now that it almost happened to me my heart skips a beat everytime I go to turn it on..hopefully not going to join the 2nd/3rd set group here..here's hoping for some kind of response from Westinghouse

Ok, I've updated the first post and am reposting the problem list here for convenience... if anyone has anything else to add, please chime in by the end of the weekend - I will start drafting the letter to Westinghouse to be sent off by the end of next week.

CONFIRMED ISSUES WITH THE TX SERIES

1) 5.1 DD Via Internal Tuner (Both QAM and OTA)

This must be fixed!! The hardware is clearly capable of passing through 5.1 via the SPDIF out. As I posted earlier, Westinghouse told me to try cycling through the digital audio options (English, Spanish, French) to see if any of those would bring up the 5.1 audio stream. They simply need to add something to the firmware to allow 5.1 to be selected from the digital audio menu if it is present in the broadcast.

2) Lockup Problems

The problem occurs after a boot sequence (such as after a power outage or if you are using energy saver mode). The set simply won't come out of standby (amber light does not go blue). Some have been able to recover by doing the 10 second reboot and ensuring that the input which was last used has a source signal. This happened to my first set and I was not able to recover from it - I had to get a replacement.

3) Frame/Scrawl Judder

From xnappo:

if you tune to a channel with a scrawl running you will see that once every two seconds it appears to drop a frame. Once you see it on the scrawl, you will probably notice the missing frame watching normal TV - especially when the camera pans across the screen... For me, my set always did this with component hooked up from my SA8300HD. With HDMI, it would be fine for a while and then start to drop frames. When I would power off/on the set, it would go away for a while.

From bhazard:

I have seen this through VGA and HDMI. It is easily noticeable in Guitar Hero with the scrolling bar. The bar would skip frames every 2 seconds....It is fixable with the 10 sec power reboot. I have no idea how to re-create it, but when it does happen I just do the reboot and it goes away. It is not very often though.

4) HDMI Flickering/Dropouts

There are numerous reports of flickering and dropouts when using an HDMI source, particularly the PS3 but problems with the SA 8300 HD cable box and Sony upscaling DVD player have also been reported. The assumption is that there is a problem with the HDCP authentication.


5) HDMI Hub (all HDMI inputs sharing the same setting)

All 4 HDMI inputs share the same user settings. Westinghouse has indicated that this is due to the 4 HDMI inputs being on a hub, hence it is really only 1 input. There is a possibility that each HDMI input can still have its own settings if the firmware is updated.

6) EPG

The EPG could use some work. First, it doesn't appear to have a cache so it does not hold very much data. I personally don't receive any data except from NBC while using QAM - not sure if this is an issue with the set or if all the other stations simply aren't transmitting guide data. Here are some more problems as reported by meltdown100:

To add what I have seen with the EPG issue, for me it is working for all of my OTA channels, but in a somewhat crippled fashion. I can only see the program schedule for any given channel when I am tuned in to that particular channel, everything else comes up blank. Another minor annoyance with this is that the EPG does not come up for the channel you are currently viewing, which would make sense, rather it comes up for whatever the last channel was that you looked up on the EPG.


7) Dynamic Contrast Cannot Be Disabled

Even though you can turn off the Dynamic Contrast Feature via the menu, it appears that it is never truly disabled. I have the setting off myself and I do still notice automatic contrast shifts when going from bright to dark scenes.

8) Audio Dynamic Range Compression Cannot Be Disabled

From superh:

The audio dynamic range compression feature cannot be disabled. It is always on. What it does essentially is normalize audio so that there aren't large volume differences between commercials/programs and channels. I would like to be able to disable that sometimes. It would be nice for those times where the TV content is musical.

You'll hear it sometimes when a station starts off really quiet and gets louder in volume (or vice versa - when you tune to a "loud" station and the TV drops in volume). It's within the television for sure, since I've ran PC audio through it while playing a game and can confirm that when the audio plays, the sound effects in the game disappear. When the audio goes silent between songs, the game audio gets louder.

edit: just got to the end of the review and they state the set handles 1080p/24 sources?! I thought this was checked and found to be untrue.

I forced 24hz output on my PS3, and the TV would no longer pass sound and showed the "no input detected" box. The picture did display though, could be a PS3 or TV bug.

Just tried to turn on my TX-47 via the remote and no response.... tried the power button - nada. Started having flashbacks to my first set that died. I cut the power, waited a minute and tried again - it fired up! Phew!

They really gotta do something about these lockups!!

yeah I thought I had an issue last night as well, I was at the TV and decided to turn it on with the side controls, and it wouldn't turn on, I try a couple of times and start getting nervous, and then I try the remote and it worked. I haven't tried again, but we'll see this weekend how it holds up.

BTW

BUILD DATE: June 26, 2007
FIRMWARE: 5112_1.3.0

Ok, I've updated the first post and am reposting the problem list here for convenience... if anyone has anything else to add, please chime in by the end of the weekend - I will start drafting the letter to Westinghouse to be sent off by the end of next week.

I'd like to see some sort of "slight overscan" or user adjustable overscan option, if possible, to remove the CC data, etc. Now that my cable box upconverts everything to 1080i AND allows me to adjust the pillar bars to black for SD content, I keep the TV in fill mode most of the time, but would like less overscan than that, but it's not a huge issue.

Ok, I've updated the first post and am reposting the problem list here for convenience... if anyone has anything else to add, please chime in by the end of the weekend - I will start drafting the letter to Westinghouse to be sent off by the end of next week.


This may be related to the dynamic contrast issue, but they need to fix the gamma/colorspace/clipped range on the TV.

Just like Cnet said, "almost all displays we've tested can resolve the full range from black to white, whereas the Westinghouse cannot".

This is a huge issue, and I believe it can be fixed.

Also adding to this, games like Bioshock that have Gamma Correction look better when you apply the correction. I had to significantly boost the gamma to be able to see detail in the shadows. What was pure black was now a visible wall with writing on it. It didnt seem to affect the picture negatively as much as adjusting the brightness would via the TV.

This is a huge issue, and I believe it can be fixed.


I agree. You guys need to put that towards the top of the list! The Philips I bought has the same type of panel and it does not have the black crush issue. I think it can be fixed in firmware.

xnappo

Wow, what a nightmare. But, here we go.

I purchaed this set through Dell. No problem all done, just waiting on delivery. Well, my fiance calls me crying. The purolator fellow buzzed and said hey I have your parcel, but its 80 pounds and I need a hand. Deb says I cant come down, I have a 4 year old special needs child, I really dont want to leave him alone while i go down 6 flights of stairs then carry it up. Bue he said well I cant bring it, so she said ok, and went down with my son in her arms and tried to help. Deb weighs 105 pounds. So that didnt happen. The fellow got mad at her and put it back in the truck and drove off.

So she calls me at work,very upset, and tells me this. So I call purolator and they tell me yes they need someone there to help when the package is over 70 pounds, to which I ask so you must have a hard time delivering a lot of packages to residential since 90% of the people in the world work. So they put me through to a manager who said he would look into and call me back. He calls me and tells me since it's in Debs name to get her to write a note that says she gives you permission to pick it up. Great, so I leave work 45 minutes early, get out there, and they wouldnt give it to me because Dell policy says that the name on the slip HAS to be there to sign for it. So I tell them about the manager and his telling me to bring a note, and they all but call him an idiot.

So they tell me they are going to get the driver the next day to call me 15 minutes before the delivery, so I can be there to help, which isnt bad because I am a 3 minute drive away. So I get the call, get out here and wait. He shows up, open the truck, and the box in lasying down. Odd I thought. So we carry it upstairs and I put it my office room until I get home from work.

Longest 3 hours of my life heh.

I get home and open er up, but notice on the box a cut that runs from the top of the box, about 10 inches down and as wide as a crow bar end. Great. So I get it out, all set up, and turn it on. Right where that mark is, my screen is black. Looks like someone poked it 4 times with the end of a roll dimes. Im not mad, I know it will be replaced, so I call westinghouse, and they were very very upset at this, I think he was taking it harder than me. But he says I have to call Dell since I bought it from them. No problem I call Dell, and there is no question, no problems at all, they are shipping me a new one.

So I have this fantastic new toy, with a mark on the screen. And I have to go through 2 more purolator trips to help them carry the new one up, and ship the old one out. AArrrrggggg. Ruff day.

So with all that said, the HD channels are amazing. I have rogers cable here in Canada with an HD PVR, just stunning, watching golf today was brilliant. I am going froma rear projection LCD to this, so right away I notice the brightness and crispness.

Xbox 360 - Component - 1080p Holy fack. I still cant get over the differnce, its just amazing. So Crisp, so clear. I then put in Planet Earth and put on the Oceans episode. O My ****. I will try to get some shots tomorrow.

PS3 - Hooked up via HDMI. Again, just stellar. I played Virtua Fighter and I just cant get over how much more detail it has over the LCD RP. Amazing. The only Blu Ray I have is the awful Ricky Bobby, I am going to pick up 300 tomorrow so I will see how it looks with a good video quality transfer.

Overall, very happy with the set, just a bit of bad luck.

If this is a budget set how much more better can a Sony or Sharp be?

Well, my replacement set will be sent on Monday, but now purolator is sending someone over to look at the box and the set with the black mark on it, does this mean Dell is going after them?

From the Cnet review:

There's a VGA-style computer input (1,280x1,024 was the best resolution we could get)

I thought it could accept 1080p over VGA?

From the Cnet review:



I thought it could accept 1080p over VGA?

The TV does display 1080p via the VGA.

I forced 24hz output on my PS3, and the TV would no longer pass sound and showed the "no input detected" box. The picture did display though, could be a PS3 or TV bug.
I'd guess the Trident chipset can accept the 1080p/24 input but Westinghouse did not have any interest in supporting the feature to ensure compatibility. Otherwise they would most certainly have made an effort to include it in their marketing since it's a desired feature (for reasons that escape me).

Hey everyone,
I just purchased a TX-42. I am having a problem I can not seem to find a solution to. Whenever I play a DVD the picture does not fill the whole screen. I have tried in both my JVC DVD player and my Xbox360. The 360 looks amazing in 1080P and fills the screen. But as soon as the movie starts there are black lines all around the picture. I am using some cheap component cables for the 360 right now.

Am I missing something to get the movie to display full screen without going into overscan?

Okay guys,

I am signing off the thread.

If y'all do get a firmware update that resolves the problem list, can someone PM me so that I can neurotically regret my decision to jump ship? :D

Best of luck!

xnappo

There are some $15 and $20 pricegrabber review rebates available.

$15 for the TX-42F430S
www.pricegrabber.com/request_rebate.php/masterid=39104277

$20 for the TX-47F430S
www.pricegrabber.com/request_rebate.php/masterid=39478990

OK. My TV did the wouldn't turn on after being unplugged deal tonight. Just an amber light when turned on. I tried alot of things. Everything but 1 thing was plugged in. I was able to get it on by pushing the power button for a few seconds and I heard a reboot noise and let go. It came on. There was not a valid source on it. It was hdmi2 and I had hdmi 3 hooked up.

OK. My TV did the wouldn't turn on after being unplugged deal tonight. Just an amber light when turned on. I tried alot of things. Everything but 1 thing was plugged in. I was able to get it on by pushing the power button for a few seconds and I heard a reboot noise and let go. It came on. There was not a valid source on it. It was hdmi2 and I had hdmi 3 hooked up.


So is it dead or did you get yours going?

Well here I am once again!!!!!!!!! This time the TV was sure to not take a long time to die!!! I picked it up Wednesday night and it died Saturday morning. It lasted all of two whole days!

TV #1 - 20 days
TV #2 - 22 days
TV #3 - 2 days

Same issue over and over again go to bed after watching the TV, wake up to try to watch some quick TV, and I'm rudely welcomed by the "W" slash screen that goes to nothing. BTW set #3 has broken side buttons, I noticed that right away, but since I never use them I was going to overlook it for the time being. But I surely cannot overlook the fact that the TV doesn't turn on.


:mad:ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!:mad:

Needless to say I am through with the TV, I may be out of the HD display game for now as well :(.

For those of you with a PS3 or Blu-Ray player and the TX-42, do you notice a big picture difference between Upconverted DVD's and Blu-Ray's?

Anybody done a comparison with the same movie in both formats with the set?

is it night and day or only a slight difference?

Well here I am once again!!!!!!!!! This time the TV was sure to not take a long time to die!!! I picked it up Wednesday night and it died Saturday morning. It lasted all of two whole days!

TV #1 - 20 days
TV #2 - 22 days
TV #3 - 2 days

Same issue over and over again go to bed after watching the TV, wake up to try to watch some quick TV, and I'm rudely welcomed by the "W" slash screen that goes to nothing. BTW set #3 has broken side buttons, I noticed that right away, but since I never use them I was going to overlook it for the time being. But I surely cannot overlook the fact that the TV doesn't turn on.


:mad:ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!:mad:

Needless to say I am through with the TV, I may be out of the HD display game for now as well :(.

Dam this is some bad bad luck, Heres hoping mine dies before the 30 days is up if its going to happen. Kind of makes me want to go get the Best Buy warranty for piece of mind and get another set if mine were to die. Only on Day 7 here on my TX47 but nothing huge has come up for me as of yet. No locks and just a few small quirks but no deal breakers yet. If I were you I would probably look at the Phillips 1080p sets as if mine had trouble I think thats what I would do. Been hearing alot of good things about them in this forum.

For those of you with a PS3 or Blu-Ray player and the TX-42, do you notice a big picture difference between Upconverted DVD's and Blu-Ray's?

Anybody done a comparison with the same movie in both formats with the set?

is it night and day or only a slight difference?

I have not done so yet, but I watched "First Blood" on Blu-Ray (PS3) last night and it looked VERY good, other than dark scenes, which were grainy, but I think that may have been the cameras used back then and due to the low light levels. I was going to compair "300" on Blu-Ray and upconverted, but Haven't gotten the rentals yet.

Just comparing different movies there is DEFINITELY a difference.

Hmm, was really considering this TV, but after reading this thread, I'm VERY reluctant to do so, especially given the issues with the PS3. I've had similar power/lock up issues with my Sammy (had to get a replacement) and it was just a pain in the a**. Not ready to do that all over again. May have to check out the Vizio.

Would someone please post some black/gray/white calibration images that I might be able to load onto my PS3 so I can lock in some calibration with my set? Any other tools/suggestions that anyone may have to help me get locked in would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

irishliquor, do a search for the getgray calibration DVD. It isn't free, but it's a good disk.

bit the bullett and bought the tx47 last night!!

apparently the last one BB had in central NC.

so far everything is awesome!!
knock on wood

no dead pixels
no flickering thru HDMI
SA8300 HD works great and the PIP on the box works
47" kicks A__

2 minor things though

slight SD issue on standard viewing with a small 1-2 line across the top, not consistant to channel or programs, looks like it depends on the content. again doesnt show up all the time (no biggie) really but whatever

and the guide buttom on the remote doesnt work, but since i have it running thru a box maybe it wont by default?
again not an issue since im using a box.

havent tried out the other inputs yet..


great tv!

Good to hear you made your choice and went and picked it up. Heres hoping you don't have many problems with your new TX47. Nothing major for me after one week of use. You got lucky with zero dead pixels. While I have 2 stuck green ones. I expect it now. Every LCD I have ever bought has at least 2. Really cant notice them unless your looking for them though.:)

huggybear--

Thanks for taking on the job of consolidating the bugs in these sets and forwarding on to Westinghouse. I've only lurked in this thread so far, but have been actively following it since getting my TX-42 almost two months ago.

One bug I believe someone already mentioned earlier in the thread is that even when set to E.Saver, the set does not seem to enter that mode when a PC connected via HDMI (using a HDMI->DVI adapter) sends the DPMS command to turn the monitor off. It is entering the "normal" sleep mode that keeps the set warm to the touch (and wakes up extremely fast). Unfortunately I have not had time to fully test the issue (and am on vacation until Thursday), but at least for me on HDMI1 using a PC running Vista and an Nvidia 7800GS card (which always turned off my old 37W1 with no problems), the TX-42 is entering the normal suspend mode even if "E.Saver" is selected in the menu.

I'd be interested to know if others using the TX-42 and TX-47 and have HTPCs connected to HDMI using HDMI->DVI adapters (or even native HDMI video cards) are also seeing this issue.

I am torn because I know E.Saver has been a problematic mode for some people, but I'd really like to get this thing consuming ~1W when not being used (which is for long periods of time) and I had gotten accustomed to letting the HTPC do all of the power management since I watch everything through that.

Since you're sending out this letter soon, I wanted to report this now to see if there's still a chance to get it in there. Hopefully others can test and confirm. I can see why it's not been widely reported though--most people are probably still using the Westy remote for power on/off, and unless you're really paying attention to detail it's hard to note much of any difference between Normal and E.Saver.

Again, thanks.

Just picked up the 42 inch model.

I am a complete HD noob. I'm a computer guy though and am fairly technology savvy. However, I've never done anything with HDTV. Am I understanding you guys right that I might be able to pick up HD channels over the air? Do I need an antenna for this or will this set just pick them up? How do I get them, if I can? I haven't gotten my new HD box from Direct TV yet so I don't have any HD content to truly test the TV with.

Also, I'm just using the calibration settings (http://help.cnet.com/9602-12576_39-0.html?messageID=2510246) from CNET.com. Has anyone else tried them? Are they any good? Does anyone else have calibration tips?

How is SD for everyone on this set? Mine is underwhelming. I guess that is to be expected, right? Is there anyway to clean up the SD picture?

Thanks in advance.

Well here I am once again!!!!!!!!! This time the TV was sure to not take a long time to die!!! I picked it up Wednesday night and it died Saturday morning. It lasted all of two whole days!

TV #1 - 20 days
TV #2 - 22 days
TV #3 - 2 days

Same issue over and over again go to bed after watching the TV, wake up to try to watch some quick TV, and I'm rudely welcomed by the "W" slash screen that goes to nothing. BTW set #3 has broken side buttons, I noticed that right away, but since I never use them I was going to overlook it for the time being. But I surely cannot overlook the fact that the TV doesn't turn on.


:mad:ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!:mad:

Needless to say I am through with the TV, I may be out of the HD display game for now as well :(.

Were you using coax to the tuner? What cable company do you have?

I think your issue is coming from that, possibly a memory overflow error each time.

Were you using coax to the tuner? What cable company do you have?

I think your issue is coming from that, possibly a memory overflow error each time.

Straight Coax to the TV. I have Comcast Extended basic cable.

I've heard this issue mentioned here before, doesn't a reset via holding the power button reset this? I did try this on the first two and would have tried it on the third, but the side buttons don't work.

Straight Coax to the TV. I have Comcast Extended basic cable.

I've heard this issue mentioned here before, doesn't a reset via holding the power button reset this? I did try this on the first two and would have tried it on the third, but the side buttons don't work.

It seems everyone who has a dead tv has used coax to the tuner. I never use the tuner, and my tv (and the one that broke before it, my fault) has never locked up in a way that couldnt be fixed.

Has anyone else lost a tv while using coax into the tuner? I believe I saw a few cases here, including Huggybear

It seems everyone who has a dead tv has used coax to the tuner. I never use the tuner, and my tv (and the one that broke before it, my fault) has never locked up in a way that couldnt be fixed.

Has anyone else lost a tv while using coax into the tuner? I believe I saw a few cases here, including Huggybear

I'm using an antenna into mine for the ATSC. Not been long enough though at just over a week.

It seems everyone who has a dead tv has used coax to the tuner. I never use the tuner, and my tv (and the one that broke before it, my fault) has never locked up in a way that couldnt be fixed.

Has anyone else lost a tv while using coax into the tuner? I believe I saw a few cases here, including Huggybear

Now my question is, if for some reason the memory overflow caused my TV's to lockup, is another brand susceptible to this as well or is this a Westinghouse issue?

FWIW I will be using a set top box when FIOS becomes available, but until then I would need to keep using the TV tuner.

You know I have found that reading anything on AVSforum is a bad idea. I have had my 42in for about a month and I have never had one single problem with it. Not one dead pixel or lock up, nothing. Then whats this i hear about issues with the PS3 now!? I'm too lazy to look up what the issues are but I havent had any at all. I feel bad for the people who come here to find the right t.v because there is always something with you people.

This may be the lamest question in the history of this forum.. but as Best Buy delivery is backed up WEEKS, I decided on in store pickup.. so how hard is this bad boy to lug around in the crate? Is it possible to do it with one person? I'd hate for my clumsy self to drop my new baby!

Erik

Hello,

I am really hoping someone can help with this before my 30 days is up at BB. I am new to HDTV. I really like this set. I am not picky so even with factory settings think the color and black levels look fine.

The problem is when I play regular DVDs the TV is only using the middle of the screen. There are black bars all around it. When I play 360 games it is full screen no problem. It seems the TV reads the Xbox 360 as 1080P but when it starts to play a DVD the TV recognizes 480P. It goes from full screen to the black bars. Is this normal with this TV? Should it not be able to play the movies in full screen?

I don't really mind using the overscan to fill the screen but it does look like I lose part of the movie doing this. I paid a lot of money for a 42" TV and don't really like only getting to use half the screen. Does anyone know if other TV's will display 480P in full screen, or at least only 2 bars on the top and bottom?

one last question. Will an upconverting DVD player make the 480P movies 720P and thus hopefully fullscreen?

Hello,

I am really hoping someone can help with this before my 30 days is up at BB. I am new to HDTV. I really like this set. I am not picky so even with factory settings think the color and black levels look fine.

The problem is when I play regular DVDs the TV is only using the middle of the screen. There are black bars all around it. When I play 360 games it is full screen no problem. It seems the TV reads the Xbox 360 as 1080P but when it starts to play a DVD the TV recognizes 480P. It goes from full screen to the black bars. Is this normal with this TV? Should it not be able to play the movies in full screen?

I don't really mind using the overscan to fill the screen but it does look like I lose part of the movie doing this. I paid a lot of money for a 42" TV and don't really like only getting to use half the screen. Does anyone know if other TV's will display 480P in full screen, or at least only 2 bars on the top and bottom?

one last question. Will an upconverting DVD player make the 480P movies 720P and thus hopefully fullscreen?


I had the same problem and found out that dvds can only be displayed in 480p over component, so I bought the vga cable for my 360 and now they display in 1080i and widescreen.

Has anyone had to send their set back to Westinghouse? I'm shipping my tx42 off tomorrow because of banding and mura issues, and I'm wondering how long it usually takes to get your set back. Also if they can't repair it, do they send you a new or refurbished unit?

huggybear--
One bug I believe someone already mentioned earlier in the thread is that even when set to E.Saver, the set does not seem to enter that mode when a PC connected via HDMI (using a HDMI->DVI adapter) sends the DPMS command to turn the monitor off. It is entering the "normal" sleep mode that keeps the set warm to the touch (and wakes up extremely fast). Unfortunately I have not had time to fully test the issue (and am on vacation until Thursday), but at least for me on HDMI1 using a PC running Vista and an Nvidia 7800GS card (which always turned off my old 37W1 with no problems), the TX-42 is entering the normal suspend mode even if "E.Saver" is selected in the menu.

Interesting. I'm using a TX-42 as a monitor and have it hooked up via DVI-HDMI to a 7800GS. I'm personally not using E. Saver, but I'll turn it on and see if I get the same result.

I just hooked up my new ATI Radeon 2900XT via HDMI and can output 5.1 via passthrough (after doing a few things). Awesome.

You must download the Realtek ATI HDMI audio driver (For XP and Vista) on the Realtek website. You must also only use the DVI to HDMI dongle provided with the video card.

In Windows XP, stereo sounds (like mp3s) will output in stereo. 5.1 sources will output in 5.1, as long as there is an SPDIF/Passthrough option in the app you are using. I was able to get 5.1 through divx files by downloading the K-Lite Codec pack and using the AC3filter application. Just set (Use SPDIF) in the app, and all AC3 sources will play in 5.1.

For Vista, there are no drivers that will pass through 5.1 yet. Using the Realtek drivers will only get you stereo as of now. I guess we will have to wait.

HDMI audio through ATI's new cards does work with this TV though, which is great. I am finally able to use my receiver for PC without tons of hassle.

This has been mentioned before, but for anyone with underscan on ATI cards......

Download cat 7.8 drivers.

Under "Scaling" set 0%

Problem solved. ATI defaults to using underscan (I guess for the majority of tvs out there).

I just hooked up my new ATI Radeon 2900XT via HDMI and can output 5.1 via passthrough (after doing a few things). Awesome.

You must download the Realtek ATI HDMI audio driver (For XP and Vista) on the Realtek website. You must also only use the DVI to HDMI dongle provided with the video card.

In Windows XP, stereo sounds (like mp3s) will output in stereo. 5.1 sources will output in 5.1, as long as there is an SPDIF/Passthrough option in the app you are using. I was able to get 5.1 through divx files by downloading the K-Lite Codec pack and using the AC3filter application. Just set (Use SPDIF) in the app, and all AC3 sources will play in 5.1.

For Vista, there are no drivers that will pass through 5.1 yet. Using the Realtek drivers will only get you stereo as of now. I guess we will have to wait.

HDMI audio through ATI's new cards does work with this TV though, which is great. I am finally able to use my receiver for PC without tons of hassle.

Did you hook up directly to the TV with the HDMI cable and it worked without issue for you? I tried the HDMI drivers from realtek and still get nothing. It seems to make it worst for me as when they are installed it says its not plugged in. While when I left it to the Built in drivers it claimed to be working even though it was not. I don't know. Also tried moving my cable to HDMI 3 from 1 which has no effect. I suppose my last choice would be to try my cable from MY HD recorder which does work and see if its the cables I bought. I did try the realtek driver again with no success. Just shows not plugged in.

Did you hook up directly to the TV with the HDMI cable and it worked without issue for you? I tried the HDMI drivers from realtek and still get nothing. It seems to make it worst for me as when they are installed it says its not plugged in. While when I left it to the Built in drivers it claimed to be working even though it was not. I don't know. Also tried moving my cable to HDMI 3 from 1 which has no effect. I suppose my last choice would be to try my cable from MY HD recorder which does work and see if its the cables I bought. I did try the realtek driver again with no success. Just shows not plugged in.

Audio directly to the TV and outputting via the TV's SPDIF to my receiver only worked after I installed the Realtek HDMI drivers (in XP and Vista). I am using HDMI 4 with Monoprice HDMI cables. You're using the HDMI dongle that came with the video card right?

I got that "not plugged in" too one time, just unplug the HDMI cable from the video card and plug it back in. It fixes itself.

Note that the speaker symbol for audio in Vista must show "Realtek HDMI Audio", or else it is not outputting to it. You're only going to get 2.0 as of now anyway with Vista.

Audio directly to the TV and outputting via the TV's SPDIF to my receiver only worked after I installed the Realtek HDMI drivers (in XP and Vista). I am using HDMI 4 with Monoprice HDMI cables. You're using the HDMI dongle that came with the video card right?

I got that "not plugged in" too one time, just unplug the HDMI cable from the video card and plug it back in. It fixes itself.

Note that the speaker symbol for audio in Vista must show "Realtek HDMI Audio", or else it is not outputting to it. You're only going to get 2.0 as of now anyway with Vista.


Success! Ha! What a pain! This is just a strange problem with having 2 displays hooked up to the video card. Only thing I didn't try was swapping the inputs on the video card. Only problem with this ATI's drivers refuse to let me make the Westinghouse monitor No. 1 so I'm stuck as it being 2 but I think its good now as it is stated as the primary and I now have sound through my TV. Yes if you can believe it I have a 2nd monitor as well hooked up, A 20" Dell 2005FPW LCD.:D Now I can control my sound from my remote which was the biggest reason for this for me. At this point I don't care about the sound (As in 5.1). I cant crank up sound anyways since I live in a condo. So stereo will do me just fine.

sweet new dvd player time !

philips / sony / pioneer ?

or hold out for the oppo

Go all out for an HD-DVD player (they have great upconversion for dvds), or a PS3 for upconversion and Blu-ray.

Another cool feature I didnt think the TV could do, I plugged the Wii component cable and the red and white analog audio cables into component port 1 (do not use a multi port component video switcher, I noticed it degraded the vid quality pretty badly) and didn't expect it to pass the sound through the optical port to my receiver....... but it did.

Since this TV does not have a true 16:9 stretch mode, the best quality picture for Wii is using the 4:3 setting on the Wii and using standard mode on the TV. Fill mode cuts off a tiny bit of the screen, and just doesnt look as clear when you set the Wii to 16:9. The Wii relies on your TV to have 16:9 stretch, and that sucks for us TX owners right now.
Sorry, I'm not an owner, but I have a question about this. What exactly is Fill mode, and are all the similar display modes this TV has?

I'd use this TV primarily to play games on Wii, PS3, and maybe 360, but also to watch anime and play older games. If it isn't really "compatible" with Wii, then it isn't "compatible" with me, unfortunately...:(

Sorry, I'm not an owner, but I have a question about this. What exactly is Fill mode, and are all the similar display modes this TV has?

I'd use this TV primarily to play games on Wii, PS3, and maybe 360, but also to watch anime and play older games. If it isn't really "compatible" with Wii, then it isn't "compatible" with me, unfortunately...:(

The Wii relies on your TV to stretch the picture for it. The Wii does not have a true widescreen mode, so you would need to set your tv to "stretch" the picture. The closest setting this tv has is "fill" mode, but a small part of the picture is overscanned. It works fine with Wii, but the best picture comes from the "standard" mode with the Wii set at 4:3 (black bars on the side).

PS3 and 360 look amazing on this tv.

I think I may have to return the 42" and get a 47", even though it's too big for the room it's being put in. But man, at that price, I can't pass it up. Plus my 42" has a couple of dead pixels, so it's all good.

lots of posts removed

Folks, please stop the pricing an discount discussion

thanks

Sorry, I'm not an owner, but I have a question about this. What exactly is Fill mode, and are all the similar display modes this TV has?

I'd use this TV primarily to play games on Wii, PS3, and maybe 360, but also to watch anime and play older games. If it isn't really "compatible" with Wii, then it isn't "compatible" with me, unfortunately...:(

i only have 3 games: wii sports/wii play/mario party 8..but I noticed that the first two will play fine in 16x9 mode (though not sure if its actually displaying more info) but with mario party 8..it must be in 4:3 mode to allow the TV to stretch it properly when using the fill option...not sure if this happens with all games since I only have these three

I'm so torn over this set, guys!

Right now it has all of the features I could want with the perfect price, but hearing about of these bugs is the only thing holding me back (yup, I plan to get a PS3). I'd rather not play TV-tag with Best Buy and hope I get a working one on my 5th try. Someone please tell me these issues have been fixed or have workarounds :(

Theres no perfect set in this price range. You kind of hope it all works out. They all have issues at this price point.

I'm so torn over this set, guys!

Right now it has all of the features I could want with the perfect price, but hearing about of these bugs is the only thing holding me back (yup, I plan to get a PS3). I'd rather not play TV-tag with Best Buy and hope I get a working one on my 5th try. Someone please tell me these issues have been fixed or have workarounds :(

all tvs have issues

think about it,
95% of this forum is complaints about a product. people come here looking for help/answers/ whatever.

and then some coming here looking for buying tips, which is great but sometimes its easy to get jaded over these threads. AVS is a very small fraction of the consumer market.

I'm so torn over this set, guys!

Right now it has all of the features I could want with the perfect price, but hearing about of these bugs is the only thing holding me back (yup, I plan to get a PS3). I'd rather not play TV-tag with Best Buy and hope I get a working one on my 5th try. Someone please tell me these issues have been fixed or have workarounds
I was in the same position a couple of weeks ago then I decided to give it a try and it has been perfect so far with my PS3 and BrightHouse cable. I have not seen anything to complaign about or a reason to return it. It has a beautiful picture and is easy to setup, I love it.
Just my 2 cents worth.

My 11 month year old 42w2 v1.16 is being replaced by BB with a new TX-42F430S set.

My story:
Besides having the usual lockup problems, my HDMI port went out last Febuary. The image was scrambled with the HDMI connection. BB Tech onsite said that no parts were available so a mailback to the factory or an exchange for another BB set were my two options.

Back then BB no longer carried the 42w2. They offered a $1200 credit. Comparable sets were about $500 more expensive. The other offer was an even exchange for the Westy 36" which I declined. I delayed the exchange for 5 months until last week when I noticed that BB got the new versions of the 42w2, the TX-42F430S. It looks about the same except for a darker bezel (frame) and 4 HDMI ports. No DVI ports.


I visted the store a few days ago and opted to make an exchange for the TX-42F430S. No charge, free delivery and pickup of the old set. It's coming this Tuesday.

Anything I should know about the latest TX-42F430S? I see by this LONG thread the TX-42F430S has some issues!

Sorry, I'm not an owner, but I have a question about this. What exactly is Fill mode, and are all the similar display modes this TV has?

I'd use this TV primarily to play games on Wii, PS3, and maybe 360, but also to watch anime and play older games. If it isn't really "compatible" with Wii, then it isn't "compatible" with me, unfortunately...:(

I have this set hooked up to the 360 running 1080p over VGA and my Wii running 480p on component. PS3 still costs too much considering the games they have out IMHO. I'll get one over time but not now, my HD-DVD player will tide me over on the movie front till then but I'm mostly a game guy.

As for the Wii, I've had it since launch and to tell you the truth it hardly ever gets turned on unless folks come over who have never seen it before and want to see what all the fuss is about.

It doesn't look that good in my opinion. I mean, it's all blurry and the colors aren't that good at all. Sometimes it's hard to read text on screen as well. But the Wii isn't made for nice TV's. It's made for little kids 19 inch SD tv's in their bedroom. It's nice to have the size for something like 4 player tennis but you'll see instantly that they don't go well together.

I would say that if you want to mainly use your TV for Wii or for older games, stay away from good TV's since it will only make those games look worse. Wait until the PS3/360 become your main source of gaming. This is when your TV will truly shine!

Just the thought of playing BioShock in 1080p on my TV next week makes me drool.

anyone running any of these dvd players ?

i need something tonight. Ill eventually get an oppo but want something decent for this week.

Sony DVP-NS77H
Pioneer DV-400V-K
Philips DVP5982/37

Just the thought of playing BioShock in 1080p on my TV next week makes me drool.

Some store which I will not name just happened to break street date and sell me a copy of this game. It really is awesome, but be sure to adjust the gamma properly (in game).

lots of posts removed

Folks, please stop the pricing an discount discussion

thanks

Why can there be no discussion on pricing discounts? The Sticky does not state why?

If you're eventually going to get an Oppo, save your money now and buy the Philips - it's far and away the cheapest of the three. The Sony and the Philips appear to be pretty much the same machine, with the build of the Sony being quite a bit more sturdy.

I have the Philips and am very happy with it - for $70 it does a very nice job. Not as nice as an Oppo mind you, but more than satisfactory.

Why can there be no discussion on pricing discounts? The Sticky does not state why?

I'd like to know why also. I havn't come across a reason in my searching.

If you're eventually going to get an Oppo, save your money now and buy the Philips - it's far and away the cheapest of the three. The Sony and the Philips appear to be pretty much the same machine, with the build of the Sony being quite a bit more sturdy.

I have the Philips and am very happy with it - for $70 it does a very nice job. Not as nice as an Oppo mind you, but more than satisfactory.

thanks wally

i plan to get the oppo in a few weeks but my current SD dvd (non upconverting) player took a dump, and i need something asap. ill prolly end up going with the philips for now maybe move it to the bedroom later on.

C

My 11 month year old 42w2 v1.16 is being replaced by BB with a new TX-42F430S set.

My story:
Besides having the usual lockup problems, my HDMI port went out last Febuary. The image was scrambled with the HDMI connection. BB Tech onsite said that no parts were available so a mailback to the factory or an exchange for another BB set were my two options.

Back then BB no longer carried the 42w2. They offered a $1200 credit. Comparable sets were about $500 more expensive. The other offer was an even exchange for the Westy 36" which I declined. I delayed the exchange for 5 months until last week when I noticed that BB got the new versions of the 42w2, the TX-42F430S. It looks about the same except for a darker bezel (frame) and 4 HDMI ports. No DVI ports.


I visted the store a few days ago and opted to make an exchange for the TX-42F430S. No charge, free delivery and pickup of the old set. It's coming this Tuesday.

Anything I should know about the latest TX-42F430S? I see by this LONG thread the TX-42F430S has some issues!

I had a Similar situation with my 42W2. I had it replaced with the TX-42 last Thursday and I must say the step up is quite an improvement. My 42W2 had quite a few issues (HDMI DVI-2 Sparkle/Handshake issues/only 1080i Input, Nonfunctional Remote/Features, The power lock up issues). So far with the TX-42 I haven't experienced any of the problems noted here that others have experienced, Plus no Stuck or Dead Pixels. It's not all bad out there some sets work beautifully.

Aside from the damage to my set via shipping, I have had 0 problems with my tx47.

PS3 via HDMI = No Issues
360 and HDDVD via VGA Cable = No Issues
HD Cable via Rogers HD PVR Component = No Issues

Hah now I'm worried when they ship me the replacement I will have issues :/

It seems everyone who has a dead tv has used coax to the tuner. I never use the tuner, and my tv (and the one that broke before it, my fault) has never locked up in a way that couldnt be fixed.

Has anyone else lost a tv while using coax into the tuner? I believe I saw a few cases here, including Huggybear

I had the exact same problem as Lutch and my set was being fed with Time Warner Cable (receiving both analog and QAM cable).

It definitely sounds like there is a bug in the firmware that causes these lockups with cable via the internal tuner... I haven't heard of this happening with OTA ATSC yet.

Has anyone had a problem with the HD Tivo and this set? The tivo never really turns itself off so I always have to manually switch the A/V channel to it or off of it.

I don't know if this is a problem with all tivos but the HD Tivo and the TV just won't recognize the auto source.

My 11 month year old 42w2 v1.16 is being replaced by BB with a new TX-42F430S set.

My story:
Besides having the usual lockup problems, my HDMI port went out last Febuary. The image was scrambled with the HDMI connection. BB Tech onsite said that no parts were available so a mailback to the factory or an exchange for another BB set were my two options.

Back then BB no longer carried the 42w2. They offered a $1200 credit. Comparable sets were about $500 more expensive. The other offer was an even exchange for the Westy 36" which I declined. I delayed the exchange for 5 months until last week when I noticed that BB got the new versions of the 42w2, the TX-42F430S. It looks about the same except for a darker bezel (frame) and 4 HDMI ports. No DVI ports.


I visted the store a few days ago and opted to make an exchange for the TX-42F430S. No charge, free delivery and pickup of the old set. It's coming this Tuesday.



Was this service via BB's extended service plan, or the standard warranty?

all tvs have issues

think about it,
95% of this forum is complaints about a product. people come here looking for help/answers/ whatever.

and then some coming here looking for buying tips, which is great but sometimes its easy to get jaded over these threads. AVS is a very small fraction of the consumer market.

Alright, guess i'll pounce...

Alright, guess i'll pounce...

i did and im not sorry for doing so, you can always return it if itd not what you expected.

I'm merely complaining becasue I've been through 3 TV's and not sure I want try #4. But if I can verify what the problem might be and it's something that I can avoid until they make a firmware update for it, I would try again. It is an absolutely great TV for the price.

I'm not sure what to do right now, I am holding a TV that doesn't turn on, I'm afraid that if it is say a memory overflow issue, then what's to say another brand of TV won't do the same thing? And if I get another brand of TV I'll spend at least $300 more and more like $600 to get a comparable TV. Then what if the same thing happens to them.

I find it odd that I have been through three TV's with the same problem. :confused:

bad luck?...

if I were in your situation however, I noticed that the sammy's are dropping like a rock now that the 81f's are coming out (4081f 40" goes for 3k MSRP) with their 100k CR and what have you..specifically I'd probably take the 4065f since thats near the price of the 47TX at a certain store and the 4061f with a matte screen is nearing the 42TX price...keep in mind that the sammy's have true PIP and firmware is upgradeable unlike our westy's at the moment

If warranty is important costco has the 42" philips w/ ambilight too for about the same price as the 42TX with a better warranty too + firmware updates

I'm merely complaining becasue I've been through 3 TV's and not sure I want try #4. But if I can verify what the problem might be and it's something that I can avoid until they make a firmware update for it, I would try again. It is an absolutely great TV for the price.

I'm not sure what to do right now, I am holding a TV that doesn't turn on, I'm afraid that if it is say a memory overflow issue, then what's to say another brand of TV won't do the same thing? And if I get another brand of TV I'll spend at least $300 more and more like $600 to get a comparable TV. Then what if the same thing happens to them.

I find it odd that I have been through three TV's with the same problem. :confused:

not 100% sure of your problems. but you ruled out your content sources and your power supply ?

not 100% sure of your problems. but you ruled out your content sources and your power supply ?


Well I disconnected all inputs and tried to turn it on, put in only cable and tried, put in only each component and tried to turn it on, and so on, all the same result. The guy on the phone with the service department mentioned low power possibility, and to try a circuit with less devices on it, that was a no go too. Didn't make sense since It would run previously with all those components on drawing power. But what the Service guy who came out both times said was that it was a power supply issue with the backlight on the screen, but that didn't make sense either since the splash screen worked, but it then would hang trying to go to source. I would think if it was the screen power supply it wouldn't show anything at all. I assume it's got to be a programming issue causing it to hang.:confused:

Well I disconnected all inputs and tried to turn it on, put in only cable and tried, put in only each component and tried to turn it on, and so on, all the same result. The guy on the phone with the service department mentioned low power possibility, and to try a circuit with less devices on it, that was a no go too. Didn't make sense since It would run previously with all those components on drawing power. But what the Service guy who came out both times said was that it was a power supply issue with the backlight on the screen, but that didn't make sense either since the splash screen worked, but it then would hang trying to go to source. I would think if it was the screen power supply it wouldn't show anything at all. I assume it's got to be a programming issue causing it to hang.:confused:

you still have the fourth ?
take it to buds house and try it out (worth a shot maybe) ?

you still have the fourth ?
take it to buds house and try it out (worth a shot maybe) ?

I still have the third. The one thing I didn't try was to connect an antenna to the coax. I'll do that when I get home.

Purolator just dropped by to check out the box and the set. They blamed it on manufacturing, the plant where the sets are packaged. I asked her how they knew because I called Dell and she stated they called and blamed purolator. Doesnt matter to me, I am getting a new set, but looks like they are going to fight over who damaged it heh.

Was this service via BB's extended service plan, or the standard warranty?

This was the standard manufacturer's warranty. I did NOT have the extended service plan.

Funny thing is, Westinghouse made no mention of BB as an authorized service center nor did they mention that BB would make an exchange. All they would offer is to repair it if I shipped it to Westy at my expence.

The BestBuy Tech that came to my house sad that Westy will not supply replacement parts. I get the impresion that Wesy and BB do not have a freindly business relationship.

I have this set hooked up to the 360 running 1080p over VGA and my Wii running 480p on component. PS3 still costs too much considering the games they have out IMHO. I'll get one over time but not now, my HD-DVD player will tide me over on the movie front till then but I'm mostly a game guy.

Just the thought of playing BioShock in 1080p on my TV next week makes me drool.

I just have some quick questions about TV settings with your 360. Unfortunately I had to buy some cheap MadCatz VGA cables for now. I don't think VGA looks as good as component. I have to ask, 1920x1080 is 1080P correct?

Did you change the contrast and brightness to make this look better? Did you adjust clock or phase?

I am hoping I can get some better VGA cables and they may fix some of the quality issues I see. It does seem that using VGA cables will let me view movies full screen other than bars on top and bottom because of aspect ratio. So that worked. I hope I can get the settings to help with picture quality.

I just have some quick questions about TV settings with your 360. Unfortunately I had to buy some cheap MadCatz VGA cables for now. I don't think VGA looks as good as component. I have to ask, 1920x1080 is 1080P correct?

Did you change the contrast and brightness to make this look better? Did you adjust clock or phase?

I am hoping I can get some better VGA cables and they may fix some of the quality issues I see. It does seem that using VGA cables will let me view movies full screen other than bars on top and bottom because of aspect ratio. So that worked. I hope I can get the settings to help with picture quality.

From what I have read it is best to stick with the Microsoft VGA cable for the 360. By all means it should also look much clearer through the VGA, It did for me. Also there are settings for use with the VGA cable in the 360 control panel.

I am connected via HDMI to DVI to my computer. I noticed there is a line missing from the left side as in the picture not filling the whole screen. But, when I change the setting to 'Fill' or 'Overscan', the line disappears (now 100% filled). Has anyone noticed the same thing? Its odd that I'm missing a whole line of picture.

RE: Powering ON Westinghouse TX-42F430S

Hi All,

On 2 occassions in 3 weeks, the only way I've been able to turn my monitor ON has been to disconnect the power.

Although this issue has only happened to twice, I'm definitely concerned. I'm assuming this problem will only continue and not go away.

I did purchase the extended warranty through Best Buy.


*UPDATE*
As the monitor was only 2 weeks old, I returned to Best Buy and purchased again. They picked up and deliver for free. (As Best Buy does not offer exchanges, you need to repurchase)
Customer service was excellent and the process has been very smooth. I'm having second thoughts about the Westinghouse as I saw the Sharp 42" LCD HDTV (LC-42D62U) on sale.

Any thoughts?

I'd like to know why also. I havn't come across a reason in my searching.

Forum rules, the same rules you agree to abide by when you register at this site. This is not a deal site but rather one to discuss the technical side of issues with av products.

I have seen hundred pages long threads closed by moderators and never opened due to the same price/coupon talk. Just a cautionary warning.

RE: Powering ON Westinghouse TX-42F430S

Hi All,

On 2 occassions in 3 weeks, the only way I've been able to turn my monitor ON has been to disconnect the power.

Although this issue has only happened to twice, I'm definitely concerned. I'm assuming this problem will only continue and not go away.

I did purchase the extended warranty through Best Buy.

Should I exchange now? What would you do?

Thanks in advance for reading this post.

I don't know why but this seems much more prevalent in the TX42 model then the TX47 model. Returning it for another TX42 probably wont fix your problem but you never know I suppose.

perhaps we should start keeping a record of which models (42 or 47) and the firmware number that this occurs in

This is not a deal site but rather one to discuss the technical side

I think this site should do both, technical and deal/coupons. JMHO

I thought the reason for no pricetalk was due to the advertisers on this site..all those lined up on the top

I have a huge overscan problem in Vista 64-Bit Business with a Nvidia 8800GTS, connected via a HDMI-DVI cable.

For some reason, when the resolution is set to 1920x1080, I get two inches of underscan all around, for my TX 42. It is so annoying! And the zoom setting is set to standard. When hooked up to my MacBook Pro or my old PC with a Radeon X850, it fills the screen fine at 1080p!

I have tried the latest Forceware drivers, including the Beta. I also played with the scaling options in the NVIDIA control panel without any luck, any ideas?

I thought the reason for no pricetalk was due to the advertisers on this site..all those lined up on the top

This is what I thought as well.

I agree. You guys need to put that towards the top of the list! The Philips I bought has the same type of panel and it does not have the black crush issue. I think it can be fixed in firmware.

xnappo

Count me in agreement on this one, I think this is actually my biggest complaint. Some of the other issues I don't have or can work around.

Ed

Has anyone had to send their set back to Westinghouse? I'm shipping my tx42 off tomorrow because of banding and mura issues, and I'm wondering how long it usually takes to get your set back. Also if they can't repair it, do they send you a new or refurbished unit?

So no one has any experience with Westinghouse customer service?

Has anyone had a problem with the HD Tivo and this set? The tivo never really turns itself off so I always have to manually switch the A/V channel to it or off of it.

I don't know if this is a problem with all tivos but the HD Tivo and the TV just won't recognize the auto source.

Well, in the case of something that's always on, it's not *supposed* to switch to it. This is a non-problem; the set is working as it should.

Personally I don't use the auto-source, it can be annoying in some cases.

So, I will say I don't have a problem. BTW, I think that setting the Tivo to output 1080i gives a better picture than setting it to 720p and having the TV upscale, although I find that a bit counter-intuitive.

Ed


Ed

I hate to quote myself but I haven't seen a single reply in 2 pages. Anyone care to help me with any of these questions.

Just picked up the 42 inch model.

I am a complete HD noob. I'm a computer guy though and am fairly technology savvy. However, I've never done anything with HDTV. Am I understanding you guys right that I might be able to pick up HD channels over the air? Do I need an antenna for this or will this set just pick them up? How do I get them, if I can? I haven't gotten my new HD box from Direct TV yet so I don't have any HD content to truly test the TV with.

Also, I'm just using the calibration settings (http://help.cnet.com/9602-12576_39-0.html?messageID=2510246) from CNET.com. Has anyone else tried them? Are they any good? Does anyone else have calibration tips?

How is SD for everyone on this set? Mine is underwhelming. I guess that is to be expected, right? Is there anyway to clean up the SD picture?

Thanks in advance.

Count me in agreement on this one, I think this is actually my biggest complaint. Some of the other issues I don't have or can work around.

Ed

assuming this about the gamma..for video i'm currently boosting it through ati tools, though I will say that I have not calibrated either

I have a huge overscan problem in Vista 64-Bit Business with a Nvidia 8800GTS, connected via a HDMI-DVI cable.

For some reason, when the resolution is set to 1920x1080, I get two inches of underscan all around, for my TX 42. It is so annoying! And the zoom setting is set to standard. When hooked up to my MacBook Pro or my old PC with a Radeon X850, it fills the screen fine at 1080p!

I have tried the latest Forceware drivers, including the Beta. I also played with the scaling options in the NVIDIA control panel without any luck, any ideas?
The reason your having underscan is because of the drivers i went back to 158.24 with no underscan.Thats the only way around to it that i found out.

So no one has any experience with Westinghouse customer service?
I have. I sent my set back to westinghouse on there dime. It just arrived there today. I will post my progress when I get the repaired, or new set back. It takes like a month and a half.

I just have some quick questions about TV settings with your 360. Unfortunately I had to buy some cheap MadCatz VGA cables for now. I don't think VGA looks as good as component. I have to ask, 1920x1080 is 1080P correct?

Did you change the contrast and brightness to make this look better? Did you adjust clock or phase?

I am hoping I can get some better VGA cables and they may fix some of the quality issues I see. It does seem that using VGA cables will let me view movies full screen other than bars on top and bottom because of aspect ratio. So that worked. I hope I can get the settings to help with picture quality.

The component cables are brighter but the VGA is crisper... very crisp. I have only ever used the official MS VGA cables so I can't comment on the MadCatz. I haven't adjusted any settings just yet since I haven't had time but at first I didn't like the VGA compared to the Component but over time I've noticed that there is a big quality difference... at least to me.

And yes, setting it to 1920X1080 is 1080p mode.

I'm considering get this 47" TV as there's a sale currently. I have poked through this thread, but don't have the time to read 95 pages of highly techinical discussion, which I can only half understand anyway.

Can someone familiar with this thread summarize whether this is a good TV? I know so much depends on what you're looking for, but I'm in the market for a LCD TV of about this size, I have digital hi-def cable through Time Warner.

I'll be using the TV mostly for Hi Def TV, standard def TV, some Xbox, some DVDs


Thanks for any answer that might help, even a quick yea or nay.

I have a huge overscan problem in Vista 64-Bit Business with a Nvidia 8800GTS, connected via a HDMI-DVI cable.

For some reason, when the resolution is set to 1920x1080, I get two inches of underscan all around, for my TX 42. It is so annoying! And the zoom setting is set to standard. When hooked up to my MacBook Pro or my old PC with a Radeon X850, it fills the screen fine at 1080p!

I have tried the latest Forceware drivers, including the Beta. I also played with the scaling options in the NVIDIA control panel without any luck, any ideas?

There is a Resize feature in the new version of the Vista 64 drivers I was also disappointed that Nvidia decided to screw up the size and the resize feature isn't that great.

I'm considering get this 47" TV as there's a sale currently. I have poked through this thread, but don't have the time to read 95 pages of highly techinical discussion, which I can only half understand anyway.

Can someone familiar with this thread summarize whether this is a good TV? I know so much depends on what you're looking for, but I'm in the market for a LCD TV of about this size, I have digital hi-def cable through Time Warner.

I'll be using the TV mostly for Hi Def TV, standard def TV, some Xbox, some DVDs


Thanks for any answer that might help, even a quick yea or nay.

I'm in the same boat as you. I read through most of this thread but I'm still undecided... and like you, I don't understand half of the technical talk either.

I sure hope so...my Westy's due for arrival on Sunday!

Any educated person wanna respond...using layman's terms??;)

My TX-42F430S arrived today (relacing my 42w2 under warranty). My software: Build-on: 2007 June 26 5113_1.30. Great picture, great menu and no real complaints thus far.

One issue I solved, was a violet line at the bottom of the screen when viewing HD TV cable. I solved the problem by turning off the "Deinterlace" under Calibration Mode.

Anyone else notice this?...thanks...Jim

I hate to quote myself but I haven't seen a single reply in 2 pages. Anyone care to help me with any of these questions.

Many of these questions have already been answered in this thread already which is probably why no one has responded. The "Search This Thread" feature of the site is your friend... but I'll be your friend too and answer your questions.

Yes, you can pick up HD channels over the air using this TV but you have to use an antenna to pick them up and your antenna has to be in the range of the broadcasting area of an HD broadcaster. There are plenty of sites out there that you can find more info about this but I'll start you here: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

The other HD option is to utilize the QAM tuner on your TV and pick up unencrypted HD channels from your cable provider. I am paying 13 bucks a month for "basic" channels from my cable provider and still pick up around 8-10 HD channels (and about 200 digital music channels). All this requires is that you plug your cable directly into your TV and perform an auto scan on the TV to pick up the digital channels.

I personally have not used the calibration settings from CNET.com so I can't comment.

SD is underwhelming on any HD set, pure and simple. If you're expecting a pile of crap to somehow look like a work of art then you are expecting just a little too much. There are ways to diminish the crappiness of crappy SD tv on this TV but you can't expect miracles. You can search earlier in the thread for my personal settings on how I've reduced the artifacts of SD content on the internal tuner. My wife used to complain about the appearance but now she can't really even tell that it is bad anymore. I simply don't watch SD on my TV anymore. I either watch HD channels or watch movies over the HTPC... I use it for nothing else.

Hope that helps you out. But don't be afraid to actually search this thread for more detailed information. :)

For those interested in this TV, while I'm unimpressed that Westinghouse has not released a firmware update for it yet (and definitely should) I still absolutely love my TV and would recommend it to anyone looking for a TV in this price range.

I watched 300 in HD on this TV a couple days ago and the easiest way to explain my love affair with the TV is that I have no desire to watch a movie in the theater again. :)

Depending on your threshold for technical deficiencies for the price you simply cannot go wrong getting this TV. If you don't read any of the 96 pages of this thread and actually realize what "black crush" is and "gamma correction" and a slew of the other technical issues that the TV has and just turn the TV on and use it instead of focusing on what is wrong with it... you'll notice that it has actually done quite a bit right and is a fantastic deal. If you absolutely hate it there are a bunch of other TVs out there... but if you are super picky you're going to find something wrong with every TV out there.

My TX-42F430S arrived today (relacing my 42w2 under warranty). My software: Build-on: 2007 June 26 5113_1.30. Great picture, great menu and no real complaints thus far.

One issue I solved, was a violet line at the bottom of the screen when viewing HD TV cable. I solved the problem by turning off the "Deinterlace" under Calibration Mode.

Anyone else notice this?...thanks...Jim

This seems to be a problem with all of the sets, but when I talked to Westinghouse support they claimed they've never heard of it.

I also get a vertical green or purple line on the right side of the screen while viewing dvds in 1080i on my 360, and disabling deinterlacing doesn't remove it.

Ended up sending my set back to Westinghouse because of this and severe mura/banding.

There is no better value in an overall HDTV right now. This TV can fit everyone's needs, offering 1080P over every connection (a big reason I went with it), and a good quality picture.

In 1-2 years, I bet there will be a LED backlit Westinghouse that looks 90% like the new Samsung 81 series (which looks unreal, but really expensive). Im glad these budget brands came along, it'll be very nice to be an HDTV owner in these next few years.

I absolutely love this set, but I do wish that a firmware upgrade comes in the near future..... shows that the company cares about the product.

severe mura/banding

Can you describe what severe mura/banding looks like?...thanks..Jim

Can you describe what severe mura/banding looks like?...thanks..Jim

Check post 643 on page 22 of this thread.

My screen looks like that but with dark grey bands running horizontally across the top and bottom.

You only really notice it during dark scenes or movies with borders, but I bought this tv primarily for gaming and it's really bad when you're looking around in a FPS like bioshock or condemned.

I know it will vary be set, but I was thinking a calibration suggestion should be included in the first post, for new owners to more quickly get the most from their box.

The reason your having underscan is because of the drivers i went back to 158.24 with no underscan.Thats the only way around to it that i found out.

That is so annoying! I installed 158.24 and bam, it fills the entire screen! How the heck did NVIDIA break 1080p for all the driver releases after that? :mad:

There's got to be a way to fix it, and still use the new driver.

I also used Powerstrip with the new drivers without any luck at all.

Someone else with Vista 64Bit + a 8800GTS on the TX42 using HDMI-DVI, please give us a solution! :confused:

The TX 47 is on sale at Best Buy now and I'm trying to find a 12% off coupon if I decide to get it. I'm still undecided between this one and the LVM-47w1. They're about the same price so I just want to know one thing.

How is the ghosting on the TX? Why would Westinghouse make it 8ms after the older model was 6.5ms? Do you guys notice motion blur when playing games like Bioshock?

Thanks.

The TX 47 is on sale at Best Buy now and I'm trying to find a 12% off coupon if I decide to get it. I'm still undecided between this one and the LVM-47w1. They're about the same price so I just want to know one thing.

How is the ghosting on the TX? Why would Westinghouse make it 8ms after the older model was 6.5ms? Do you guys notice motion blur when playing games like Bioshock?

Thanks.

i havent noticed any.

i was torn between the LVM also, but the tuner and the user color adjustment
did it for me..

not to mention the TX was local, so if i had any issues i could take it back to bb.

for those using the SA 8300 HD box from TWC
(connected via HDMI)

i see the best result after doing an advanced setup on the STB

while tv on, box is off:
press info and guide button at the same time (on the 8300HD)

follow instructions on screen go advanced route by pressing the B button, select the supported formats. 480i 480p 720i 720p 1080i 1080p etc... (i chose all of them)

then follow this.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/CarlPardue/Picture1-14.png




after that turn the TV and on the STB remote press teh setting button twice
scroll to : picture format and select AUTO HDMI/DVI
seen here.


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/CarlPardue/Picture2-6.png


doing this allows the box to display the content at its native res. and the tv scales it up. meaning NO more white pixels at the top.
(where as before on the fixed 1080i setting the lines where a nasty distraction )
now on the westy remote : standard, fill, and overscan options are much more effective.


thumbs up.




8300 HD info
http://www.sciatl.com/products/consumers/new_explorer8300HD.htm

For those interested in this TV, while I'm unimpressed that Westinghouse has not released a firmware update for it yet (and definitely should) I still absolutely love my TV and would recommend it to anyone looking for a TV in this price range.

I watched 300 in HD on this TV a couple days ago and the easiest way to explain my love affair with the TV is that I have no desire to watch a movie in the theater again. :)

Depending on your threshold for technical deficiencies for the price you simply cannot go wrong getting this TV. If you don't read any of the 96 pages of this thread and actually realize what "black crush" is and "gamma correction" and a slew of the other technical issues that the TV has and just turn the TV on and use it instead of focusing on what is wrong with it... you'll notice that it has actually done quite a bit right and is a fantastic deal. If you absolutely hate it there are a bunch of other TVs out there... but if you are super picky you're going to find something wrong with every TV out there.

Thanks very much for your thoughts. To you, or anyone else familiar with this TV and others in the market right now. I do have a little more money in my budget. If you had an additional few hundred dollars, is there another 46/47" LCD TV that you'd recommend? Perhaps the Samsung LN-T46XX series? I have seen that in a similar (albeit a little bit more expensive) price range.

Thanks very much for your thoughts. To you, or anyone else familiar with this TV and others in the market right now. I do have a little more money in my budget. If you had an additional few hundred dollars, is there another 46/47" LCD TV that you'd recommend? Perhaps the Samsung LN-T46XX series? I have seen that in a similar (albeit a little bit more expensive) price range.

hoenstly i looked at teh 47" regza but hte thinkness was a turn off.
if i had the extra money i wouldve gotten the 47" 747i olevia. until next time

Many of these questions have already been answered in this thread already which is probably why no one has responded. The "Search This Thread" feature of the site is your friend... but I'll be your friend too and answer your questions.

Yes, you can pick up HD channels over the air using this TV but you have to use an antenna to pick them up and your antenna has to be in the range of the broadcasting area of an HD broadcaster. There are plenty of sites out there that you can find more info about this but I'll start you here: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

The other HD option is to utilize the QAM tuner on your TV and pick up unencrypted HD channels from your cable provider. I am paying 13 bucks a month for "basic" channels from my cable provider and still pick up around 8-10 HD channels (and about 200 digital music channels). All this requires is that you plug your cable directly into your TV and perform an auto scan on the TV to pick up the digital channels.

I personally have not used the calibration settings from CNET.com so I can't comment.

SD is underwhelming on any HD set, pure and simple. If you're expecting a pile of crap to somehow look like a work of art then you are expecting just a little too much. There are ways to diminish the crappiness of crappy SD tv on this TV but you can't expect miracles. You can search earlier in the thread for my personal settings on how I've reduced the artifacts of SD content on the internal tuner. My wife used to complain about the appearance but now she can't really even tell that it is bad anymore. I simply don't watch SD on my TV anymore. I either watch HD channels or watch movies over the HTPC... I use it for nothing else.

Hope that helps you out. But don't be afraid to actually search this thread for more detailed information. :)

Thanks! I did a search :D and found your settings as well as others. I'll try them tonight. Thanks for taking the time to help a noobie. My HD box hasn't come in yet so I'm just working with SD in the meantime.

I've seen various reports on the TX-47F430S's contrast ratio. Some say (Westinghouse included) it's 5000:1, while others I've seen say 1000:1. Am I confusing the 42" with the 47"? Is the 42" 1000:1, and the 47" 5000:1?

Hey flabioh, I just noticed you are in Lafayette. Are you going to school there?

edit: Just checked your profile out: "Radiology Information Systems Administrator" I'm guessing not. :)

I'm a boilermaker myself, cheers.

My TX-42F430S arrived today (relacing my 42w2 under warranty). My software: Build-on: 2007 June 26 5113_1.30. Great picture, great menu and no real complaints thus far.

One issue I solved, was a violet line at the bottom of the screen when viewing HD TV cable. I solved the problem by turning off the "Deinterlace" under Calibration Mode.

Anyone else notice this?...thanks...Jim

I'm going to say this exactly one more time before I leave this thread in frustration: Turning off the Deinterlace option is NOT a solution to the purple line problem! This is a very poor choice. The purple line is broadcasting flotsam and it is no fault of the tv that it is there.

The purple line is broadcasting flotsam and it is no fault of the tv that it is there.


Thnaks for the info. In my defence all I can say I am new to this TV and new to this thread. Also, my former Westy 42w2 did NOT display that purple line. Go figure!

Thanks again for the information.

Thnaks for the info. In my defence all I can say I am new to this TV and new to this thread. Also, my former Westy 42w2 did NOT display that purple line. Go figure!

Thanks again for the information.

i can confirm the previous statement its def the content that creates it. and not always there either.

Thanks very much for your thoughts. To you, or anyone else familiar with this TV and others in the market right now. I do have a little more money in my budget. If you had an additional few hundred dollars, is there another 46/47" LCD TV that you'd recommend? Perhaps the Samsung LN-T46XX series? I have seen that in a similar (albeit a little bit more expensive) price range.

If I had a larger budget I'd have picked the LN-TXX65f series, moreso because I've seen them in the store and I do prefer glossy, the better CR, and better features, the 4661f and 4061f are several benjamins within reach of the westinghouse's as it stands with the sales going on...though with the heavy discounts on the TX westinghouse series you can nearly pick up a TX47 for the MSRP of a TX42, thats how cheap it is now

its def the content that creates it. and not always there either.



My observations: I have a new cable box, the SA 8300HD. Knowing what I know now, I attribute the violet line at the bottom of the screen as an artifact of that particular cable box. My previous cb did not display that violet line.

Also, I noticed that you can remove it by turning off the "Deinterlace" under Calibration Mode. However, when you return to a non-hidef channel then click to a hidef channel again the violet line reappears. You can remove it again by the above proceedure but it will return when you move to a non-hidef channel and return etc etc etc.

I'm looking to get this set in a few months, primarily for Xbox 360 gaming. Anyone have issues with it for gaming, and/or how does it perform for gaming?

I've seen various reports on the TX-47F430S's contrast ratio. Some say (Westinghouse included) it's 5000:1, while others I've seen say 1000:1. Am I confusing the 42" with the 47"? Is the 42" 1000:1, and the 47" 5000:1?

I just looked on westy's website.. and it states 5000:1 for the 47 and 1000:1 for the 42.

This set works beautifully with the XBox 360, JPCarl.

The difference in the contrast ratios has to do with one being native (the 1000:1) and the other one representing the "dynamic" ratio. Bascially it is marketing crap that drives the higher number.

This set works beautifully with the XBox 360, JPCarl.

The difference in the contrast ratios has to do with one being native (the 1000:1) and the other one representing the "dynamic" ratio. Bascially it is marketing crap that drives the higher number.

sry for the noobish question.. but then both these sets are identical except size correct?

Yeah the web site states 1,000 for the 42" and 5,000 for the 47" for contrast ratios. I don't think they would put native contrast for one and dynamic for the other. Why would they do that?

Also, does anyone know the TX 47" box measurements? I'm not sure if it'll fit in the back of my Camry or if I'll have to wait for our SUV to get home.

sry for the noobish question.. but then both these sets are identical except size correct?

Essentially, yes.

Also, does anyone know the TX 47" box measurements? I'm not sure if it'll fit in the back of my Camry or if I'll have to wait for our SUV to get home.

Dimensions are listed in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11161439&postcount=2116).

Thanks Panzer, SUV it is lol.

Oh for those of you using this as a monitor for your PC. Would you recommend DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI? For some reason I think of VGA as a lower quality connection than DVI/HDMI. But I've read the VGA comes out good on this tv.

Am I allowed to post prices for a few different sets and ask for opinions on which would be the best deal? Ok I can do this without discussing price. Basically I can either get the LVM-47w1, TX 47" from BB, or the Samsung LNS4695D all for about the same price. Which would you guys purchase?

Well just when I thought I was one of the lucky ones that has no problem with the TX42 until now. I purchased on 7/30/07 and it has been good so far to me. I have mine hooked up through Dishnetwork HD/DVR with no problems on HDMI 1,2,3 and 4. I also have PS3 hooked through the HDMI's as well with no problems, no flickering and no audio drop outs. Things as been going good/well for me in 22 days, just finished showing a buddy planet earth as how well it looks good on this 1080p.

We got done viewing it and left to get some to eat. Came back to turn it on for some more HD viewing and all of the sudden the TV shows lights but no input came through. Unplugged it from the outlet for a merly 2 minutes and plugged it back in with nothing showing (power light remains to be lit). I unplugged everything and plugged it backed in hope somehow it would reset itself. Still nothing, just a little light lit at the botton of the W logo. I will taking this back to BB and probably get another TV as I'm done with this brand.

disbthai, have you tried the 10-minute reset discussed elsewhere in this thread?

Thanks Panzer, SUV it is lol.

Several people reported using sedans with no problems. I used a Nissan Xterra and that was a perfect fit in the cargo area with the seats down.

Oh for those of you using this as a monitor for your PC. Would you recommend DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI? For some reason I think of VGA as a lower quality connection than DVI/HDMI. But I've read the VGA comes out good on this tv.

DVI->HDMI is pure digital through the entire path. If you use the VGA, you go from digital, to analog, back to digital. It will still look good, but the difference is noticeable. If you have a choice, go to the HDMI port.

Am I allowed to post prices for a few different sets and ask for opinions on which would be the best deal?

Price and deal discussions are supposed to be reserved for the subscriber area. That's not to say that it hasn't happened elsewhere (in this thread) but it is generally frowned upon by the moderators.

Hey flabioh, I just noticed you are in Lafayette. Are you going to school there?

edit: Just checked your profile out: "Radiology Information Systems Administrator" I'm guessing not. :)

I'm a boilermaker myself, cheers.

I actually got my master's at Purdue last year. I just found an awesome job and got "stuck" in Lafayette. :) Boiler Up!



There was a post about VGA/HDMI differences. Both are really good, but I have to second that HDMI is better. Because VGA is analog there is an increased likelihood of interference that adjusts the quality of the image. The BIGGEST difference that I saw between VGA and DVI>HDMI was when displaying a test pattern for 1 to 1 pixel mapping where you have a checker pattern of white and black single pixels filling the entire screen. Using DVI I could make out every single white and black pixels (yeah, all 2 million of them). Using VGA I could not clearly make out each pixel and there was a definite wavering of the image where it seemed like the pixels were dancing on the screen. So, yeah use DVI>HDMI. I got a DVI-HDMI cable for 10 bucks and it was worth every penny.

My observations: I have a new cable box, the SA 8300HD. Knowing what I know now, I attribute the violet line at the bottom of the screen as an artifact of that particular cable box. My previous cb did not display that violet line.

Also, I noticed that you can remove it by turning off the "Deinterlace" under Calibration Mode. However, when you return to a non-hidef channel then click to a hidef channel again the violet line reappears. You can remove it again by the above proceedure but it will return when you move to a non-hidef channel and return etc etc etc.


i have the same box and no issue

Aha!!! My HDMI cables arrived today and no more violet line! I was using componet RGB cables when I got the violet line. With HDMI cables, no violet lines! Better picture as well!

I just looked on westy's website.. and it states 5000:1 for the 47 and 1000:1 for the 42.

My box for the 42 says 5000:1 contrast - Dynamic. I am keeping it for my 30 day return to Best Buy.

Ordered TX-47F430S at Best Buy today while it was on sale and managed to stack the 12% off coupon.. The store doesn't usually carry this set so I'm to pick it up in 3 days.

Also, I read about some DVI to HDMI issues when using a PC earlier in the thread. Have all those problems been taken care of? I'll continue reading but I'm only in the early 40's.

Edit: I got a lot of pm's about the 12% coupon, I printed out this one, cut around both of the images and folded it in half: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=572810

Ordered TX-47F430S at Best Buy today while it was on sale for $1350 and managed to stack the 12% off coupon. Price out the door is now $1277. The store doesn't usually carry this set so I'm to pick it up in 3 days.

Also, I read about some DVI to HDMI issues when using a PC earlier in the thread. Have all those problems been taken care of? I'll continue reading but I'm only in the early 40's.

This issues are video card related. With some tweaking or driver revision change I haven't seen anyone not be able to run 1920x1080 using a PC.

I would have to say there are some oddities with certain games and my TX47 with my ATI HD2900XT which I never had with my LVM-37W1. With some games including Bioshock I get the couple of inch black border around the screen but many other games it doesn't happen. Dont quite get it. My guess is its driver related but I also think not as some work fine and I would never get the samething on my LVM-37W1. I think it has more to do with going to HDMI from DVI like I was using on the 37W1.

We got done viewing it and left to get some to eat. Came back to turn it on for some more HD viewing and all of the sudden the TV shows lights but no input came through. Unplugged it from the outlet for a merly 2 minutes and plugged it back in with nothing showing (power light remains to be lit). I unplugged everything and plugged it backed in hope somehow it would reset itself. Still nothing, just a little light lit at the botton of the W logo. I will taking this back to BB and probably get another TV as I'm done with this brand.

My mom had this same problem. It came back on in a couple days. But I think it might be the Dish Network HDMI connection. There's alot of discussion about this issue at satelliteguys.us. You might try the component connecton for your Dish box, or try something else on the HDMI input to test!
Tom in TX

Ordered TX-47F430S at Best Buy today while it was on sale for $1350 and managed to stack the 12% off coupon. Price out the door is now $1277. The store doesn't usually carry this set so I'm to pick it up in 3 days.

Also, I read about some DVI to HDMI issues when using a PC earlier in the thread. Have all those problems been taken care of? I'll continue reading but I'm only in the early 40's.


Guys, please watch the price talk - a mod has already warned us... wouldn't want to see this great thread closed.

I've been loving this thing for a few weeks now, and I just bought a DVD/VCR combo from Toshiba with 1080i upconversion (the D-VR650). The problem is that when I do the upconvert - to either 720p or 1080i - the TV stretches the picture to fill the entire screen. So SD stuff doesn't have the black bars on the sides. Whether it's via cable TV or DVD, it does the same thing. The only way to fix it is to go back to 480.

Any ideas?

technically that makes sense since those resolutions are inherently wide, so to upconvert and fill the screen it should be stretching it right?...strangely enough though when I watch simpsons OTA it shows as 720p and in 4:3

That's the thing. There are stations that transmit in 1080i and 720p over the cable line, and those don't have a problem keeping the bars there. Why would they bother upconverting non-widescreen SD if it was only going to distort it?

That's the thing. There are stations that transmit in 1080i and 720p over the cable line, and those don't have a problem keeping the bars there. Why would they bother upconverting non-widescreen SD if it was only going to distort it?

Ask the geniuses at TNT HD.

Thanks Panzer, SUV it is lol.

Oh for those of you using this as a monitor for your PC. Would you recommend DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI? For some reason I think of VGA as a lower quality connection than DVI/HDMI. But I've read the VGA comes out good on this tv.

Am I allowed to post prices for a few different sets and ask for opinions on which would be the best deal? Ok I can do this without discussing price. Basically I can either get the LVM-47w1, TX 47" from BB, or the Samsung LNS4695D all for about the same price. Which would you guys purchase?

I haven't checked Samsung LCD related threads, but if money was not a factor, I would have gone with same (almost) size Samsung for sure.

After great success with LVM, I believe, Westinghouse droped the ball with TX 42/47 ... They must have been rushed to try to meet their release date (which they've barely made, as we know) and did a really poor job finishing the product.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for 52 (I'd like to pitch in some more $ and exchange my TX47 for a 52, when it comes out and if it has not blatant problems), but definitely not holding my breath.

PS My set all of a sudden stoped displaying shades of white today - messes up the picture just enough to make it extremely annoying. My guess this is what white clipping is (although I dont know how people can possibly tolerate it at all - granted my wife hasn't noticed). Can't even use picture setting adjustments to make it bareble. In any case, BestBuy PSP tech guy is comming monday (I'm kinda scared of getting a new set, this one has worked ok for me for 3 months).

PPS If you are considering buying a TX set, don't put too much weight into my report. It is the first of its kind in this thread. Probably a random fluke (I can't think of anything I might have done to cause it myself). I'm just adding it for the record.

Sorry you're having issues Gritsyna. What are the main reasons you think Westinghouse did a poor job with the TX series? I hope most are things that can be fixed through FM updates.

I've visited numerous "official brand" threads on this forum and they ALL have people having problems with their TVs. Even Samsung.

Sorry you're having issues Gritsyna. What are the main reasons you think Westinghouse did a poor job with the TX series? I hope most are things that can be fixed through FM updates.

I've visited numerous "official brand" threads on this forum and they ALL have people having problems with their TVs. Even Samsung.

The very first post in the thread has a compilation of issues that most, if not all, of us believe can be fixed with a FW update.

What it does not list are:

Crushed blacks - it maybe FW fixable and although a significant picture issue, personaly I can live with it (considering the relative value of the TV).

Frequent reports of Mura - my current set has some in the upper left corner only (about 5% of the surface, if I had to guess). With backlight all the way down, not a major irritant.

I don't remember LVMs having reports of anything of the kind. Granted TXs have newer lcd panels, but newer should equal better all around.


LVM had some issues too, but most, if not all of them were compatibility with other hardware, if I remember correctly (which was fixed with FW). TX sets on the other hand, seem to have numerous minor (major for some) issues with the TVs themself, among other things.


Once again, don't get me wrong, I think TX are still a great value and I believe a safe purchase overall (just get a good protection plan), but if money was not part of the decision making process, I know, I would have gone with a Samsung, a Sharp, or a Sony, etc.

If you're eventually going to get an Oppo, save your money now and buy the Philips - it's far and away the cheapest of the three. The Sony and the Philips appear to be pretty much the same machine, with the build of the Sony being quite a bit more sturdy.

I have the Philips and am very happy with it - for $70 it does a very nice job. Not as nice as an Oppo mind you, but more than satisfactory.

I need help! I just bought the Philips DVP5982 to go with my TX-42F430S and I can't get it to work. I have it hooked up with HDMI and I keep getting a message that says my "Display is not HDCP Compatible" I am new to HDMI so I am not sure what is going on. Can anyone help me out. It sounds like some of you have the Philips DVD player working just fine with this TV. What am I missing? Thanks.

I need help! I just bought the Philips DVP5982 to go with my TX-42F430S and I can't get it to work. I have it hooked up with HDMI and I keep getting a message that says my "Display is not HDCP Compatible" I am new to HDMI so I am not sure what is going on. Can anyone help me out. It sounds like some of you have the Philips DVD player working just fine with this TV. What am I missing? Thanks.


thats strange i have the same dvd player with my 47" and no problems

thats strange i have the same dvd player with my 47" and no problems

Yes, I think it is very strange. I have a new TiVo HD that works just fine hooked up to my TX-42F430S and it can handle any format I throw at it. Never had a problem like this. I am using the same Monoprice HDMI cables for both boxes. I tried a few different DVDs but I get the same result. Called Philips and they said it was my TV. I wasn't a big fan of that answer.

Yes, I think it is very strange. I have a new TiVo HD that works just fine hooked up to my TX-42F430S and it can handle any format I throw at it. Never had a problem like this. I am using the same Monoprice HDMI cables for both boxes. I tried a few different DVDs but I get the same result. Called Philips and they said it was my TV. I wasn't a big fan of that answer.

try a different port ?

POPPING NOISE WITH DVD - HELP!
I get some low popping sounds with my Panasonc S52 DVD player. It's intermittent. If I switch HDMI outputs then return back to the DVD HDMI the pops are gone. Is there a fix for this? THANKS....Jim

The popping is with the Panny S52 DVD player and the Westy TX-42.

I'm having some issues with the HDMI on a TX-42F430S... I'm trying to connect a PC with a GeForce 6800GT AGP and a SA 3250HD via DVI->HDMI cables. I'm using the Monster HDMI/DVI400 series ones, which are DVI-D Single link(i think) to HDMI. The video card doesn't support HDCP, but if i'm not playing back protected content it should still work right?

So when i attach everything i get no signal on both hdmi inputs, i have no idea why it isn't working. The PC works fine with a dvi-vga cable in the PC input and the 3250HD works fine with component(i did remove the component cable from the box before doing hdmi because it cant output to both apparently).

At first i thought it might be the cables, and thought that i should of got dvi-d dual link. But according to blue jeans cables, the hdmi doesn't use dual link anyway so single link is the way to go. So if its not the cables its either the TV or both of the components and without another HDMI screen or a native hdmi device i cant test either theory.

Has anyone else encountered a similar problem? Thanks in advanced.

*edit* Please dont knock me for the monster cables... I'm setting all this up for my friend and he demanded monster cables so i didn't argue.

try a different port ?

Well that actually did work. I switch ports and now my DVD player works fine. Problem is that my TiVo HD won't show up on the other HDMI ports. I must have a wiring issue in my wall. I have to do a little more troubleshooting but I don't have time at the moment. Thanks for the sanity check. The Philips DVP5982 seems to work great.

Well that actually did work. I switch ports and now my DVD player works fine. Problem is that my TiVo HD won't show up on the other HDMI ports. I must have a wiring issue in my wall. I have to do a little more troubleshooting but I don't have time at the moment. Thanks for the sanity check. The Philips DVP5982 seems to work great.

cool, im pleased with mine at the price point.

cool, im pleased with mine at the price point.

Yes, I got mine yesterday at Sam's Club for $59.00 before taxes. I am very eager to get this working. I like the price point very much.

POPPING NOISE WITH DVD - HELP!
I get some low popping sounds with my Panasonc S52 DVD player. It's intermittent. If I switch HDMI outputs then return back to the DVD HDMI the pops are gone. Is there a fix for this? THANKS....Jim

This is obviously an issue with the TX series, I will get low poping noise on my computer HDMI connection (w/sound) and my Sony HD recorder. Just whenever it feels like it, Not real loud but there. This just appears to be another issue with this line, Probably should be added to the issues note to Westinghouse.

RE: Powering ON Westinghouse TX-42F430S

Hi All,

On 2 occassions in 3 weeks, the only way I've been able to turn my monitor ON has been to disconnect the power.

Although this issue has only happened to twice, I'm definitely concerned. I'm assuming this problem will only continue and not go away.

I did purchase the extended warranty through Best Buy.

Should I exchange now? What would you do?

Thanks in advance for reading this post.

I have to unplug my set weekly. It just stops responding to all button presses and I'm forced to pull the plug. Luckily the power cable is easy to reach and remove. The problem won't go away. Mine has been doing it since the day it came out.

Just exchanged my tx 47 at best buy because I popped one of the mounting screwholes out of the back when I was trying to mount the tv. Tv build date is june 26 2007, not sure yet if anyone with the 47 has that yet also. Everything seems good but I am now getting the purple line whereas with the old april build date I was not getting the purple line. Not sure how to fix this problem but I think someone said somewhere that is not the tv's fault.

I'm on the fence about which size to get. For 300 or so dollars you can jump from the 42 to 47. I will be using this for mainly for 360 and pc usage. Any opinions?

I'm on the fence about which size to get. For 300 or so dollars you can jump from the 42 to 47. I will be using this for mainly for 360 and pc usage. Any opinions?

Go for it. This TV works very well for me with both 360 and PC. The optical output passthrough from HDMI has been one of the most worthwhile features to me (no HDMI on my receiver). For the first time ever, I can run a 15ft HDMI cable from my PC and play PC games with 5.1 sound through my receiver.

Get the 47, I'd even wait for the 52

bhazard,

You have the original firmware correct?

I think the second firmware accidentally killed the ability for these TV's to pass 5.1 through the HDMI to to the optical. Maybe that was only on the 42" sets. I don't know.

bhazard,

You have the original firmware correct?

I think the second firmware accidentally killed the ability for these TV's to pass 5.1 through the HDMI to to the optical. Maybe that was only on the 42" sets. I don't know.

Interestingly over on the Philips thread we heard from a Philips rep that the HDMI/HDCP groups have begun enforcing part of the 'spec' (which is really a satanic DRM document) that disallows passing digital audio in 5.1 unencrypted when it is from an HDMI/HDCP source.

Nice eh? I can dig up the link to the spec itself if you want.

xnappo

Interestingly over on the Philips thread we heard from a Philips rep that the HDMI/HDCP groups have begun enforcing part of the 'spec' (which is really a satanic DRM document) that disallows passing digital audio in 5.1 unencrypted when it is from an HDMI/HDCP source.

Nice eh? I can dig up the link to the spec itself if you want.

xnappo

So it may not have been an accident after all, interesting.

This TV works very well for me with both 360 and PC. The optical output passthrough from HDMI has been one of the most worthwhile features to me (no HDMI on my receiver). For the first time ever, I can run a 15ft HDMI cable from my PC and play PC games with 5.1 sound through my receiver.Let me get this straight. Are you set up like this?
360/PC -- (HDMI) --> Westy TX -- (optical) --> receiver
I tried that, but I can't get any audio to the receiver! If I set the TV audio to internal or mixed, the TV speakers work fine, but if I set to mixed or external I get zero sound from the receiver.

Let me get this straight. Are you set up like this?
360/PC -- (HDMI) --> Westy TX -- (optical) --> receiver
I tried that, but I can't get any audio to the receiver! If I set the TV audio to internal or mixed, the TV speakers work fine, but if I set to mixed or external I get zero sound from the receiver.

If you have the first build date with the first firmware, that setup works. But if you have the second firmware, the one that came with the TV's built on June 26th I believe, then it will not. I've been through 3 of these TV's and the sets that passed 5.1 were of the original build date, my last one (that also died:mad:) had the second build date and it did NOT pass 5.1. It had the scenario exactly as you state your sound not working.

my westy needed its second revival today...i hope this doesn't become a habit...plus my 30 day has passed and I didn't pick up the PSP since I thought the set was ok...almost wishing I spent the extra dough for the 4065f now :mad:

I just checked my own posts and this is about one week from the time it last happened

I agree. I have the TX 42" and this same thing happened to me once so far. My first thing to try was to change inputs and go back to the HDMI1 and the sound issue cleared up. Hoping i dont get too many of these. So far we've probably played about 50 dvd's and this happened once so far...I've had TV about 2 months. Thx.
- Philips Upscale DVD Player connected via HDMI cable to the Westy.

Note: I am also experiencing occaisional sync issue where we get no picture or sound over HDMI from our DVD player and last night I actually had to unplug the TX and plug back in to reset it and then started working again and got audio/video over HDMI.

I have a new 42" and it will NOT pass 5.1 from HDMI through the optical on the TV either. Have tried with 2 sources. PS3(setup manually ofcourse), and my SA cable box. Neither will pass it through. Direct connects to the reciever work flawlessly though....

I have a new 42" and it will NOT pass 5.1 from HDMI through the optical on the TV either. Have tried with 2 sources. PS3(setup manually ofcourse), and my SA cable box. Neither will pass it through. Direct connects to the reciever work flawlessly though....

It's a shame that the DRM police would ruin such an excellent feature. I kinda feel lucky with the april TX model now.

I wonder if a firmware upgrade would remove the feature though..... hmm. That wouldn't be very nice.

how many power resets have you had so far bhazard?

Anyone looking at the TX, I highly recommend it. It's a great deal since it costs half of what some other TVs cost and looks awesome. Our 42" model is working flawlessly with the cable DVR through HDMI.

So don't get afraid of all those people posting about problems since I believe the large majority of us are very happy with it.

Well Im out. My set was damaged in shipping, been waiting 3 weeks for a replacement, but, I found out last night Dell no longer carries the Westinghouse set. They wanted to give me a DiBoss 46' that does not do 1080p. So I got a refund and decided to spend a little extra and got the samsung lnt4661f. Should be here by Friday.

Dell carried this set for like a month then they got rid of it??

I've been a happy 42" westy owner for the past two weeks. TV came delivered in perfect condition. No dead pictures. No snafus so far *knock on wood*.

Just got my TX-42F430S from BB on Tuesday. I'm absolutely loving it. Any suggestions for calibration settings? I don't have any reference discs, but I am running my laptop via VGA to it so I can pull up static images if you guys have any.

Thanks,
Aaron

how many power resets have you had so far bhazard?

I've been very lucky, 0 power resets needed.

I run on normal mode because I like how quick it gets to an input.

Been gaming with my new 2900XT on it, and it looks amazing..... with HDMI sound. :) I'd be very reluctant to upgrade firmware if it took that ability away from me.

hmm..looks like maybe i should run on normal mode maybe. The only problem for me is that its in a somewhat small extra bedroom that we have..so heat is somewhat a problem since that room is also our office with comps running

Picked up my set from BB today. I'm very happy with the overall quality of set. I picked up a $25 Antenna from Radio Shack and it picks up all my local HD channels and they look great. Especially those wildlife shows on PBS.

Unfortunately, I did find a few dead pixels. It's very tiny and not noticeable from more than a foot away but they're white ones. Maybe 3 or 4 clumped together. Does anyone know if this is reason enough for an exchange from BB? It's not that big of a deal but still considering asking for an exchange.

Anyone looking at the TX, I highly recommend it. It's a great deal since it costs half of what some other TVs cost and looks awesome. Our 42" model is working flawlessly with the cable DVR through HDMI.

So don't get afraid of all those people posting about problems since I believe the large majority of us are very happy with it.

What's with the flood of positive feedback all of a sudden ... Did Westinghouse pay some people to sign up and post? :)

I am all for more owners of the set - the more people own, the more concerned Westinghouse will be about releasing FW updates (and I own the set). At the same time, while I agree that the TV is a great deal, I am not as certain about the "large majority". While I do not know their reason, Dell not selling the TV anymore does not speak well for it. I've read rumors here that Best Buy was have jitters about carrying this TV as well (although it is probably not true, since I am sure they pass on all of their extra costs onto the manufacturer, then again, I am sure any significant above normal return/exchange/repair rate of these TVs would hit BB as well).

I would love to know some defect/return/repair rate numbers from Westinghouse on this set. My guess is that they are not readily available and I am not ambitious enough to try to research that.

Just got my 47" Westy today, and it looks GREAT...only "issue" (and I think it's an XBOX issue):

I've got my XBOX 360 connect via VGA, and it's set to 1920×1080 (1080p). But when I watch an HD DVD, the video seems to stagger or stutter when panning or there's a lot of action. Is this a Westy issue, an XBOX 360 issue, or an XBOX 360 HD DVD/VGA issue?

Switching to 720p (via VGA), the XBOX spits out an unsteady video stream...

Switching back to component, the XBOX looks good on both 720p & 1080i (HD DVD included).

Anyone else have a "stagger/stutter" video issue with XBOX 360 via VGA to the Westy 42/47?

Just got my 47" Westy today, and it looks GREAT...only "issue" (and I think it's an XBOX issue):

I've got my XBOX 360 connect via VGA, and it's set to 1920×1080 (1080p). But when I watch an HD DVD, the video seems to stagger or stutter when panning or there's a lot of action. Is this a Westy issue, an XBOX 360 issue, or an XBOX 360 HD DVD/VGA issue?

Switching to 720p (via VGA), the XBOX spits out an unsteady video stream...

Switching back to component, the XBOX looks good on both 720p & 1080i (HD DVD included).

Anyone else have a "stagger/stutter" video issue with XBOX 360 via VGA to the Westy 42/47?

You can fix it by rebooting the tv. Hold the power button for 10+ seconds until the W logo comes up. If it wont, just unplug it and plug it back in.

Theres another thing I noticed last night on my TX47 is that there is a slight stutter in tickers that travel across the screen, Nothing else stutters on screen just the ticker. This is something with the TV as it stutters through either Digital or analog cable and on another older TV I have it is smooth. Not the end of the world but kind of odd.

I have a new 42" and it will NOT pass 5.1 from HDMI through the optical on the TV either. Have tried with 2 sources. PS3(setup manually ofcourse), and my SA cable box. Neither will pass it through. Direct connects to the reciever work flawlessly though....

I have to ask - has anyone contacted Westinghouse support with this issue? I'll be testing this out myself once my TOSLink cable arrives from monoprice.

You can fix it by rebooting the tv. Hold the power button for 10+ seconds until the W logo comes up. If it wont, just unplug it and plug it back in.No, that didn't do it...It's still "herky jerky" in some parts, and I'm thinking it's most definitely an XBOX/HD DVD issue...guess I'm stuck with 720p/1080i until I can get a stand alone HD DVD player...it still looks PHENOMENAL.

Well I like my Westy, but unfournately its too big for my living room and it has to go back. Being a newbie and not wanting to piss anyone off, does AVS forum have a rating system for LCD's in the 32-42 range. Or is their a specific thread, site, etc someone could recommend?

Too big for your living room? I'm 2 feet away from my TX47 using it as a Main computer monitor and TV in a Bedroom.:eek::)

I know I know......Dont get me wrong I like the TV.......This site is BIG.....and I dont know where to look for quick information on a new direction for smaller TV's.....Any information on ratings would be most appreciated!

I know I know......Don't get me wrong I like the TV.......This site is BIG.....and I don't know where to look for quick information on a new direction for smaller TVs.....Any information on ratings would be most appreciated!

You must have a small living room then, I have a 57" TV, My relatives have a 42" and their living room is about 50% bigger than My 14'x12' living room. But If You want a smaller set There is always the 27" Proscan that I keep as a spare TV for when the expensive lamp in the 57" TV goes out(No You can't have It, Sorry It was an example). And that is a TV that looks like a small TV around the 57". :D Elephants chasing Kittens, Wow, I've never seen that before. :cool:

I just bought the 42" model from Best Buy and am very happy with it, except for one thing. There's a bright blue dead pixel near the center of the screen. I got the Personal Service Plan, will they send someone out to replace my TV? I live in the city, so I had to get a taxi to bring the TV home, I'm not looking forward to lugging this set back to BB and then back home.

From my experience, twice before for the 42TX, BB Service guys do not return the bad unit and bring a new one. All they do is come out to verify the issue, see if they can repair it and if not they give you a receipt that you take with the TV back to the store for a replacement, exchange or refund.

so i went to check out the TX in best buy the other day and was kinda put off by the contrast. i'm interested in the 47" but they only had the 42" in stock, so that is what i saw.

from what i could tell, the contrast was a lot worse than pretty much every other brand on display. it was as if i was looking at the image through tinted glasses or something. everything looked a lot more dead compared to the other LCDs on display. this includes brands like sony/samsung/philips/etc...

do you think this was just an issue with that one set? or maybe they didn't calibrate it properly? should i just get a visio instead?

Anyone else notice a pretty big improvement in image quality with the Wii on 16:9 if you change it to 480i (as opposed to 480p)? This doesn't make sense, except that the TV might be designed to scale and "fill" the 480i image better than 480p (since 480i is a much more commonly used signal than 480p). I was playing RE4 for Wii in 16:9 480p and it was actually kind of hurting my eyes. Even the Home Screen was hard to read. Then I changed it to 480i and noticed a BIG improvement. Again, I know everyone is gonna say "THERE'S NO WAY 480i LOOKS BETTER THAN 480p!!!" But try it and tell me it's not easier on the eyes.

Why the hell couldn't they have just made the Wii actually output a 16:9 image? I'm no huge graphics buff (I do have a Wii, after all), but man everything is just so damn pixelated when you stretch a 640x480 image to 1920x1080 (that's a 3x stretch on the horizontal and 2.25x stretch on the vertical. On average, one pixel of the image is displayed by 6.75 pixels on the TV. Ew.)

yao - That's because the TV manufacturers set their sets to have really bright, saturated images out of the box. It sells the TVs better on the show floor and induces more "WOW" factor to those who are impressed by the bright flashy thing in front of them rather than real color accuracy. The other TV's are actually set to look "better" than real life (brighter colors, etc). The Westinghouse is also (damn enhanced mode), but not as much. Fiddle around with the settings in the store (turn sharpness up at least) and you'll be able to get the same bright colors and really white whites. It's a preference thing; I like a more true to life image, some like the really really bright saturated image.

does anyone else notice the white clipping when watching NFL? or is that just me, I can't seem to get rid of it no matter the settings

does anyone else notice the white clipping when watching NFL? or is that just me, I can't seem to get rid of it no matter the settings

be more specific.
what channel ?
what stb ?
res ?

sorry bout that

it's in both 720p/1080i on fox and/cbs football. I usually have everything default, except with backlight at 0 and contrast at 60, so I try turning down the contrast but its just a darker version with the details in the uniform still smeared, maybe its just supposed to look this way? (my first HD experience with football)

so i went to check out the TX in best buy the other day and was kinda put off by the contrast. i'm interested in the 47" but they only had the 42" in stock, so that is what i saw.

from what i could tell, the contrast was a lot worse than pretty much every other brand on display. it was as if i was looking at the image through tinted glasses or something. everything looked a lot more dead compared to the other LCDs on display. this includes brands like sony/samsung/philips/etc...

do you think this was just an issue with that one set? or maybe they didn't calibrate it properly? should i just get a visio instead?

Its Best Buy. They do a terrible job setting up most displays, and the HD feed they show is sometimes plugged into composite ports on the TV.

With that said, it takes some fine tuning to get a great picture from this tv. The colors are outstanding, but black levels leave a bit to be desired compared to the more expensive brands. You get what you pay for, but even so its still a great value.

does anyone else notice the white clipping when watching NFL? or is that just me, I can't seem to get rid of it no matter the settings

Turn brightness/contrast/saturation down. There will be some clipping no matter what because of the whole gamma/range issue.

Each of my settings are diff for each piece of equip i have.

My cable box settings are about

Brightness - 42
Contrast - 58-60
Saturation -45-55
Dynamic Contrast "ON" - when watching anything with grass (football, baseball, golf), DC works extremely well. With DC off, adjust brightness and contrast higher.
Color Temp - Warm

hmm..last week I ran at 60 contrast and that worked pretty well..I tried higher saturation and it just looked strange..even on my desktop..but I'll give it a try for MNF

sorry bout that

it's in both 720p/1080i on fox and/cbs football. I usually have everything default, except with backlight at 0 and contrast at 60, so I try turning down the contrast but its just a darker version with the details in the uniform still smeared, maybe its just supposed to look this way? (my first HD experience with football)

what box you using ? or is it ota

free OTA -_-..we have comcast analog bleh, but our house wasn't correctly hooked up with cable from the previous owners so I'm not running cable at the moment..and if I did I would lose HD

free OTA -_-..we have comcast analog bleh, but our house wasn't correctly hooked up with cable from the previous owners so I'm not running cable at the moment..and if I did I would lose HD

hmm sorry i cant help you with that because i use a box with mine. i also did the advance setup on the box which works with the tx really well, solving that problem with the sa 8300hd box.

but back to your cable issue, thats teh cable company's responsiblity to fix that, your a paying customer and if their product wasnt installed properly thats their problem and your responsibility to notify them. no point in paying for it if its not up to par.

case in point, i bought my first house recently. which included shotty TWC cable. come to find out the cable was really old and of a lesser strength than what is required to run the digital box internet and phone. so they came and installed a new line form the pole (which helped the picture of every SD tv in the house)
also when the new was installed they just layed it on the ground (stupid) i guess the installer didnt want to get on a ladder, she said they would be calling me to setup a time to hang it. no i say, im mowing my yard in 2 days. its time warners cable, its time warner's problem. the next day i come home from work the cable is now on the pole :)

hah true but this is comcast we're talking about here..plus it'd have to be a contractor for the cabling issue since back when the house was built comcast wasn't what it is today..i really don't expect comcast to say "okay we'll get that fixed for you right away free of charge"

also, more importantly this isn't my house -_-, still working on getting to my first house

hah true but this is comcast we're talking about here..plus it'd have to be a contractor for the cabling issue since back when the house was built comcast wasn't what it is today..i really don't expect comcast to say "okay we'll get that fixed for you right away free of charge"

also, more importantly this isn't my house -_-, still working on getting to my first house

hmm,

sounds like you are connected via coax to the tuner ?

try dropping 60$ on a antenna ? might give you a better result since you think the cable signal is weak

Turn brightness/contrast/saturation down. There will be some clipping no matter what because of the whole gamma/range issue.

Each of my settings are diff for each piece of equip i have.

My cable box settings are about

Brightness - 42
Contrast - 58-60
Saturation -45-55
Dynamic Contrast "ON" - when watching anything with grass (football, baseball, golf), DC works extremely well. With DC off, adjust brightness and contrast higher.
Color Temp - Warm

nice
whats your hue setting ?

nice
whats your hue setting ?

Hue 49-51

Colors are pretty accurate on the default WARM setting for me. CNET's recommended values look horribly off on my tv.

I recieved delivery of a Westinghouse 47" HDTV (TX-47F430S). I notice on dark screens there is this small area on the screen that looks like what might be a stuck pixel but from my experience a stuck pixel is normally either red, green or blue and square in shape.

But the problem is the defect is not like that. Basically it is like a diamond with the lower left line missing like the following.
/\
\/
The lines forming this diamond are very thin and appear either blue green or red and shift colors as you change the angle at which you look at the screen. The areas around the diamond and inside the diamond are the proper color. Does anyone know what this is?

I will try to post a picture later tonight. BTW I tried running the stuck pixel fixers for like 8 hours and it hasn't changed a thing. I can't tell if each line runs across one pixel (which would mean 3 pixels are affected) or the whole diamond is one pixel.

I recieved delivery of a Westinghouse 47" HDTV (TX-47F430S). I notice on dark screens there is this small area on the screen that looks like what might be a stuck pixel but from my experience a stuck pixel is normally either red, green or blue and square in shape.

But the problem is the defect is not like that. Basically it is like a diamond with the lower left line missing like the following.
/\
\/
The lines forming this diamond are very thin and appear either blue green or red and shift colors as you change the angle at which you look at the screen. The areas around the diamond and inside the diamond are the proper color. Does anyone know what this is?

I will try to post a picture later tonight. BTW I tried running the stuck pixel fixers for like 8 hours and it hasn't changed a thing. I can't tell if each line runs across one pixel (which would mean 3 pixels are affected) or the whole diamond is one pixel.

Sounds more like a puncture/defect. Sucks

Sounds more like a puncture/defect. Sucks

I take it there is nothing I can do about it? Otherwise the picture is really impressive.

The other thing I notice and maybe everyone else can check this on their units is that the screen leans forward at the top. I looked at the bottom of the stand and the one of the 4 screws is not flush and is pretty much binded and won't turn either direction and the head looks almost stripped. My LVM-42W2 doesn't lean at all and is straight up and down. So maybe its just this one TX is screwed up. Anyways I think the place I bought it from will allow me to exchange it by shipping it back if Westinghouse doesn't have some local shop that can come repair the stand.

I take it there is nothing I can do about it? Otherwise the picture is really impressive.

The other thing I notice and maybe everyone else can check this on their units is that the screen leans forward at the top. I looked at the bottom of the stand and the one of the 4 screws is not flush and is pretty much binded and won't turn either direction and the head looks almost stripped. My LVM-42W2 doesn't lean at all and is straight up and down. So maybe its just this one TX is screwed up. Anyways I think the place I bought it from will allow me to exchange it by shipping it back if Westinghouse doesn't have some local shop that can come repair the stand.

nothing you can do to fix it , can you return it still ?

I take it there is nothing I can do about it? Otherwise the picture is really impressive.

The other thing I notice and maybe everyone else can check this on their units is that the screen leans forward at the top. I looked at the bottom of the stand and the one of the 4 screws is not flush and is pretty much binded and won't turn either direction and the head looks almost stripped. My LVM-42W2 doesn't lean at all and is straight up and down. So maybe its just this one TX is screwed up. Anyways I think the place I bought it from will allow me to exchange it by shipping it back if Westinghouse doesn't have some local shop that can come repair the stand.

pretty sure mine stands straight up..i'd try to return it for the puncture + stand issue

Setup with my DirecTV HR20 feeding via HDMI, I see a line on the far right of the screen on HDNet and TNT-HD...there appears to be no setting to get rid of it...AND every now and then I see the bar on top of the screen (I can usually get rid of it by turning DeInterlace on/off). Is there an easier way to fix these issues? Or is this 1:1 pixel mapping at its "finest"?

the line at the top is caption information and is normal...now as far as a line on the right side, I can't help you there

the line at the top is caption information and is normal...now as far as a line on the right side, I can't help you there

The line is the same as the line on the left side with NBC-HD, and closed captioning line garbage on top.... 1:1 pixel mapping showing the entire picture being broadcast, flaws and all.

In a sick way, i like seeing it, knowing my display is actually in 1:1 :)

lol bhazard, now that you've mentioned it, I'll be looking for it.

the line at the top is caption information and is normal...now as far as a line on the right side, I can't help you thereHere's the line (sorry for the poor quality picture). It's a grey line that runs up the right side of the screen. I only see it on HDNet & TNT-HD...and there seems to be no way to get rid of it.
http://www.syphix.com/sideline1.jpg

The line is the same as the line on the left side with NBC-HD, and closed captioning line garbage on top.... 1:1 pixel mapping showing the entire picture being broadcast, flaws and all.

In a sick way, i like seeing it, knowing my display is actually in 1:1 :)

deep :)


Here's the line (sorry for the poor quality picture). It's a grey line that runs up the right side of the screen. I only see it on HDNet & TNT-HD...and there seems to be no way to get rid of it.


fine tip sharpie

Anyone else notice a pretty big improvement in image quality with the Wii on 16:9 if you change it to 480i (as opposed to 480p)? This doesn't make sense, except that the TV might be designed to scale and "fill" the 480i image better than 480p (since 480i is a much more commonly used signal than 480p). I was playing RE4 for Wii in 16:9 480p and it was actually kind of hurting my eyes. Even the Home Screen was hard to read. Then I changed it to 480i and noticed a BIG improvement. Again, I know everyone is gonna say "THERE'S NO WAY 480i LOOKS BETTER THAN 480p!!!" But try it and tell me it's not easier on the eyes.

Why the hell couldn't they have just made the Wii actually output a 16:9 image? I'm no huge graphics buff (I do have a Wii, after all), but man everything is just so damn pixelated when you stretch a 640x480 image to 1920x1080 (that's a 3x stretch on the horizontal and 2.25x stretch on the vertical. On average, one pixel of the image is displayed by 6.75 pixels on the TV. Ew.)

yao - That's because the TV manufacturers set their sets to have really bright, saturated images out of the box. It sells the TVs better on the show floor and induces more "WOW" factor to those who are impressed by the bright flashy thing in front of them rather than real color accuracy. The other TV's are actually set to look "better" than real life (brighter colors, etc). The Westinghouse is also (damn enhanced mode), but not as much. Fiddle around with the settings in the store (turn sharpness up at least) and you'll be able to get the same bright colors and really white whites. It's a preference thing; I like a more true to life image, some like the really really bright saturated image.

personally I wish the Wii was 720p...but thats for another day...I finally got my component cables today and noticed exactly what you mentioned, the thing is that image still smears in 480i with component as it did with the included A/V cables, albeit much sharper, this doesn't make sense to me as using component with the GC resulted in sharper images that we also did not smear. Why this smearing occurs is beyond me.

16:9 seems to work okay in sports/play/strikers, but for some reason party gets all f-ed up and has to be run in 4:3 to allow the TX42 to stretch it properly

Disco904 i was having the same problem i found an option for my cable box and moved the picture over one click and that was it.

Metroid Corruption is one of the few (if only) Wii games that actually runs in widescreen.

Gonna check to see if it makes an image quality difference later.

Disco904 i was having the same problem i found an option for my cable box and moved the picture over one click and that was it.Yeah, that's supposed to be a feature of my satellite box, but, alas, it's not...no big deal. Thank god it won't burn in, though!

Disco904 i was having the same problem i found an option for my cable box and moved the picture over one click and that was it.



please elaborate

I had the exact same problem as Lutch and my set was being fed with Time Warner Cable (receiving both analog and QAM cable).

It definitely sounds like there is a bug in the firmware that causes these lockups with cable via the internal tuner... I haven't heard of this happening with OTA ATSC yet.
Same problem here. I have a TX-47 and was running coax through the tuner. Loved it initially, then I shut down my TV and unplugged it as a bad storm came through. Now I get the splash screen and then nothing but the amber LED. I've tried the 10sec reboot procedure but nogo. I've called Westinghouse and they indicate they've never heard of this problem before. I've had the set for six days and am set to take it back to BB and get a replacement. I'm not going to temp the gods again, so I'll use my HDMI or component from the digital cable box as a input until the "tuner bug" gets fixed.
Thanks,

smithmal

Still having issues with my XBOX 360 and the VGA connection @ 1080p. The video on the HD-DVD and games seems to jerk every once and a while...especially when the camera is panning. I have no issues using the same XBOX and VGA cables on a PC monitor: the video is smooth. I have "rebooted" the TV to no resolve.

I'd really like to have my HD DVD's at 1080p (the whole reason I bought a 1080p TV), and it doesn't seem like the TX-47F430S is going to do that smoothly.

Has anyone else had video issues using VGA to their Westy TX series?? Were you able to get them resolved (and if so, how)?

Hey folks.. (did a search, didn't find anything on mt150) ...

I got Westinghouse's universal mount which is for the TX-47 ... the documentation says all the different screws to use for different televisions .. including a huge list of Westinghouse models.

Unfortunately, the list is dated 9/06 and thus doesn't include info for the TX-47.

I sat on hold for a good long time with Customer Support today.. and they were absolutely useless.

The chart in the back has the following fields:
Manufacturer Screen Size Model Screw Size Screw Length Washer Spacer Notes


So basically I'm looking for (paying attention to the fields starting with screw size)

M4 12 Washer None 6

(Those are the options for the LVM-47w1).

Anyone have any experience with this... or have an updated Installation and Assembly manual for the MT150 thin?

I'm sure it could probably be figured out with some common sense.. but I'd prefer to know what the recommended settings are.

Thanks

-MirclMax

I take it there is nothing I can do about it? Otherwise the picture is really impressive.

The other thing I notice and maybe everyone else can check this on their units is that the screen leans forward at the top. I looked at the bottom of the stand and the one of the 4 screws is not flush and is pretty much binded and won't turn either direction and the head looks almost stripped. My LVM-42W2 doesn't lean at all and is straight up and down. So maybe its just this one TX is screwed up. Anyways I think the place I bought it from will allow me to exchange it by shipping it back if Westinghouse doesn't have some local shop that can come repair the stand.

My TX47 has a slight lean as well, just took it as normal.

Still having issues with my XBOX 360 and the VGA connection @ 1080p. The video on the HD-DVD and games seems to jerk every once and a while...especially when the camera is panning. I have no issues using the same XBOX and VGA cables on a PC monitor: the video is smooth. I have "rebooted" the TV to no resolve.

I'd really like to have my HD DVD's at 1080p (the whole reason I bought a 1080p TV), and it doesn't seem like the TX-47F430S is going to do that smoothly.

Has anyone else had video issues using VGA to their Westy TX series?? Were you able to get them resolved (and if so, how)?

Yes, this is issue #3 in the first post. There is no known fix for it though sometimes cycling power makes it go away for a while.

xnappo

Perhaps we all need to email Westinghouse to get them to issue a firmware update to help resolve some of these issues! I'm game!

Metroid Corruption is one of the few (if only) Wii games that actually runs in widescreen.

Gonna check to see if it makes an image quality difference later.

Strikers runs in widescreen as well

speaking of the firmware, whats the status with huggybear and the letter?

does anyone else notice the white clipping when watching NFL? or is that just me, I can't seem to get rid of it no matter the settings


Turn off Dynamic Contrast in the User Calibration menu, and this should clear up. I had the same problem on ESPNHD.

Wii works beautifully on this thing. I put the resolution to widescreen on the wii and use "overscan" on the TX. It feels the entire screen and nothing is cut off.

I ordered a DVI to HDMI cable from Amazon. It's the 13.47 one that is eligible for Amazon Prime. TV was off, I connected it to tv first then my vista notebook. Automatically it asked on my laptop, there were a few choices, but i selected "display on external screen only" since I knew my notebook recommended resolution was 1440x900. Turned on the TV and wow it is magnificent. Absolutely perfect 1:1 pixel mapping and it's at 1920x1080 resolution. Without my contacts I could only read text on this forum from like 3 feet away but with my contacts I can go back to about 10 feet or so, a little less to be able to comfortably read. But wow movies though WMP or VLC look great and the 1080p BBC Planet Earth files I have on my notebook come out AMAZING.

God this TX 47" is just great and I wish I didn't have these few white pixels or I wouldn't have to exchange for a new set.

Actually i'm not sure if they're dead pixels. They're not there when the TV is off but when there's a dark scene or a 'no input found' channel you can see them it's like the backlight just goes right through. Very very tiny, you can't see them more than a foot away but still it's a defect :( Anyone know what these are for sure? I'll try to post a picture later.

Do you recommend this set? Sounds like the picture and price are good, but there also some flaws. So all you owners of this set, I'm looking at the tx-42f430s, do you recommend buying it? It would be in the bedroom for the time being. HD programing run from my Cox cable box via HDMI. My Macbook pro hooked up from dvi to HDMI cable for Wow :) And at a later date my Xbox 360 with HDDVD add on hooked up. Please help with your thoughts.

Every TV out there has its problems but I'm happy i bought this one for the money it cant be beat. But thats just my opinion.

Do TVs have a break-in period where the picture actually improves? I like my TX42 more than ever.

One issue that I had were soft pops when viewing DVD. That issue has gone away by itself; I am not getting the pops anymore! I wonder if that was due to static or something related?

I also just complete my HT setup where I don't have to play sound thru the TV but feed my HT reciever thru thr SPIDF of my DVD player. If the popping returns I can use the HT sound and speakers if necessary.

All in all, this TV was a free replacement for my 42w2 and I love it so far!

Do TVs have a break-in period where the picture actually improves? I like my TX42 more than ever.

One issue that I had were soft pops when viewing DVD. That issue has gone away by itself; I am not getting the pops anymore! I wonder if that was due to static or something related?

I also just complete my HT setup where I don't have to play sound thru the TV but feed my HT reciever thru thr SPIDF of my DVD player. If the popping returns I can use the HT sound and speakers if necessary.

All in all, this TV was a free replacement for my 42w2 and I love it so far!


You know on the pops Ive noticed this as well, They seem to have just up and disappeared. Very odd thing. I expect them to return but they have not so far.:confused:

Do you recommend this set? Sounds like the picture and price are good, but there also some flaws. So all you owners of this set, I'm looking at the tx-42f430s, do you recommend buying it? It would be in the bedroom for the time being. HD programing run from my Cox cable box via HDMI. My Macbook pro hooked up from dvi to HDMI cable for Wow :) And at a later date my Xbox 360 with HDDVD add on hooked up. Please help with your thoughts.

I think it's a really good value. The biggest flaw for me is the crushing of the blacks. It happens in really dark scenes and sometimes greys and browns it just gets slightly pixelated. I'm not sure if it's because of the low contrast ratio or what. But once any color comes into it the picture pops it's just really nice.

If money isn't an object I think I would've gone with the Olevia 747i. But then you'd have to consider the glass front and whether or not you need the set for a bright room. But the 747i is at least 50% more expensive.

You know on the pops Ive noticed this as well, They seem to have just up and disappeared. Very odd thing. I expect them to return but they have not so far.:confused:

It can't be the cable because I've always used the same HDMI cable.

I have three wild theories about the pops! One, it may be related to the a static charge! Two, it may have something to do with a dirty DVD disk. Or three, it may have something to do with a break-in period for the TV set.

When/If the pops return, I am making a mental note to check out the condition of the DVD disks and the relative humidity?:confused:

It can't be the cable because I've always used the same HDMI cable.

I have three wild theories about the pops! One, it may be related to the a static charge! Two, it may have something to do with a dirty DVD disk. Or three, it may have something to do with a break-in period for the TV set.

When/If the pops return, I am making a mental note to check out the condition of the DVD disks and the relative humidity?:confused:

humidity could be a huge contributing factor. at work if the humidity drops below 50% my strobe packs POP at the PC connection. which is mainly because of the heat making us use the AC which drys the air.

I think it's a really good value. The biggest flaw for me is the crushing of the blacks. It happens in really dark scenes and sometimes greys and browns it just gets slightly pixelated. I'm not sure if it's because of the low contrast ratio or what. But once any color comes into it the picture pops it's just really nice.

If money isn't an object I think I would've gone with the Olevia 747i. But then you'd have to consider the glass front and whether or not you need the set for a bright room. But the 747i is at least 50% more expensive.

not only that but they are at least 50% heavier..I believe even the 742i cracks 100lbs..about a month ago when I was looking I considered them..but now with the new samsungs with LED backlighting coming out, its a different game..and though I think the TX42 is a great value..if you have a few more bills I again would take a look at either the 4061f or the 4065f which should come down in price some more now that the 71series and 81series(LED) are out

Wii works beautifully on this thing. I put the resolution to widescreen on the wii and use "overscan" on the TX. It feels the entire screen and nothing is cut off.


What settings do you use to have overscan fill the screen without... um overscan? Half the screen is cut off with the Wii when I use it.

I just cant play anything in 480p anymore, I'm too spoiled by xbox360/PS3/PC. I tried playing Metroid last night and it just looked too blurry.

From the Westinghouse 47tx webpage, recently added..........

accepts a 1080p/24Hz signal

I guess the no sound and no input detected box (but with picture behind it) issue I have at 24hz was from the PS3.

lol thats exactly why I don't want to pick up a PS3 yet, it'll make the Wii look like complete garbage.

By Metroid are you talking about Corruption? Isn't that supposedly the best looking Wii game to date?

I have three wild theories about the pops!

I have a fourth theory. At one time I used the 3-cable component connection (RGB) to my cable box then installed an HDMI cable but left the 3- cable component connection in place. I also used an HDMI connection for the DVD player. Recently, I removed the 3- cable component cables from the cable box and TX42. After that I noticed no pops from the HDMI-DVD connection. I wonder if that could be related?

lol thats exactly why I don't want to pick up a PS3 yet, it'll make the Wii look like complete garbage.

By Metroid are you talking about Corruption? Isn't that supposedly the best looking Wii game to date?

Sure, it's the best looking Wii game, but that doesn't mean much. It can't compare at all.

It controls pretty well though.

haha too true..my bro's picking it up later today so I'll see how it looks on his 2405.

Here's the line (sorry for the poor quality picture). It's a grey line that runs up the right side of the screen. I only see it on HDNet & TNT-HD...and there seems to be no way to get rid of it.
http://www.syphix.com/sideline1.jpg

From what I've noticed this line comes on when the channel logo overlay in the corner comes on. ( ABC5, HGTV, etc. - these are not exactly the channels I see the line on, just an illustration). Some channels turn their logo off sometimes and the line disappears.

It is definitely the broadcaster's fault.

I recieved delivery of a Westinghouse 47" HDTV (TX-47F430S). I notice on dark screens there is this small area on the screen that looks like what might be a stuck pixel but from my experience a stuck pixel is normally either red, green or blue and square in shape.

But the problem is the defect is not like that. Basically it is like a diamond with the lower left line missing like the following.
/\
\/
The lines forming this diamond are very thin and appear either blue green or red and shift colors as you change the angle at which you look at the screen. The areas around the diamond and inside the diamond are the proper color. Does anyone know what this is?

I will try to post a picture later tonight. BTW I tried running the stuck pixel fixers for like 8 hours and it hasn't changed a thing. I can't tell if each line runs across one pixel (which would mean 3 pixels are affected) or the whole diamond is one pixel.

You have a somewhat uncommon partially failed subpixel. It's a very small flaw that's the equivalent to 1/2 a dead pixel. No worries..... it is a very small flaw and if you only have one then you've done well for yourself. The reason it appears oddly shaped is because these panels do not have square pixels. The S-IPS panel matrix uses pixels shaped like chevrons ( >>> ). This is the property that gives them their good off-axis color properties, but also their weak black levels. If you get very very close to the screen you can actually see the shape of the pixels for yourself.

I think it's a really good value. The biggest flaw for me is the crushing of the blacks. It happens in really dark scenes and sometimes greys and browns it just gets slightly pixelated. I'm not sure if it's because of the low contrast ratio or what. But once any color comes into it the picture pops it's just really nice.

If money isn't an object I think I would've gone with the Olevia 747i. But then you'd have to consider the glass front and whether or not you need the set for a bright room. But the 747i is at least 50% more expensive.

I've pointed this out before, but I'll do so again because it's significant: The Westinghouse TX series and the Olevia 7 series both use the exact same LCD panel. I don't mean exact as in same manufacturer, I mean exactly the same panel. The core performance will be extremely similar, the only added benefit being the superior processing of the Realta HQV processor. The TX's Trident chipset is no slouch though so it's not as much of a gain as going from some other generic brands. The 747 also has black crush, it's somewhat inherent in this panel type, but it's not as bad as on the TX.

Still having issues with my XBOX 360 and the VGA connection @ 1080p. The video on the HD-DVD and games seems to jerk every once and a while...especially when the camera is panning. I have no issues using the same XBOX and VGA cables on a PC monitor: the video is smooth. I have "rebooted" the TV to no resolve.

I'd really like to have my HD DVD's at 1080p (the whole reason I bought a 1080p TV), and it doesn't seem like the TX-47F430S is going to do that smoothly.

Has anyone else had video issues using VGA to their Westy TX series?? Were you able to get them resolved (and if so, how)?

I have the exact same set up as you and no problems here. I've watched tons of HD-DVD's and upscaled DVDs.

It can't be the cable because I've always used the same HDMI cable.

I have three wild theories about the pops! One, it may be related to the a static charge! Two, it may have something to do with a dirty DVD disk. Or three, it may have something to do with a break-in period for the TV set.

When/If the pops return, I am making a mental note to check out the condition of the DVD disks and the relative humidity?:confused:

Well, When I was having the pops it was definitely from HDMI sources, I would say its not your DVD being dirty as I really noticed the pops from my 2900XT's sound hooked up through HDMI when there was no sound being played. But the last couple days no pops, I find it really strange that it just up and went away.

You have a somewhat uncommon partially failed subpixel. It's a very small flaw that's the equivalent to 1/2 a dead pixel. No worries..... it is a very small flaw and if you only have one then you've done well for yourself. The reason it appears oddly shaped is because these panels do not have square pixels. The S-IPS panel matrix uses pixels shaped like chevrons ( >>> ). This is the property that gives them their good off-axis color properties, but also their weak black levels. If you get very very close to the screen you can actually see the shape of the pixels for yourself.

Thanks, thats what the failure looks like a stuck pixel only the shape of a chevron. One chevron is complete and the lower chevron is half. So maybe this is 3/4 of a pixel failure? I can still pick the failure out from 6 feet away if that area of the screen is black. Is this a permanent flaw or can those stuck pixel fixer programs fix it?