HDTV/Gaming setup for cheap gamers!

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:48 pm

This is all so new to me so forgive me if I sound like an idiot.

Just got the Westinghouse home and hooked up the 360 (hopefully correctly).

The graphics looked good but things looked a little jaggy and blurry when in motion. And yes, I did switch the switch in the back of the 360 to HDTV.

Any help?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:13 pm

Did you go in to the dashboard and change the setting to 1080?

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:45 pm

Of course I didn't, why would I do that?

1080, huh? Not 720p?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:49 pm

AJColossal wrote:Of course I didn't, why would I do that?

1080, huh? Not 720p?

I set mine to 1080 and it looks great. However, I did the opposite that you did. I never switched the button to HDTV on the component cable base. Looking forward to seeing how much that makes a difference.

By the way, didn't you purchase the 32" Westinghouse LCD?

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:56 pm

OK Sportdan, you're the man. That TOTALLY did the trick! Holy mother, what a difference!

Yeah, here I was all careful to set the back switch, and my dumbass forgets to change the settings in the dashboard.

Yeah, I got the Westinghouse a little while ago. Now I gotta figure out how to get the main TV going, but I know the rest of this thread has a boatload of info on that stuff.

Thanks again!

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:19 pm

Glad to hear that helped. I also got the same tv. So far, I love it. I still have to get an HD receiver though.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:34 pm

sportdan30 wrote:I also got the same tv. So far, I love it.

I love it too. Since I don't know when I'm going to score a 360, I picked up a used Hi-Def kit for the Xbox and it makes a huge difference. I was at the CC a few miles down the road and the analog channels looked crappy even on the TVs that were 3x as expensive, so I don't feel bad at all.

I was goofing around with the PIP this afternoon. You can't watch two TV channels PIP, but I had TV and the Xbox going PIP.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:45 pm

I'm sending Westinghouse a link to this thread and asking for my commission!

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:18 pm

Sport73 wrote:I'm sending Westinghouse a link to this thread and asking for my commission!

As you should. My check is in the mail to ya as we speak. That along with a 360 I just picked up at Target.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:06 am

Those of us who bought the 32" Westinghouse last week for $899 got a great deal. I was just at Best Buy an hour ago and the tv is back up to $1300.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 3:20 pm

I saw on dealmac today that Crutchfield.com has that 32 inch Westinghouse for $849 plus free shipping and no sales tax if you use code "PA440".

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:51 am

So this was the TV I purchased as well, deciding at the last minute to drop down from the higher priced models and give this a shot based on the word here and elsewhere.

Now, however, after a few days of use, I'm bothered by bright spots in every corner of the screen, really visible in dark scenes and when the tv is on with no input.

Some guys at AVS are noticing this too (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre ... ost6605582) and at least one of them seemed to think that, like I do, the spots weren't there at first, and only appeared after some use.

I'm just wondering if this is a universal problem with the set. Could I live with it? Probably, but I'm also inclined to just go back and pick up a Sharp or a Samsung.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 12:00 pm

Bright spots should be apparent very early, and may become 'worse' during extended viewing. To my knowledge, they're often cause by a 'warping' of the LCD plane either in manufacturing or as a result of heat (during storage and use).

If you like the set (otherwise) I would first suggest exchanging it. Even the best and most expensive sets have isolated manufacturing problems. My $4000 Hitachi is perfect, but many reported 'green blotches' on the screen that turned out to be dirt in the system from a bad manufacturing facility.

As with all LCD sets, look for dead pixels immediately. Warm the set (for an hour) and inspect it for bright spots or dark spots, calibrate (use a THX DVD like Star Wars if you don't have Avia or DVE) and judge the picture. Power on/off several times to ensure the reliable operation of the logic board. After all that, if you're happy, you've likely got a winner that will last you YEARS without worry.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 12:12 pm

The set is good otherwise. It has some problems with clarity in dark scenes, and I noticed (as was mentioned in the original post) some weak yellows at times. Other than that, though, (after THX calibration) the picture is sharp enough for me, the colors are good, and so is the response time. No pixel problems.

It's gonna be a b*tch trying to exchange the set, though, as I had to call several stores in NJ/PA to find this one, as everyone was snatching them up at the sale price. I'm especially reluctant to do so if the same thing will happen to the next set after some hours of use...which is why I was hoping to see at least a couple of responses that the bright spots weren't happening to some.

Thanks for the response, Sport!

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 2:42 pm

Went down to the store to check out HDTV sets...

I was surprised at how much artifacting there was on sets that were running between $2000-$3000 Canadian (discount 15% for U.S. value). In dark screens it looked like there was a lot of pixels flickering in the midst of color that was supposed to be black. I don't notice that kind of flickering on my bog standard CRT television and I'm not sure that I would want to tradeoff colour problems for image clarity. BTW the LCD screens were Sony so I'd assumed they would be pretty high quality (perhaps a completely incorrect assumption on my part?)

Best wishes,

Doug

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 2:43 pm

Keep in mind, you're checking them out at a store...I doubt they have spent the time needed to get the picture correctly calibrated. You're just getting the luck of the draw in terms of which sets came from the factory calibrated correctly...or even close to something that would be viewable.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:01 pm

Thanks DB, I was wondering why people would by something that produced an image quality like that off of a DVD. Maybe I should head down to a specialized store since they're more likely to properly set up there sets. Futureshop, where I went, is a Canadian version of Best Buy (which we also seem to have up here now).

Best wishes,

Doug

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:39 pm

dougb wrote:Thanks DB, I was wondering why people would by something that produced an image quality like that off of a DVD. Maybe I should head down to a specialized store since they're more likely to properly set up there sets. Futureshop, where I went, is a Canadian version of Best Buy (which we also seem to have up here now).

Best wishes,

Doug

Yeah....no problem. I just remember going into Sears to get my Hitachi (they are the only place around here that carried it) and looking at it. It was by far the worst of the bunch when it came to picture quality...at least among the 15 or so other HDTVs they had setup on the floor. You definitely need to go by word of mouth and the reviews on the net because it's almost guaranteed that Sears or any other store doesn't know what the hell they are doing when it comes to calibrating the sets. Sometimes you can even use that to your advantage when it comes to bargaining. Somehow I finagled the 2 year service plan (normally 200+ dollars) for free!

Remember...you can always bargain...the list price is merely a starting point!

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:52 pm

Your averae electronics or department store will not have these things calibrated anywhere close to correctly. Out of the box, these things are set to 'torch mode' in large part so that they can compete with the horrendous, overly bright, usually very green store lighting.

Also, for the most part the signals being fed these TVs in such stores are not very good. Not only will you often see non HD signals on these things, but they are often split up so many times that the signal strength is very weak. I would venture to say that most of the artifacts you were seeing are due to the signal being fed to the TV.

One more thing to remember is that these things generally look much smaller in the store lined up next to each other than they do in your living room or whatever. I know I tended to look at the store units from a much closer position than I would ever do at home. Thus I would see all kinds of pixels and artifacts that in a normal home setting, I never see.

You are correct that the best thing to do is to go to a small, high-end boutique store to get a good look at these displays. For the most part, these types of stores will not only calibrate the units better, but will be very conscientious about feeding them a good signal that will show off the quality of the displays, whether that is a well-transfered and mastered DVD from a high quality DVD player, or a strong HD signal from an OTA receiver or cable box or something. Not only that, but most of the time the guys at these stores are far more knowledgeable about this stuff than the kids at you big-box stores.

Whatever you do, don't judge the technology based on what you see at a big department store or a CC or BB or something.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:30 pm

Ok guys, I am in sort of the same boat as some of the other noobs. I am an HDTV virgin, and when we move into our new house in April, I'll have a good deal of home equity to spend on furnishings, one of them being a nice new TV that will be used for both TV and gaming.

I was reading Consumer Reports and they were really pimping this model:

http://www.tvauthority.com/DLP-TV-HDTV/ ... 6DR650.asp

However, a few other TV-guys are saying this model here from Samsung is also very good:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 0265593170

As for price, I am expecting to have anywhere from 2 to 4 grand for this new TV, dependcing on the sale of our current house. DO I need to spend that much? Is there a vast difference in quality here?

Are these models listed good for gaming as well as regular TV viewing? I read that Rear Projection TV's aren't the best for watchjing regular non HDTV, but I'd like to get a big screen if possible. .

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:38 pm

As for price, I am expecting to have anywhere from 2 to 4 grand for this new TV, dependcing on the sale of our current house. DO I need to spend that much? Is there a vast difference in quality here?

If you are willing to throw that kind of money down on a TV I would go for middle of the road sets (price wise) and get 2 of them. One for the living room and one for the bedroom. Thats just my 2 cents. I would not pay over 2 grand for any set that does not support 1080P (Progressive).

Heck you can get the Westinghouse 37" that does 1080P for well under 2 grand.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 0265591243

I payed under $2000.00 for the Sony Wega 40" model which due to being a CRT has one of the best picture qualities on the market. It came with a stand free and that was a few years ago.

As always I recommend reading the AVS forums and finding the guys who live for this stuff and seeing what they recommend. You can also find some good deals over there.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 7:18 pm

webdanzer wrote:which is why I was hoping to see at least a couple of responses that the bright spots weren't happening to some.

Web, I haven't seen any bright spots.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:09 pm

Thanks Leebo! I guess I'll hunt for an exchange and hope for the best!

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:12 pm

webdanzer wrote:Thanks Leebo! I guess I'll hunt for an exchange and hope for the best!

This kind of issue should be covered by the manufacturer's warrantee, as well. Depending on what kind of deal Westinghouse has, they may have in-home service, or do something to make the exchange easy. Anyway, it's worth trying them out if the store you got it from has no replacement units to swap it with.

It definitely sounds like a faulty unit issue.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:51 pm

Here's another option for the cheep asses in all of us...it would be a good secondary tv for a lot of us. Has anyone used this set?

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/123 ... il.do#tabs

At $400 it's a damn nice price. I just need to get an extra TV in case my girl is using the big screen. This one seems like it would be a pretty good deal. I'm not sure if I'd like the 26" screen seeing as how I've already got the 24" Dell Monitor as it is...but there is a little pixelation with that since it's resolution is so much higher than 720p. Anyway, just a thought.