Quickly, can you name the top five LCD television manufacturers in North America? A few mega-monolith electronics giants are the first to come to mind, but what about Westinghouse? Did they make your list?

According to a fourth quarter report compiled by iSuppli Television Tracker and an S&A November 2005 LCD-TV Tracking Study, Westinghouse Digital was ranked fifth among all LCD manufacturers, and a quick search of Splise.com has them ranked fifth in popularity.

So, when they asked me to check out their new 37-inch high-definition monitor and digital photo frame, I jumped at the chance.

Westinghouse LVM 37w3

The attractiveness of the new LVM 37w3 ($1,899) is only rivaled by its picture quality, delivering one of the brightest high-def pictures I've seen. This is probably due to its ability to enhance the video using the new 1080p high-def standard, although, currently, no one is transmitting video to take advantage of the new standard.

This is a monitor, not a TV set, so you have to attach a high-def cable box or satellite receiver to it for TV reception. You can also use it as a computer monitor, to play DVDs or for video games, much like you would a standard monitor. Or you can purchase the Westinghouse LTV 37w2 HD TV for a few hundred dollars less and get a built-in HDTV tuner _ but not the new 1080p video quality.

Other features include:

• It can handle two composite video connections, HDMI, VGA, DVI and analog video (although I ran out of video inputs to handle all of my electronic paraphernalia).
• Its "spine design" gives you easy access to all of the video and audio connections, even when it's mounted on a wall.
• It's only 4.7 inches deep without the base.
• Language options include English, French and Spanish.
• It offers channel labeling and commercial skip functions.
• Its 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution delivers an amazingly bright, high contrast picture.
• It is able to modify the picture quality of progressive-scan DVD players, set-top boxes and DVRs.
• It has two 15-watt speakers and simulates surround sound.

Westinghouse Digital Photo Frame

The company's 8.0" Digital Photo Frame ($279) is actually a major upgrade of photo frames I've used in the past.

This one boasts an eight-inch LCD monitor, multiple memory card slots, a USB port for flash drives and a mini USB port for file transfers (so you can transfer your photos from the frame to your computer).

In addition:

• It can handle photos and digital video, including JPEG, AVI Motion-JPEG, MPEG 1 and MPEG 4.
• It supports a wide variety of memory cards, including CF I and II, MD, MS, MS Pro, MS Duo, MS Pro Duo, SD. MMC and XD.
• There's a wide range of transitional styles and time intervals for slide shows.
• It autoplays after the memory cards are inserted.
• The stand is extendable so you can adjust the angle.
• There's no PC required.

For more information on either of these products, check out the company's Web site at www.westinghousedigital.com.

By the way, the top five LCD manufacturers (by popularity), according to www.splise.com are: Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic and Westinghouse.

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