Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Review by David McLeod for Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
Summary:

I am extremely pleased with this LCD. The picture is bright and clear and the colors are excellent. I am completely satisfied with the purchase and recommend this device to anyone.

Expanded Review:

First, I defined my goals: From about 8 feet away I want to watch High Definition DVD’s at 1080p, watch High Definition television including local channels, connect some gaming consoles, connect a PC, and connect my surround sound receiver.

I looked at different products for a year. I would compare the appearance between the different sets in the store, read online reviews, talked to friends, and read product specifications.

I decided on the following and intended to act before the end of summer: I would obtain a decent 42″ LCD with all of the necessary connectors for under $1600, I would purchase a PS3 for Blu-ray as well as HD gaming with the bonus that it will upconvert my current DVD’s, and upgrade my current cable service to HD for HD television viewing. I figured to spend about $2000-$2200.

When the PS3 price dropped to $500 it figured it was time to move. The contenders after my research included the Samsung, Sony, LG, and the Westinghouse LVM-42W2. Most were over the limit to what I was comfortable spending so it came down to the LVM-42w2. When I went to find it I discovered the TX-42F430S that had been recently introduced. Additionally it was available at a local yellow tagged electronics superstore for the best price advertised. I was able to view this unit side by side with the other available LCD’s and it looked just as good, to me, as much more expensive models. I realized however that the signal being pumped into those devices on the wall was not a 1080p signal and that the picture at home might look different. At that point I figured it was bright, the colors were coming through, the menu system was functional, and it was the lowest priced 42″ 1080p LCD available ($1299). I bought it with a matching of the online deal that threw in a Sony HT-DDW790 home theater system and a 60 day in house price match. The following Sunday 7/29 it went on sale for $1099. I got the price match ($200 back) and sold the HT system for $120. So, total for this system with PS3 was right about $1500 plus cables, controllers, Blu-ray Planet Earth, and a couple of games for the PS3. I feel good.

Results:

1. I have the PS3 connected to one of the four(!) HDMI connectors and it looks awesome. Motorstorm at 720p is excellent and Planet Earth at 1080p is unbelievable. I had to get the blue tooth remote for playing movies, you can do it with the controller but it’s a pain. Most of the upconverted DVD’s look incredible, much better than on standard def TV, this was much better than I expected and for someone not hypersensitive it would be hard to differentiate it from some native HD or Blu-ray DVD’s.

2. HD Digital Cable content through the component connection looks very good. Standard Definition looks like garbage, but this is expected of all HD LCD’s, the pixels on the LCD display the picture in all it’s ugly glory. In all my research, I have not come across a way to watch standard def TV and it not look bad. It’s functional, and viewable if you don’t expand the screen and let it display in 4:3, but a step down when viewing most of the normal TV content. One can only hope that more and more channels come to HD format.

3. I have my PC, Wii, and PS2 (only for guitar hero) hooked up though the home theater receiver via S-video at the moment and it serves. I want to move the PC to the VGA connector (I need a new dual head video card), the Wii to the component connection, and the PS2 directly to the S-video in the future.

4. I have a digital optical cable running from the output on the LCD to the HT receiver and it sounds good. The interal LCD speakers can be turned off so that only the HT system is used.

So, I am very happy. I hope this helps some of you still looking. I relied heavily on comments about the products here and I wanted to return the favor.

Review by mp3support@wi.rr.com for Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
The picture on this set is quite outstanding, sharp, snappy and capable of incredible detail. The on-screen menu is excellent as well. Connectivity is excellent. it has four HDMI connections!!!, 2 component video connections (YPbPr), a VGA connection, audio SPIDF out, S-Video, numerous analog audio ins/outs etc. The sound system is quite good with a built-in subwoofer.

The set has (had) a few flaws:

1. You will see some pixel-ating in very dark areas. The picture snaps back when the scene brightens up again. This improves somewhat as the set ‘breaks-in’. After about 20 hours of use and adjusting the settings, now, it’s a very minor issue for me. ALL LCDs are prone to this to some degree or another.

2. I first heard soft popping noises when listening to DVDs (only) with an HDMI connection. The noise would come and go intermittently. This issue went away completely after about 20 hours of use. (I can’t explain it). Also, this can be worked around if you use a Home Theater Receiver.

You will find that ALL LCDs are going to have some bugs. The TX-42F430S gives you a superb picture at a low price. I recommend it.

Review by D. Berube for Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
We were looking for a lot of function for a little price. This true 1080p TV has multiple inputs for audiophiles and has a true 1080p pc connection. The set will automatically read the source and adjust itself appropriately… no having to “switch” from DVD, PC or cable… the TV does it for you!!!

Since we’ve only had it a month, the verdict is still out on the longevity factor, but the initial WOW factor of the picture quality and functionality has set this TV as a great alternative to the high priced famous brands. We paid about 1/2 the cost of the same 42″ TV in the high end brands and feel we received a top notch product. We had the opportunity to see this TV in use against all the other brands (at the yellow price tag store) we were looking at and we absolutely loved the picture, the features and the look of the TV. Westinghouse went with a matt black finish which is different from everyone else, it looks stylish hanging on the wall and is very easy to keep clean. We are so impressed that we are considering the 47″ to replace our perfectly good 32″ livingroom TV.

Again, other than the question of how long will it last (which is why we are giving this only 4 stars and not 5 – I bought a coverage plan to protect myself and the price was still way below that of the high end famous brand name tvs) if it lasts 5 years it was worth it!!!

Review by Ryan C. Durham for Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
I’m using this as a computer monitor and it is amazing. It’s clear, has AMAZING viewing angles, and is bright. It has plenty of pixels (1920×1080) for a basic computer monitor or TV, but not nearly as many as, say, a normal 30″ monitor like the Apple Cinema Display. It dominates my desk. The speakers are clear and loud, about what you’d expect from a TV, and much better than any speakers I’ve ever seen built in a monitor. I’d say this is a great deal. No DVI, but plenty of HDMI and other connectors.

Review by David R. Lopez for Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
I had been sittting on the fence with this LCD purchase. I already own a 32 inch LCD westy that has been a good set even with its quirks being a two year old set. I read many reviews on this 42 inch Westy TX-42F430S and was scared of these people saying thae that the HDMI didn’t work and couldn’t be worked manually as this set has an automatic source feature others don’t. Well I purchased this set and I’m glad I did. The source detection works great. It works on any new source that is turned on like the DVD on composite switched as soon as I turned it on. You can switch back to the HDMI source by pushing the HDMI button on the remote, push it again for the next HDMI source input and its that easy. The picture out of the box is way too bright just like the ones in the big box store. The default settings are not good like on most LCD sets purchased. The employees at the big box store are not good at setting them up. The set also needs to be set up on each source and then it retains the settings, my two year old set did not do that. the picture is stuning and the 4 HDMI inputs, 2 composite as well as the VGA input are all great features. I’m very satisfied with this purchase and would highly reccommend it to others. I hope this helps with your dicision to purchase.