Vizio 32 Inch LCD: Great Picture, Great Sound, Great Value
Written: Apr 15 '08 (Updated Apr 15 '08)
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Pros: great picture, great sound, affordable, 2 HDMI connections, PIP, 178-degree viewing, no technical problems
Cons: gets a little hot, cables sold separately
The Bottom Line: Be it a Coldplay concert, a trip to Alaska, or a virtual Mets/Braves game on my hubby's PS3, this TV makes me feel like I'm there.
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| jeavinl's Full Review: Vizio VX32L 32 in. LCD TV |
After being disappointed by an online purchase of an Olevia 27 inch LCD, I decided to do a little more research and to buy one from a store I often frequent that I know has a lenient return policy: Costco.
I bought this Vizio VX32L/10A LCD HDTV as a Father’s Day gift for my husband last year. It was intended to be our bedroom TV where he would hook up his PlayStation 3, and that’s where it’s gotten its most use. But I also watch movies and other programs on it on occasion and my husband watches sports and Discovery programs on it.
The basics
The Vizio VX32L is a 32-inch (31.5 inch viewable), flat-panel, high definition, LCD television. It offers 1366 x 768 resolution with a 16:9 ratio, a 178-degree viewing angle, quick response time (great for gaming), V-Chip, Picture-in-Picture, Picture-outside-Picture, Zoom and Freeze features, a removable base, and Virtual Surround sound enhancement. It is compatible with all TV formats (1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i). It has a smooth front panel with just the speakers lying beneath the screen (all buttons are located on the side and input jacks are on the back) and is wall mountable (mount is sold separately). It measures 31.4 in. wide x 23.3 in. high x 10.4 in. deep and weighs 33 lbs. Vizio claims the lamp life is 50,000 hours (about 22 years). This Vizio has input connections for HDMI, component, composite, and RGB (can be used as a PC monitor). Vizio provides a one-year warranty. Costco also has a 90-day, no questions asked return policy.
Additional specs
Panel Type: 32" Diagonal (31.5" Viewable), 16:9 Wide Screen, Color TFT Active Matrix LCD
Panel Specifications: Anti-Static and hard coated surface
Pixel/Dot Pitch: 0.51mm (H) x 0.51mm (V)
Display Compatibility: HDTV (1080i)
Signal Compatibility: 480i (SDTV), 480P (EDTV), 720P (HDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Response Time: 8 ms (typical)
Colors: 8 bit 16.77 Million colors
Brightness: 500 cd/m2 (typical)
Contrast Ratio: 1200:1 (Typical)
Viewable Angle: 178 degree (horizontal and vertical)
Inputs
RF (F Connector for internal tuner): 1
HDMI with HDCP: 2
Analog Stereo Audio for HDMI Inputs: 1
Component YPbPr plus Stereo Audio: 2
Composite Video: 2
S-Video plus Stereo Audio: 1
Computer RGB plus Stereo Audio: 1
Service Port: 1
What’s included
As I recall, the box is pretty minimal and it was easy to unpack this TV. The box contained the high definition LCD TV (already attached to the base), an AV cable, power cord, registration card, some promotional papers, and a remote control and batteries. You will need to buy or obtain through your cable company the appropriate cables for HDMI and component connections. We use Comcast and have HD boxes for this TV and another one. I believe it’s $12 a month extra for the HD box.
My thoughts
I paid about $550 for this TV. Considering we paid about $500 for the stinky 27 inch Olevia LCD we returned before getting this one, I was a little skeptical. But I had heard good things about Vizio TVs and I knew that the California-based company offered a one-year warranty and that Costco, where I purchased it, is pretty lenient about returns. So with all that in mind, I purchased this TV last year and we’ve been using it happily ever after.
My husband mainly uses this TV for gaming. He has his PS3 hooked up to it with HDMI cables and he’s very happy with the visual quality. The colors are true and the graphics are sharp. He’s used his PS3 on a different HD-ready TV and there’s a world of difference. Lately, he’s been playing MLB 08 The Show and much of the baseball action looks pretty close to real. I suppose that’s partly the PS3 quality but he played on a different TV a couple weeks ago and we could see there was less definition in the graphics and lettering and a muddier color palette.
We also watch lots of Discovery-type programming and my husband watches lots of sports where you can really see the difference between HD and non-HD. This Vizio has a beautiful picture with excellent color and sharp lines. I sometimes watch some of the HD music channels and it really feels like you’re at the concerts. The 1080i picture is beautiful.
The sound is good, too. Given our experience with poor sound with our last LCD TV, we both had our ears open with this one. Neither one of us has detected any of the static or volume fading we did with the Olevia. We don’t have this Vizio hooked up to any special sound system. We just use the speakers on it. The volume adjustment goes from 1 to 100 and for most things, we leave it in the 20-30 range. The HD music concerts I sometimes watch and listen to sound clear and pretty true to life. I have heard better quality sound systems, but since we’re just using the TV’s own speakers, I’d say the quality is pretty good.
This TV has tons of connections. It has two HDMI connections, two component connections, a computer RGB connection, and two video composite inputs. We only use two of them right now: the PS3 is connected to one HDMI with the appropriate upward-of-$70 Monster cable and our cable box is connected with component cable (it saves us a couple bucks from the cable company each month and looks and sounds good). At some point, we need a new DVD player and my husband keeps hinting that he’d like to hook this Vizio up to his PC as a third monitor. I doubt the latter is happening but it is possible with this TV. The inputs are all located on the back so if you plan on mounting, hook everything up first. Because of this and the fact that the buttons are on the side of the panel, the TV has a really sleek looking design. It's a pretty TV.
The remote is straightforward. It’s black with white labeled buttons. The numbers are boldly written and easy to see in dimmed lighting at night. The extra feature buttons are located at the bottom and are a little small for my fingernailed fingers. The volume and channel buttons progress nonlinearly so that when you click the remote, it first moves the volume/channel up/down by one, then two, then jumps to five. So you don’t need to sit there and keep clicking for the volume to go down when the baby falls asleep, for instance.
My husband loves the PIP on this TV. He can resize it (I believe there are three different sizes including having two equal-sized pictures and can easily switch between the sound of one picture (his PS3 game) and the other (usually a sports game) with the remote. He does wish he could move the PIP, but resizing works well.
We’ve moved this TV a few times. We’ve been going back and forth between two houses the past few months and have toted this TV with us. Other than packing some blankets and/or pillows around it, it’s been a breeze to move and set up. It’s pretty light and not that awkward to carry. We never mounted it and usually keep it on top of a dresser in our bedroom. Recently, it’s been sitting on the floor in our living room. Given that less than ideal location, I’m really happy with the 178-degree viewable angle. Whether I’m standing in the next room, sitting alongside the TV at our desk (about 145 degree angle), sitting on the floor in front of it, or sitting at any spot on our sectional couch, the picture is good. It doesn’t lose its sharpness from any angle.
Two minor quibbles I had with our Olevia were the “blue light of death” and the slow startup. Rather than the annoying always-on blue light of the Olevia, this TV has duller amber-colored Vizio lettering on the bottom of the screen. It’s much easier to sleep across from and it doesn’t bother me at all. I do notice a slow startup with this TV, too. I’m pretty sure it’s an LCD thing and the Vizio lettering does change color when the remote is pressed so you know there’s no need to press again (thereby accidentally turning the TV off).
Although my husband insists this TV doesn’t get too hot, I beg to differ. If you walk past it, say a foot or two away from the screen, you feel a nice warm pocket. Combined with the computer monitors and fan light in our bedroom, our room stays much warmer than the rest of the house. The Vizio hasn’t damaged any furniture and it’s not about to burn me if I touch it, but it does put off a decent amount of heat. Now that we have it on the floor, it heats up the wood about a foot in front of it.
Overall impression
This Vizio TV has proven to be a great value for our money. For the price, it’s got great audio and visual quality, works well with the PS3, hasn’t had any technical problems, and has a ton of connections. I’m pretty sure I saw this model on sale at Wal-Mart for about $550 this week. It’s a great deal if you can get it.
For further information about this model, check out Vizio’s Web site: www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=18
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 550 approx.
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