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"Maximum Inputs, Minimum Styling (if that matters)" on by MichaelJBrennan
Pros: More imputs than most people need. Great picture for a bright room.
Cons: The huge input selection increases the desire to buy and connect one of everything for it. Plus the IR sensor is terrible.
Summary: I bought this monitor a few weeks ago for $1,800 at Best Buy and I am loving it. I was prepared to buy the much more expensive 52" Sony KDL-52XBR3 LCD ($6,800), but could not justify the price difference. Sure the Sony's facade was prettier and had a slightly better picture, but for my money those two things were not enough. I'd say the only negative part of this purchase is I have since felt compelled to buy a upscaling HDMI DVD-Recorder, XBox 360 with HD-DVD drive, HD Cable box, wall mount, and a Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II speaker system to complete the setup. All by the way, easily covered with the money I did not spend on the much more expensive Sony. Even with an Xbox 360, PS2, MythTV, HD-Cable, and upscaling HDMI DVD-recorder attached, I still have two component inputs available. It's running 1080p on everything except the PS2, this thing's picture and inputs are amazing.
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"Top Value as HD Monitor" on by dunwoody
Pros: 1920x1080 resolution and HD+DVI+VGA connectivity
Cons: Uninspired styling
Summary: I bought two of these for my conference room. The main goals were large screen, high resolution, and lots of pc compatible inputs. This monitor (it's really more of a monitor than a tv) delivers!!! And can you believe the price - $1799 on sale at Best Buys!!! People, this is not a 40" or 42" 720p 1280x768 unit either - it's the state of the art big boy. For my purposes, it delivers. For TV and DVD's it's totally satisfactory as well. I haven't hooked up and HD sources yet, but I expect they will be as good as the high res PC performance. On the downside, the off perpendicular picture contrast is weak so the more straight on you're viewing angle the better. Also, the remote has a narrow beam which I have read some complaints about. Well, that's a lifesaver when you have two of these right next to each other and you want to adjust only one. I'll bet the Westinghouse engineers planned it that way. Finally, the styling could have easily been better, but if an industrial designer like me can live with it, so can you. Bottom line is that if you're looking for a big, high res, versatile monitor at an unbelievable price - look no further.
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"Great TV for those without a bottomless wallet" on by oldbucsfan
Pros: Great picture quality on HD, SD looks like SD, settings allow for adjusting color and contrast, works with PS3 (now), 1080p, not expensive
Cons: could be 3" bigger, problems with any lcd tv, contrast can be initially bad if settings aren't adjusted
Summary: The main point of this review is that you might look at it in the store and think that it looks a little off from the other tv's. It does, because the initial settings don't do the tv justice.
The best solution is to turn down the backlight and increase or decrease the brightness and contrast on a dark movie with the lights out to make sure you can see the detail in the blacks. If it gets bright in the room, you can always just increase the backlight. That is really a problem for any lcd screen though, so I don't count that against it mainly because the problem is solvable.
After changing these settings (and some saturation as well) at a store, you could really see this set come alive.
Now the PS3 works perfectly through HDMI with this tv set after a PS3 update. Gaming may be best on a plasma, but I use my PS3 for gaming, (upscaled) DVD's, and Blueray movies in full 1080p. This set is also perfect for computers (2 DVI and 1 VGA connectors). So, for those who are more interested in a all-around solution for a moderate price, this is the set to get.
There is a new version of this set comming out that will allow for more HDMI connections and a usb connector for firmware updates, but notice that it does not come with any DVI connectors. (TX-47F430)
The HD looks perfect. The SD doesn't look all that great, but that is because after looking at the HD, the SD just doesn't cut it anymore. The SD is probably only this bad because the TV is so large and it is a lcd screen rather than a crt. But I noticed if you just sit or step away a couple more feet from the tv, it looks just like a crt. However, SD DVD's look great on the tv, so I am thinking the issue is simply the SD.
The tv could probably use to be 50", but one has to wonder about when a tv gets too big.
I am giving this tv a 10, not because it is a perfect tv, but because it is perfect for it's category. "A Moderately Priced LCD HDTV with 1080p Capability"Updated
I don't use them because I have a surround system, but when I tried them out they sounded amazing for the tiny little things they are. I love that the speakers are on the bottom and not on the sides of the screen. Nothing annoys me more than attempting to make a widescreen tv wider by adding speakers to the sides of it. -
"For the money, and even not, it's one awesome monitor." on by sbsurf101
Pros: Thin. Light. 1080p on most inputs. Good picture even on low res. sources.
Cons: All the typical LCD complaints: loss of detail in contrasty scenes, picture lightens up as you move more than 45 degrees off center.
Summary: Look, considering what I paid for this set, and the fact that it's still the only 1080p monitor of this size with all the features that it has, and that the picture is awesome on computer and HD sources, and good on SD sources, there's nothing below "excellent" that I could have picked as its rating. That's all I can say.
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"Everything you really need" on by halflinggray
Pros: More imputs than most users will need. Least expensive 1080p display for its size
Cons: Okay, the packaging around the display is pretty utilitarian.
Summary: Some might point out that a major draw back of this monitor is that it is, in fact, a monitor. Not tuner is involved, and really doesn't need one. Most people out there are getting there HD content through a dish or cable provider, and they are going to give you a converter box anyway. I know I do, and found no reason to spend the same money if not more on an inferior display with a tuner you really aren't going to use anyway.
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