Thoughts on Westinghouse LCD TVs

OmegaRicochet

OmegaRicochet

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I was in Target earlier today and I saw where they had a Westinghouse LCD TV on sale. It's a 26 inch unit and has 2 HDMI ports, 1 Component, 1 Basic port (the red, white and yellow), VGA input and so on and so forth (a few more inputs, but those are the ones important to me). Anyway, it's on sale for $250 where the regular price is $330. I haven't been able to find much information online about them other than that they are low end units. I've got a Sanyo 19 inch now that doesn't have HDMI that I would sell if I bought the Westinghouse. Anyway, I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the brand. For a low-end, are they worth it? How's the clarity, color and the like overall (I know it can differ from tv to tv, I'm mainly wondering if Westinghouse is a better brand than Sanyo or vice versa). Thanks for your time and input!
 
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I do not know whether they have improved on their newer models, but they are straight trash.

I bought a 32" about two years ago and I have had numerous issues including randomly shutting off and freezing. The model that I had was prone to problems and mine ultimately died two weeks after the warranty ran out.
 
If they have some sort of extended warranty i would recommend getting one. Westinghouse LCD's last about a year or two before problems begin arising sometimes you can dodge that bullet for more time or it comes earlier, but in a decent amount of cases involving their products I've found the screen begins to cut out or the hdmi port goes bad fairly quickly. I currently have a 37" Westinghouse from 2 years ago that i purchased because of its low price point like the one your looking at and problems are beginning to affect it...thank god i bought a service plan.
 
I have a 47" 1080p Westinghouse LCD from about 1.5 years ago or so that was $900 or $1000 at the time (non 120hz and non LED of course). I have had 4 hdmi (DVD, Xbox 360, Gaming PC, and Dish Receiver/HDDVR) connections to it for the majority of that time and use them all and it has held up. Looks good mounted on the wall. Main reason I got it at the time was I was TIRED of moving around and placing this super heavy RCA 36" EDTV tube TV I had forever, was the one that had a VGA connection for 800 x 600 resolution / 480p for component. Was pretty high tech for its time, but it was a monster to deal with and deeper front to back than a mother in law.

Also Costco's handling of TV warranties was another selling point. I probably wouldn't have gotten it at any other B&M.

Most annoying thing about it by far is that when you switch to the Xbox 360 HDMI and the Xbox 360 is already on, it resets the 360. I've learned to live with that, and its usually no big deal, but I lost some unsaved game progress many a time till I got used to it. It does NOT reset any of the other equipment that is on HDMI ports when I switch to them, and I tried swapping equipment to the different ports, makes no difference.
 
[quote name='coolflightboy']If they have some sort of extended warranty i would recommend getting one. Westinghouse LCD's last about a year or two before problems begin arising sometimes you can dodge that bullet for more time or it comes earlier, but in a decent amount of cases involving their products I've found the screen begins to cut out or the hdmi port goes bad fairly quickly. I currently have a 37" Westinghouse from 2 years ago that i purchased because of its low price point like the one your looking at and problems are beginning to affect it...thank god i bought a service plan.[/QUOTE]
The screen cutting out issue happened with my Westinghouse 22" LCD monitor. Problem crept up about a year and a half after the purchase and of course after the warranty had expired. It used to be tolerable and fixable if I messed with it enough, but now it's not even worth the hassle and it's collecting dust in my garage.
 
Yea its ok to deal with for the moment but it does get annoying when i try to watch a movie and even more so when im playing MW2. I'm hoping to send it in after the holidays are over and just try to deal with having no tv for a week rather than 3 weeks if i take it in now.
 
My first HD TV was a Wastinghouse. It had some weird issue where wavy lines were burned in the screen. IT is an LCD TV, so I am no sure how that happened. I won't be buying any more Westies.
 
save your time ,and just buy a samsung or sony. I bought a Vizio which is cheap company and it have a line of dead pixels across the TV. I don't know about westinghouse but i have one of thier lamp and it lasted 12 years.
 
Thanks everyone for all the replies. I tend to prescribe to the "you-get-what-you-pay-for" school of thinking and I was sort of leaning toward the deal maybe being to good to be true. I would actually love to be able to buy a Sony or Samsung someday when I have the cash to put on it. Seeing as how most of you are down on Westinghouse, I now feel confident it's probably not worth the risk. I appreciate all the advice!
 
add Insignia to the crap/do not buy list. Just from my personal experience, stick to a major..big brand that is well known like Sony or Samsung. I've purchased a Sony Bravia XBR & a Sharp tv both from best buy and they work perfectly fine. I then bought an Insignia there and have had nothing but problems with it and it's within 90 days or less old.
 
i've had my Westinghouse LCD since 11/2007, and so far so good. Its still working. I think I got one more year on the contract, 11/2010.. hopefully I can do something to get it replaced.
 
[quote name='DaNaD']vizio is a better cheap brand.[/QUOTE]

I was just about to say the same thing. You should be able to get a Vizio for $250 @ 26" if you look around a bit and are a little patient. Vizio is the best of the budget HDTVs.
 
I have had my 32" LCD for about 3 years and I have not had any problems, it has been a perfect TV for me and I would recommend Westinghouse.
 
[quote name='intoxicated662']add Insignia to the crap/do not buy list. Just from my personal experience, stick to a major..big brand that is well known like Sony or Samsung. I've purchased a Sony Bravia XBR & a Sharp tv both from best buy and they work perfectly fine. I then bought an Insignia there and have had nothing but problems with it and it's within 90 days or less old.[/QUOTE]

Insignia is garbage... after dealing with one of their TVs, I resigned myself from ever buying cheap brands ever again. It was one of the last CRT TVs before LCD prices started coming way down; a day after its 1-year warranty ran out, it craps out on me and flickers one of the RBG colors on and off again (I think it was blue). Meanwhile, the TV that it was intended to replace is from the 80s and still chugging away in my parents' home.
 
[quote name='airwalke']Insignia is garbage... after dealing with one of their TVs, I resigned myself from ever buying cheap brands ever again. It was one of the last CRT TVs before LCD prices started coming way down; a day after its 1-year warranty ran out, it craps out on me and flickers one of the RBG colors on and off again (I think it was blue). Meanwhile, the TV that it was intended to replace is from the 80s and still chugging away in my parents' home.[/QUOTE]

well first ,nothing is made to last these days. everything is designed to be disposable.
second. insignia is a label slapped on products made by other companies.
your tv may have been made by phillips. another may be made by lg or any number of makers.

not tryign to attack you specifically, people need to understand how this stuff works.
there is potential for very good deals with insignia displays because of them being rebadged models.
some are garbage, you just have to research the model youre interested in.

currently ive heard nothing good about westinghouse displays.

i have a 32" model that was replaced by the model a cag mentions havign problems with aty the top of this thread. my model has been solid. no issues and acceptable performance for its use.
 
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