Vizio VP322 32-inch plasma eyes-on

We already told you about Vizio's new cheap plasmas, but we recently had a chance to witness the 32-inch VP322 in person. The set's case design is very tasteful, and a welcome departure from the flashy, uber-lit displays we've come to expect from Vizio. As for picture quality, the set exhibited the deep blacks one would expect from a plasma display, but the snowy feed of a basketball game -- which we assume was coming form the set's internal ATSC tuner -- wasn't good enough to tell how the VP322 scales and processes to its native 768 lines. The promised three HDMI and component inputs were all there, confirming that this TV is a decent choice for those making the digital transition. For $550 at Wal-Mart, though, we're not about to complain.

Gallery: Vizio VP322 Eyes-on

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[Paul @ Jun 26th 2008 6:08PM]

lakers lost lol

[Lowest Ranked @ Jun 26th 2008 7:00PM]

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

How many years did you study in obviousism to get your PhD at University of Obvious?

[Pochi @ Jun 26th 2008 7:34PM]

@Lowest Ranked

Wow, that was lame...

[lakersin2025 @ Jun 26th 2008 8:05PM]

Piss off. We are in good shape for the next 5 years.

[The Dude @ Jun 26th 2008 8:10PM]

Boooo. Same time next year, the twin towers of Gasol and Bynum will take those leprechauns to school.

[bohsocks @ Jun 27th 2008 9:02AM]

Yes, the twin towers of Bynum and Gasol will.... no, I'll hold off on making a September 11th joke.

The Lakers were lucky they didn't have to play the Hornets. The best 2 teams in the NBA were in the East, so suck on it.

And yes, the Lakers do look all set for 2025, because Kobe will be retired and Jackson will be dead (and buried with nine rings).

[kjb434 @ Jun 26th 2008 6:22PM]

I'm glad there many companies and then Wal-Mart itself working to produce products that allow more people to have access to technology.

Many of these off brands are using the same components as higher end brands.

Plasma is a good example. Only 5 companies make plasma panel yet there tons of brands selling plasma tv's.

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:16PM]

Blank CD and DVD media follows the same idea. There are (at last check) three major plants that produce the media in Asia yet there are dozens of 'brands' that sell media.

[Pochi @ Jun 26th 2008 6:28PM]

The resolution ios 1024x768, right?

I'd have to assume that's a pretty enormous dealbreaker for most people who know what they're getting into.

[JPW @ Jun 26th 2008 7:31PM]

No, it's 1024 x 720, per the spec sheet.

But with brightness = 1000 cd/m² and contrast = 30,000:1, resolution--especially at that screen size--becomes less of a factor at any respectable viewing distance.

At US$547, this also makes for an appealing combo in mid 2008.

[Pochi @ Jun 26th 2008 7:35PM]

@JPW

I want my 256 missing pixels.

[Raymond Luc @ Jun 26th 2008 8:23PM]

I thought it was better for it to be at 720 instead of 768, because that's closer to 1 to 1 pixel mapping. Am I wrong?

[Raymond Luc @ Jun 26th 2008 8:29PM]

Hello.

[Pochi @ Jun 26th 2008 8:30PM]

@Raymond Luc

Absolutely. I'd prefer a TV to have a 1280x720 resolution and not a 1366x768 like almost all do. Unfortunately, only projection TVs (and like, one or two smaller LCDs) do that anymore.

I mailed that TV dude at CNET one time asking about it and he said it has something to do with cutting costs. It's apparently cheaper to make a 1366x768 TV for for some reason... no idea why.

ANYWAY, the point is that yes 720 is a nice 1:1 map vertically. But with 1024 horizontally, you are LOSING pixels entirely. You're missing 256 pixels out of 1280 (which is sort of a lot).

I'd rather have my image scaled to be larger in a 1366x768 than to be missing lines completely in a 1024x720.

[Raymond Luc @ Jun 26th 2008 8:41PM]

Well that's a bummer. I guess I'm going back to the 26 inch Series 4 Samsung LCD.. unless something better comes out before September 1st. I need this when I move into the dorms in Fall quarter.

[Rick @ Jun 26th 2008 9:50PM]

Resolution should not be a dealbreaker 1024x720 or 768 is fine, especially for a 32"
There is more to picture quality than resolution

[Pochi @ Jun 27th 2008 12:11AM]

"There is more to picture quality than resolution."

New here?

[Raymond Luc @ Jun 27th 2008 12:56AM]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1027358

That is a thread on the AVS forums discussing the awesomeness of this cheap miracle (?) known as the VP322. Well, I would never get my hands on a plasma screen if it wasn't for this one. I think I'm gonna go with this, even though it has a weird resolution. I'd rather save 50 Washingtons and gain 6 inches rather than use them and lose those inches.

Better contrast ratio too, but maybe I'm just mentioning that to assure myself.

[julz007 @ Jun 26th 2008 6:38PM]

can i buy this in uk?

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:15PM]

Doubtful. Vizio is a brand largely brought on by Wal-Mart, which isn't an international company (at least, yet).

[KilgoreTrout @ Jun 26th 2008 6:39PM]

"VIZIO" in italian means "vice" and that's a hell of a bad vice

[Mike @ Jun 26th 2008 6:43PM]

$550 for a 32-inch TV? I'm sorry, but HD is completely unnecessary at that size.

[lawyer bird @ Jun 26th 2008 6:49PM]

wrong.

1080p is unnecessary for that size

[grull27 @ Jun 26th 2008 7:10PM]

I have a 32" HDTV and trust HD is necessary at that size. When I went from a 32" SDTV to a 32" HDTV it was a big difference playing my Xbox 360. It is 720P. Now I will agree that 1080 isn't necessary at that size but not 720P.

[riggs @ Jun 26th 2008 7:23PM]

i have an HDTV @ 32 inches and i can say with confidence, you dont have the slightest idea what youre talking about.

[Byrdman @ Jun 27th 2008 1:18AM]

i have a samsung 1080p 32 inch and hd makes a hell of a difference. the 1080p not so much but the financing was good enough that it made the jump from 720p to 1080p worth it. but yeah HD in anyting makes a difference

[paul @ Jun 27th 2008 3:37PM]

I own a 32" Vizio and the HD makes a huge difference, even for antenna-based broadcast TV.

[John @ Jun 26th 2008 7:04PM]

couldn't you have stuck a 360 on there or something and tested it?

[grull27 @ Jun 26th 2008 7:11PM]

If you look at the bottom-left part of the first pic, there is a 360 with teh 3 red lights. :D lol jk

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:21PM]

Looks like this was at a trade show of some sort, doubt they could just haul in a 360 for it.

[James Cameron @ Jun 26th 2008 7:17PM]

Is this 1920x1200 or 1080? If it is, maybe I can replaced this with my 24" LCD. Great price if the picture is good.

[James Cameron @ Jun 26th 2008 7:21PM]

Supported PC Resolutions: 1366 x 768, 1024 x 768, 800 x 600

Meh...too bad. Still good price for a secondary TV.

[phanbouy @ Jun 26th 2008 9:24PM]

i take it you sit 2 feet from your 32" screen to benefit from 1080p?

[Mike Cerm @ Jun 27th 2008 2:06AM]

If connected though HDMI, it will support 480p, 720p, and 1080i. All ATI and Nvidia cards will put out HDTV compatible signals. According to someone on AVS, it also supports 1080p (not that it matters, because it would have to be scaled down to ~720p to fit the panel anyway).

It's not really feasible to use this thing as a full-time computer monitor. For that, you'd want a 32" 1080P Sharp LCD. However, if you're just hoping to have a great picture from a media center PC, this will do fine.

[tubs @ Jun 26th 2008 7:18PM]

This tv has been out for over a month now

[MastrCake @ Jun 26th 2008 7:21PM]

Am I mistaken, or was that beautiful TV I saw at Wal-Mart yesterday THIS TV?

It said VP322 on the sticker, and that TV looked identical to this one.

Yes, it did say plasma, and the screen looked waaaay different (in a good way) from the pack. It was the most stunning sub-40 inch TV they had on display.

And a lot of the others were actually decent...

[Joshua Ochs @ Jun 26th 2008 7:24PM]

Wait a second... According to their specifications page the panel has a native resolution of 1024x720. It supports PC input... of up to 1366x768. And its supported resolutions are 1266x768, 1024x768, and 800x600. The only one that will actually *fit* is 800x600! If I could have even used it at native 1024x720 it would have made a great mini theater. As it stands... pass.

[Raymond Luc @ Jun 26th 2008 8:38PM]

What do you mean only one will "fit?"

If you select something other than 800 x 600, the picture won't show? I doubt that would happen. What is the effect of selecting 1024x768 on this Vizio?

[Brett @ Jun 26th 2008 7:35PM]

I just bought on of these today. 4 hours later, the screen had a burned in image of the GTA4 HUD!!!!!! Brightness & contrast levels were set to 50.

[James Cameron @ Jun 26th 2008 7:48PM]

Pics or it didn't happen.

[MastrCake @ Jun 26th 2008 8:08PM]

Try the Image Cleaner function. If your TV really did retain that image, try it. You'll find it in the menu.

Thank god for online manuals!!!

Oh, by the way, before you post twice, use F5 to check if it got posted. It takes a few presses for me.

[MastrCake @ Jun 26th 2008 8:12PM]

I agree with James. Post some pics to Photobucket. Then we'll see whether or not my tip was a waste of my time.

Don't forget to attach a link to your next post!

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:19PM]

Toss my hat into the "don't believe it" ring.

[TeJay @ Jun 26th 2008 8:56PM]

Calling BS on this. I own this TV myself, and I have had marathon Team Fortress 2 sessions with it and have not had one bit of burn in. The first time I played on it, though, I switched back to one of the HDMI inputs and saw the HUD there. Luckily, it was just a bit of Image Retention and it was gone in about 5 minutes. Going strong on about a month now with this TV and everything is great with it.

[MastrCake @ Jun 27th 2008 12:57AM]

It's been over 5 hours. Still no pictures. I'm calling BS.

Let's hope you've learned your lesson... Don't lie on Engadget, or you'll get low ranked.

:)

[Brett @ Jun 26th 2008 7:37PM]

I just bought on of these today. 4 hours later, the screen had a burned in image of the GTA4 HUD!!!!!! Brightness & contrast levels were set to 50.

[lakersin2025 @ Jun 26th 2008 8:09PM]

Oh, Ok. Thanks for repeating that. I didn't understand it the first time you said it. I find it hard to believe sets are still getting burn in. Maybe you were burning something?

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:20PM]

@lakers: It's incredibly easy to doublepost here. Calm down...

[Big John @ Jun 26th 2008 8:14PM]

This is finally starting to reach my price range! I'm a college student with a fiance: we share a small apartment, the couch is about eight feet from where the TV is so 32" is a great size.

[andres @ Jun 26th 2008 11:31PM]

hmm, i thought you were older from the looks of your avatar