Westinghouse Electric SK-26H590D 26" HDTV LCD TV/DVD Combo

I bought the Westinghouse SK-26H590D 26 Inch HDTV LCD TV TV/DVD Combo for use in our bedroom. In our 16 years of marriage my husband and I have never had a television in the bedroom. Since he has become disabled due to a failed back surgery, he has been less able to come downstairs to watch tv with the family or during the day when he is home alone.

My husband has always been a sports nut and we have the satellite dish package to support this passion of his. If there is a sport going on somewhere in the world he can watch it. Unfortunately, he has missed so many of his favorite games due to his current physical status and pain. He was relying on listening to games and events on his satellite radio.

I finally said, enough is enough, and bought him a television/DVD combo for our bedroom so that he can enjoy watching a game from the comfort of our bed if he cannot make it downstairs, or if he cannot stay downstairs for the length of the sports event. With the DVD combo he can record an event and watch it later which is a great feature and an option that is a must at our house.

I bought the 26-inch version of the Westinghouse SK-26H590D HDTV LCD TV TV/DVD Combo. It was a good choice at just about $500, but if I had it to do over I think I would have spent an additional $200 (at the time) and gone with the 32-inch size - just cuz it's bigger! lol (We have a 50" Plasma downstairs, so anything smaller is just that - small).

The bulky though slim box comes with the 25.35 pound TV/DVD combo, a remote control with 2 AAA batteries, user manual, 1 power cord, a Quick Connect Guide, and a Warranty Card. It was well-packed with sufficient white styrofoam, cardboard and filler. There are 2 cut-out handle slots in the ends of the box to make it a bit easier to manage and carry.

The Quick Connect Guide only has 3 main steps for a truly quick set up and use. #1 has you removing the contents from the box. #2 has you connect any external source devices - mine was an easy satellite connection cord but you may have other video or audio devices to add, and then you Power On the TV and Follow the On-Screen Set Up Menu (ok, they did combine a few steps here!), and #3 is to Power On the external source devices, press the input button on the remote and set up the devices to go with the remote. That's it.

The Westinghouse SK-26H590D 26 Inch HDTV LCD TV TV/DVD Combo has easy to access inputs/terminals on a side panel so you do not have to turn the tv around to get to them. There is also a "rack" so to speak on the back where you can run your cables and wires over in a "waterfall" effect to keep all of your cords organized and in one spot.

The DVD is front slot loading, and will play both DVD's and CD's. It plays DVD Video, VCD, SVCD, DVD-R, DVD-RW,DVD R, DVD RW, DVD Audio, CD (Audio), CD-R, CD-RW. Playable File Formats are MPEG2, MPEG4, WMA, JPEG, and MPEG1.

The LCD HDTV is widescreen and has a display resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, a Contrast Ratio of 800:1, and a LCD response time of 8 milli-seconds. Brightness is 400 cd/m? and the Output Color has 16.7 million colors available. The maximum side angle from which you can see the screen clearly is 160 degrees. There are 2 Speakers with speaker power of 2 x 9 watts. This TV/DVD combo is 26" wide, 7.5" deep, and 19.8" high and will fit nicely on a dresser or narrow stand. All in all this is a pretty darn nice package of features and performance specifications for a 26" LCD HDTV/DVD combo!

There are 16 terminals/inputs available on this set making for a very useful set that can be utilized in numerous ways. If you want to use it for more than watching TV you can hook up a whole horde of video and audio devices without any difficulty!
On one side panel of this tv you will find:
VGA Audio IN (use to connect to the audio out from a computer)
VGA (use a 15 pin VGA cable to connect to a computer or other VGA device)
YPbPr1 Input (for external video device)
YPbPr2 Input (for 2nd external video device)
YPbPr1 Audio Input (Left/Right) (for external audio source)
YPbPr2 Audio 2 Input (Left/Right) (for 2nd external audio source(
HDMI 1/2 (connect to video device like a DVD, Game System, Cable or Satellite Box)
HDMI Audio Input (Right/Lift) (To connect external analog audio to tv set)
AC IN (Power- This is where the power cord goes into tv)
On the other side panel you will find:
Video Input (connect video device like a VCR, DVD or Video Game System to the tv)
S-Video Input (Connect video device like a digital receiver, VCR, DVD or Video Game System)
Video & S-Video Audio Input (Right/Left) (This input will take either S-Video or Video input)
SPDIF Audio Output (connect to external digital audio receiver)
Analog Audio Output (Right/Left) (for connection to audio receiver)
ANT (RF Input)(for connection to antenna or cable service) and
Service (a slot) (for customer service only)

On the front side of the TV frame you will find the main TV controls. You have 10 controls that you can activate manually on the side of the set.
Menu (allows you to turn the menu on or off)
Volume /- (adjust the sound volume)
Channel /- (Adjust the channel)
Input (select active video input)
Play/Pause (you know, play or pause the DVD)
Backward (again, it speaks for itself, go backwards on DVD)
Forward (duh! lol Go forward on DVD)
Stop (Press once to stop the DVD, Press twice to stop and return to top menu, Press and hold for 2 seconds will eject the disc)
Power (on or off)
Dot (.) (This is AC Reset to use when the tv shuts down or the remote will not work - you need a small needle like object to actually press the (.) dot.

The remote control is probably the most complicated piece of equipment of all. It is divided into the TV controls and the DVD controls. There are 30 total controls or functions you control with the remote. The user manual gives you a good up-close picture of the remote with all buttons/controls listed and described. I will run through the list of available controls/functions:
Power, Mute, DVD Eject, PC, DVD, TV, HDMI, Video, YPbPr (select your source input), Favorite (select your favorite channel - A, B, C, key to access), Channel # keys, Enter (to execute a command), Channel up/down, Input (select source), Aspect Ratio (select video display format), Volume up/down, Last Channel (go back to previous channel), Menu (menu screen), 4 Arrow Keys (select desired item on screen), Enter (execute a command), Info (display source and channel info), Guide (display program info), DVD (use when disc is in player for set up screen), Stop (for DVD), Play/Pause (for DVD), DVD Menu (for on screen menu), Skip/Forward (for DVD), Fast Forward (for DVD), Fast Reverse (for DVD), Skip/Reverse (for DVD to skip to previous chapters or tracks).

The user manual is quite descriptive at 64 pages. I must say it is well written and includes pictures and diagrams of each and every aspect of the TV/DVD combo and how to set everything up. Each menu operation has a picture of the tv screen and how it looks in real life. All directions are written out to go along with the corresponding picture leaving nothing to chance or to frustration. Each picture of an operation shows the choice "highlighted" so you will know exactly which button or option to choose to do what it is you want to do. Talk about "TV/DVD Manual For Dummies!" lol

The Westinghouse SK-26H590D 26 Inch HDTV LCD TV TV/DVD Combo comes with a One-Year Limited Warranty against defects in material or workmanship from original date of purchase. To obtain the warranty service you must either deliver the product to a Westinghouse Digital Electronics Service Center or ship it prepaid. They give a number of 1-866-287-5555 for locations and ship back service information. You are encouraged to register your TV/DVD combo online at www.wde.com/registration.aspx so you can get product updates, offers and industry news.

This is a nice LCD/HDTV/DVD combo that does the job with pretty nice picture clarity - I think that if we did not own a Plasma TV with all the high definition options that I would think the Westinghouse SK-26H590D 26 Inch HDTV LCD TV TV/DVD Combo was quite a fantastic deal.

If you are looking for a TV/DVD combo for your main viewing pleasure, or for your bedroom check this set out -- it does have a lot of features, inputs/outputs and does give you a clear bright vivid picture with a satellite connection. Since I associate appliances like washers and refrigerators with the name, I would not have considered a Westinghouse TV if I had not seen it set up and running in the store, but I would recommend this set for the price and features it gives you. We've been happy with the choice and performance.

Thanks for reading! Judy