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Home audio & video: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate...
cheaper brands
by 4138168 - 2/14/07 9:34 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlin+Most LCD or PLASMA TVs are made up of components from various sources,the manufacturers mainly give the same guarantees for all.Surely the choice then becomes whether you like the picture and the sound quality
Flat Panel TV
by Bob Shenski - 2/14/07 9:41 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI always buy name brand TVs especially on flat panel. I have 2 Sony LCD-projection TVs (50" and 55") and I am very happy with both. I also have 2 smaller Sharp Aqua LCD TVs (13" & 15") and the 13" is much sharper than 15" in picture quality. All these TVs perfomed outstandingly. I consider Sony's picture color and quality are superior comparing to other brand TVs with similar technology (LCD,DLP, etc.). On a side-by-side comparison, my Sony 50" LCD's picture quality and sharpness matched Panasonic's 50" Plasma. Panasonic's 50" Plasma was a top-rated plasma TV by Consumer Report. I paid significantly less on Sony's LCD TV than Panasonic Plasma. I always stay with name brand because I beleive their quality control is better than no name brand.
Sony
by renovations - 11/17/07 7:17 AM In reply to: Flat Panel TV by Bob ShenskiI'm so impressed! if you has shopped better you could have 4-5 with more features instead. Wise shopper.
Vizio, Vizio and Olevia, the same by any name
by Boss Taz - 2/14/07 9:46 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI bought the Vizio 50" Plasma when it was still $2500, then it went down to $1999. It was worth the money then.
I bought my wife the Vizio 42" LCD and the price was $999 and of course after Christmas it was $899.
My friend who is kind of a computer and electronic geek, hooked up his mother-in-law's 27" Olevia and believe it or not, it's a Vizio sold at Best Buy. Same manual, same remote, same hookup.
If Vizio would have allowed home "sales people" I could have had a nice business going.
No complaints of any kind. Great value for the money.
50" Vizio
by Rowdy3 - 2/14/07 10:11 AM In reply to: Vizio, Vizio and Olevia, the same by any name by Boss TazI purchased Mine from Sam's when they were $2500 too---and I can not Be any happier with the Quality of Picture and Performance.... I'm useing it as a Living Room" TV----hooked to Both---DISH and DIRECT Satelitte and it just Great.... The HD Quality is BETTER---then the Off the Air I get from Locals.... Vizio---gets My Vote----over Sony's HIGH END---and ""Save the Bucks"----invest in a TOP Notch DVD Player/Recorder to match it with.!!
Rowdy
Totally Happy with MAXENT
by pir8matt - 2/14/07 10:04 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI don't know about Vizio, but I bought an off-brand plasma (MAXENT), but I bought it knowing that it was just a rebadged and de-card-slotted Panasonic. Its been a great TV and I got it at a bargain price!
As far as buying from the 'brands', all those 'brand' tv's are just badged components that are mostly all bought from the same sources, so don't think you're getting anything all that much better by getting one. Ultimately what happens when something goes wrong is determined by who you bought it from and how long the warranty is for (or if you bought an extended one).
In my case, the first Maxent I bought was actually DOA, but I believe that was because of sloppy shipping (it was delivered upside-down and I didnt sign for it). Maxent sent me a replacement (tethered to a pallet) BEFORE I returned the broken one, which was great service, IMO.
For what I paid for it, its still a good deal. There are very few deals out there for less money than I paid ($1499) with the feature set this plasma had.
Oops
by pir8matt - 2/14/07 10:06 AM In reply to: Totally Happy with MAXENT by pir8mattOops, was I not supposed to post what I paid? Sorry.
HDTV's
by Frank Hall - 2/14/07 10:07 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinYou have to be very careful when you are looking at tv's in store because you need to know where their feed (source of signal) is coming from, is it cable or a DVD player or is it really a HDTV broadcast? Unless you ask, you will never know.
Do your homework before choosing a TV
by mrsshapat - 2/14/07 10:10 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinLet's be realistic. if you're the kind of person that's more comfortable going with well known and highly advertised brands because you won't have to do any research, then go right ahead. Know that you'll pay hundreds more but you'll spare yourself the trouble of having to think too much. On the other hand if you're interested in technology and willing to do the research you'll discover that you can save hundreds and get a lesser known brand TV that's just as good as the major brands. Keep in mind that some of these "generic" brands use the same components or may even manufacture them for the major brands. I chose a Syntax Olevia 32" LCD. I love the upgradeable firmware feature and the price that enabled me to enter the LCD market without going into debt. The $$ I saved will go towards upgrading my other TV to LCD. Vizio may not be the one. But don't trash all "off brand" TVs just because you didn't do your homework.
mrsshapat on the money
by pir8matt - 2/14/07 10:17 AM In reply to: Do your homework before choosing a TV by mrsshapatYou are definitely right! My off-brand had the guts of a much more expensive (at the time) Panasonic. Other than the omission of a cable card slot (which I didnt need anyway), it was exactly the same as the Panny, for about $1200 less.
Brand name or Off Brands
by eledepot - 2/14/07 10:18 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinThere is always a reason why a product is cheaper at one store than another. I do not believe big box stores can sell very much cheaper than a smaller dealer, who is also going to give you much better service. I believe when a product is cheaper, there are a number of reasons for the lower price. 1) the LCD panel may be older technology. 2) The LCD panel may be of inferior quality (the number of bad pixels). 3) Some manufacturers warranty only covers the main picture section of the LCD panel and not the two or three inches around the outer edge. There are probably more reasons but I think are the main ones I know of. Most consumers buy by price - thinking all LCD panels are equal, and the big box stores won't tell you otherwise, which I think is duping the customer. No one can tell me when you go into a store a store to look at LCD TVs you would think all 40 inch units are the same but the only difference in price is because the brand. It would be nice if LCD panel info had to be on the tag, e.g. 1) the panel manufacturer (seeing as how only a limited number of factoies make them). 2) The grade of the panel which would indicate the number of defective pixels. 3) The date the panel was made. Personally I have no problem buying off brands, but I'm techie enough to reseach and have some understanding about what the score is with LCD panels. I have an off brand myself - they use Samsung panels and use only the best grade of panel. They are the only manufacturer that gives a three year warranty, something you can't get from most majors.
Quite satisfied with VIZIO
by popsnie - 2/14/07 10:22 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinNormally, I dont give a rat's @$$ about brand names, as long as I get good value for my money. Not long ago (6 months or so) we purchased a Vizio 32" LCD TV for my mother, who is nearly blind and needed something viewable from her bed. At $700 (Sam's Club), this seemed a good idea, fitting ALL the requirements (price, size, picture quality, convenience, and versatility). It worked well for a month, at which time we could not get it to power-up. I returned it to Sam's Club for an exchange, which went quickly (no-hassle) and the new one has run perfectly for the last 4 months. Then, before Christmas, my wife allowed me to get one for myself and, you guessed it, I purchased the very same one, and I have been ecstatic about it. I must admit, that this one had a problem with the picture, initially, so I exchanged it (again, at Sam's Club) for an identical set. I have it connected to my computer's DVI output (ATI ALL-in-Wonder graphics card), rabbit ear HDTV antennae, Scientific Atlanta Explorer HD Cable-box, and DVD player. It works like a charm. I now have a 32" monitor for my PC and am able to use the Vizio HD Television for all the things I dreamed of. I only wish it had more High-Definitions inputs for other devices in my apartment. I'll be going home to Florida to outfit my home soon and, as you can guess, the VIZIO brand will definately be high on the list of brands to consider in selecting big-screen LCD's and Plasmas (if I decide to go that way) for my home.
Sceptre, also
by pir8matt - 2/14/07 10:28 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI bought a sceptre 20" LCD HDTV/Monitor for a very good price, and other than it being a little dark at times, it's been a good little bedroom set. Its not a well known name brand, but I bought one of their LCD monitors several years ago and it is still going, so I figured it was ok to gamble on it.
A comparable sony or samsung would have cost hundreds more and provided no better functionality, IMO.
The biggest strength consumers have now is the power of peer reviews via the internet. If you can take the time to read up on the product you're looking to buy, you can find out if an 'off brand' will do just as good a job as a 'name brand'.
Some people use the name brand as a security blanket to feel better about spending more, and thats fine. Someones gotta do it, I suppose.
Brand name vs. Off Brand
by GolferJL - 2/14/07 10:31 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinAround Thanksgiving time my old 32" gave out. It's timing was great because Plasma TV's were being discounted heavily. I checked all the reviews and one brand stood out over the rest. It was the Panasonic 42" model and the 50" model. I ordered it online from a national electronics store and picked it up at the store the same day. (I also had to get a new stand.) I got the new TV up and running with no problems and have been extremely satisfied with it from the first day. I believe in the old adage "You pay for what you get." I also looked at the Vizio at Costco and for the a couple of hundred dollars difference, it was not worth the risk of the unknown brand. Prices have since risen slightly, but it still would not change my mind if I had to get one today.
Brand Name vs. Off Brand
by jekelso - 2/14/07 11:12 AM In reply to: Brand name vs. Off Brand by GolferJLThere are some good deals to be had in lesser known brands, but I don't trust my snap judgment in stores, so I wait for reviews. An off-brand screen may look great on the showroom floor, but if it does not have very good black level response, you will find yourself looking at faces jumping out of a totally pitch black background when watching noir-lighted movies or Aaron Sorkin TV shows. So I don't make my purchases on ANYTHING electronic (name brand or not)without seeing multiple reviews of technical performance.
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