It's amazing how quickly prices begin to fall once a new technology hits the market. In a little over a year LED backlit HDTVs went from commanding high premiums to now being outright affordable. Case in point, the LD-4258 from Westinghouse reviewed here. At $599 retail the LD-4258 is one of the more cost effective LED solutions available today.

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The LD-4258 is a 42-inch, edge-lit LED display with a native resolution of 1920x1080 with a reported contrast ratio of 4,000:1 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It doesn't have 3D or Internet capabilities but many budget-oriented consumers (aren't we all) may be willing to overlook their omission. The LD-4258 itself is simple in its physical appearance, though still manages to be stylish compared to the competition. It measures 40 inches wide by 25 and a half inches tall and a little over one and a half inches deep. Obviously if you take into consideration the LD-4258's included table stand, then it's depth increases to roughly nine inches. As for weight the LD-4258 tips the scales at approximately 30 pounds. Where the LD-4258's budget DNA begins to show its true colors is in the connection options, which are sadly limited to two HDMI, one composite (with analog audio), one VGA, one mini PC audio and one RF antenna input. Outputs include a single optical audio out as well as an analog audio out. Westinghouse does list an optional accessory dongle set on their website to include a component to VGA adapter as well as an analog RCA to mini jack audio adapter.

In terms of performance the LD-4258 isn't as bad as some but nowhere near as good as even some of its counterparts from, say, Vizio. That being said, there's quite a bit to like here. For starters, the LD-4258's black levels are deep, though they do lack a bit of sophistication in their low light detail rendering. Colors are punchy and vibrant, again a bit basic, but overall fairly natural in their rendering, though on a few scenes I did detect a slight warming trend overall despite the LD-4258 having three unique color temperature presets in its menus. Whites are crisp with little to no blooming and edge fidelity is relatively sharp without seeming artificially so. There is a bit of noise present throughout though artifacts are largely kept to a minimum. If I had to give the LD-4258's image quality an overall rating, I'd probably label it average to slightly above average.

Read about the high points and low points of the Westinghouse LD-4258 on Page 2.