NEW Reviews Beta Feedback

Westinghouse TX-47F430S

79

Good

Avg User Rating
5 User Reviews | add yours »

Pros
Excellent sound
Low price
Cons
Poor manual
Lackluster remote

$1,445.89 - $1,699.99
From 8 Merchants

PC World Editor's Review

by Lincoln Spector

A decent but unspectacular TV at a very good price makes for a good bargain buy.

Judged on image quality, the Westinghouse TX-47F450S is decidedly average. Caucasian complexions acquired a pinkish tint. One judge felt that the TV's picture made David Letterman look washed out (no comment), and another summed up the Westinghouse's handling of the Return of the King DVD as "blah." Nevertheless, it compiled a lot of Goods, a fair number of Very Goods, and an occasional Fair on various image-quality criteria.

Got a Hot Tip?

Seen news about this product? Send us a link.

The image quality may have been merely okay, but the sound was stupendous. In assessing the batch of nine 46- and 47-inch HDTVs that we evaluated in April 2008, I usually began testing audio with the sound turned all the way up. But with the Westinghouse, even quiet, atmospheric music hurt my ears at that level. At a comfortable volume (about a third of the way up), everything sounded clear, clean, and distinct--and audio that was supposed to be loud shook my bones. I have never experienced TV sound like this without a separate amplifier to juice things up. The TX-47F450S owes its aural prowess to its built-in subwoofer. The result is extremely impressive sound for a TV that is among the least expensive in its size class.

The Westinghouse's menus are easy on the eye: small but readable, with pleasant icons along the top of the screen. Still, they do have some annoying idiosyncrasies. For instance, if you go to the video menu, you'll see that almost every option is grayed out. The solution is to change the mode to User (in other words, switch out of the predefined settings), at which point the options will become accessible.

There are no easy-access inputs for temporary hardware add-ons, but the regular inputs face sideways and are almost as easy to reach.

The TX-47F450S's manual and remote aren't much to brag about. The USB port is for service only, and (of course) there's picture-in-picture. But here's something nice: When you turn on a connected device, the Autosource tool changes the TV's input setting to go to it.

Though the Westinghouse TX-47F450S isn't a great HDTV, it's not bad--especially if you don't have a separate surround-sound stereo system in the room. Dollar-for-dollar, this model is a competitive choice.

User Reviews for Westinghouse TX-47F430S

Reviewed by:

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: A good workout from shipping them back.

Weaknesses: Keep having to send them back.

Overall Evaluation: Being I am on my fourth Westinghouse TV I can not rate them high at all. My first set had the sound go out early on so it went back to the place where I purchased it. The second set developed sound issues as well, so it went back too. The third lasted a little longer before developing display problems with lines in the screen. This one had to back to Westinghouse directly. So after talking with them I was ashored that they would expidite the replacement being this is my forth TV and should take no more than two weeks. Ok fine no problem.To make a long story short. It?s now been over a month and still no TV. When I call all I get is ?it?s in processing?, I?ve talked with supervisors hoping to get some additional info, and again nothing. Just false promise?s and shipping dates that don?t happen. So I call again and say ?ok, so when is it going to go out?? and again I get ?any day now, it?s in processing if you don?t get it by such and such a date call us back?.What a bunch of crap! I?ve never felt so stone-walled by a company before in my life.So in a quick sumation. The sound quality is poor, the picture quality is good when working properly, and the customer service is the worst I?ve ever seen. BEWARE!
Reviewed by: garyvanderstel

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Great connectivity and easy setup. Color and other settings very good right out of the box. Excellent picture, especially when considering great price. Nice matte finish.

Weaknesses: Stand is a little less than solid, though usable.

Overall Evaluation: Very nice picture quality and a full selection of connectivity options for a best-in-class price makes this unit a great deal. The side pointing connections along the center spine are very convenient. The on-screen setup menus are straightforward and helpful. Sources are recognized automatically and the remote can also switch them easily. The remote layout is basic, with 3 programmable channel buttons. Though black/grey tone display has been discussed as this unit's weak point, without side-by-side comparison, I find no issues there and find that overall it delivers solid performance.

See all user reviews

HDTV Playing in PCW Video

How to Buy a Flat-Screen TV Our video buying guide tells you what to look for when shopping.
Sharp Launches Super-Slim TVs Coming in March to Japan, these sets are substantially thinner than current models.
CES: Toshiba Puts the Cell Processor Inside a TV Toshiba has taken the Cell microprocessor, the PlayStation 3 chip, and put it inside a television.

Latest HDTV News, Reviews, How-To's

Slingbox Pro-HD: Access HD Content From Anywhere What it is, and why it's so cool.
Sony's Latest OLED TV Prototype Is 1 Millimeter Thin Sony has unveiled at the Ceatec 2008 show a prototype OLED TV set that's just 0.9mm thin.
8 Best Buys for Essential Gear Here's what to buy among the gear everybody needs, from laptops and desktops to HDTVs.
September's Coolest Gadgets Roundup of new products that are pushing the limits of technology in cameras, laptops, TVs and more.
Blogged: New Apple Nano and Touch and an iTunes Upgrade Here's the full coverage of Steve Jobs' announcements this morning on Apple's holiday product line upgrades as reported by our sister pub Macworld.