Best LCD Monitor for $1300 - $1400?

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Gutspiller

Gawd
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
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It all started when I was looking at the Dell 30", then after reading multiple reviews and getting some knowledge. I found out that I had no need for the Dells super high native resolution. I'm basically looking for a good LCD monitor capable of HDTV resolutions, with a low response time. I'm NOT one that thinks a 42" monitor is too big if it has the specs I need. I also do not need a HDTV tuner built in.

I have a X1900 video card and have heard that I will need a DVI connection on the monitor for the best image. (I heard it's better than VGA and that converting anything back to DVI for my card *could* lessen the picture quality, not to mention adapters, converters, etc.)

I have done some looking into threads here in the display forum and have noticed a few, namely:

Sharp Aquos LC32GP1U 32" 1080p LCD Gaming HDTV
http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-LC32GP1U-1080p-Gaming/dp/B000NKAYWG

Sharp AQUOS LC-42D62U 42" LCD TV
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=26497890

Westinghouse LVM-42W2 42" LCD
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=16643153

My main concern is that since this will be my first LCD monitor, I am not willing to deal with any dead pixels and the response time needs to be decent enough that I don't see ghosting in gaming or videos.

That being said, I also have two windows in my room, though I don't game much or watch videos during the day. But I figure I better mention this for those that may change their recommendations. The windows do have blinds on them tho.

Lastly, I was thinking of the Westinghouse LVM-42W2 42" LCD simply because of the great price and the size. But then after mentioning this to a few people, they said that for such good sized investment I may not want to go with the Westinghouse company. I've read a few threads here and it seems like people have been having nothing, but success with them, but I also heard their support is complete crap from some pricegrabber reviews.

I'm not completely set on one of the three monitors mentioned above or any particular company, but would like to get the best and biggest monitor for my money without getting screwed by dead or lit pixels, ghosting, banding.

Can some people more knowledgeable than I in this area give me some advice? Are there other monitors that you might recommend? I'm looking for something to really last and not have problems.

Thanks for any advice you can supply. :)

EDIT: Forgot to mention I will mainly be using this for web design/browsing/gaming and video watching. Very little if any actual TV watching will happen on this as I use BT for most of my TV watching habits. But I would like to at some future time be able to watch HDTV on it, even if an external tuner is required, but I do not need a tuner now if that makes a difference.
 
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I think the size you want depends on how far away you plan to sit from it when working. You said you want a "LCD monitor", so I assume you want to put it on a desk and sit in front of it? If that's the case, then 42" seems waaaaaaaaay too big and the pixel size would be also too big if you sit so close.

I don't have any first hand experience with Westinghouse, but from what I have heard, it seems that if you get a working unit right off the bat, then it should work just great. So I think that if you want to buy Westinghouse, then you should go with a retailer that has a good return/exchange policy. Actually, I think you should do that anyways even if you're not buying Westinghouse since you're worried about dead/stuck pixels.
 
the black levels on the westinghouse are crap. I compared it to a new samsung at bestbuy today and the samsung killed it in blacks and shadow detail.

that new 32" sharp looks nice (i want it), but there is no dvi input (non gaming version) and i dont know if it can do native resolation at 60hz over hdmi
 
dipset4life said:
the black levels on the westinghouse are crap. I compared it to a new samsung at bestbuy today and the samsung killed it in blacks and shadow detail.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and everyone knows that displays at retail chains are always properly calibrated, right?
 
OK, but what about this thread http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1171795

I'm not too interested in a monitor where the first person that gets one here posts about it and it has a huge defect like this. That's ridiculous!

Plus, I've heard a lot of people say that the westys are good. Infact so far, more so westy than any other monitor. Maybe it's because I've been searching for mainly info based on westy, but I never see anybody deny it, just a bunch of people all saying that the westy is good at this and the westy is good at that and how well it performs in gaming, etc.
 
I've had the Westinghouse 42" for about a month now, and it is absolutely amazing except for a single flaw. I can't get into it now since I'm at work, but I'll elaborate later.
 
As soon as you have the time, please do. This is really the monitor I'm thinking of going with, but I have to be very careful about defects and stuff, because no stores around here carry Westinghouse TVs so I will be ordering it online and that most likely means that I will be dealing with Westinghouse on any defects unless I can find an online store that sells it for cheap, but doesn't have TVs in their return policy excluded list like a bunch do.

Thanks angryjim
 
Gutspiller said:
OK, but what about this thread http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1171795

I'm not too interested in a monitor where the first person that gets one here posts about it and it has a huge defect like this. That's ridiculous!

Plus, I've heard a lot of people say that the westys are good. Infact so far, more so westy than any other monitor. Maybe it's because I've been searching for mainly info based on westy, but I never see anybody deny it, just a bunch of people all saying that the westy is good at this and the westy is good at that and how well it performs in gaming, etc.
Click to expand...

There is no defect with the monitor. If you read further, the person who was reporting their issue did not have 1:1 pixel mode turned on with the TV.
 
Ok here's what I have to say about the 42" Westinghouse.

There are two problems I have run across.

1. On DVI #1, if you restart the computer or reset the resolution, sometimes the tv displays a totally scrambled image. All you have to do to fix this is either turn the tv off then on again, or switch to a different inpuet and then switch back. This may seem like a major annoyance to some, but to me it is no big deal. What I generally do is turn on my computer, wait for the windows start sound, then turn the monitor on and it works perfectly. I have multiple devices connected to this monitor as well as two computers, so I switch around all the time and this seems to fix any issues I come across.

2. DVI #2 is shifted upward by about 10 pixels. I have fooled around with this a bit and found that the program Powerstrip will fix it with some tweaking. I assume that anyone who is enough of a nerd to use a 42" screen as a monitor is also enough of a nerd to figure out a program like Powerstrip.

*** NOTE: I have heard from multiple sources that the reason I have these two defects is I have the oldest possible firmware. I don't consider this an issue worth RMA'ing for and I'll just live with it.***

Other than those two issues that I personally consider quite minor, the monitor is excellent. Playing games like HL2, Doom3, FEAR, and BF2 are totally different experiences. Movies are great as well. I should mention that the Picture in Picture functions are awesome and extremely functional, I am actually playing Gears of War in the bottom of the screen right now and it's awesome. I sit about three feet from the screen and it's extremely crisp and clear for both gaming and web browsing, word processing, etc. I'll post some pictures later to give you an idea of how my desk is setup and how far away I am from the screen.

I managed to get mine from Crutchfield with 2 years no interest/no payments and it has worked out amazing for me. If you have any other questions just let me know, but all in all I give this monitor two thumbs up.

AngryJim:mad:
 
I tried a 42" but as close as I was to the monitor I actually had to move my head to see parts of the screen.
 
Thanks for the replies angryjim. Well that resolution thing could be pretty annoying to me. I play some games in different resolutions, but with an LCD I may play all in it's native resolution. One problem I see is that since I do web design and am constantly seeing how designs look in different resolutions I am changing the desktop resolution when I get working on that aspect of the sites.

Thanks for everything you said tho and thanks for the pictures. They help continue to give me the sense of size of this thing. 2 years no payment no interest sounds really good. I may have to check them out.
 
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