW! Looks amazing on the 32' Westy! 720p and 1080i both look fantastic. and there are no signs of ghosting or blurring that i can see. Now I really dig this TV!

Just as a follow up for anyone interested. Today I just got the XBOX 360 and WOW! Looks amazing on the 32' Westy! 720p and 1080i both look fantastic. and there are no signs of ghosting or blurring that i can see. Now I really dig this TV!Sounds nifty, snowmonkey5. Forgive my ignorance, but is this via component, or does the Xbox360 allow you to patch in via DVI?

Sounds nifty, snowmonkey5. Forgive my ignorance, but is this via component, or does the Xbox360 allow you to patch in via DVI?

Right now it is just component though Microsoft has already said they will be releasing a DVI or HDMI cable soon.

Interesting. Tks snowmonkey5.

Any service menu for this tv?

Can some one please post your display settings for component. Im having a hard time setting mine up

----

Mine is hooked up to Dish 811 using DVI cable, I setup the 811 as:
16x9
720p

On the Westinghouse:
Brightness = 45
Contrast = 55
Color = 3
Blacklight = 20
Leave Hue & Sat at the middle (default)

Sorry folks. I had prepared a post on this but then pulled it to do some reworking after realizing avsmurf was using an upconverting player.

STANDARD is the mode HTPCers are using for 1:1 pixel mapping. But that's not necessarily the mode you want for a conventional DVD player.

If you're using a 480i/480p DVD player, then I think Summarizing...

Set player to 16:9.

Use FILL on TV for Anamorphic (ie Enhanced for 16:9) DVDs.

Use STANDARD on TV to watch Fullscreen DVDs with pillarboxing. (Good for 4:3 Fullscreen content if you want to see the entire image, but letterboxed Fullscreen DVDs will have black bars on all sides.)

Use ZOOM on TV to expand Fullscreen DVDs to fill the width of the screen. (This will remove the black bars from the sides of Letterboxed Fullscreen DVDs. And it will crop the top and bottom of 4:3 Fullscreen DVDs.).[/list]

You may notice some distortion with the above, but it should be fairly minimal. My recollection is that STANDARD stretched Fullscreen content a little in the horizontal direction to fill the screen a bit more than a precise 4:3AR would, while ZOOM stretched Fullscreen content a little in the vertical.

If you notice distortion on Anamorphic content using FILL, that's probably due more to inconsistencies/variations in authoring and video transfers. I have noticed for example that Star Wars and some other "scoped" 2.35AR films look a little more horizontally stretched/vertically squashed than some other Anamorphic titles. But I'm fairly sure that's normal for those titles on most displays, and just the result of inconsistent authoring.

All the above applies to 480i/480p players.

If you're using an upconverting DVI/HDMI player with 720p/1080i, then I'm less sure what AR(s) would be best to use on the TV, since you'll be making some of the AR adjustments with the player itself. So my advice would be to experiment and see which combination of settings give you the best results.



What about 1:85:1 widescreen movies. Anamorphic looks fine with fill. But both fill and standard put pillar boxes on the sides of a 1:85:1 widescreen movie. Why?

Hi,
I am happy with the tv so far, but wonder if I have a defective set. When I am viewing a static image, such as the DirecTV channel guide (coming in through s-video), the picture tends to shift a bit, acting jittery like it is trying to sync the picture. Do I have a defective set? I looked at my Philips 17" LCD set, but that picture is rock solid.

thanks

Re 1360x768@75Hz...

I picked up another 32w1, and noticed in the manual that 1360x768@75Hz is not listed as one of the supported or recommend video modes. 1280x1024 and 1024x768 and some other resolutions are listed as supporting 75Hz, but not 1360x768. 60Hz is the only refresh rate recommended in the manual for 1360x768. Then down below it also says...

PRESET TIMING MODE (Pre-adjusted to reduce blanking: 1360x768 at 60Hz)
WARNING: Do not set the graphics card in your computer to exceed these refresh rates; doing so may result in permanent damage to the LCD TV.

So please just forget I mentioned using 75Hz at this resolution. It seemed to work OK via DVI with my display (though not so well with VGA), but I wouldn't want to be responsible for screwing up anyone else's TV.

1280x768 is not listed as a supported mode either.Re 1360x768@75Hz (again)

Sorry for waffling back and forth on this, but FWIW I really think that I'm seeing some reduction in the latency of the display via a PC with 75Hz vs. 60Hz, so I called Westinghouse tech support to see if they thought running it at 1360x768@75Hz would do any harm. And they said they thought it would be OK.

When I asked them what harm could be done to the display by running at higher refresh rates, they said that it could overheat the LCD.

For now, I'm probably gonna stick with this mode via DVI (even thought it's not listed in the manual as one of the supported resolutions) because it looks best to my eye, and seems to give video from my PC a little more pep and dimension. And hope for the best.

I had some issues using it via the VGA input though, so I won't be using it for that input.

What about 1:85:1 widescreen movies. Anamorphic looks fine with fill. But both fill and standard put pillar boxes on the sides of a 1:85:1 widescreen movie. Why?Not sure why this would be the case with FILL if you're using a 480i/480p player set for 16:9 TVs.

What 1.85AR movies seem to cause this? Can you give me a couple examples of titles that I might have to try?
What input are you using on the TV (YPbPr1, YPbPr2, DVI, S-video...)?
What kind of DVD player is it? Is this just a basic 480i/480p component player, an upconverting player, or an HTPC?
What resolution are you using (480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i...)?
Is this an Anamorphic (Enhanced for 16:9) 1.85AR DVD or a Fullscreen Letterboxed 1.85AR DVD?

Hi All...

I have lurking in the shadows just absorbing all the good advice you have on TV's. Anyway, I too was looking at the westy as my new tv, since I just purchased the X360. Basically my question is this, and I am a noob when it comes to TV setups, but I have been getting conflicting reports on which is actually better... This 32" Westy or a 30" Sony CRT, more specifically the KV30HS420 Sony CRT. Basically this is for my room. I have a real basic HT setup in there. I have a G1 DVD player, from 1997 (sony) and I have an AIWA stereo system with Dolby Prologix surround sound. Basically crutchfield is running some great deals on both these tv's and its making it harder for me to make a selection. Obviously I would like the LCD because its light, and slim, but I keep hearing that the CRT will give me a much better picture.

Can someone please, if they can, give me a brief understanding on why I should go with one unit over the other? It would be most helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks so much....

i went to best buy today .. it was big dissapointment to find out that picture was too rusty to my eyes .. is that something i can change with the settings ?You might also see if you can find one of the newer firmware displays (4-12-2005, Version 1.12). Most of the floor models I've seen have the older firmware. The color looks a little different to me on the models with newer firmware that I've seen (including the one I'm using now). Reds look a bit deeper to my eye and more cherry-colored than rust-colored. Faces look a little more rosey and less anemic and claylike to me. Dark reds looked more deep and saturated on the store's 1080i component feed as well. I've only had the display for day, but so far I think I'm liking this a little better. YMMV of course.

I asked Westinghouse if they made any changes to the color in the later firmware and they said the only change they were aware of was the addition of the LED control. The color changes may not necessarily be firmware related, but I'm pretty sure the difference is not just in my head.

The newer firmware models should be easy to spot because of the LED. You can confirm which firmware a display has in the GENERAL SETTINGS/SYSTEM INFO. They also have two menu options not included on the older firmware, AC OUTLET and the control for turning the LED off and on.

On a sidenote... Westinghouse told me the new 32w3 will have an ethernet connection to facilitate firmware updates outside their factory service center.

ADU,

If I remember correctly you were happy with the color 2 setting, then you changed your mind to 3. What setting did you decide on? Could you post what settings you have for brightness, contrast, etc... Can anyone else for that matter post there detailed settings. I'm hoping to get this setup so that SD is manageable to watch. thanks guys.I think you might be confusing my remarks with someone else's re the COLOR2 setting. COLOR3 is the only mode I've been using for DVI. FWIW, I've asked Westinghouse to call me back with any info they have on the different color settings.

On the DVI input, I can see a distinct yellow cast with the COLOR1 setting, and a greenish or green-blue cast with COLOR2, especially in light greys if I overdrive the contrast on the TV. Whereas COLOR3 seems to be "tint-free". COLOR3 was the default for DVI as well, so I'm leaving it as is for now.

Without knowing exactly what these modes are for it's hard to know how the other settings should be used.

parisi2274, this past weekend BB had this set on sale for the same price as a 27". That is why I went to look at it. I liked the way it looked so I got one. Now that I have had it for 4 days and set it up the way I like it I will Keep it. I will not be watching DVDs on it, I have a plasma for that, but I will hook it up to the internet soon. HD on D* is just beautiful. As always your ymmv.

Can someone with one of these puppies please lend me a hand and confirm that source material in 4:3 aspect ratio shows up slightly wider (not stretched all the way, just slightly wider) than normal when using component and DVI inputs? It should display fine in composite-input, for reference.

Thanks in advance.

I am feeding Comcast HDTV thru the component inputs on my 32w1...no problems.

I have not checked the DVI out. Ive only had it a day but so far no problems with Sync.


I kinda got this without researching much but am doing it now...frankly it looks like I made a wize decision. The Vizio 32" @ Costco does not even have a color adjustment so some say the whites are not very white. This is not the case on the Westinghouse 32"er.

I am going to keep reading though, I cannot believe how vast this market is!

Id really love a 37"er! :)

Not sure why this would be the case with FILL if you're using a 480i/480p player set for 16:9 TVs.

What 1.85AR movies seem to cause this? Can you give me a couple examples of titles that I might have to try?
What input are you using on the TV (YPbPr1, YPbPr2, DVI, S-video...)?
What kind of DVD player is it? Is this just a basic 480i/480p component player, an upconverting player, or an HTPC?
What resolution are you using (480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i...)?
Is this an Anamorphic (Enhanced for 16:9) 1.85AR DVD or a Fullscreen Letterboxed 1.85AR DVD?


ADU,

It was Monty Python- the meaning of life. 1:85 enhanced as far as I know it wasnt fullscreen letterboxed. My toshiba dvd player can do 480i or 480p, I have it set on 480p because the scaler in the tv probally sucks although I heard it was a faroudja. I have the dvdp on 16:9 and I'm using component cables in ypbr1. Thanks for all your help on this TV, your posts have been helpful.

Hi All...

I have lurking in the shadows just absorbing all the good advice you have on TV's. Anyway, I too was looking at the westy as my new tv, since I just purchased the X360. Basically my question is this, and I am a noob when it comes to TV setups, but I have been getting conflicting reports on which is actually better... This 32" Westy or a 30" Sony CRT, more specifically the KV30HS420 Sony CRT. Basically this is for my room. I have a real basic HT setup in there. I have a G1 DVD player, from 1997 (sony) and I have an AIWA stereo system with Dolby Prologix surround sound. Basically crutchfield is running some great deals on both these tv's and its making it harder for me to make a selection. Obviously I would like the LCD because its light, and slim, but I keep hearing that the CRT will give me a much better picture.

Can someone please, if they can, give me a brief understanding on why I should go with one unit over the other? It would be most helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks so much....

parisi2274 there are good arguments for both sets. The westinghouse will not take up as much space as the CRT and I can state it looks amazing with the XBOX 360. But the simple fact is, in my experience, you can always get better picture from CRT if you have the space for the bigger footprint. I bought a CRT and ended up taking it back because something in my room was magnetically interfering with it. LCD will not have this problem. I ended up with the Westinghouse 32 inch. I have been very pleased so far. Hope that helps :)

on a side note... did you buy Perfect Dark Zero for the 360? If so are there a lot of frame drops? I bought it and it is driving me crazy.
:confused:

so i got a noob HD question. I have the Westy 32 inch set. When I hook up something, say my xbox 360 for example, and set it to 720p... do i need to set the tv up or does it do everything for me. I am wondering because I can't tell a difference when I set the Xbox to output 720p or 1080i. Shouldn't I see a difference. Or is the set upscaling everything to 1080i? Is there a way on the westy to see what the set is running? thanx

I bought a LTV-32W1 last week at Best Buy. I am not real happy with the picute, I notice a lot of blurring during fast motions scenese in movies. I notice this on the HD channels. I have tried the TV with component input cables, and DVI. One other thing I noticed is the power LED does not work at all. I don't have the option in the menu to turn it off either. I checked and the firmware is from 1/2005. Do you think I should exchange is for another unit? From the reviews I have been reading in the thread people seem really happy with this unit. I am wondering if I got an older panel or a defective unit?

Thanks

Well all LCDs are going to exhibit a touch of blurring ...its comes with the territory.

You will get used to it though.

I have a high end PC LCD and even it has some blurring ...very low and even imperceivable to some but its there.


I suggest exchanging it just to be 100% you have a good unit...after that though dont get yourself wrapped up in finding one that does not display any because you wont find one.

Well I called Westinghouse after posting that message, They had my change my cablebox from 1080i to 720p. Seems like it might be better now, I will have to watch a few shows and see how it is.

Thanks for the reply!

parisi2274 there are good arguments for both sets. The westinghouse will not take up as much space as the CRT and I can state it looks amazing with the XBOX 360. But the simple fact is, in my experience, you can always get better picture from CRT if you have the space for the bigger footprint. I bought a CRT and ended up taking it back because something in my room was magnetically interfering with it. LCD will not have this problem. I ended up with the Westinghouse 32 inch. I have been very pleased so far. Hope that helps :)

on a side note... did you buy Perfect Dark Zero for the 360? If so are there a lot of frame drops? I bought it and it is driving me crazy.
:confused:

Thanks for the info... Do you also watch DVD's on it?

Also, I have PD0, but didnt play it yet... hopefully tonight...

Thanks for the info... Do you also watch DVD's on it?

Also, I have PD0, but didnt play it yet... hopefully tonight...


I use a Sony DVD player so I have not watched any DVD's on the 360 yet. I may try later tonight though just to see how they look on the Westinghouse. And please let me know about PD0.

thanks james what about the dvi? have you tried that and do you have sync problems with audio?

I have had sync issues with my digital cable Motorola DVR box on the composite, s-video, and component ports, though not on all channels. DVI works flawlessly, however.

Well all LCDs are going to exhibit a touch of blurring ...its comes with the territory.

You will get used to it though.
I will? Sorry for the noobish question, but does LCD blur really not bother people on this set?

I'm looking to replace a low-end RCA 21" tube w/ composite. Viewing about 7ft+ currently, past the foot of my bed. So my PQ expectations may not be huge, but I don't want something visually distracting, even if this set is so affordable. And I'd have thought blurring, even slightly, would be a really, really bad thing.

My usage would be about 70% DVD (Panasonic DVD-S29, component, mix of widescreen/fullscreen (not stretched)), 30% console gaming (component/composite/maybe s-video, depending on console), with occasional PC connectivity (not a priority, but would be a nice bonus, could use DVI/VGA/Component/Composite/S-video out). Would blurring on this set really not bother me on actiony movies like Spiderman 2, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings? I'm sure it's also a subjective thing, but I'd hate to buy it and then have to return it because the blurring bothered me. I don't get to Best Buy very often, to give the LCDs a thorough going-over.

I've been debating between a HD LCD/Plasma/CRT, in the 32"-or-so range. Seems like I have to choose what crappiness I can to live with: a blurry/poor-black-range LCD, an expensive/have-to-baby-it Plasma, or ginormous/poor-geometry CRT. Been close to pulling the trigger on this one online, with so many good experiences here and a price I can live with.

The latency is an issue for me. And IMHO the PQ with analog is only so-so (though I have seen worse). What I'm mainly impressed with is the PQ via DVI from a PC. At 75Hz the latency seems much more tolerable to my eyes. If I kept the TV, then DVI (at 75Hz via PC) is probably the primary input I'd use.

It was Monty Python- the meaning of life. 1:85 enhanced as far as I know it wasnt fullscreen letterboxed. My toshiba dvd player can do 480i or 480p, I have it set on 480p because the scaler in the tv probally sucks although I heard it was a faroudja. I have the dvdp on 16:9 and I'm using component cables in ypbr1. Thanks for all your help on this TV, your posts have been helpful.Looks like there are two 1.85AR R1 Meaning of Life DVDs, one Fullscreen Letterboxed, one Anamorphic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085959/dvd

Couldn't lay my hands on the letterboxed version, but the Anamorphic edition displays correctly with no pillarboxing (ie black bars on the sides) in FILL mode via YPbPr1, Composite or SVHS. There's pillarboxing in the STANDARD mode, but the picture is squished.

If you had the Fullscreen letterboxed edition, then in STANDARD mode it would probably appear window-boxed (black all around). In FILL it would appear letterboxed (black on top and bottom) and look sort of squashed. And in ZOOM it should fill pretty much the whole screen since 1.85AR is pretty close to to the TV's 16:9AR.

It looks like there may some flagging issues on the Anamorphic disk btw. So it may look better at 480i (with the TV's internal de-interlacing), unless your player can do cadence detection.

There does seem to be more of a red/blue emphasis with COLOR3 on this 32w1 with the 480i/480p analog inputs from my component DVD player. COLOR2 looks better with my component player than COLOR3. If color's important to you, then you may want to try a more thorough setup of the Temperature, Hue and Saturation using something like Digitial Video Essentials or AVIA for the analog inputs.

When I hook up something, say my xbox 360 for example, and set it to 720p... do i need to set the tv up or does it do everything for me. I am wondering because I can't tell a difference when I set the Xbox to output 720p or 1080i. Shouldn't I see a difference. Or is the set upscaling everything to 1080i? Is there a way on the westy to see what the set is running? thanxThe TV will convert whatever signal you send to it automatically. So you probably won't notice much difference between 720p and 1080i. Some people seem to notice a bit more blurring with 1080i, perhaps due to the de-interlacing. So 720p may be the better way to go. YMMV though.

You can confirm what signal the TV is receiving in the GENERAL SETTINGS/SYSTEM INFO.

I am really loving mine but still probably wont keep it...if it was $499 the decision would be easier...

A few years ago a Sony of this size was ~$5K.

BTW I have my Comcast box and DVD player both hooked up via component...the Faroudja processing is awesome.

Mostly I have been watching HDTV and a few DVDs both are very good quality....but I did watch a darkish movie last night and it left alot to be desired. Overall its about what id expect an LCD to perform like...dark stuff suffers but bring out some color and BAM!

Gotta watch the darker stuff during the day. ;)

Can someone with one of these puppies please lend me a hand and confirm that source material in 4:3 aspect ratio shows up slightly wider (not stretched all the way, just slightly wider) than normal when using component and DVI inputs? It should display fine in composite-input, for reference.

Thanks in advance.Yes! I do see what you're talking about now. Component and DVI seem to be stretched a bit wider in STANDARD mode than the SVHS and Composite inputs.

...Or is the set upscaling everything to 1080i?...thanx

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but most likely the reason you don't see much difference between 1080i & 720p is because the panel's native resolution can only handle 720p (well, 768p technically, as the pixel resolution is 1366x768), and downscales 1080i to 720p, which generally has better results than upscaling an image. add to that the Faroudja, and you probably won't notice the difference much (if at all), depending on your viewing distance.....

but in short, although the TV can accept a 1080i signal, it does not show the picture at the full 1080i resolution.

Good point xunil76. The panel scales both 720p and 1080i to it's native progressive resolution of 1366x768.

ADU,

If I remember correctly you were happy with the color 2 setting, then you changed your mind to 3. What setting did you decide on? Could you post what settings you have for brightness, contrast, etc... Can anyone else for that matter post there detailed settings. I'm hoping to get this setup so that SD is manageable to watch. thanks guys.Now you've got me thinkin that COLOR2 looks better for video via DVI as well as the analog inputs. COLOR3 gives the picture more of that store punch, but COLOR2 seems to have greater subtlety and a more natural look on my display.

Ok , I am done with this LCD, its very nice but not worth what I paid IMO, overall its just not very engrossing.
I am going back to an FP after getting a good deal on a 4805. I was on an X1 for years and a few other FPs before that so I have alot of time in that area.
The X1 pulled you in..I cannot quite put my finger on it but the color accuracy and punch without being too bright are probably 2 factors that help it out.

The 32" Westinghouse is just too fake looking, colors or soooo close yet so far away, its just got this artificial quality about it that I cannot get past.
Frankly my Dell 2001FP does a better job in the color department.


Good luck with your guys 32" Westinghouse...it a very nice unit and I could live with it
if I had to.

I am still trying to evaluate if this is the tv for me, but one major gripe that I have with it right now is that when I switch between inputs, the settings don't seem to be saving. I find myself resetting color preferences between TV viewing (component), xbox, and dvd. I have looked in the manual and on the on-screen menu, but I cannot find anything that would anchor the adjustments for each specific input.

Any suggestions?

if someone could email me how to get into the service menu
on this model I would really appreciate it.
Actualy I own a Daytek DT3220 but it's the same TV as far
as I can tell. Been looking for this info for weeks.

I am still trying to evaluate if this is the tv for me, but one major gripe that I have with it right now is that when I switch between inputs, the settings don't seem to be saving. I find myself resetting color preferences between TV viewing (component), xbox, and dvd. I have looked in the manual and on the on-screen menu, but I cannot find anything that would anchor the adjustments for each specific input.

Any suggestions?

It should save, mine has for six monthes. Each of the component, DVI and VGA are independent. The S-Video, AV and tuner I believe share a common setting.

if someone could email me how to get into the service menu
on this model I would really appreciate it.
Actualy I own a Daytek DT3220 but it's the same TV as far
as I can tell. Been looking for this info for weeks.

There is no user accessable service menu.

I've been sitting on this TV for about a week now and I must say that overall I'm reasonably satisfied with it. HD on this set is excellent as is pretty much the case with all HD sets.

Right now I'm watching Attack of the Clones on HD Fox and it looks pretty much like watching a DVD. The settings I am running are:

Comcast HD PVR (6412) box:

TV TYPE: 16:9
DVI/YPbPr Output: 1080I (because the 1080 downscale looks much better to my eyes than 720P)
4:3 Override : 480P

Brightness: 63
Contrast: 73
Saturation: 30
Color: Color 3
Sharpness: 0
Aspect: Standard
Backlight: 100

Connection Type: DVI - looked a LOT clearer than component.



There is only ONE issue that I have with this panel. I can normally get the panel to display darks just fine, but I end up with this "over brightness" so what I've had to do is tone down the brightness and contrast.

I think this is what people are calling the dreaded "white crunch", but man sometimes its like whites are TOO white... like blinding white before I adjusted to these settings. Even with these settings though sometimes the whites are just overwhite sometimes. Not sure how to handle that. Wish there was some sort of white balance or something, because its really just the whites that I have an issue with (strangely enough since usually its darks people are trying to deal with).

There is no user accessable service menu.

That's really unfortunate because there are some things that seem to need adjusting.

Backlight: 100Your Backlight is set way high gregory. That's why the brightness is so overpowering. I normally don't run mine much higher than about 15 at night. Basically you can use the Backlight to adjust the brightness of the display to accomodate different ambient lighting conditions, and also to compensate for differences in brightness (or gamma) in the video content your viewing. A very handy control to have.

The Brightness and Contrast controls are primarily for setting the black and white clipping for the panel.

I'd also suggest trying COLOR2 instead of COLOR3 (thanks to some other folks' recommendations here). COLOR3 seems to have a red/blue push which may be artificially pumping up the whites, perhaps to catch peoples' eyes on the showroom floor. COLOR2 seems more balanced colorwise. Give your eyes a little time to adjust, and you may find you'll like it more.

I've been sitting on this TV for about a week now and I must say that overall I'm reasonably satisfied with it. HD on this set is excellent as is pretty much the case with all HD sets.

Right now I'm watching Attack of the Clones on HD Fox and it looks pretty much like watching a DVD. The settings I am running are:

Comcast HD PVR (6412) box:

TV TYPE: 16:9
DVI/YPbPr Output: 1080I (because the 1080 downscale looks much better to my eyes than 720P)
4:3 Override : 480P

Brightness: 63
Contrast: 73
Saturation: 30
Color: Color 3
Sharpness: 0
Aspect: Standard
Backlight: 100

Connection Type: DVI - looked a LOT clearer than component.



There is only ONE issue that I have with this panel. I can normally get the panel to display darks just fine, but I end up with this "over brightness" so what I've had to do is tone down the brightness and contrast.

I think this is what people are calling the dreaded "white crunch", but man sometimes its like whites are TOO white... like blinding white before I adjusted to these settings. Even with these settings though sometimes the whites are just overwhite sometimes. Not sure how to handle that. Wish there was some sort of white balance or something, because its really just the whites that I have an issue with (strangely enough since usually its darks people are trying to deal with).

WOW...my backlight is on 20. Why is yours so high?

Picked up one of these Westing House sets from Best Buy last week during the sale they had. Very impressed with the PQ when running the Xbox 360. Popped in Project Gotham first and I had to pick up my jaw off the floor. I had tried it last week with my PS2 running progressive scan dvd material and I thought it looked pretty good but when running with the 360 it looks incredible(much less noise in the picture). I popped in Sword Fish running both game systems and the 360 just blows the PS2 out of the water when running progressive dvd. The 360 only runs dvd material at 480p right? Its not upconverting dvds like a upconverting dvd player right? Very impressed with this set and would highly recommend it for anyone and especially somebody looking for a great Xbox 360 display.

i may be purchasing one of these tomorrow, but i have a noob question. i really dont have any knowledge of lcds at all really. i noticed that this set is " HDTV Capable "

Will i need to purchase an hdtv tuner or something? or can i just use a hd cable box from cablevision here in nyc?

thanks for the help.

cable box should work fine

i may be purchasing one of these tomorrow, but i have a noob question. i really dont have any knowledge of lcds at all really. i noticed that this set is " HDTV Capable "

Will i need to purchase an hdtv tuner or something? or can i just use a hd cable box from cablevision here in nyc?

thanks for the help.


"HDTV Capable" or "HDTV Ready" means that it is able to display HDTV content, but it does not have an internal tuner for tuning the content. you will have to have a set-top box, over-the-air HD antenna, HD cable box, HD satellite receiver, XBOX 360, home theater pc, or any other number of ways to get HD content into the TV.

think of it more as an HDmonitor than an HDTV

Just wanted to let everyone know that the guys from Digital Life TV just did a great one hour special on HDTVs for you to download. Great for noobs like me and they answer some really good questions about what to buy and what to look for. Thought it might be helpful.

http://digitallifetv.com/blogs/digitallifetv/default.aspx

No service menu exists on the Westinghouse LTV-32w1 ?
In this day and age ?

What was this guy talking about then ?
Page 3 of this thread, 3rd msg from the top.

"I don't think there is a service menu adjustment for overscan on the 32w1."

I've had my LTV-32w1 for about two weeks now and am really enjoying it, especially now that I've got my Xbox 360. For the price, I think this display is phenomenal. However, is anyone else out there experiencing an uneven level of brightness in the corners? I didn't notice it when I first bought it, but it seems like it just started happening. I know it's not unusual for LCDs to have more backlight showing through in the corners, but like I said, I didn't notice it before on the Westinghouse, only over the last couple of days. It's very subtle right now and only noticeable with a full black screen, but is this something that could get worse? I'm trying to decide if I should go back to BB and exchange.

I've had my LTV-32w1 for about two weeks now and am really enjoying it, especially now that I've got my Xbox 360. For the price, I think this display is phenomenal. However, is anyone else out there experiencing an uneven level of brightness in the corners? I didn't notice it when I first bought it, but it seems like it just started happening. I know it's not unusual for LCDs to have more backlight showing through in the corners, but like I said, I didn't notice it before on the Westinghouse, only over the last couple of days. It's very subtle right now and only noticeable with a full black screen, but is this something that could get worse? I'm trying to decide if I should go back to BB and exchange.

I have the same problem. Really noticeable on an anamorphic movie at night. All 4 corners have very noticeable light leaking out and this is with my backlight set to 15. Anyone else having this problem? I'm thinking of returning it unless this happens on all of them.

Mine has the same problem with the corners being bright. I only notice it when the screen goes totally black with no input source being shown. I never notice it when a source is showing on screen so I don't really care about it. If I start to notice it while a movie or game is playing then I will start to worry about it.

Hmm... some unevenness may be due to angle of view on the panel, and if you move a bit further away it may seem more even. If there is unevenness on my current panel it's pretty subtle and barely noticeable to me.

No service menu exists on the Westinghouse LTV-32w1 ?
In this day and age ?

What was this guy talking about then ?
Page 3 of this thread, 3rd msg from the top.

"I don't think there is a service menu adjustment for overscan on the 32w1."I think he was just commenting on the fact that there appears to be no service mode for making such adjustments. The impression I get is that most adjustments of that nature would be firmware-based, which is probably something that could be done only at the factory on this model. That's the way it looks so far anyway.

The 32w1 does not overscan computer inputs btw, if that's what you're concerned about.