Home audio & video: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate...
Protron 32" TV BASE - WANTED
by bthole - 1/28/09 12:49 PM In reply to: Shop NBC and JUNK Protron TV"S what till you have a prob!! by sharonc00If anyone out there bought this TV like I did, but kept their base, and now does not need it - please contact me as I would like to buy it
thank you
Your behind in your research...
by kkutz - 2/14/07 6:46 PM In reply to: ANYONE LOOKING TO BY A NEW FLAT-PANEL TV: READ THIS!!!!! by gamer1489"Plasma sucks because of it's life expectancy: 5 years" Where are you getting your facts? Show me static’s from a reliable source that backs up your statement for modern Plasma vs LCD vs DLP.
This link should help bring you up to speed there Scooter
by kkutz - 2/14/07 8:30 PM In reply to: ANYONE LOOKING TO BY A NEW FLAT-PANEL TV: READ THIS!!!!! by gamer1489http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-lifespan.html
Specs may proove more important than Brand name
by LionsMike - 2/13/07 9:56 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI have not researched TVs, but I did do my homework before purchasing a flat panel monitor. Aquisition speed, contrast ratio, and resolution vary tremendously. If you are comparing brand names be sure that you are comparing units with at least similar specifications
Mike
Viewsonic
by elc - 2/14/07 12:11 PM In reply to: Specs may proove more important than Brand name by LionsMikeI bought a Viewsonic 37" for the basement a few months ago, primarily for the kids though I've watched it more than them. It's not the best quality, and I did not expect it to be, but for the basement and for half the price of the top brands I was happy to make a tradeoff.
Anyways there IS a wide variation in picture quality, IMO Samsung and Sony are by far the best quality LCD's (and yes they do share a panel manufacturing plant, so that makes sense). A lot of people say Sharp is in that top tier too, though from what I've seen I wouldn't agree.
Then I find among the brand names there is a second tier with companies like Sharp, Hitachi, LG etc that are definitely a step behind, but not bad.
Finally there is the third tier like the Digimates/Acers etc that make some pretty bad stuff.
A lot of the off brands have sets that belong in the 2nd tier based on quality, I think the Viewsonic is one of those.
Important things to keep in mind when looking at sets in the store is that a) often the signal quality they are getting is terrible, and HDTV will look bad with a bad signal because it reveals so much detail, and b) the sets in the stores are almost never setup properly, people are always playing with the settings, and sometimes even the factory settings are awful. That's the case with the Viewsonic, it's factory settings are unbelievably bad, and you have to go into the hidden service menu to fix them, but once you do I think the picture quality is very similar to the LG sets.
So anyways if you want the best PQ I think you have to go big name, namely IMO Samsung or Sony, but there are bargains among the off brands.
Olevia x Twice
by commortis - 2/13/07 9:56 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI bought my son a 26" Olevia LCD-HDTV for Xmas for 399. from CompUSAm for his Xbox 360. Spectacular picture, and sound, even. We were so impressed that we just bought a 32" Olevia LCD-HDTV from Circuit City for 599. For both these teevees, I bought warranties for nominal cash. I always buy a warranty for big-ticket electronics, because, well, they are electronics, and they cost me plenty of money. I am confident that I will be as satisfied with the 32" as we are with the 26".
Brand names mean precious little to me. I have spent double the cash more than once only to be bitten by the name-brand snake. Can anyone here say "Packard-Bell" or E-Machines" or "Gateway" or "Green Giant" or "Harmon-Kardon" or-- ahh, don't get me started. Read the specs, test-drive the product, and remember: Components. American components, Russian Components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN! (Thanks for the reminder, shmody!
VIZIO IS GREAT
by iansudano - 2/13/07 10:03 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI had to replace TV's as a result of a fire and bought the VIZIO 42" Plasma with the HDTV TV Tuner included and love it so much when i saw the 50" also with the HDTV Tuner on a special at Costco, i got that and put the 42" in my bedroom.
Everyone who sees the picture is quite amazed. The surround sound feature is also great.
I love it and know of at very least 10 people who bought one as a result of seeing mine, none of us have had any problems and we all love them.
Go ahead and buy VIZIO without reservation
Which flat panel to buy.
by billydkidd - 2/13/07 10:07 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinEvery day you wait all flat panel tvs will get cheaper but, if you want a qualified assessment check Consumer Reports. They are the best!
Don't do it!!!
by brbubba - 2/13/07 10:09 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI owned a Vizio for about 2 months, and I can say I won't ever buy one again. I was initially attracted by the price and the picture looked quite good in the store, so I jumped on it. First thing I noticed is that every component felt cheap. The remote was horrible, the TV frame felt like cheap plastic, the dang thing didn't have a swivel to rotate the TV around. Since the price was so good I looked past these shortcomings, until about a month into it the TV would randomly make a very loud white noise sound, which could only be resolved by powering it off and on again. This happened about 5 times over a few weeks.
Thankfully at the time Dell had a great deal and I got one of their TVs and took the Vizio back. Although I can't personally recommend Dell TVs now because their prices are so insanely high, I can tell you that once that TV was setup everything about it screamed quality while everything about the Vizio screamed made in China. And not only was the build quality better, but the picture ended up being better too, better saturation, no more hotspots. Even though it cost me a few hundred more I don't regret for an instant my decision to go with the Dell over the Vizio and I suggest you make room in your budget to get a name brand TV over the Vizio as well.
Couldn't you sum this up...
by lanahan95 - 2/13/07 10:17 PM In reply to: Don't do it!!! by brbubbato just a bad egg? Lemon? While the offbrands have their faults...the brand names have just as many lemons... I remember being in the Best Buy store when the new Sony rear-projection LCDs were being put out on the floor and hooked up. I decided to wait around and watch them hook it up...I was anxious to see if they were any good. I am not a fan of Sony at all, but seeing a low cost version of a plasma was well sticking around to see. Anywho, long story short...the second they turned it on it hummed. Then two pixels blew out when they were still in blue screen (highly noticeable)! This all happened in less than 5 minutes of this thing being on! The humming NEVER stopped...they turned it on and off, never stopped. Finally, someone just worked up the courage to whack the side of it...it stopped humming...only to be replaced with a LOUD WHINING sound. They unplugged it from the wall and quickly took it off the floor to make sure no one else saw this...
There were two other guys watching this happen...and we all laughed when the blue shirts of the best buy guys were running the tv to the back of the store and out of site.
Dell TV
by larrythecomputerguy - 2/14/07 9:42 AM In reply to: Don't do it!!! by brbubba...and where do you think your "Dell" was manufactured???
Offbrands not created equal
by harry01562 - 2/13/07 10:17 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI recently shopped for a small TV for my den. Looked for a cheapie, and found a 20" flat screen Memorex for under $100.00. The picture quality is very good, has some nice touches, such as a complete set of control buttons on the top of the set, and ample connections. I had a problem with the set starting with a black screen, but I solved it by a close read of the directions. It now works as I would expect.
I did take the extended warranty, just to give myself some insurance, but for the price, it's an excellent little set. It was bought at KMart, on sale. Set, with extended warranty, came to less than normal retail of $120.
Off brands vs named brands... as I saw it.
by gilleegolf - 2/13/07 10:21 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinBetween August and November 2006 I spent many hours in COSTCO, VIDEO ONLY and Best Buy, watching and comparing LCD and plasma screens. I'd take notes on my perceptions and then go home, get on the net and read all available info/reviews about the brands. I finally narrowed it down to LCD instead of plasma and Sony and Mitsubishi as the best pictures, controls and quality. I wanted to be impressed with Vizio, Polaroid, Maxent and Westinghouse because they were less expensive but was just blown away by the picture quality in the Sony and Mitsubishi. I finally chose the 46" Sony V2500 when that dealer beat the Mitsubishi price by $300.00. Vizio's blacks looked muddy, Polaroid gave me eye fatigue, Maxent's primary colors looked washed out and Westinghouse was totally non-impressive and looked "cheap". I truly enjoy my Sony and have no regrets for not saving a few hundred more, had I talked myself into accepting inferior picture quality and unknown return rates/refurbs from any of those off-brand.
Polaroid LCD TV
by jfdonohue - 2/14/07 10:02 AM In reply to: Off brands vs named brands... as I saw it. by gilleegolfI bought a small (7")under the kitchen cabinet Polaroid LCD TV for my wife for Christmas 2005. It never worked properly. The TV would shut down by itself sometimes would not come back on and the audio was terrible. I sent it back in exchange for a Sony. We have not had any problems with the Sony.
The "Off Brands"-tragedy in the making& a terrifying symptom
by atheria - 2/13/07 10:24 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinYou want to know what MY first question is on any
consumer electronics these days? You won't like it.
And some of you will argue that it's "not a problem".
Is it made in China?
It's a question we all should be asking.
It's not one thing, it's ALL things. Clothing that is
made in China, electronics made in China, shoes MADE
ONLY IN CHINA. What next? Food imported FROM China?
We've put ourselves out of business. Our TVs were
THE best at one time. We competed with the Japanese
who were the kings of the knock-off - and they improved
on anything we could do, but the Chinese? They don't
IMPROVE on ANYTHING!
They mimic without innovation and gain nothing for any
of their people. It's sick. The conditions of workers
in China is something from a bad "B" (or worse) movie
that no one will EVER see.
We outsourced our lives years ago, but with the advent of
the Chinese knock-off, we really gave up the store, threw
the baby out with the bath-water and left the gate WIDE
open and all the cows left without a single moo.
You might or might not get it, but we're bankrupt. We
import almost everything - even foods that are "out of
season" and then don't buy anything that is American made
to speak of compared to the imported goods base that floods
our shores and interior with badly made clothing, electronics,
shoes, and everything else in-between.
Germans are amazing engineers - their cars
and small appliances are darn well made.
Japanese make amazing electronics and wonderful cars
that get crazy gas mileage - I know I just rented one.
Brazil and Italy make wonderful purses and shoes IF you can
afford them.
China makes the knock-offs of the world... badly.
And America makes... hmmm... what DO we make?
Even our chips on our "Silicon Valley" computers
are stamped "made in China" more often than not.
It's sickening to the n'th degree how little we make,
how little we do and how amazingly little we care.
Ignore this post. It doesn't matter what you or I think
and it doesn't matter that entropy has America and Americans
in its grip and we're on a slow, steady spiral into oblivion,
we just can't feel it any more than a frog can feel the water
getting hotter around its slowing cooking body when the
water pot starts to boil.
I wish it weren't true...
We're becoming the joke of the known world and our heads
are collectively in the sand that will choke us because
we are too stupid to realize we're slowly choking to death.
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