TV with DVR & Internet: $84.90/mo
Home audio & video: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate...
My time is too valuable
by corrigg - 2/14/07 12:32 PM In reply to: Brand name vs. Off Brand by GolferJLI primarily rely upon the opinions of CNET editors and readers to guide my decision-making. I just don't have the time to waste returning products to stores, particularly when you're talking about these behemoth plasma and LCD TVs, so I want to make sure I'm buying quality the first time. For a massive price difference, I will consider an off brand but only when it's a proven technology, and gets good reviews. I too bought the Panasonic Plasma (37 inch) and have been stunned by it's quality. I have generated a lot of TV envy among my friends with it.
Vizio 47" LCD
by pdicola - 2/14/07 10:40 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI bought a Vizio 47" LCD for $1650 (including coupon) at Costco. I've had this TV for 6 weeks with 0 complaints. I was originally looking at the Sony Bravia, but it costs twice as much & didn't offer some of the features I'm looking for.
The Sony may have more detailed menu features, but the Vizio has more user features that I use day to day.
Vizio is only an "off brand" because it's a new company. If they continue to produce quality products at great prices, then there's no reason that they won't become more popular than the Sony's of the world.
name brand versus off brand
by hitsch - 2/14/07 10:54 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinlee koo you mention several names for the off brand tv's, here is my take on it. i know 2 of the names: the first one is westinghouse and i'd have no trouble buying a tv from them, as they habe been around for a lot longer then i have, and i'm a vsop. polaroid on the other hand is a one trick pony and the pony is replaced by camera-phones, meaning they have nothing to loose with a less then stellar product.
beside westinghouse i would have to rely on the honesty of the salesman or to put it in a realistic term: what is more important to the salesman? food for his children & a happy wife or the happiness of a stranger that buys a new tv every 20 or more years [ i only bought 2 in my life so far ] .
No Name LCD's
by RUSTYBILL - 2/14/07 11:08 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinCome on - these are likely all made in the same factory, or at least using the same technologies. I seldom buy name brand anything, including computers. And yes, the no-names of yesterday are the mainline product today. Remember Panasonic forty years ago? The main difference in the price is to recoup the big bucks the bib boys spend on advertising.
Off Brand Televisions
by Snaps01 - 2/14/07 11:19 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI was in the market for a new television and I saw the price differences my self. I was also amazed, so I did a little research and also checked the cnet review and found a 32" Vizio LCD television for $684.99. I think it was a great price and a great size to put in my bedroom. When I need something for the living room I'm going for another Vizio, the price is great and if it gets another decent review from cnet( My Bible) then I'll go for it. I don"t need to spend 200-500 more for a name brand.
The Vizio
by bd4martin - 2/14/07 11:24 AM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI did not read all the posts but I do have this to say, I recently purchased a Vizio 37" wide screen and I've been very happy with it. It has a great picture, looks good and nothing is complex to use. I spoke to a lady in the store who was also buying one and she said that it was her second one and I thought she had problems with the first and got worried but it turned out her husband liked it so much he wanted a second for another room in the house. I have nothing bad at all to say about this TV I love. It even has a RGB plug in the back so you can use it as a computer monitor as well. I'd buy more if I had the money. After I bought it I had someone tell me that Vizio is a division of Toshiba but I'm not sure about that but when I got my TV the remote batteries had Toshiba written on them
They have no reputation, that's the problem.
by 13LAZE - 2/14/07 12:23 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI just recently purchased a Samsung 1080p TV. Now before I bought it, I was overwhelmed by the the different choices of companies. I can name them all, but my hands would start to hurt.
The most influential reason I got a Samsung over a Vizio and Westington was because, well frankly, I never even heard of them before.
A reputation is important in any consumer industry. Sony, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sharp, RCA. They all have solid repuations and people trust the brand. When you spend 2k on something, yeah, its that important.
Now look, Im sure that Vizio and Westington are solid TV's. Heck, even Crutchfield selss Westington, so that does show some confidence. But still, I just cant do it. No matter how good the price is, I have to go with the veterans.
Olevia
by richeaz - 2/14/07 1:30 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinJust bought an Olevia 32" LCD for $599., and it's looking as good as the 42" Panasonic that I have that cost me $2,500. about 18 months ago. My brother works for a company that makes flat panel manufacturing equipment, and he says all their sales over the last couple of years have been to the big guys like Panasonic, LG, Samsung, etc. So, guess where the Olevia screens are coming from? From the
mainline manufacturers.
Great picture, great price.
Cautions about buying off-brand flat-panel TVs
by 707av8or - 2/14/07 1:55 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinThis is a more generic reply -- not aimed at Vizio (necessarily). About 8 months ago I purchase a ViewSonic N2750w 27” LCD HDTV monitor. I have owned several ViewSonic Computer monitors and had always been very satisfied, so thought this was a good buy since it was $450 below the price of similar sized other HDTV sets at the posted Sale price with additional rebate. Only after I got it home and installed did I discover that it was designed with a Remote Control system that was not compatible with any Universal Remote Control codes. ViewSonic Tech Support was very evasive about the problem especially since as an HDTV unit, the only way it can receive HD signals is when used in conjunction with an external HD tuner (namely HD cable, or HD Satellite tuners). Now what kind of an idiot manufacturer would do this, which required the customer to use two separate remotes to use the set -- one for On/Off , Volume Control, and Input Selection, and the other for changing the channels., reviewing the program guide, and selecting Aspect ratio and other input parameters??? In hindsight, I should have immediately returned the set to the dealer for a refund, but I had a specific need for the set that there was no comparably priced replacement for at the time. I understand a similar problem existed with the Olevia and the Polaroid brands at that time. So much for the bargain price!
Off Brands and review snobs.
by soundguy393 - 2/14/07 3:16 PM In reply to: Cautions about buying off-brand flat-panel TVs by 707av8orI see some people mentioned Consumer Reports. I subscribed from them years ago after I realized their top picks were consistently crap. I gave it a try and bought their recommended stuff several times and finally had enough, always was the first to break and offered the least satisfying experience, and if you know about their recent Infant Car Seat evaluations then you should all know by know they can not be trusted!
What you need to know about TV's these days.
1080p (progressive) is the best. there are no broadcasts at this resolution, and only blue ray offers 1080p. There will be no native 1080p broadcasts anytime soon because of bandwidth considerations I am told. 1080p offers less graininess if you sit on top of your screen and that is about the only difference. 1080I is the highest broadcast resolution. DVDs are not 1080I quality they are less.
Up conversion. Up conversion is where a component takes a lower resolution signal and "up converts" it to the resolution you tell it to. So if you are watching a show that is being broadcast in 480P, you can set either your receiver, cable box, or TV to raise the resolution to 720 or 1080. This is where a lot of of high definition TV's fall short. People complain a lot about the standard picture quality on an HD TV. Patience and some experimentation are required. And contrary to what someone said earlier you do not have to stretch your picture to fill the whole screen (non hd and some broadcast hd signals are 4:3) the alternative is to zoom, which does cut off some corners but generally yields a natural looking picture.
HDMI: HDMI is a way of using a single cable to hook up components. It carries audio as well as video. Cables can be expensive, look at a place called www.buyextras.com you will be glad you did. If you are buying a receiver I would recommend getting one with 3 HDMI inputs.
As far as I can tell there are only 3-4 LCD display manufactures so no matter what brand you buy chances are you are getting one of them.
Personally I think HD happiness is achieved by having your system properly set up. Up converting at the right place in your chain. For instance if you are buying an HD TV with an ATSC tuner I would pay close attention to it's up conversion quality because chances are if it is your general purpose TV you will be watching a lot of non hd programming. This is one of the few areas that separates an $800 TV from a $1,400 TV ya see.
One last note: Most of these TVs have some really crappy packaging and it does not hold up well to the rigors of transportation. which is a consideration if buying mail order, check exchange policy before you buy. It is still difficult to find good reliable information on this stuff. Don't look for a "standard" to appear for another 4 product cycles (about 2-3 years).
Anyway, I hope someone finds this somewhat usefull.
Vizio is Great!
by purplemarty - 2/14/07 2:15 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinWe purchased a Vizio 50" Plasma monitor in August 2005 - 18 months ago. It has a great picture and when viewing HD programs it is the best I've seen. No other "name" plasmas or LCDs I've seen in other people's homes have a picture quality any better than ours. We are very pleased with the Vizio. My only regret? that we couldn't have waited longer so that we could have gotten the Vizio HDTV for same price we paid for monitor a year before.
Cheap can be good, Top of the line can be bad...
by qsat - 2/14/07 3:07 PM In reply to: Vizio is Great! by purplemartyHome theater stuff is my favorite way of pending all of my cash, I have the same old Civic for the last 10 years, but i have spent about 30 000$ on electronic during that period, i just love top of the line gears.
I always tough that buying top of the line is an investment and that if you buy cheaper stuff, you wont be satisfied and end-up upgrading anyway.
But i now begining to change my mind. Last summer, i bought a 40 samsund LCD for 3000$ to put in the living room. I was pretty proud of my TV, every magazine and website was rating it as the best. This christmas, a friend came back from wal-mart with a 42inch ILO plasma that he paid 1000$ canadian. At first, i was joking at him, buying a plasma at walmart was untinkable. But when we installed it and calibrated it, i just could not beleive the quality of the picture. I was just as good as my LCD. And i'm not easily satisfied... i got a Sharp 1080p projector in the basement and i do know what a great picture is and what an average one look like.
Yes it's made in China and the name sound cheap, but in the end, it's better than every Brand name that cost twice as much. Some of those sets might be really bad looking, but it's the same with Sony and Samsung, they also have terrible tvs. If you like what you see, buy it, it's that simple. All of the big stores have exelent waranty and will replace defective sets without asking questions, you can't loose.
By a matter of facts, i recently test-drive a 2007 hyundai santa-fe and if they had hide the logo, they could have fooled me in beleiving it was a Lexus or Acura.
Just like Sheakspear said, a rose would smell as good even if we gave it another name, so don't look at the brand, look at the quality and save the bucks....
VIZIO vs. NAME BRAND
by tommis13 - 2/14/07 2:44 PM In reply to: please specify (technical) reasons for the Vizio hate... by shawnlinI'm lucky enough to have two flat panel plasma units in my home. Name brand in the bedroom ( 42" ), Vizio in the living room ( 50" ). On a daily basis I see no difference in the high deff picture of either tv. I regret paying thousands more for the "name".
You must own utility stocks
by FunGuy313 - 2/14/07 6:10 PM In reply to: VIZIO vs. NAME BRAND by tommis13Plasma TV's use tremendous amounts of electricity compared to LCD's & plasmas have the burn in effect as well as a much, much lower screen & lamp life.....
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