Westinghouse CW40T8GW LCD HDTV Review

Introduction

Design

Westinghouse's 40-inch T8GW TV is of basic nature in its form and function. It follows a general, reflective black plastic design, with a basic oval stand and a bezel of average thickness. This Westinghouse isn't profoundly attractive or interesting, but its conservative design isn't hurting anything either.

Front

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Back

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Sides

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Stand/Mount

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On-set Controls

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW has four control buttons along its right side, three of which are dual-purpose. The Input and Menu selections share a single platform; the same goes for Volume and Channel. The bottom button turns the TV's power on or off. This is a very simple layout, and we think it's very easy to memorize.

Remote Control

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This Westinghouse TV comes packaged with a standard infrared remote that hosts a slew of buttons within a staunchly rectangular design. Its design insists on contouring to hand shape, and its lower end has an arching lip of plastic that doesn't seem to serve any real purpose. Most of the remote's buttons are fairly self-explanatory, with a good amount of single-use buttons that are clearly labeled as well.

In the Box

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In the box, you'll find the panel display, stand components, six screws, remote control, two AAA batteries, instruction manual, and warranty card.

Connectivity

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All of the CW40T8GW's input and output connections are filed in a horizontal row along the lower middle of the back of the TV. They're clearly labeled and succinctly spaced, providing a decent selection. We don't really like this placement--why not put them in shorter rows in a cluster on one side or the other? The placement is fine if you don't mind a full connection set giving your Westinghouse a wispy mustache of cables.

From left to right, the CW40T8GW's row of connectivity options are: phones out, a USB input for service updates, three HDMI inputs, PC audio input, PC RGB input (VGA), RF in for a cable or antenna connection, digital audio out, composite and component inputs (separate), and the L-R outputs for analog audio out.

This is a decent spread.

Performance

Westinghouse's budget-level CW40T8GW didn't do so well when we put it through the paces. It scored decently in some important areas, though. Its contrast ratio and color scores were acceptable, though with notable maladies. It also tested with one of the worst viewing angles we've seen all year, as well as truly unbearable audio. A TV this plain really only has one job, and the CW40T8GW gets a pink slip.

Contrast

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The Westinghouse tested with an above average contrast ratio, owing mostly to its considerably deep black level of 0.03 cd/m² . It's a very dim TV overall, but we were still impressed that a budget model was capable of black levels that low. It fairs decently when compared to similarly priced, 40-inch LCDs from other manufacturers, but has nothing on mid-range of high-end HDTVs. More on how we test contrast.

Color & Greyscale Curves

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These curves aren't atrocious, but they're certainly broken up and jagged. This result describes a range of colors that will be mismatched in their saturation and transition, resulting in blocks of similar shades instead of a realistic transition along the input spectrum. Not a terrible result, but this Westinghouse won't be bringing home any gold medals. More on how we test color performance.

Color Temperature

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While its color temperature was primarily without error, there's a fairly large area within the shadow tones of greys and colors that's stretching deeply into perceptible temperature error. This means that the darker shades of grey, red, green, and blue are going to have an unnaturally orange hue to them, deviating drastically from lighter hues. This is honestly about what we expect from a budget TV. More on how we test color temperature.

Color Gamut

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The inaccuracy of this TV's color gamut means that it won't be displaying content with the proper range of colors. Its red, green, blue, and white points all missed the ideal marks, and each dimmer color or shade along the spectrum will be slightly off because of it. You might not notice it unless you were watching very familiar programming, but it's still a poor result. More on how we test color temperature.

Picture Dynamics

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One area where the Westinghouse excelled was in picture dynamics. Its whites stay around 80 cd/m² no matter how much of the screen is bright, with black levels staying pure and dark at 0.03 cd/m² . Perhaps the only truly commendation to this TV's picture quality is in its vigilant dynamics. More on how we test picture dynamics.

Resolution & Formats

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW is a native 1080p LCD television. It supports all NTSC resolutions and formats.

Viewing Angle

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The CW40T8GW has an absolutely tiny total viewing angle--just a few degrees off center and its contrast performance drops starkly. It pales next to the comparison models from Samsung, Toshiba, and Sony, and offers good contrast viewing only when you're looking at it straight on.

Motion Performance

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW tested with decent motion performance for an entry-level HDTV. For not having any motion processing options, it did well keeping blur and judder to a minimum during our subjective motion tests. Photographs displaying faces, brickwork, sunlight, and numerous fine details remained crisp as they slid across the screen. It did show some notable color and shape distortion during more complex pictures, but its motion problems should be fairly negligible during most content.

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Screen Uniformity

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The CW40T8GW's screen uniformity was okay--but it showed a lot of problems due to being a CCFL-backlit model. Its all-white screen was mostly uniform, but was marred by the TV's thick bezel. We saw considerable flashlighting during an all-black screen around the perimeter and specifically in the lower, left-hand corner near the IR sensor. This is a poor result, but is to be expected of an entry-level model like this one.

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Audio Quality

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Like almost every TV on the market, Westinghouse's CW40T8GW uses dual 10-watt speakers, embedded below its bezel, that project sound down and back around the TV's stand, bouncing it towards the listener with all the grace of a fuming dodgeball champion. The audio menu allows you to toggle EQ, and you'll probably want to knock the TV's treble and bass settings down quite a bit before attempting to use the speakers. The surround sound imitator doesn't work as it should either, but it does help in lessening the tinny explosion of noise that the TV warbles regardless of content.

Power Consumption

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW doesn't consume a lot of power. It's on the lower end of the spectrum, even for an LCD display. Watching this TV for 4-6 hours a day, for an entire year, is only going to add about $12.76 to your electricity bill. That's quite cheap.

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Calibration

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW was difficult to calibrate. Why? Because its picture settings don't use numbers. Nor do they use line markers--just a mysterious slider. To determine the results below--for Westinghouse's movie pre-set and our final calibration--we had to count each click to the right or left. If you want to calibrate to our settings, you'll like be forced to do the same.

All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

Video Modes

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The Westinghouse CW40T8GW has four Video Modes: Standard, Dynamic, Movie, and User.

Software & Internet

Conclusion

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We weren't expecting great things from this Westinghouse. With an MSRP of $359, we chalked the CW40T8GW up as the kind of low-end "toy" you might buy for a very young child to watch her cartoons on. After testing it, we can only advise the consumer not to pay full price for it.

This TV's one job is to display a picture--that's really the only thing it does. It tested with average color and contrast, better than we expected, and its motion performance was also acceptable. Those three areas are key, and for that reason we can't wholly disregard the product's value. However, an atrocious viewing angle, ear-splitting audio, and the general "cheapness" radiated by this TV really drag it through the mud.

In short, if you want this TV for its slim price tag, buy it after a price drop, and use the money you saved to invest in a modest external speaker set-up.

Photo Gallery

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Ratings & Specs

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