Vizio Plasma and LCD TVs

[stiletto pat]

Has anyone had any experience with Vizio? This appears to be a relatively new brand of television. I just saw an online ad for their products (Vizio.com), which seem to have extremely similar basic specs to the Panasonic plasma line, yet have better pricing.

I'm shopping for a 50" HD Plasma, and am strongly considering the TH-50PHD7UY, as it is the professional monitor version, w/o speakers and tuner. That saves width and cost, and gets consistently great reviews.

Any thoughts on either the Vizio or the Panasonic model?

Thanks,

Pat

 

[Camisano]

I have seen Visio on a quite a few websites, but I have not actually viewed any of there products in person. It would be nice if local electronics retailers picked them up so that we would be able to see the quality of the untis.

I am also looking at Kreisen LCD TV. In the Feb/March Sound & Vision magazine it states that they are using the Samsung Panel at a resolution of 1,366 x 768. I have seen the Kreisen 37" going for 1,999.00 online. This another manufacturer I would like to see in local retailers so that I could se the quality of the product.

Chris

 

[stiletto pat]

Vizio Plasma TVs

Okay fellow members,

I can't believe that this post has been up for a week, almost a 100 people have looked at it, but only one person has responded? Is this topic that boring to you? No one out there has an interest in either this Vizio line of plasma and lcd tvs, or in the Panasonic Plasma? Hard to believe....

 

[Mort Corey]

Vizio has been around for a little over a year, first introducing the Bravo DVD player that seemed plagued with problems. I've seen the display at Costco and it looked pretty poor compared to others they had playing. Granted, Costco is probably not the place to go for a good audition of any AV gear, but I figure they plop them on the floor and fire them up as they come out of the box. I've read quite a few complaints about Vizio customer service, but to be fair, it's more likely to see complaints posted than praises.

FWIW, I'd go with the Panasonic. Better PQ and better availability of customer service and/or repair should anything go amiss.

Mort

 

[Mark Duncan]

I have a Gateway DLP which was manufactured for Gateway by Vizio. I can tell you I am very happy with the PQ of the set, and Vizio's customer service is great. Their phone system sucks though, you have to leave a message and hope to get a callback. But once you have someone to help, they are competent and work hard to get the problems resolved. I would think seriously about buying another product from Vizio, but not Gateway. Gateway's customer service is the worst I've seen in a while...

Mark

 

[howie85]

As I understand it the Vizio is driven by LG internals for what it is worth. I have also seen them at Costco and thought I had seen better but it was pretty bright in there and the Vizio looked about the same as the other dispalys around it. If cost is an issue it might be worth a look Costco has a pretty liberal return policy.

 

[klsfdx]

37" Lcd

Dec 05 and I just purchased the Vizio 37" LCD at Costco. Couldn't be more happy so far. Spent a lot of time comparing at various stores and kept coming back to the Vizio at Costco. Nothing comes close to it for the price and everybody who has seen it at my house is mezmerized. I too felt the plasmas were not as crisp at Costco, but it was all the plasmas not just the Vizio's, but I felt that way in the comparisons between LCDs and Plasma's. LCD just seems to pop out of the screen which my frau and I enjoy. I have experienced pixelation, but it is off older analog shows, the older the worse the pixelation. I don't get my HD service til the 15th when I expect to get blown away with the capabilities of the LCD. klsfdx

 

[BMXTRIX]

I think a lot of people are reading this post because they are genuinely interested in hearing some actual feedback about the product. How it looks, how it compares to other similar products.

I don't have much to offer, but am similarly considering going into Costco and picking up a 50" plasma. I already have a 50" Sampo, that works, but isn't the best in the world for sure. The Vizio, if it is a step up, would become my daily viewer and the Sampo would be retired to the Master Bedroom. I would first set them both up side by side w/same source... If the Vizio looked worse than the Sampo, it would go back to Costco in a second.

 

[Geno]

I got the 50" Vizio at Costco just before Thanksgiving. I had been dead set on the 50" Panasonic monitor, too, but seeing the Vizio and the price difference, I couldn't pass it up. I'm not crazy about having the non-removable speakers, but that's my only complaint. Hooked up with DVI to my Dish HD receiver and DVD-2910 the picture quality, IMHO, is spectacular.
I understand the glass is the latest LG. The AVS forum has about 120 pages of posts on this Plasma.

 

[klsfdx]

50" Vizio plasma

One thing to add to the Vizio plasma debate was the 50,000 hour bulb, which is fairly new according to one salesperson. The only comparable was an LG at Best Try with a 60,000 hour bulb for $800 more and a new Samsung that I saw at Sams with a 60,000 hour bulb for about $650 more. The earlier generation of plasmas seem to only have approx. 25,000 hour bulbs. I know, it would take a lot of 24/7 viewing to use up 25,000 hours of bulb life, but why not go with the latest improvements?

 

[BMXTRIX]

...and of course by 'bulb life' you actually mean phosphorous half-life since plasma doesn't use 'bulbs'.

I'm going through all this as well. I have a poor 50" in the family room and need (want?) a plasma for the master bedroom. So, do I get a good 42" plasma for that room, or do I upgrade the 50" display in the family room, then move the 50" up to the bedroom?

I'm still troubled trying to decide.

 

[melmoy]

Power consumption by Vizio 50" Plasma

Someone mentioned that the Vizio 50" Plasma uses 550W of power. Isn't that a lot for a TV set? Is that normal for a plasma set of that size. I guess it's OK if you are looking for another heat source during winter, but with the cost of energy this winter, isn't this a considerable expense? How does a 37" Vizio LCD compare in power consumption?

 

[warddoer]

Vizio LCD's

I have both the 32" and 37" Vizio and am quite happy with their performance. One issue I did have was extreme noise in darker sceens through HDMI. My cablebox (moto DVR + HD) has a DVI output. I am using a DVI/HDMI adapter which may account for the noise in the HD picture. I have since connected the Component video jacks and the picture is fantastic. As I have had these sets for only a number of weeks, I cannot comment on their long term prospects. Both tv's are currently performing well.

 

[BangTango]

Just got the 32" Vizio HD on Sunday from Sams Club for $999.98. Wife had a few reservations about buying a high dollar tv from a big box store but we went ahead with the purchase. The unit did appaer a little washed out compared to the one next to it but I chalked that up to the enviroment or that someone had messed with the other tvs settings After getting home and hooking it up in the bedroom to a Direct Tv H20 thru the HDMI at 1080i I am very impressed with the picture. Maybe I am easily impressed as this is my first LCD purchase and have nothing else to compare it to. But for the money spent I don't think you can do better in size and features for the price.

Just a few specs quoted from the box.

1366x768 native resolution
1080i,720p,480p,and 480i supported
High speed responce time of 8 milliseconds
3D Adaptive De-interlacing for smooth lines with standard definion programming.

 

[Geno]

After six months with the Vizio 50" Plasma, I still have a hard time understanding how the other manufacturers have the nerve to charge what they do. I had followed the reviews and forums for months, with the conclusion that the Panasonic commercial display was the hands-down winner in the image quality race. Costco now has the Vizio for $2300 (a $200 drop since I bought mine, arrrgh!). I have a friend with the Panny, and we both have a hard time finding any appreciable difference in the image quality. Maybe those of you with the time, patience, and test equipment can find differences to argue about, but when the rubber meets the road, this Vizio is pretty hard to beat...especially for the price difference - especially when the Vizio includes 2 HDMI and 1 DVI inputs.

 

[ddcobb]

After six months with the Vizio 50" Plasma, I still have a hard time understanding how the other manufacturers have the nerve to charge what they do. I had followed the reviews and forums for months, with the conclusion that the Panasonic commercial display was the hands-down winner in the image quality race. Costco now has the Vizio for $2300 (a $200 drop since I bought mine, arrrgh!). I have a friend with the Panny, and we both have a hard time finding any appreciable difference in the image quality. Maybe those of you with the time, patience, and test equipment can find differences to argue about, but when the rubber meets the road, this Vizio is pretty hard to beat...especially for the price difference - especially when the Vizio includes 2 HDMI and 1 DVI inputs.

I have 2 klipsch klf-20's, 15" Definitive Sub (discontinued), a klf-c7, older Sony AVR (plan on getting Denon 2807or a Yammy 1600/2600) and I will at some point either add another set of KLF-20/30's or smaller rears.

I need a display to replace my ancient CRT. I will be using it in my den for the next 1.5-2 years, at which time I plan on moving it to my bedroom. When I do this I will replace it with an SED/Laser DLP/whatever. The tv will be mainly used for cable/movies (5-7 hrs/day Mon-Fri; 10 hrs-Sat/Sun) but I do play Xbox occassionaly and will likely purchase an Xbox 360 and/or a PS3 later this fall.

My question is this.....With the setup I have, are there any negatives to adding the Vizio (lack of HDMI/DVI outputs; upconversion downconversion issues) given the Denon/Yammy I plan on purchasing? I want something that will not be technologically obsolete in the near future, will have great pic quality, and is good for gaming/HD/etc.

What/if any drawbacks does the display have? Are those drawbacks negated (possibly) by the current receivers I am looking at? Any/All input is greatly appreciated.

 

[jonnythan]

The Vizio 50" plasma is quite nice... I hate the speakers and the bezel, but the picture is very nice. I got the Maxent plasma from Best Buy because of superior black levels, a prettier bezel, and the fact that I could remove the speakers.

BTW, klsfdx, plasmas don't have bulbs.

 

[jonnythan]

I have 2 klipsch klf-20's, 15" Definitive Sub (discontinued), a klf-c7, older Sony AVR (plan on getting Denon 2807or a Yammy 1600/2600) and I will at some point either add another set of KLF-20/30's or smaller rears.

I need a display to replace my ancient CRT. I will be using it in my den for the next 1.5-2 years, at which time I plan on moving it to my bedroom. When I do this I will replace it with an SED/Laser DLP/whatever. The tv will be mainly used for cable/movies (5-7 hrs/day Mon-Fri; 10 hrs-Sat/Sun) but I do play Xbox occassionaly and will likely purchase an Xbox 360 and/or a PS3 later this fall.

My question is this.....With the setup I have, are there any negatives to adding the Vizio (lack of HDMI/DVI outputs; upconversion downconversion issues) given the Denon/Yammy I plan on purchasing? I want something that will not be technologically obsolete in the near future, will have great pic quality, and is good for gaming/HD/etc.

What/if any drawbacks does the display have? Are those drawbacks negated (possibly) by the current receivers I am looking at? Any/All input is greatly appreciated.

The receiver doesn't need to come into it at all. For example, I have my Xbox and DVD player using the component inputs on my receiver, which outputs component to the plasma, but my STB has an HDMI output I have connected to the plasma, and my HTPC is connected via the VGA input.

Besides, the thing looks identical over component vs VGA or HDMI anyway.

 

[ddcobb]

The receiver doesn't need to come into it at all. For example, I have my Xbox and DVD player using the component inputs on my receiver, which outputs component to the plasma, but my STB has an HDMI output I have connected to the plasma, and my HTPC is connected via the VGA input.

Besides, the thing looks identical over component vs VGA or HDMI anyway.

How's the gaming (response time/lag) with your Maxent? Aesthetics might come into play with the fiance.

Not to hijack the thread but is there a large difference in performance/features between the two? If so what are they?

BTW, thanks for the timely response

 

[jonnythan]

Via HDMI there was a very very slight delay, but that's not there via RGB, interestingly. That's with the computer.. with the XBox over component I don't notice any.

The main differences, as far as I could tell, were:

1) Vizio bezel is ***-ugly. Looks like cheap, warped plastic.
2) Vizio has two HDMI inputs, Maxent has one. (note: Monoprice has HDMI switchers for ~$100)
3) Maxent has noticeably better blacks
4) Maxent has removeable speakers
5) Vizio has an exhaust fan that is audible many feet away, and has a known issue where many sets have an audible buzz. Many people have gone through several sets to find one that doesn't buzz.

Ultimately I bought the Maxent for the plain "picture frame" bezel (wall mounted) and black levels. The picture quality is really about equal.. which is to say fantastic.

One other thing to mention is that analog TV on the Maxent via component is total crap. Fortunately, my cable box is capable of upconverting everything to 480p or higher so it's not an issue at all. S-video looks fine, though. I know some people are using component for 480p and above, but S-video for analog stuff. I don't have any analog sources.