Audioholics review: Westinghouse LVM-42X2 LCD Review
By Matt Burns 
posted Apr 28th 2006 9:45AM
posted Apr 28th 2006 9:45AM
Oh boy. 1080p out of a 42-inch LCD! The holy grail for many, many HD fanatics. Audioholics has taken this new HDTV and ran the TV through the paces to see if it stands up to its potential. They did a very thorough review, as always, with tons of screen caps and pictures. Are we abet Impatient though? Well, not to steal their thunder or nothing, but they loved the set. The picture quality was great but lacked many setup features. They ended up giving the $2799 LCD a 4.5 out of 5 which is higher then we thought a Westinghouse would get. Expecally when talking about picture quality.
For some pictures of this TV in use, check this out:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7560941&&#post7560941
That whole thread is awesome for information about the monitor - I've been on it since the first post - lots of good information.
A lot of Best Buys in my area are running the HDDVD demos into these Westys and from the couple of times that I have watched...they look great.
The main issues with this monitor is that there is a power lockup issue (seems to happen somewhat rarely for some people)
and some "vertical banding" on some panels (so far, it looks like a relatively small percentage).
Also, one of the guys who corresponded with Westinghouse has said that the company will be doing a firmware update in the next month or so that hopefully will take care of the power issues.
As I said before, this is a really, REALLY nice panel - if you can, go check it out at your local best buy (there is a 37" (a new version - w3 - also available)
This sounds like a great HDTV. When I get around to building a new home this will likely go in the bedroom with a 360 connected to do WMCE stuff (plus gaming). Maybe I can convince the wife to let me get it early and put it in place in our current home.
I know a little at other model which to me to like.
The product: Westinghouse is joining the crowd of LCD TV manufacturers offering new sets with 1,920x1,080 (or 1080p) native resolution instead of the 1,280x720 (720p) resolution that many previous LCD panels offered. The 37-inch LVM-37w1 (which will be followed to the marketplace by 42-inch and 47-inch models) offers detachable speakers, along with DCDi and True-Life video-processing technology from Faroudja. Other specs include:
600:1 contrast ratio
550cd/m² maximum brightness
12ms response time
Inputs for DVI-HDCP (two), component video (two), composite video, and VGA
The price: Westinghouse will price the LVM-37w1 at $2,499 when it becomes available in the second quarter of 2005. Prices for the 42-inch and the 47-inch have yet to be announced, but both sets are expected to ship in the third quarter of 2005.
I saw the hd-dvd demo at my local best buy and this panel really blew me away... i loved it. actually considering getting one whenever i decide to get my next tv (have a panasonic projector now for my main hdtv)
I own one of these. It is why i harp about the difference between 1080 HDTV and "JUST PLAIN BIG SCREEN" tv.
IMHI its the best bang for the buck :
1) DCDi by Faroudja - this makes stuff look better than it really is, and totally removes the Interlacing edge and rip issues people whine about, just freeze any frame with the button on the remote. Proof is in your face. This display makes anyones "Expert" opinion into junk if they havent seen it.
2) I think 42" is the right size for a lot of rooms,
and for this reason its also a computer monitor for me, wireless keyboard and mouse, nothing is ever fuzzy.
the unit ships overbright i think, so tweak it down some. You probably do not need an upscaling DVDplayer if you use a computer with it. basically the nvidia 7600 DVI video card and anything over 1.4 ghz will play flawlessly, you can build a nice computer with all that for 800 bucks.
e.g. you can have 1080 HD, DVDplayer and a computer for about 3300 bucks all 1080 and at a very very nice bang for the buck. oh and contrast ratio is more like 1000:1 when its setup right.
about the only hassle is that it displays at NTSC color gamut of 75% for range - i would prefer that to be a selectable function for 100% color gamut when using vga and DVI inputs.
This is a great review-- very useful. A lot better than trying to judge the variable pictures in stores, in my opinion. A lot of the folks on Avsforum are agitating for a good review of the new Westinghouse 47" lcd (LVM-47w1). So far, there isn't one. Hope Audioholics can do the same for that set.