Got my Westinghouse LVM-37W3 37" 1080p display today!

I used about 75% 91% alcohol and 25% Poland Spring water on a undershirt and got good results. Thanks.
 
Just got my HD cable box hooked up to the Westy. I'm watching the Wings game on PiP. :) Standard def looks like ass of course, but HD looks great. :cool: Still, my x264 and HDDVD movies look flawless compared to HD cable.
 
was it a retail box or from comcast?

you from the philly area w1retap? i'm at villanova. small world (assuming the wings youre referring to are the philadelphia wings lacrosse team haha)
 
Red Wings.. Stanley Cup Playoffs, Detroit area.. Wide Open West digital HDTV cable box. ;) :p
 
Opeth said:
I used about 75% 91% alcohol and 25% Poland Spring water on a undershirt and got good results. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Doh. I did this at night time in the dark. I woke up today and with the sun shining in and saw a few steaks.

*shakes fist in anger*
 
do regular DVD's really look that horrible on this screen? i have heard not so great things that would suggest so...i understand that standard DVDs only support 480p, but is it as bad as i hear?

when hooking this up to my computer do i use HDMI to DVI, DVI/DVI, or VGA?
 
East said:
do regular DVD's really look that horrible on this screen? i have heard not so great things that would suggest so...i understand that standard DVDs only support 480p, but is it as bad as i hear?

when hooking this up to my computer do i use HDMI to DVI, DVI/DVI, or VGA?
Click to expand...

I watch regular DVD's all the time on mine and don't have any problems. It is not going to be anything close to a blue ray but it still looks fine IMO.
 
DVD movies are only 720x480, so of course they will look like they should according to their resolution. It isn't that bad with a DVD-ROM on your PC, but standalone players will look worse. Upconversion players improve the picture slightly, but they really don't do much. If you buy a 1080p TV/monitor, use it for what it is made for. High Definition content. This would be HDDVD, Blu-ray, or other high def sources like OTA channels or HD cable/satellite.
 
I beg to differ, w1retap. Normal DVDs look darn good with a good upscaler such as a good-level Oppo or the Xbox 360's internal DVD player. Since this screen is "only" 37 inches, from a 12-15 foot distance there is very little difference indeed between an HD DVD or Blu-Ray and a properly upscaled DVD. Of course, this monitor isn't supposed to be watched from that distance... Within 5-10 feet, the difference between DVDs and HD DVD is quite noticeable even on such a "small" screen.
 
Upscaled DVD's are not improving picture quality. It cannot. The detail is not there. All it does is resize the image and apply filters to maintain the DVD quality for the size of your screen. I can definetly tell the difference between an upscaled DVD and a HDDVD on my Westy from across the room. (15 feet) If you cannot tell, there is a difference in your vision. As I posted this before, this is a good read.
http://www.audioholics.com/education/display-formats-technology/1080p-and-the-acuity-of-human-vision
http://www.audioholics.com/educatio...derstanding-1080p-resolution-in-displays.html

But, I suspect the majority of people here are sitting relatively close to the monitor since we are primarliy computer users. This is where your biggest arguement that 'properly upscaled' standard def has 'very little difference' as high definition doesn't even stand a chance. There is no such thing as proper upscaling. Upscaling is shit, and it will always be shit. You cannot have quality and detail that is not there, period. High definition looks better, and it always looks better unless you have a broken camera. There are more lines of resolution to contain more detail. Sitting far away isn't what high definition is all about. It is made for having a large TV, then sitting close so you can actually see the detail that the director envisioned for the audiance.

Please, enough of these "upscaled vs hd" arguements. They are totally hilarious.
 
w1retap said:
DVD movies are only 720x480, so of course they will look like they should according to their resolution. It isn't that bad with a DVD-ROM on your PC, but standalone players will look worse. Upconversion players improve the picture slightly, but they really don't do much. If you buy a 1080p TV/monitor, use it for what it is made for. High Definition content. This would be HDDVD, Blu-ray, or other high def sources like OTA channels or HD cable/satellite.
Click to expand...

yea i understand. high def content (and a video card that supports 1920x1080) is what makes this monitor really worth it. i'm going to buy the westy to have in my dorm room next year where i will potentially have an OTA HD tuner, a ps3, and a 360. i do not have the funds to purchase ALL this stuff yet, but getting the TV is half the battle.

as for the inputs, which is the best to use for a computer (my primary usage for this beast)?
HDMI-to-DVI?
DVI/DVI?
VGA?
???
 
w1retap said:
Upscaled DVD's are not improving picture quality. It cannot. The detail is not there. All it does is resize the image and apply filters to maintain the DVD quality for the size of your screen. I can definetly tell the difference between an upscaled DVD and a HDDVD on my Westy from across the room. (15 feet) If you cannot tell, there is a
difference in your vision. As I posted this before, this is a good read.
[snip]
Click to expand...


I totally agree.. there is no comparison.. my oppo has sat dormant since I got the Xbox360 HD DVD drive.. I reckon it might make it's way to my home theater now as I am sure it's better at upscaling video and playing audio than my sony.. BTW, for HD DVD fans, Planet Earth the complete BBC series is now in stock at amazon.. it's, well, stunning in HD..
 
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@ east

DVI --> DVI will be best, but DVI --> HDMI will be equal in quality. Its still digital to digital with no conversion. Those are your two best options.

VGA looks pretty good as well. I'd only use it if you exhausted your options on digital inputs. You should have no problem though since the Westy has 3 digital inputs. (2 DVI and 1 HDMI)
 
w1retap said:
...But, I suspect the majority of people here are sitting relatively close to the monitor since we are primarliy computer users. This is where your biggest arguement that 'properly upscaled' standard def has 'very little difference' as high definition doesn't even stand a chance...

Please, enough of these "upscaled vs hd" arguements. They are totally hilarious.
Click to expand...

While I do agree that upscaling is no magic fairy dust that makes DVDs comparable to HD media...I think you may have jumped the gun a bit on claudion's comments...he specifically agrees that when you are close ~5-10 feet, the difference is "very noticeable". His comment about "little difference" was concerning only greater distances like 12-15 feet.

Maybe my eyes are as bad as claudion's but the difference from 15 feet from a 37" westy for a DVD and HD is noticeable but not day and night. I personally find 8-10 feet to be a good distance for watching movies but to each his own.

I think we all agree that upscaled DVDs != HD...it's very clear...like $1 dollar is obviously not $10 but when you have $1000000 the difference isn't so jarring.

(Btw, I watch my DVDs upscaled as I find them to be sharper and I like the extra graininess versus the normally soft picture that DVDs tend to give on HD screens..there is obviously no magical creation of details that weren't in the source but to me, it looks better than no upscaling :-p...hmm...I wonder what the percentage of westy owners upscale their dvds...)

Tommmmmmmmmmmmmy
 
The only SD DVD I could sort of compare to an HD DVD, on the oppo and on my Westy is The Incredibles.. very very good for SD.. but watching HD DVDs is like watching a play while standing directly in front of the actors/actresses..
 
I did a flip back on forth for Happy Feet, dvd vs HD-DVD on my westy. The difference is astonishing. Both clarity and color depth were vastly improved in HD. makes me never want to watch a regular dvd again.
 
I've been having fun with my new Westy, and also have been trying to get used to this huge billboard of a monitor. My age isn't helping matters; quarter-century staring out of jets looking for that "stuck pixel" that, if it sprouts wings, spells 900kts of closure rate doom, hasn't helped get my eyes accustomed to this. I wear glasses both for distance vision and, in the past two years, a specific pair for working at the computer. The focal range for the "workstation specs" was roughly 8" to about arm's length. The 37w3 is about a foot outside that range, and ALSO drops in the well between where my bifocals settle.

I needed to use that medical savings fund anyway, what's another pair of glasses? :rolleyes:

No pics yet of the install (who needs yet another shot of this beast sitting on a Jerker v2?), so a small gag gift for those of you who influenced this purchase. Try to find a stuck pixel with this as the background:

Carina Nebula 1920x1080

A quick 'n dirty reduction of the Hubble Space Telescope's 17th birthday celebration shot seen here.. The JPG I used can be found in the links off that page, it measures in at about 200mb before reduction... :eek:
 
another question guys...

what kind of extended warranty would you all suggest be paired with this monitor? newegg has a 5yr for 279.99. are there any 3rd party warranties out there? i've seen RepairMaster come up a few times in this thread. is it worth looking into? i looked on their website and it seems like for a "non-plasma television" a 5 year extended warranty is $149. have any of you purchased this?

http://www.tedunlimited.com/Store/Tab.aspx?tabid=5&gclid=CPjwptjo9IsCFQUNgQodeGF_Uw

thanks
 
Can some of you guys post the settings for your westy. I know some one did a while back somewhere on this thread but can't find them. thanks for the feedback.
 
Thought the group might like to know that Techonweb has the 47" Westy for $1494 + shipping... lowest price I've seen so far. Good stuff. Link.
 
Just pulled the trigger on the 47" BB deal, it was only $250 more than the 37" shipped. This is going to be the longest 7 days ever.
 
Would you all with this westy or bigger recommend a 8800 or can I use something smaller and still maintain a good picture? I was considering something like 7900GS but maybe I should just step up and have dx10 since it's not much more. My other question would be if I go 8800GTS...would 320 be enough or is 640 much better if you're gaming or doing graphic intensive stuff?
 
musicstudio said:
Would you all with this westy or bigger recommend a 8800 or can I use something smaller and still maintain a good picture? I was considering something like 7900GS but maybe I should just step up and have dx10 since it's not much more. My other question would be if I go 8800GTS...would 320 be enough or is 640 much better if you're gaming or doing graphic intensive stuff?
Click to expand...

If you're not gaming then any card with DVI output will work just fine.

If you are gaming then you are going to want the most powerful card you can find to run it at the highest resolution with high quality rendering.
 
Right now, an 8800GTS with 640Mb can run every single game on the market at max resolution (1080p) and maxed out details. The framerates are good even on Oblivion. So I guess the 320Mb version could achieve only slightly inferior results. HOWEVER, with Crysis and similar Dx10 games coming out this summer, I'd go for a 8800GTX if you have the cash (and if you care for those games, anyway).
 
musicstudio said:
Would you all with this westy or bigger recommend a 8800 or can I use something smaller and still maintain a good picture? I was considering something like 7900GS but maybe I should just step up and have dx10 since it's not much more. My other question would be if I go 8800GTS...would 320 be enough or is 640 much better if you're gaming or doing graphic intensive stuff?
Click to expand...

If you want to game on a 1080p display I would recommend at least the GTS 640.. The GTS 320 starts topping out at displays larger than 1280x1024
 
thanks guys. I'll keep the 8800 640mb in mind. Speaking of the Westy...what would be some of your close seconds for a 32 or 37? I'm also wondering if 37 would really be too big...but there may not be such a thing :)
 
Well this summer I plan to buy one of these..37" to 47" and I plan on it definately placing my Sharp 27" POS tv that I boguht @ costco 10+ yrs ago but I also want to use it to play games with but keep my 22" to browse the web and type up documents...is the 42" or 27" just too big? I plan to sit 4' away from it...maybe more..but it depends on what configuration I go with. I'm also on planning on a 1080p capacble dvd player to upcovert 480p dvds untill hd/blu come down in price
 
Quoting from a Crutchfield rep: "Some people wished they bought a bigger TV, but nobody ever wished they bought a smaller one."

"Too big" just means "change your seating arrangement and enjoy." ;) Heck, if my wallet allowed it I would have gotten a 1080p projector and 115" screen without thinking twice.
 
Finally joining the club (okay, so I joined a while ago, but just got around to posting now ;)). Went from a 24" FW900 CRT to the 37". I, inherited, it from my mom.




(click for large)

Right now I'm only running the Westy but sooner or later I'd like to get the FW900 hooked up again for dual monitors.
 
I just replaced my Dell 24" with the Westy and I'm loving it. here are 2 quick pictures of it after I got done setting up my new desk that I had to buy for this monitor.



 
General Crespin:
First of all, I wanted to say: WOW, nice collection of games dude. I've never seen so many together.:p
Also, ummm. Why didn't you care to at least pretend to clean that room before posting the picture. :p LOL. J/K. Mine is exactly the same. :)

x-kid:
Nice setup dude. I like it how you have it all clean. Looks nice.
Now, where did you got that desk? As far as I know, it got discontinued a while ago, so, how are people still buying them?
 
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