A Westinghouse will always be a Westinghouse. I was looking for a 26" LCD TV when I went to get a new TV to replace my 27" JVC which had lost some clarity in games. I bought a 26" Westinghouse for $500 on sale for $400 or maybe even $350 after rebate but after taking it out of the box and using it for a bit...I just couldn't use it. The colors were inaccurate, the blacks were very poor, minimal settings in the menu, lots of tearing with high speed movement, overall not a high quality product. But it was cheap - at the time a Sony 26" was $1,200 (And was the one I wanted but more than I could afford at the time).
So I took it back and bought my 26" Panasonic which was on sale for $750. I love this TV! The blacks could be a bit darker but they are very good, response times are great, viewing angles are great, colors are vivid and details sharp - all the fine details the Westinghouse lacked. I have no problem with someone saying they think the Westinghouse looks okay for the lower cost it has - but personally the image quality is not comparable to name brand TVs. I've seen Vizios, V7s, Westinghouses, Olevias - they don't compare to Sonys, Panasonics, Samsungs, Sharps, or LGs.
If I were in the market to buy a 40"+ LCD TV, I'd be looking at something like one of the 42" LGs which can be had for $850. You're not just paying for a brand, you're paying for quality that is given up for lower cost in the lesser brands. People can say what they like about them and buy as you like, but I will personally never own a lesser brand - I have too many nice ones already to go down to something cheaper. Hell, my 24" Samsung computer monitor had an MSRP almost the same as my TV ($950 I think) - I'll never buy a TV that is a TN panel and the cheap brands like Vizio and Westinghouse actually do use TNs - I've never seen a Panasonic that didn't have an IPS panel (Which narrow it to say IPS provides far superior viewing angles, color consistency, and color accuracy).
