Vizio VP322 32-inch plasma eyes-on
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted Jun 26th 2008 6:06PM
posted Jun 26th 2008 6:06PM
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.
lakers lost lol
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
How many years did you study in obviousism to get your PhD at University of Obvious?
@Lowest Ranked
Wow, that was lame...
Piss off. We are in good shape for the next 5 years.
Boooo. Same time next year, the twin towers of Gasol and Bynum will take those leprechauns to school.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
@JPW
I want my 256 missing pixels.
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?
Hello.
@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.
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.
Resolution should not be a dealbreaker 1024x720 or 768 is fine, especially for a 32"
There is more to picture quality than resolution
"There is more to picture quality than resolution."
New here?
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.
can i buy this in uk?
Doubtful. Vizio is a brand largely brought on by Wal-Mart, which isn't an international company (at least, yet).
"VIZIO" in italian means "vice" and that's a hell of a bad vice
$550 for a 32-inch TV? I'm sorry, but HD is completely unnecessary at that size.
wrong.
1080p is unnecessary for that size
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.
i have an HDTV @ 32 inches and i can say with confidence, you dont have the slightest idea what youre talking about.
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
I own a 32" Vizio and the HD makes a huge difference, even for antenna-based broadcast TV.
couldn't you have stuck a 360 on there or something and tested it?
If you look at the bottom-left part of the first pic, there is a 360 with teh 3 red lights. :D lol jk
Looks like this was at a trade show of some sort, doubt they could just haul in a 360 for it.
Is this 1920x1200 or 1080? If it is, maybe I can replaced this with my 24" LCD. Great price if the picture is good.
Supported PC Resolutions: 1366 x 768, 1024 x 768, 800 x 600
Meh...too bad. Still good price for a secondary TV.
i take it you sit 2 feet from your 32" screen to benefit from 1080p?
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.
This tv has been out for over a month now
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...
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.
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?
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.
Pics or it didn't happen.
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.
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!
Toss my hat into the "don't believe it" ring.
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.
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.
:)
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.
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?
@lakers: It's incredibly easy to doublepost here. Calm down...
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.
hmm, i thought you were older from the looks of your avatar