So, here is a review of the TV that I wrote for the Sportbikes.net message board. Lots of people over there are into home entertainment, so I thought I'd share with them my thoughts on the TV...but in case any of the readers of the blog are interested, this is what I have to say about it...
So I had been doing some research on a new, slightly larger, flatpanel LCD for my TV room.
I had been using a Sanyo 720p 32" LCD that has served me VERY well for the last 3 years or so. Well, the 32" was seeming a little small these days, and I needed a bigger TV for my bedroom. So, instead of just replacing the 20" LCD that's in the bedroom, I decided to move the Sanyo into the bedroom and upgrade the TV rooms TV.
I ended up going with a Vizio 37" 1080p LCD. I got it for $700 including tax and shipping from Dell. I was going to go with another 720p model, because I have found that I personally can't tell a difference between 720p and 1080p...even when looking at really, REALLY expensive TVs. But the 1080p model was only like $40 more, and I found it is the newest model available, so I decided to go with the 1080p model instead.
I did my homework before buying it. I don't know anyone that has a Vizio, so I wasn't able to get any "first hand" information about it...so I had to rely on the unreliable sources such as customer reviews and things like that. I have grown recently to not like customer reviews, because there are always some jackasses there rating things really poorly just to bring the score down. I found several reviews of the same TV that I purchased giving it 1 out of 4 stars, and the reviews were such great substance as "Vizio sucks...get a Samsung or a real TV." So after carefully searching all of the reviews that I could that seemed to come from REAL individuals with experience with the product, I decided it would be worth looking at.
What really sold me on it (other than the price and the features) is the warranty. It's got a one year manufacturers warranty...and this warranty features IN HOME service of the product. So basically, if it breaks, I'll bring the Sanyo back downstairs and wait for Vizio to come fix it. That, and Vizio offers an extension on that warranty to bring it up to 5 full years for not a ton of money. I may look into that next week.
Well, the TV got here yesterday and I got it all hooked up. It's got a TON of inputs...3 HDMI, 2 component, one S-Video, one composite. That's a lot more than my Sanyo has. I got everything up and running and reprogrammed my Harmony remote to control it all in about 20 minutes or so.
I have to say, after two days of pretty solid use (12 hours yesterday between TV and games...I was home sick from work, what can I say???) I have been really impressed. The 1080p setting allowed me to turn my Xbox 360 up to it's maximum potential, and I notice things in games that I didn't notice before. The picture is nice and bright...it's got great color and great contrast. It's also got pretty good sound from it's speakers, but I use a surround sound setup all the time anyways.
To be honest, I have a friend that has some $2k Samsung 40" LCD TV, and I honestly believe that the Vizio that I have easily performs as well as his TV does. I checked his out this morning before going to work just to make sure I wasn't remembering his differently, and with both displays showing Comcast HD channels, I feel that the Vizio easily kept up with the picture quality shown by the Samsung.
The look of the TV itself is pretty nice, to me at least. It's a bit minimal, nothing flashy, but it kind of says "Function over form." I like it.
In fact, the ONLY thing I don't really like about the TV is the remote...but I find ALL remotes that come with products to be junk since I got my Harmony remote.
This is the model that I got here:
VIZIO
All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. The 5" larger screen fits my viewing needs in the TV room better than the 32" did, without overpowering the room with TV. The display is nice, the features are great. I honestly can't really say a bad thing about the product.
If you've been looking for a new TV, but were afraid to spend the money on a Vizio, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I know I'll probably get some "Vizio sucks" type responses in this thread because it's not an "Elite" product, but I think it's an absolute steal for the money it cost!!!
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1 comment:
Prices sure have come down the past few years and in my opinion the quality of the displays are more consistant. Less difference than there used to be.
It will be interesting to find out your opinion a year or even three from now to see how it holds up.
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