Vizio 37" vs Westinhouse 40" LCD

Phimp

Gawd
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
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I could really use some input from any owners of either displays.
I have the choice between either the Vizio 37" 1080p LCD (# VO37LFHDTV10A), or the Westinghouse 40" 1080p LCD (# VK-40F580D). Both are recertified, and both are the same price.

Westinghouse:
40"
1800:1 Contrast Ratio
8 ms gray-to-gray
2x HDMI
1x VGA
DVD Player built-in

Vizio:
37"
1300:1 Contrast Ratio
6.5 ms
3x HDMI
1x VGA

I would actually prefer a 37" over a 40" I'm only sitting a couple feet from the display as it's going to be my main display for my computer, and I'll be using it for my Xbox 360 as well.
So clarity is an absolute must. I've seen 1080p LCD's that look poor as computer displays so I want to see if anyone has any experience with either of these.

I like the Westinghouse display because of their reputation with the 37w3 LCD, I'm just not sure if this is the same quality of display.

Westinghouse has a higher Contrast Ratio and they both have at least two HDMI inputs + VGA which is what I need.
Westinghouse also has a built-in DVD player that would never be used so that's kinda pointless in my case.

So I'm kinda stuck between the two...
 
I'd grab the Westinghouse, simply because Vizio TVs are notorious for their 60-120ms input lag through digital connections.

It's not an identical set, but this is fairly representative of Vizio sets.
 
The Westinghouse markets something called Pixel Direct, which is marketed as a option that cuts down on signal processing. I have no idea if it works though.
 
OP i read your recent posts in the hot deal thread, any chance you can get a full refund including return shipping?

Because if you can then i would take that cash and start all over, Geeks has a pretty limited selection of LCD TV's and you'd be limiting yourself imho. There are a couple of affordable 32" 1080P LCD's that are suitable as monitors, and their 37" counterparts are about $75 more.

But if i were forced to choose i'd "probably" try the westinghouse first, but only if i were forced to choose. When you have a good set it makes a great monitor, but there were so many westinghouse revisions and all had varying levels of performance/quality.

Edit: that advertised 1800:1 contrast ratio is not actual, it's a fluffed up number because it's actual contrast ratio couldn't be higher than 1500:1 (2008 model, CCFL backlight etc)

Good luck either way.
 
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OP i read your recent posts in the hot deal thread, any chance you can get a full refund including return shipping?

Because if you can then i would take that cash and start all over, Geeks has a pretty limited selection of LCD TV's and you'd be limiting yourself imho. There are a couple of affordable 32" 1080P LCD's that are suitable as monitors, and their 37" counterparts are about $75 more.

But if i were forced to choose i'd "probably" try the westinghouse first, but only if i were forced to choose. When you have a good set it makes a great monitor, but there were so many westinghouse revisions and all had varying levels of performance/quality.

Edit: that advertised 1800:1 contrast ratio is not actual, it's a fluffed up number because it's actual contrast ratio couldn't be higher than 1500:1 (2008 model, CCFL backlight etc)

Good luck either way.

Yeah, with the input laggy Vizio and the cheap quality WH w/ dvd player built in (lol) I kinda want to just get my money (with shipping) refunded. But I only paid $431 total and I can't seem to find anything remotely close to the 37w3's quality for anywhere near that price. If you can, please enlighten me =D
I'd obviously rather not deal with Geeks again, but if it means I can have a display of high quality that I wouldn't be able to normally afford then I might have to suck it up.
 
Yeah, with the input laggy Vizio and the cheap quality WH w/ dvd player built in (lol) I kinda want to just get my money (with shipping) refunded. But I only paid $431 total and I can't seem to find anything remotely close to the 37w3's quality for anywhere near that price. If you can, please enlighten me =D.

That's a very good question, 450 and myself were researching this topic recently, and concluded that the Pansonic S1 and G1 series seemed like the lowest risk for low input lag and good image quallity at a low(er) price. We're still not 100% sure so personally i'd recommend buying it from a place with a very lax return policy (local would be ideal). Hit up google products, then hit up all of your local electronics store's websites including: HHgregg, costco, samsclub, bestbuy, walmart, sears, target, PCrichard.com, 6ave.com, Frys, Microcenter, etc etc etc (not sure what's local in your area).

The LG LH30 and LF11 series also have low input lag when coupled with S-IPS panels, but the ones that come with AUO VA panels seem to have slightly more "lag" for whatever reason (panel lag?). Both of those come in 32" and 37" sizes= 37LH30 + 32LH30 and 32LF11 + 37LF11. Unfortunately there's no way to tell ahead of time what panel is in the box, you'd have to fire up the TV and enter the service menu to tell.

I'm willing to bet that the Vizio's vary drastically from model to model. Some may make great monitors, while other ones would be not so good. Too bad there's no easy way to find out. There's more related info at the AVS forums but it takes a lot of digging and searches.
 
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