Vizio 22" FHDTV 1080p ....Mine is fine!
I bought the Vizio 22" 1080p LCD at Sams Club. The model number on the manual is(VO22L 10A) I'm not having any of the problems that the other reviewer is having like the slow channel or the small font on the channel display. I bought my first Vizio three years ago and have bought two more for the other rooms. None of them have given me any problems yet. Is it possible that there is something in the setup on his/her dish/cable receiver that could be causing this?
Remember if your TV is acting strange there is a real good possibility that you are in need of proper setup. With all of the options in dish receiver and TV setups these days it's really easy to have something on the wrong setting.
One easy way to find out is to hook up a good old fashioned set of rabit ears and run your TV's channel set-up. If your television doesn't find digital channels move the antenna or TV into another room and try it again. My experience is that location within the house is far more important than the quality of the antenna when receiving HDTV signals over the air. A lot of these TVs won't tune into a channel unless it has previously found it during setup... even if you manually punch in the channel number!
Once your TV has successfully found the digital channels during setup try moving the TV back to the location where you want it. There is a good chance that your TV will be able to pull in the signal. Be patient and experiment with different locations.
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Vizio's best non-LED tv.I bought this tv about a week ago and have been really pleased. I previously had a 37" sharp 720p 60hz and did not like it at all. Well after much research I had narrowed it down the Samsung LN46B750. Only problem is that tv is $1500+ dollars. So I wanted another choice and researched and for the price and quality this Vizio is a no brainer. This XVT is Vizio's best model other than their new 55" LED.
Appearance: It looks really nice. Simple clean black and silver. Some people hate that the vizio light will stay orange when the tv turns off but its not really noticeable and doesn't bother me at all.
Sound: Definitely better than my old Sharp but still nothing to write home about. I have some really nice Logitech 2.1 speakers I use if i'm really wanting the theatre experience but the built in speakers are fine.
Picture quality: This is where I was a HUGE stickler. I wanted at least 120hz 1080p and 4ms response time as I'm a gamer. Well this tv has all of those and even goes to 240 with the scanning backlight. The smooth motion when enabled (recommended low) is a little jarring at first but you quickly get used to it. Not only does smooth motion help with blur it seems to just make the entire image on screen more crisp whether its moving or not. Very pleased. Watching Dexter on showtime hd was AMAZING! The detail in the intro is just jaw dropping. And this is only in 1080i. Xbox 360 really shows how crisp it can really get. I thought Dexter details were amazing I hadn't seen nothing until I popped in Modern Warfare 2. Its a sight to be seen. The smooth motion works beautifully on videogames. No problems with blurring at all. Very rarely will there be any judder problems and even when you see a hiccup its for like 1 second my wife never notices it. Hopefully getting a PS3 soon and check out blurays. But if the other content is any indication of what to expect it will be great. I just can't imagine it getting any better. We'll see.
Cons: As with all tv's there are always some quirks. I did notice the faintest of flash lighting at the top of the screen in a tiny small area. This is a problem with MANY LCD tvs and is really only noticeable when the screen is completely black even then its barely noticeable. I only notice it cause I set out looking for these things. Compared to the flash lighting and clouding I've seen on some tvs this one if by far and away one of the better. DO NOT at all let this problem scare you as all tv's are different and some may not have it at all. PLUS most tvs need 50-100 hours of break in time to fully get everything warmed up so most likely it will fade. Even still my wife can't see what I'm talking about lol.
Conclusion: For the price and quality bar none the best deal you are gonna find for a while. I was able to snag mine at SAMS for $997. 360 & PS3 users you will not be disappointed. Will update after I've had it for a while!
UPDATE: 12/28/2009
Well I got a PS3 for christmas and got to see if blurays were any better than hd cable I had been viewing. I have to admit it looks incredible and does indeed look better. I got my wife the Harry Potter bluray collection and we popped them in absolutely CRYSTAL CLEAR. Sharp as can be great colors. So yes it did indeed get better than I thought. The tv handled the bluray beautifully with its motion and the colors looked dead on.
Also the flashlighting I mentioned earlier in my review has subsided quite a bit and I have to really set there and stare at the blank screen to even be able to see it so that is good news as well.
Once again I 100% recommend this TV! Thanks for reading and hope I was a bit helpful in your search.
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Superb TV for a great priceWe recently purchased this television from a different store but were impressed as soon as we turned it on. We had received a 24" Vizio LCD for Christmas but its quality was severely lacking - the picture went dark very quickly if you viewed the screen off-center even about 10-20 degrees off axis - to the point that having the television on top of a chest of drawers caused it to be too high to watch TV with any decent quality. We returned that one and bought the SV320XVT and were blown away by comparison.
Pros: The 1080p quality at 120Hz makes digital television channels look great. Device buttons are easily accessible for changing inputs instead of pressing a single "Source" or "Input" button multiple times to get to the input you want. There are three HDMI inputs which is great for a cable/satellite tuner Blu-Ray player and another source (we use it for the Canon 7D's video output). The viewing angle is excellent especially for an LCD. We were able to get a consistent view at about 120-140 degrees off-axis. Different video modes are available for different types of viewing (Basketball Golf Baseball Movies Normal etc.). Sound quality out-of-the-box is excellent though a surround sound system could be hooked up with either RCA HDMI or TOSlink.
Cons: 120Hz can still make some live-acted shows and movies look computer animated but that happens with any TV that has this feature. This TV does not have a 10/100 network port which I've only seen on a few televisions at this point but it would be nice to have it for web streaming. There is an RGB input however so we can still hook it up to a computer. I'd also like if the TV had an alarm clock on it but that's a very minor issue. Also having a jog dial on the bottom right side of the panel makes for an awkward way of controlling power volume and channel control; I'd rather have actual buttons for each. It took trial and error to figure out that adjusting the volume from the side did not require me to push the button inward to confirm the change as that just turned off the TV.
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Internet TVI have had this TV for 2 months and just love it. Tv has a great picture and the internet apps are great NETFLIXS and PANDORA I use the most.
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Worth the money but you get what you pay for
This TV is perfect for those who just want to get with current technology and want a decent sized and compact TV.
You will definitely see a picture improvement over traditional television and the picture looks very good for bright pictures (ie sports games most television shows).
Picture clarity is pretty good the artifacts are pretty minimal.
What this TV is severly lacking in is depth of color. Don't listen to other reviews that say "it's just as good as higher priced televisions" because it's not. This is very noticable in low light levels the colors get very washed out to a disappointing degree.
The sound is not bad a lot of the lower priced flat planel speakers sound very tinny. Its speakers sound worse than higher quality sets but are still pretty tolerable.
All in all you get what you pay for. This TV isn't garbage but it's not going to win any awards. If you are looking for a TV to watch football on Sunday in hi-def this is the television for you. If you are a gamer or a movie enthusiast with a blu-ray player save up your money and go with a higher quality television as you will find the depth of color on this television a bit disappointing.
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Bang for the Buck!I bought this TV at Costco for $849.00. Easy to set up out of the box and easy to connect to my network. The picture is clear even though I have yet to watch HD. The Internet Apps provide instant information and still allow you to continue watching TV. Your network will automatically update the television and new apps when available. The apps act like a carousel at the bottom of the screen with the push of a button. You can even bookmark pages within apps to appear on your carousel (I have the weather for my city appear in the carousel). There are not a ton of Apps at this time...more to come. I have read that it will be an open source application...allowing people to develop their own apps much like the IPhone.
The remote is bluetooth and has a full qwerty keyboard. The remote is universal and can sync with bluetooth devices and those with an infrared signal. The qwerty keyboard feels rubbery but does the trick. There is even a spot on the keyboard that looks like a gamepad for future gaming apps.
You will need a High Speed internet connection in order to view streaming content on the TV. There are several different apps at this time that provide different services for streaming video and they are all easy to access.
The requirements to stream.
SD: 1 Mbps
720p: 2.25 Mbps
1080p: 4.5 Mbps
For the price you will not find a comparable TV with this many options. With this TV's instant access to information great picture quality and bluetooth remote; this TV is the best Bang for your Buck.
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Vizio is the best out there!I bought one of these at a Sam's Club store for $700 and I haven't been disappointed so far! Set-up was a breeze and a 480i A/V connection looks pretty good (even better with an S-video connection) when hooked up to a standard-definition DIRECTV receiver. The unit has two composite (with S-video) and component inputs a VGA computer input and three HDMI inputs. Plus the TV includes multiple advanced audio inputs and an RF connection that can decode analog digital and HDTV signals. What's amazing about this input is that we once hooked up an old "rabbit-ears" to it and then the TV received 1080i HD signals! My son hooked up his Xbox and Wii to the TV with component cables and the picture looks great. We also connected an HDMI cable to our new Memorex HDMI DVD Player and that looks great too. But the best picture we've seen yet was when we hooked up an HDMI cable to my son-in-law's PlayStation 3. The picture looked outstanding! I've yet to buy a Blu-Ray Player and an HDMI home theater system but we'll get one soon! Probably the only downside to this TV is the contrast ratio. Vizio TV's have been known to have low contrast ratios and this makes all video signals just a teeny bit fuzzy. Don't get me wrong though this unit is as great as other Sony and Panasonic TV's!
Pros:
-1080p resolution via HDMI is amazing
-Tons of inputs!
-Works with a PC resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p)
-Audio is better than our older Sony TV in the other room
-Built for advanced Dolby and SRS audio
Cons:
-Low contrast ratio
-Fuzzy picture on 480i and 480p
-Doesn't work with all available PC resolutions
There are a few downsides about this TV but it is excellent! If you are looking for a cheap HDTV with 1080p you've found the right one for you!
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Great Unit Great PriceI would've purchased this from Amazon but it was not available for delivery to my address so I purchased it locally. This replaced my Vizio 42" plasma that I bought refurbished about 3 years ago and is being used with a Yamaha home theatre receiver (the digital cable box DVD etc. are connected through it).
The picture quality in comparing the two is a world of difference. The plasma unit was good but this LED unit is outstanding (aside from the bigger picture) - just a bright and vibrant as the plasma but without the drawback of needing to have lower light levels in the room. The 240 Hz is definitely worth making sure you get as there is no point in wasting money on 120 Hz or less. After looking around for the past month or so it was a bit of a no-brainer to get this feature (requirement) on whatever new TV that I was going to get.
This is also my third Vizio unit and I have to say that they have not disappointed me at all. As I said the plasma was a refurb but it has worked beautifully since I got it. I would definitely recommend Vizio to anyone looking for a new set.
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Vizio vs. Sony vs. SamsungAlthough I am not a videophile or audiophile I'd like to comment on this product.
To be honest I purchased at the Cost** Warehouse store because of a $50 savings over Amazon a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy and an extra year of manufacturer warranty included in the price. Since this is a new technology in this size set and sales usually come up on TV's around the Superbowl it made sense to me to have the option of return if the price drops and to be protected by an additional year of warranty.
So far I'm glad I have a 90 day return option because I just might have to take advantage of it regardless of any price movement. Unless there is something wrong with the set or we can't figure out what we are doing the poor quality of the sound might necessitate it's return.
Having prior experience with a 19" Sony and a couple of 26" Samsung LCD sets I can report that the sound on this set is extremely poor compared to the others. So far no matter what we do to adjust the sound it just does not perform. Using the SRS surround setting is just horrible. This set replaced an older Sony 720p LCD that had a simulated surround setting and it sounded fine. The other options you have include several pre-sets that do not allow for equalization adjustments if you choose them or the setting called 'flat' which does allow for setting the bass and treble. So as of this writing the best sound we can get from this set is to use the 'flat' setting and then turn the bass up to 100% and the treble at 60%. Using this setting the TV still sounds very 'tinny' like you are listening to a 2" speaker! If you turn down the treble any more it begins to sound muddy and if you compensate by reducing the bass you get more tinny.
Aside from the sound (which may prove to be a deal breaker) the picture looks very good on a par with my other Samsung sets. I think the size is very nice the old Sony was 19" and this makes a nice difference giving you more screen area than the 20 or 22 inch alternatives. The form factor is very sleek the remote is poor (but we use a combo cable remote anyway). We do not connect directly to cable so I can't comment on 'channel lag' as has been reported but can tell you it takes an annoyingly long time to start up making you watch a 'vizio' splash screen then a blue screen then finally your picture.
If you have a very bright room be aware that there is the potential for a lot of glare from the reflective glass surface of this set and that may be a deal breaker for you because there is a lot of reflection from some angles. If you can train yourself to look through it you might be fine.
So in summary we are happy with the picture and performance of the set overall but if we can't find a solution to the sound problem the set just may go back. I will update this review if there is any news to report.
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Great Television for a Very Reasonable PriceI purchased this televion once my old standard definition CRT television died right in time for the digital transition. After doing some comparison shopping I happened upon this TV and chose it to replace my old 19" CRT. The first thing you'll notice about this television is its relative weightlessness while common for flat screens is a nice change from cumbersome CRT's. Also setup is very easy and once hooked up to an HD digital cable box through one of the two HDMI ports the picture quality difference is immediate.
Initially the television was connected to my HD cable box via the coaxial port on the back of the TV. Surmised from many a HDTV review I expected standard definition shows to look worse once connected via HDMI but I guess going from coaxial (the bottom of the barrel) to HDMI (top of the line) provides an increase rather then decline even in the visual integrity of standard definition shows and HD shows are on whole new level. Vibrant colors nice crisp images and great line quality are the qualities sorely lacking from standard definition programing and televisions. Also I had no problems with the viewing angle what so ever. If I had to down this television for anything it would be that the audio quality is lacking (an apparent hallmark of smaller flat screens) but i'd recomend an external speaker setup to remedy this. Besides that small nitpick this set has my stamp of approval.
If you're searching for an HD-TV television that provides great value without sacrificing quality i'd fully recomend this set.
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Local dimming LED/LCD TV for the Rest of Us
VIZIO's VF551XVT is proof that VIZIO can produce not just high value TVs but high performance ones as well. Currently the lowest priced LED-backlit LCD TV with local dimming capability the VF551XVT offers similar performance to TVs from the name brands which may sell for up to twice the price.
The set's "240 SPS" processing is not "true" 240 Hz but is really 120 Hz processing with a scanning backlight to effectively get 240 "scenes" per second. The feature does reduce motion blur on things like sports and live TV broadcasts but we found that it added an unnatural video-like look to movies not unlike other brands' motion smoothing/motion interpolation technology. Also off-axis viewing is fairly typical for LCD TVs turning blacks to bluish gray and generally losing color saturation outside a 90 degree viewing angle (45 degrees in either direction).
But viewed on axis (straight ahead) or slightly off axis the TV produces exceptional black levels for an LCD TV. Dark films on Blu-ray such as "Blade Runner" and "The Dark Knight" produced inky black images with very good shadow detail and crisp image delineation with no noticeable haloing. Colors also appear accurate with good flesh tones once the set is properly calibrated.
The VF551XVT lacks any kind of internet streaming or IPTV features - this will be coming early next year in the VF552XVT. It's also significantly thicker than the latest LED-backlit TVs from Samsung and LG but if you're looking for a big flat panel LCD TV with excellent contrast it's hard to go wrong with the VIZIO.
A complete review of the VF551XVT is available on Big Picture Big Sound (dot com).
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