LVM-47w1 Features & Build Quality
1080p seems to be the most recent "Holy Grail" of the AV community - but how do you get it without hocking your car and taking out a second mortgage? (we don't recommend either and, in fact, if you're thinking of either of these options, please seek help immediately) Westinghouse broke all the rules when it introduced it sub-$2,000 42" LCD display in the beginning of 2006. At the time, MSRP was $2,799 and the street price quickly fell to around $1,800. The company also offers a 47-inch version of this TV, the LVM-47w1 for a (current) street price of just $2500 - you see the attraction here, no? As prices dropped gradually amongst the competing LCD and plasma panel TV markets, Westinghouse decided to simply give the competition a kick in the pants and really 'get the party started'. Since the 47-inch LVM-47w1 is simply the bigger brother to the 42-inch LVM-42w2 this review will be targeted at seeing the larger display performs exactly the same and/or overcomes any of the shortcomings of the 42-inch model.
Features
The Westinghouse LVM-47w1 has the same great features as the 42-inch model:
- True 1080p panel resolution (1920x1080)
- 1080p INPUT support via component, HDMI, and DVI-D (for real)
- Easy access to inputs via side-mounted connections for audio, video and power
- Only 5" deep and minimal "wasted" space around the LCD panel
- Built-in 10W "subwoofer"
Delivery and Build Quality
Delivery was smooth, though it arrived while I was out of town at CEDIA. Fortunately, the delivery man was kind enough to help my pregnant wife load it into the house to await my arrival. The display was double boxed with a pull-off top and plastic anchor-handles on the bottom to assist lifting the unit during transport. A thin, flexible plastic screen cover was taped to the front of the unit to protect the display against shifting items. Remote, stand, user manual and power cabling were all included in the box as expected. The unit is simply a scaled up version of the LVM-42w2 and bears no other differences in terms of its connections or basic features.
Take a look at the inputs which are identical to the LVM-42w2 and are placed on either side of the monitor:
On the left we have a DVI-D input (1080p), 2 component inputs (full 1080p), and an HD15 (VGA) input
The right side features HDMI (unstable 1080p support), a second DVI-D (full 1080p), and the standard definition inputs in addition to audio outputs.
The 47-inch Westinghouse display allows for independent video adjustments for each input - as it should.
1080p Inputs, Almost
We
tested 1080p source input to the various connections on the LVM-47w1.
Like the 42-inch model, the HDMI input was apparently throttled down to
only (correctly) accept 720p/1080i inputs. When we fed all three
digital inputs 1080p source material one of the DVI-D
inputs didn't produce the sparkle artifacts, but the HDMI input and
other DVI-D input did. We've blown up the sparkle effects below and
though they were not present in every scene, they certainly indicate
that this display is not fully 1080p compliant on the digital inputs.
