Westinghouse VK-40F580D

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Connectivity, which the company distributes to either side of a sort of spine on the rear of the set, is fairly sparse compared with higher-end models, although we can forgive the company somewhat since you won't need to connect a DVD player. In an age when every TV seems to have three HDMI jacks, the VK-40F580D has just two. A lonely component-video input is also on tap, and there's a pair of AV inputs with composite-video--no S-Video input jacks are present on the VK-40F580D. An antenna input, a VGA-style analog PC input (1,360x768-pixel maximum resolution), an analog audio output, and an optical digital audio output round out the back-panel jack pack. No front- or side-panel connections are included.

Performance
Picture quality on the Westinghouse VK-40F580D is surprisingly solid for a low-priced LCD. We noted relatively deep black levels and accurate color after calibration, and even the built-in DVD player performed well.

Our standard calibration took advantage of the set's custom color temperature controls, but the results were less satisfactory than they would have been if the company included full controls. The VK-40F580D's Warm color temperature preset measured extremely green although, as the Geek Box indicates below, it did hew fairly close to the 6500K standard. We were able to remove the greenish tinge with those controls, but the grayscale was not as linear as we'd like, tending toward blue green in bright areas and reddish in dark. Still, it was better after calibration since green wasn't a problem. Check out our complete picture settings for the details.

The comparison for this test involved a few similarly sized and priced models, including the Philips 42PFL5603D, the Toshiba 42RV530U LCDs, and the Vizio VP422 plasma. For our reference we also included the higher-priced Samsung LN52A650 LCD, and for our formal image quality tests we chose The Eye on Blu-ray played via the PlayStation3.

Black level: We were impressed by the depth of black the Westinghouse produced as we watched this extremely dark film. During the scene when Sydney stares out the window at night through the rain, for example, the darkest elements of the image, including the letterbox bars, the building wall in the foreground, and the wood of the window all appeared relatively deep. Only the Vizio plasma TV came close among our like-priced comparison sets, but its blacks were still lighter, and even the much higher-priced reference Samsung LCD was just a bit darker. As usual, deep blacks helped differentiate details in shadows; so for instance, the dark buildings themselves during the pullout showing the city were relatively detailed.

Color accuracy: The Westinghouse also scores well for relatively accurate color post-calibration. The grayscale issues we noted above were still apparent, for example in the reddish tinge to black areas, but that was still preferable to the obvious bluish tinge seen on the Toshiba and the Philips, for example. Sydney's delicate facial tone as she lies in the hospital bed, or when she stares at the different person's reflection in the bathroom mirror, appeared natural enough, a testament to the solid grayscale in midbright areas. Primary colors were OK as well, although we did detect a hint of bluish in intense green areas, such as the evergreen tree spouting from the floor in an office and the plants in the park. Color decoding was spot-on, so we were able to get decent saturation, which was augmented as always by the better-than-expected black levels.

Video processing: As expected, the Westinghouse resolved every detail of 1080 resolution sources. It did fail to properly deinterlace 1080i film-based sources, according to our test patterns, but as usual, it was difficult to spot this failure in program material.

Uniformity: The screen of the VK-40F580D review sample we observed exhibited average uniformity across its surface. The right side of the screen, especially toward the edge, appeared brighter than the rest, a difference that was visible in flat fields such as the shots of nighttime cityscapes. The corners were relatively even, however, and no prominent bright spots were noticeable. Off-angle viewing was better than either the Philip or the Toshiba, which both became more discolored when seen from either side, although all three seemed to lighten black areas at the same rate as we moved off-angle.

Standard-definition: When subjected to our standard tests using an external DVD player, the set resoled every detail of the DVD format, and details in the stone bridge and the grass looked relatively sharp. When it came to removing jaggies from moving diagonal lines and a waving American flag, the Westinghouse fared about average compared with the other sets in our test. Its noise reduction feature performed very well, cleaning up nearly all of the noise in shots of sunsets and skies when we engaged the highest setting. We also appreciated that 2:3 pull-down detection kicked in quickly and effectively.

PC: Past Westinghouse displays handled 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution sources via the VGA input, but the VK-40F580D does not. As the manual indicates, the maximum resolution we achieved was 1,360x768, which looked OK, but was plagued by the characteristic softness of scaling in text and other areas. Via the HDMI jack, the display delivered every detail of 1,920x1,080 according to DisplayMate, performing as perfectly as we'd expect of any 1080p flat-panel, but going digital monopolizes one of the two HDMI ports, so we'd really like to see full resolution via the analog PC input.

DVD player performance We don't think many people will expect optimum picture quality out of a built-in DVD player, but the one in the Westinghouse did well according to our tests. It performed 2:3 pull-down processing well, cleaned up jaggies nicely in video material, and passed the full resolution of the DVD format.

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