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Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42" LCD TV

TX-42F430S 42

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Most recent User Reviews for

Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42" LCD TV

  • Reviewed by: d_esmond

    11-30-07

    Duration of ownership: 3 Months

    Strengths: Digital HD/SD tunerPlethora of inputsGood black/color levelsAttractive styling

    Weaknesses:PIP NonfunctionalPower Management doesn't fully work on HDMINot all remote input buttons are discreteCan't upgrade set firmware in the field

    Overall Evaluation: I own several Westinghouse TVs/monitors and have had such great experiences with them I decided to pick up this latest in the 1080p line. Compared to the other 1080p Westinghouse set I have (37w1) this model adds a digital TV tuner and several extra digital inputs. In addition, the styling is a bit better (with a matte black/brushed metal bezel instead of a matte silver one on my 37w1). Picture quality is on par with the 37w1 and improved in some cases. For instance in certain scenarios I see ghosting artifacts on the 37w1. But with the 42F320S I haven't seen any of that (granted I am not a gamer so I have not tested this set's performance in that regard). Black levels are about the same as the 37w1 and really I consider them quite good (I am not very picky about that though). A big key to getting decent blacks is to turn the backlight down to its lowest setting (or thereabouts).Color seems great--again no big change from my 37w1.One puzzling thing is that PIP has been a standard feature on all the Westinghouse TVs/monitors I have purchased previously and appears in the menu for the 42F430S but is greyed out. I don't know if Westinghouse had to disable it at the last minute or never intended to provide it, but in any case it doesn't work. No big loss for me as I don't use it, but it would be nice to have it available if the set is physically capable (which it would seem to be).The remote is far better than any of the other Westinghouse sets I own--both in terms of the number of buttons and the sensitivity of the IR sensor on the set. My only quibble (which has always been the case with Westinghouse remotes) is that several of the inputs buttons cycle between multiple inputs rather than having dedicated IR codes for each discrete input. This really only comes into play when trying to set up macros on programmable remotes like the Harmony. Casual users aren't going to care, and major home theater buffs are probably buying more expensive TVs so this is not a big issue--just something that could be improved.I am not a typical user of this set, as even though I have cable hooked up the QAM tuner, I actually never use it. I really only use one input on the set--HDMI1. I have that connected via an HDMI->DVI cable to my Home Theater PC running Windows Vista Media Center full-time. So for me this is really just a big computer monitor.As a result I depend on the power saving function of the computer and monitor to turn the set on and off as needed. I've been doing this for a couple years now and it worked really well on my 37w1, which in power saving mode used only about 1W of power. Unfortunately the 42F430S (at least the one I have--there have been a couple of other reports from other users too) does not enter the true power saving mode over HDMI when signaled by the computer. It turns off the backlight (which I will concede is the largest power draw in the device) but it leaves the panel itself running (if you look carefully you can actually see the TV picture continuing on in the background even though the set is supposed to be "off". The result is that palpable heat is given off from the set 24/7 and it will draw at least 50W of power all the time.Let me reiterate that this bug will not affect most users of this set. As long as you're using the power button on the remote (or using DPMS on the VGA input I think) then you won't be affected by this. I'm sure this would be a very easy bug for Westinghouse to fix and issue as a firmware update. However, despite the presence of a USB port on the back to facilitate such updates Westinhouse has never provided one. People end up resorting to exchanging the entire set for one with a newer firmware (I'd consider that if I knew Westinghouse had fixed this bug)--which is a total waste of money and effort for all parties involved. In this day and age companies like Westinghouse are very foolish to not provide some method to upgrade firmware in the field.But I digress... this really is a nice set for TV watching, HD-anything, and even use as a monitor. My biggest gripe would be a small one for anyone else--the inability to enter a very lower power state when connected over HDMI. With that bug (and given my need for just the monitor part of this set) I wish I had purchased the previous generation LVM-42w2 instead. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 42F430S to anyone with "normal" needs for an HD LCD TV set.

  • Reviewed by:

    11-20-07

    Duration of ownership: 4 Days

    Strengths: Picture Quality is fantastic

    Weaknesses:Sound is average

    Overall Evaluation: I shopped HDTVs for a couple of weeks before settling on this one, first, because of the price and next the picture quality. Best Buy's rep tried to upsale me saying that this set was cheaper because Westinghouse wanted to dominate the market. Fact is, why pay more? $989+cables+extended Warranty(I don't usually purchase these, but after all the things I've read about HDTV's in general, it seemed like the right thing to do)$1369.

  • Reviewed by: joeno2007

    11-15-07

    Duration of ownership: 5 Days

    Strengths: 1080P Resolution for cheap price, Clear but no burn out, Integrated TV Tuners and 4 HDMIs

    Weaknesses:Some trouble w/ audio set up.

    Overall Evaluation: Well this is my first HDTV. It was great quality at less then half the price the big boys. Cant compare it to other sets in-home, (it's as good as the expensive bigger sets that were in C.C.). I was completely sold on LCD.

  • Reviewed by: drstrange

    10-30-07

    Duration of ownership: 5 Weeks

    Strengths: Value, image quality, connectivity.

    Weaknesses:HDMI hub and passing only 2.0 via S/PDIF output.

    Overall Evaluation: LCDs in general have poor black levels versus other technologies (CRT, Plasma, DLP,...). They do have other advantages though. This model cost around $870 before tax yet it would be easy to spend twice as much on another LCD for only a modest improvement in image quality. Still, even the highest-end LCD's have issues whether that is banding, clouding, dead pixels, black levels, overscan, HDCP handshake issues, and so on. Without seeing them side-by-side with ideal calibration and source, you will not find this model wanting. If you did see them side-by-side, chances are you could not justify the competitor's higher price. The only minor issue apart from mentioned weaknesses is lack of more overscan options. Firstly, an exact 1:1 pixel display is possible from the source which is great for connecting a disc player, PC, or game console. However, for TV it also means that a line may be visible at the edge of the panel due to broadcaster error inserting extra information for CC services and the like. The overscan/fill options available are meant to zoom and crop 4:3 sources so are too extreme and it would be useful to have a minimal overscan option of 1% or so to crop such lines. Also worth mentioning is the inclusion of a USB service port however user firmware upgrades have not as yet been made available. If purchasing this model, at least check the build date and try to get the most recent to avoid problems with previous ones such as locking up after E-Saver. Mine is 2007 September which was current at the time and so far there are no known issues.Addendum:One issue with 2007 September build is the subwoofer option being grayed-out in the menu and presumably disabled.

  • Reviewed by: patr1ce

    10-24-07

    Duration of ownership: 2 Weeks

    Strengths: Great pic for the price.

    Weaknesses:None from me.

    Overall Evaluation: Boy, what a steal. We brought this 42" TV from Best Buy for $979.00. When we say that we couldn't believe our eyes. It took us about 1/2 hour to set it up. With our HD receiver from Direct TV the picture is awesome. Sports with this TV so sharp we fill like we can touch the people.

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