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Audio Video News
Vizio Products to Get Vudu Button
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 24, 2011
In the mood for Vudu's 1080p video stream with Dolby Digital Plus surround? Vizio is going to make it easy for you by building a dedicated Vudu button into 2011 TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.

Vudu says other manufacturers will offer the button too though their names weren't disclosed at presstime.

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Soundbar Reviews
Vizio S4251w-B4 Soundbar System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 25, 2013

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $330

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dedicated surrounds for true 5.1-channel sound
Bluetooth connection to mobile sources
Effective DTS Volume mode
Minus
Less impressive performance with music

THE VERDICT
A surprisingly good-sounding, high-value choice for movie sound, though serious music lovers might need to look elsewhere

Home theater, as I’ve always defined it, is the union of big-screen TV and surround sound. At their best, they have the power to suspend disbelief and pull you into a cinematic narrative or musical experience. Sometimes soundbars make the cut, and sometimes they don’t. Any decent-sounding soundbar—whether it has 2.0, 2.1, or 5.1 channels—is likely to improve over the awful speakers built into most TVs. Making the evening news intelligible is no small contribution to household happiness. But few soundbars try to cross the barrier from convenience to full-bore 5.1-channel rapture. The Vizio S4251W-B4 is just such a product.

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Soundbar Reviews
Vizio VHT510 Soundbar Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 31, 2011
Price: $390 At A Glance: Three-channel soundbar with separate surrounds and wireless sub • SRS TruSurround HD and TruVolume processing • Designed to accompany 40-inch and larger HDTVs

A Moment of Tru

Vizio, how you’ve grown. When flatpanel HDTVs came along, you were among the first brands created especially to bring the new display technology to eager consumers. Now that butt-ugly direct-view and rear-pro sets are largely a bad memory, you’re at the forefront of a burgeoning business. Your market share is nothing to sneeze at, and your XVT553SV LED-backlit LCD set is a Home Theater Top Pick. What are you going to do for an encore?

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Bookshelf Speaker ReviewsSoundbar Reviews
Vizio VSB210WS High Definition Sound Bar
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 15, 2009
Price: $350 At A Glance: First soundbar to use SRS TruVolume audio processing • Operates on stereo signals • Wireless sub works with no setup hassles

High and Wide

Vizio is:
(a) a flat-panel video brand
(b) an audio brand
(c) a serotonin reuptake inhibitor
(d) a line of rimless eyeglasses
(e) a typographical error

If you guessed (a), you were wrong. The correct answer is (a)+(b).

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Audio Video News
Volunteers to Ease DTV Transition
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 02, 2009
Volunteers connected with a joint public/private service program will help ease the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting for low-income households, minorities, seniors, the disabled, those who live in rural areas, and those who don't speak English.
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Audio Video News
Vudu Converts Discs Via Phone
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 10, 2017
Walmart-owned Vudu will convert your Blu-ray or DVD titles via smartphone. Using the Mobile Disc-to-Digital feature on the Vudu mobile app, scan the barcode on the packaging. It’s not free—you’ll pay $2 per title for standard-def or $5 for high-def.
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Audio Video News
Vudu to Offer Instant Movies
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 01, 2007
Are you willing to pay $300 plus $6-10 a shot for an Internet-connected set-top download box that starts a movie as soon as you press the play button?
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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Wadia 121 Decoding Computer
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 14, 2013

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $1,299 At a Glance: DAC, headphone amp, preamp for digital sources • Asynchronous USB input • Makes your audio files sing

The Wadia 121 calls itself a decoding computer. While the term DAC (digital-to-analog converter) also fits, Wadia understands that nomenclature is destiny. This product just may be destined to change forever the way you hear high-resolution music files, signaling a new chapter in audio history that no audiophile can afford to ignore.

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Wadia Sends iPod into Digital-Out Territory
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 05, 2008
The Wadia 170 iTransport is the first iPod docking device to coax a digital signal out of the iPod (incidentally, my 82-year-old mom loves hers). Till now the iPod could output only a line-level analog signal to docks. How Wadia managed this is a story yet to be told. The company insists that there is no need to pay a hacker to crack the case –- the 170 is Apple-approved. Price: $379.
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CEDIA 2009
Wadia to Show Mini DAC
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 28, 2009
Back when digital-to-analog converters were a totally new component product, Wadia was out there will some of the first and best products. That tradition continues with the Wadia 151 PowerDAC mini. It's also a 50-watt stereo amp. Maybe just the thing for your two-channel hideaway. Price: $1195.
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