Westinghouse 37" 1080p LCD
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Mar 28th 2006 6:45PM
posted Mar 28th 2006 6:45PM
It never ceases to amaze me how much LCD TVs have dropped
in price in the past few years. 1080p is all the rage today and now it is possible to buy a 1080p LCD for under 2k;
$1899 to be exact. I know that many of the HDBeat readers love a great deal and it seems that this is just
that. I am a little concerned that they didn't mention 1080p input with all the other great specs listed in the press
release.
I have had this TV since May 05. It is a great "monitor". This is not really a TV since it does not have a built-in tuner.
There are some issues with vertical banding but overall the quality is great at 1080p. Both DVI inputs are HDCP. One input is 1080p and the other is 1080i.
I was able to test the 1080p input via Windows HD DVD using T2.
I think the next generation of these TVs/Monitors will solve the banding problem.
I have had this TV since May 05. It is a great "monitor". This is not really a TV since it does not have a built-in tuner.
There are some issues with vertical banding but overall the quality is great at 1080p. Both DVI inputs are HDCP. One input is 1080p and the other is 1080i.
I was able to test the 1080p input via Windows HD DVD using T2.
I think the next generation of these TVs/Monitors will solve the banding problem.
I know you didn't say it was a TV, but it sounds like it in the context of your article. This is actually just a monitor, it doesn't have a tuner. It does accept 1080p over DVI, HDMI, and VGA.
http://www.westinghousedigital.com/p-56-37-1080p-monitor.aspx
Its been possible to get 1080p for that price for a while. The older version of that monitor has been priced at 1899 since before Thanksgiving. I got it in Houston for 1199 (actually 10% off that) thanks to Best Buy aggressively price matching in that market.
http://www.westinghousedigital.com/pc-26-7-37-1080p-monitor.aspx
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a 37" Philips LCD TV (http://www.consumer.philips.com/lcdtv/) for about $1900. This tv DOES have a tuner, HD, PixelPlus, USB, etc. I don't think this Westinghouse has a better price/ quality...
Actually the one pictured is an HDTV. It has a tuner.
https://www.westinghousedigital.com/pc-53-2-37-lcd-hdtv.aspx
Well, stylistically, it def. looks better (to me) than the old w1.
I'll be comparing this with the 42" version that's out at Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7699163&type=product&id=1138084694260
My local BB should be getting them in this thursday. I've been a part of the extensive discussion on AVS forum about the 42" and it should be interesting to actually see it in person.
I have the w1 version as well. The picture is stunning for HD channels, but provides so so picture for standard television.
Movies look great and surfing the web on the 37 inch screen is awesome!
I have been sucessful in 1080p through the VGA port.
I'd actually like to see a 1080p 30inch LCD TV with a tuner. I think at this size many people could actually use it as their primary computer monitor. I realize there are plenty of 720p 30 inch lcds out there, but trying to do any work at a resolution of 1280 x 720 is pretty worthless. I think at 1900 you can actually get some work done and have the option of doing things like having PIP tv while you work.
This monitor is awesome - and who cares if it has a tuner or not. You have a tuner in your cable or satellite box, one in your dvd player. How many tuners you want. The picture is awesome in HD, and as good as any when not in HD. High quality cabling is a must for the setup - and removing the factory speakers from your sound setup is a must. They do take away from the overall sound quality (10amps each). Not to mention, the ability to turn it into a next gen piece of wall art with a laptop of digital camera -without risking resolution burn like you will find on a plasma. All in all, I am well please with it. Did I mention the 12/sec refresh rate? Killer!
How does Westinghouse compare to Sharp AQUOS LCDs for example?