Vizio supplier says it paid MPEG-2 patents

Just an update on that Vizio vs. the world tiff, one of the major shareholders of the company and major manufacturer for the brand, Taiwan-based Amtran, chimes in that it already paid royalties for the disputed MPEG-2 patents between the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008. It's important to note that the company apparently had not seen the details of the lawsuit yet and couldn't give details, but we'll see how this affects things between the cheap HDTV manufacturer and MPEG LA.

[Red @ Jun 11th 2008 4:49PM]

Their TV's still suck.

[Paul @ Jun 11th 2008 6:29PM]

Yet, I've been nothing short of happy with my Vizio that I picked up for half the price of anyone else. Being a college student and getting an HD set for that price, it works perfectly.

[captainpease @ Jun 11th 2008 6:44PM]

I agree with Paul. I've had mine for a year and love it.

I was at Circuit City the other day, helping a friend pick out his HDTV. I recommended the Vizio in front of the sales guy and he immediately went into this rant about how that's their "most returned TV" and how the blacks aren't very black and blah blah. I looked him straight in the eyes and asked him "then why do you carry them? i've had mine for over a year now and love it." He sort of just walked off after that.

Obviously, their profit margin is slim to none on those sets and that guy just wanted good commission. But I'm still pissed off at the jerk. It reminds me of when APEX came out with the cheap flat screen tv sets years ago. People bought those up like crazy (including myself) and the big brands were bashing them. Well guess what? My APEX was still working perfectly when I sold it on Craigslist after I bought my new Vizio.

[Dave @ Jun 13th 2008 1:18PM]

No there is a big difference with APEX...they used the same quality components that the big brands did...that's also why they went out of business - because they offered these sweet sets at a lower price point than the big boys, but never paid their suppliers (read about it it's still on the web).

[z0phi3l @ Jun 11th 2008 4:50PM]

They might "suck" but they are competing against the bigger names, and that's a good thing, need to bring the prices down for LCD and HDTV sets

[Cory @ Jun 11th 2008 4:51PM]

And with the Supreme Court ruling that you can't sue up and down the supply chain, looks like "the world" is SOL.

[Miles @ Jun 11th 2008 4:54PM]

There TV's are the best value for the money. I got a 50in plasma a few years ago n it looks great!

[Dave @ Jun 11th 2008 5:44PM]

Apparently THEIR TVs are for people like you who don't know the difference between 3000:1 and 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and who also don't know the difference between the use of "their" and "there".

You don't have to be a videophile to know that the quality of Vizio is garbage, one step above AKAI and Sanyos that are sold in Wal-Mart next to Samsungs that are over 3 years old.

[Jack Storm @ Jun 11th 2008 6:21PM]

ehh theyre ok for entry level but you deserve much better

[JoseB @ Jun 12th 2008 1:34PM]

@ Dave:

The 3000:1 Vs 10000:1 argument holds almost no water in the real world, since most TV manufacturers use a "dynamic" or "maximum" figure for their spec sheets, there are really no standards for how a company lists their Contrast Ratio, so using it in an argument is a moot point.

I suggest comparing TVs side by side, which I have done, and then asking yourself if that amazing 10000:1 contrast ratio is really all you think it seems to be.

[Eric @ Jun 11th 2008 6:10PM]

"between the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008"

That's a pretty small window!

"Hurry up and sign! 2008 is starting!!"

[wanax @ Jun 11th 2008 6:15PM]

Dave,

Don't be a dick and stop being a grammar nazi. This is a freaking blog, not a research paper.

The average Joe doesn't care about contrast ratio or black levels, they just want to upgrade from their old CRTs and Vizio (and Westinghouse) provide an affordable alternative to many people. What's wrong with that? Plus once you take one home and fine tune them, they look decent enough. $550 for a 32" LCD is a lot easier for many people to stomach vs. $800-$1200 for a Sony branded LCD. I know many people who would love to get an LCD but can't afford those high prices, yet I don't look down on them just because they don't notice a major difference in picture quality. BTW I own two Bravias and consider myself a videophile, but atleast I'm not some snobby elitist.

[Dave @ Jun 11th 2008 7:53PM]

The reference to grammar was to poke fun at people who think Vizios are on par with good brand name LCDs. Last time I checked contrast ratio wasn't something so complex it got put into research papers...

The point I was making is that Vizio for anyone concerned with buying a real quality TV is garbage. For those who say "oh but its so much cheaper than big brand names" - sure that's true to a certain point, but I mean seriously, look around on amazon or fry's for a few weeks and you can almost always find a sale on Samsung/Toshiba/Sony LCDs. Are they always the current year LCDs that are on sale? no, but I would take a year-old Samsung 40" 720p LCD over a current year Vizio that costs $100 less since I'm sure that 99% of the time the Samsung will outperform the Vizio in brightness, contrast ratio, and refresh rate.

This isn't about being "elitist", this is about pissing money down the drain on a substandard HDTV that you're going to end up upgrading twice as fast compared to buying a quality TV in the first place.

[manchicken @ Jun 11th 2008 6:16PM]

As an owner of a VIZIO, the quality is better than the old CRT I had, and I had enough left over to buy other things to go with the TV. I'm not stupid enough to pay as much as folks pay for the more expensive brands... even if the picture is a bit less quality... and I'm certainly not stupid enough to finance a television.

I'm also hoping that VIZIO didn't pay the patent. Knowing that I'm not paying into patent acquisition corruption makes the purchase of this TV more appealing to me. MPEG-LA is a bully stealing lunch money from pretty much anybody they think they can. The less money they successfully extort with their ridiculous patent, the better.

[Jack Storm @ Jun 11th 2008 6:32PM]

yes you are stupid

oh and my tv is better than yours.

[gletob @ Jun 11th 2008 9:49PM]

No jack you suck
And your TV is stupid

[adrian @ Jun 11th 2008 7:01PM]

They may not be the best, But people are buying them and that's what the big boys are scared of.

[Tom @ Jun 12th 2008 10:12AM]

Dave,

Clearly your an idiot who really knows nothing about VIZIO or TV's in general. Do you really think Samsung, Sony and the other top tier brands have access and use better components than VIZIO? They all buy panels and internal electronics from the same collection of vendors. BTW, if you did a little reasearch you'd find out that AmTran, mention in the article actually does sudcontract work for both Sony and Apple as well. So I suppose you also think thier stuff sucks too. Idiot...

[Dave @ Jun 13th 2008 8:54AM]

Hey jackass just because it's from the same supplier doesn't mean the quality of the components are the same. But I guess you thought that when an ODM is hired by more than one company that the products are of the exact same quality just with different branding. Really, good post though...

(Obviously Samsung, Sony, and other top tier manufacturers ARE using better components or their TVs would not have such better contrast ratios, brightness, etc.). Go to AVS Forums sometime and learn about LCD TVs before you comment on them.

[Tom @ Jun 13th 2008 10:17AM]

Oh yes, the AVS Forum. That's where all the smart people are.

Do you know the difference between an ODM and an OEM?

Or better yet, do you know what "contrast ratio" means?

Name the top 3 LCD panel suppliers. Which ones do Sony, Samsung and VIZIO use?

How about SOC's. Do you which one Sony, Samsung or VIZIO use?

Do you know anything about these 3 TV manufacturers other than what you read on the AVS forum?

Wait a minute, are you one of those guys wearing a blue shirt at BestBuy?

[Dave @ Jun 13th 2008 11:47AM]

You know what, you're absolutely right. Vizio purposely must just advertise lower specs since according to you they are using all the same parts. Wow, you sound very intelligent right now...I'm sure according to you Vizio is on par with Samsung or Sony, which is laughable.

[Dave @ Jun 13th 2008 11:51AM]

btw, you still can't even buy an 120hz TV from Vizio - what does that tell you? Oh sure, they showed one at CES this year, but still haven't released it. Funny, since Samsung and Sony have had 120hz TVs out for a while now...

[Tom @ Jun 13th 2008 12:31PM]

Well actually each manufacturer has many product categories. Would you compare a Chevy Corvette to a Kia Spectra? I mean they’re both cars.

You think that a “specified” contrast ratio of 15,000 to 1 is better than 10,000 to 1? Certainly 15K is a bigger number, but how’s it measured? Is it measured in a pitch black room, direct sunlight or somewhere in between? The number is very subjective. The Korea’s typically spec higher because of their testing methodology.

As for brightness, that a functionality of back lighting. The only time you typically see an LCD backlight turned all the way up is when it’s being displayed in a brightly lit store. Once you get it home the backlight is usually turned down to about 50% depending on room lighting.

What other attributes do you think are better with the S’s over VIZIO? Or do you hate VIZIO because it’s an American born brand?

[Dave @ Jun 13th 2008 2:39PM]

lol all I buy are Chevy's and Ford's (yes, some can laugh, but their SUVs for me have stood the test of time). Anyways, look, for people that want a cheap flat screen and don't care too much about quality (read: grandma and grandpa who cant see 1080p) then Vizio is fine. But if you really care about how HDTV looks, you deserve better. I mean, if you want something that fits inbetween and has a good balance of price vs performance, I would opt to get Philips.

[Tom @ Jun 13th 2008 1:15PM]

Is 120Hz important to you? I'd argue that 60Hz with MEMC looks better. However if numbers are important to you then go ahead and pay the extra $500 or $600.

BTW, VIZIO has a 120Hz TV coming out with MEMC if you want to save a few bucks. http://www.productwiki.com/vizio-black-tie-series/