Vizio releasing 52-inch 1080p LCD for $2,200 next month?

We know that many consumers like their flat panels big and cheap even at the expense of quality. No doubt then, Vizio's new "full-HD" 52-inch LCD rumored to sell at Costco next month will be a hit. The $2,200 sets are even said to carry an LG.Philips panel according to DigiTimes' Taiwanese supply chain sources. Promising, but will they bring LED backlighting, 120Hz tech, and 1080p24 HDMI input? Doubtful, but the money you save should keep the fridge swollen with Bud into the foreseeable future.

[Rob @ Jul 18th 2007 8:51AM]

I thought Vizio made good TVs. I don't know all the ins and outs of LCD and HD TVs. But, what's so bad about Vizio sets in comparison to Sony's or others alike in the same price/feature level. I'd like to learn more as I'm considering getting a new tv. Thanks.

[riggs @ Jul 18th 2007 11:04AM]

buzzing sounds, washed out pictures, horrible black levels, artifacts etc. and im not a vizio hater or anything im just a realist. in the world of lcd and hdtv's what u pay for is what u get unfortunately.

[Jeff @ Jul 18th 2007 11:17AM]

"in the world of lcd and hdtv's what u pay for is what u get unfortunately."

This is not at all true. There are only I think four manufacturers of LCD panels, and really only two (or three) big ones. If you don't buy a TV from Samsung, Sharp or LG/Philips, then you're buying what amounts to a "white box" TV anyway - no matter how big the name on the case.

So you're paying for the name with big brands. Feature-wise, most LCD TV's are pretty close - the *only* real differentiators given the similarities in the panels are backlighting, 60 vs. 120hz (which is a bit of a gimmick), and deinterlacing/scaling.

All of that is easily researched and easily measured, and plenty of "cheap" TV's best more expensive TV's in these areas. When I bought my Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD, for example, it was not only one of the only 1080p LCD's on the market, it was one of the only LCD TV's *period* that actually deinterlaced 1080i content properly. So in that pretty important sense it was actually better than more expensive sets.

The bottom line is you need to completely ignore price when it comes to LCD TV sets. The market is in such a state of flux right now that nobody even knows what the "right" price is for a TV yet. The major brands set premium prices because they think they can get them, and the smaller brands come in - often with better sets - and undercut those prices. The major brands then cut their own prices in response, and on and on.

By the way, the major brands are just as likely to have quality issues - witness Sharp's dead pixel problem, Sony's "cloudy" backlighting issues, or Samsung's (until just recently) complete inability to not overscan.

[JCA @ Jul 18th 2007 12:25PM]

Who puts their Bud in a fridge? Mine is in my desk drawer and doing just fine thanks.

[pito189 @ Jul 18th 2007 9:07AM]

We have a 47" LCD Vizio. It's 1080p and has about every input you can want. Being an avid reader I was skeptical when we got it, but it is for our fraternity house, and I have been pleasantly surprised, great picture and brightness. It does seem to have a problem with keeping volume at a normal level from show to commercial that our old CRT TV did not, but other than that I would recommend it to anyone.

[Georgi @ Jul 18th 2007 12:07PM]

That's not problem with your TV but the way the HD channels are broad casted, they do that on purpose and it happens on all TVs. If you have home theater system lots of the models allow you to even out the volume so you may want to try that.

[JoseB @ Jul 18th 2007 9:08AM]

Doubtful that it will have HDMI?
Pretty much every Vizio available, from the $600 32" HD LCD on up to the 60" Plasma have HDMI,most have 2 HDMI inputs, and even though they don't cost 2 or 3 times the price, the quality of their panels / picture quality is unbelievable, even compared side by side to a Philips / Sony. I have a 37" LCD HD (with 2 HDMI) and have compared it side by side to the big boys...and I did not notice a $600 difference...

[Thomas Ricker @ Jul 18th 2007 9:44AM]

JoseB,

I didn't say it wouldn't have HDMI. I said "1080p24 HDMI."

Thomas

[JoseB @ Jul 18th 2007 10:36AM]

Yeah sorry, i'm seeing punctuation that doesn't exist this morning.

[Jay Bergen @ Sep 24th 2007 4:36PM]

I have a Vizio VU42L purchased at Costco for $1099. It offers incredible value, but it would be foolish to claim that it is equivalent to a even the lowest end Sony Bravia. The most obvious visual difference is the poor black level of the Vizio set. Just go into Costco and look at the Vizio and Sony on display there.
I personally believe that the current premium for the Sony is just too high.

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 18th 2007 9:23AM]

"the money you save should keep the fridge swollen with Bud into the foreseeable future."

And hey, with enough booze, you won't be able to tell the difference!

[Jason @ Jul 18th 2007 9:25AM]

What's with the hate Engadget? I bet if Vizio were to call this model the "iLCD", you guys would be pimping it.

[Jack @ Jul 18th 2007 10:07AM]

you win!

[Ryan Albert @ Jul 18th 2007 10:01AM]

I just went through this whole excercise recently buying my first panel tv. Started with the Visio 50" VP plasma.. Annoying buzzing sound that is well documented on AVSForum. Returned it and got the 47" Vizio LCD.. Horrible picture quality compared to the plasma. I refused to settle with this. Settled with the Sony Bravia 46". Very happy now. Tried to be cheap but when add up the time you spend watching this thing, anything that slightly bothers you will just magnify over time and you will regret not spending just a little more to get it perfect. I hope this new Vizio addresses the issues with the previous models. I would love a high quality entrant into the competition.

[Alan K @ Jul 18th 2007 9:47AM]

I have the 47 inch Vizio GV47LF and it performs well everywhere except black levels. It's a decent set for everyday watching. When you watch non-HD in dark room is the only time you notice the poor black levels.

[Mike @ Jul 18th 2007 10:03AM]

I wouldn't necessarily knock the "cheap" sets as being lower quality. Consumer Reports has Olevia's sets ranked highly in comparison to other, more well-known manufacturers.

[Harvey @ Jul 18th 2007 10:10AM]

Why would we want 1080P24 this year? Does Thomas know something about XHDTV broadcast TV, Sony PS4, or HD-DVDII that we don't know.

For now, give me a 1080P with 2 or 3 HDMI connections and a very good picture at a reasonable price. You can keep the LCD backlights and the beer.

[jakep_82 @ Jul 18th 2007 2:00PM]

Many Blu-ray players will output 1080p24, including the PS3.

[Thomas Ricker @ Jul 18th 2007 2:26PM]

Harvey,

Do you spend $2,000 for product that lasts a year? Regardless, there are already plenty of devices which output 1080p24. Click the link or search on Blu-ray, HD DVD, and PS3.

Thomas

[polar @ Jul 18th 2007 10:27AM]

And it's going to be available with a coupon from Costco!

[patrick @ Jul 18th 2007 11:18PM]

I bet if you polled the owners of Olevia, Vizio, Maxent and others of this ilk they'd tell you of very positive experiences. Sure there are defective tv's and there always will be. The post about only 3 or 4 actual manufacturers is true. I've heard that the chips inside are important to the picture/black level. I've had an Olevia 32in for about 2 years now and never had a problem. It's great! If I were to purchase now I'd go with Vizio.

[Peter @ Jul 18th 2007 10:41AM]

wow, somebody took their elitist snob pill this morning!

[Craig @ Jul 18th 2007 10:56AM]

well, the quality vs price tradeoff is probably true... i haven't seen a lot of Vizios, but i will say that when the ground-breaking sub-$1,000 42" plasma was introduced at Costco, it had a noticeably inferior picture quality. the blacks looked like grays.

of course, i hope this starts to diminish. but that 42" was definitely for the ignorant shopper with no appreciation for picture quality

[jlp @ Jul 18th 2007 11:14AM]

you guys are crazy. i have had the vizio 50" plasma for about a year now and it performs just as good or better than the panasonic i replaced. no buzzing, black levels are great and got an extra 8" for a lot less price compared with my previous panasonic plasma. Highly, i mean very, very highly recommended.

[andy @ Jul 18th 2007 11:55AM]

I have the 50" plasma, with the buzz, and I still think it's a pretty good deal. The only time you hear the buzz is when the sound is off. Any ambient noise at all covers it, even birds and background on the golf course when watching golf.

Picture quality is top notch.


You guys are all doing the brand name snob thing. If you covered the frames of these tv's and picked the better picture, I'll bet 1/2 or better of you would pick the vizio.

[mark @ Jul 18th 2007 11:19AM]

I have the $600 32" Vizio 720p and am very satisfied with my purchase. There are an incredible amount of adjustments to color to help with picture, but the defaults have given me a beautiful picture. DVDs look great, but there is a cutback on sound when running from a DVD player, ie rca cable. There is also a slight shadow behind text when you connect a laptop, but I have not played with the setting to see if this is just a simple fix. You have to keep in mind when buying a new HD TV that what you are seeing at your local best buy is not what most people will see in their living rooms. Most channels are not 1080 or even 720 quality, and will look horrible on even the most expensive set.

[eavaillancourt @ Jul 18th 2007 11:27AM]

There has been a costco coupon $200 off (no base price mentioned) for over a month now. Costco item# 200552. States x4 HDMI input connectors. Coupon valid Aug 20 - Au 28 2007. Printed in summer 2007 passport savings coupon book for "members only" first coupon dated June 4 th. Booklet was printed and distributed several weeks before then. So one should check these as a source more often and earlier I guess

[doniel @ Jul 18th 2007 1:40PM]

Hey, guys,

I just don't see the point of spending almost double of the money to get a 1080p HDTV instead of a mediocre 1080i/720p one. Is there a 1080p HD channel right now? don't say there will be in the near future cuz 90% of channels out there aren't even 720p yet. I just don't think 1080p will become mainstream on TV in at least 3~4 years. Plus when the time comes, more fancy TVs will definitely come out with almost the same price you pay right now. So why buy a 1080p HDTV now?

[Georgi @ Jul 18th 2007 2:29PM]

HD-DVD, Blueray, PS3, Xbox 360. If you have no interest in any of those then I guess you don't need one.

[andy @ Jul 18th 2007 11:57AM]

Riggs, so do you work for pioneer, sony, samsung, or a "local high end retailer"?

Because as far as I've seen, samsung sets have a slightly better picture than others, and cost around 2.5 times what the competition does. You have to have them side by side with a westinghouse, olevia, or vizio to tell the difference. I wouldn't exactly call that "getting what you pay for".

[Syndication @ Jul 18th 2007 12:55PM]

I would remember it once my off brand TV died. I don't think these cheap tv's are built to last. There's a reason they're cheap. My guess is the cheap parts inside operating the LCD. There's a reason why Sharp, Samsung, Sony and LG cost more because the parts are probably higher quality.

Seriously, it's like saying a Hanns-G monitor will last as long as a Samsung monitor or is just as good.

You do get what you pay for in that there's a cache why these TV's are cheap.

Westinghouse, Olevia, Viewsonic, Niko, & Vizio are pretty bad brands. You might as well buy a Haier laptop (that company that makes those cheap fridges that break at walmart)

[roz @ Jul 18th 2007 5:53PM]

I have 2 vizio. 32 720p lcd and the 47 1080p lcd. they both seem great. HD content looks amazing. I really can't see what people are talking about re: black levels - I've spent time trying to see the issue on supposedly better sets, but I don't see it. I really can't see what is wrong with these sets - and I am not one to buy cheap goods. It just seems to me that once you have these hooked up to a cablebox dvr, you never really deal with the TV anymore, its just a fancy monitor - most of the UI is the cable box. I never touch the TV remote. how much does tv brand matter at that point?

The real issue is not the maker of the set, its the lack of HD content. Most of cable channels are not HD. For that issue we should be applauding cheaper sets.

[berford @ Jul 20th 2007 2:34AM]

Well, for us non-videophiles on a limited budget and an obviously less discernable eye, 4x HDMI Inputs and compatible input formats of - 1080p, 1080i HD, 720p HD, 480p DVD, 480i standard TV - will be just fine.

http://www.vizio.com/media/products/pdfs/GV52L_Spec_Sheet-2.pdf

http://www.vizio.com/media/products/pdfs/GV52L+FHDTV+User's+Manual.pdf

Technology is changing so rapidly that if you keep waiting for the next best thing to buy, you'll never buy. Better to jump in and enjoy the value Vizio offers.

[Bill @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:21PM]

My almost 2 yr old 50 in Vizio PDP died and the 5 yr warranty purchased form Vizio [Warranty Corporation of America] has not gotten a service person to call my home after 10 days. Vizio [where I bouoght the warranty] claim that it is not their responsibility and suggested I call Warranty Corporation of America, a 6th time. Do not buy Vizio. I paid over $3000 for the PDP and 5 year warranty.

[Bill @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:23PM]

Follow up on the dead Vizio above: I emailed Vizio customer/tech support about the experience and that I would spread the word around the web. I just got a call from Vizio within 2 hrs and described the problem. I was told it was not repairable and they would send a replacement in 7 to 10 days. It will be 2 yrs old in 2 days.