Westinghouse: All-LED LCD TV lineup by the end of the year

Consumer Reports News: May 19, 2010 11:02 AM

Westinghouse's LD-425, a LED-based LCD
available in August.
Photo: Westinghouse

Westinghouse Digital, a value-oriented brand sold primarily through Costco and BJ's wholesale clubs, Target, and Amazon.com, will only be selling LED-backlit LCD TVs by year's end, executives told us yesterday during a preview of the company's new TV lineup.

The new TVs from Westinghouse mirror a trend we've been seeing recently, where LED backlights are moving into smaller screens and lower-priced series from several manufacturers.

The new Westinghouse LED-based LCD TVs, available in screen sizes ranging from 24 to 55 inches, have a new slim-depth fashion-oriented design, with a gloss black frame highlighted with red accents. All of the new TVs exceed EnergyStar 4.0 guidelines [PDF], the company says, and six models actually meet EnergyStar 5.0 requirementss, which don't go into effect until 2012.

Here's the new LCD lineup, all of which use edge LED backlights:

LD-245, $300. A 24-inch 1080p set available in the Q3 2010.
LD-265, $330, a 26-inch 720p set available in June
LD-268, $380. A 26-inch 1080p set, available in July
LD-325, $450, a 32-inch 720p set available in June
LD-328, price not determined. A 32-inch 1080p model available in Q4 2010
LD-425, $800. A 42-inch 1080p set available in August
LD-46F970Z, price not yet determined. A 46-inch 1080p set with 120Hz technology for Q4
LD-55F970Z, price not yet determined. A 55-inch 1080p set with 120Hz technology for Q4

To get its energy-efficiency message across in an easily understandable way to consumers, on its TV packaging Westinghouse compares the TV's energy usage to the amount used by a lightbulb. For example, it says that its 42-inch model uses 20 percent less enegy than a 100-watt lighbulb, while its 26-inch sets use 10 percent less energy than a 60-watt bulb.

—James K. Willcox