Scott Wilkinson

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TV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
Vizio M3D650SV 3D LED-LCD TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 14, 2012

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $2,200 At A Glance: Excellent 2D and 3D performance • Inexpensive, lightweight, passive 3D glasses • Poor ergonomics

When Tom Norton reviewed the 65-inch Vizio XVT3D650SV 3D LED-edgelit LCD TV last year (see review here), he found it to be an excellent performer in most respects. However, its list price of $3,700 kept many potential buyers away—and, along with the few problems he did find, kept him from bestowing HT's Top Picks designation.

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CES 2011
Vizio Quad Concept
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2010

Another Vizio concept demo was a 56-inch "Quad HD" LCD with a pixel resolution of 3840x2160. What a picture! Super-sharp and detailed, a noticeable improvement over 1080p even at a reasonable viewing distance. Initial applications include medical imaging and other high-res rendering, but it could find its way into the consumer marketplace if and when 4K content becomes available.

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Vizio Roundup
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011

Marcus Apitz, VP of Engineering at Vizio, takes us on a grand tour of the company's massive exhibit and talks about the newest version of Vizio Internet Apps, ultra-widescreen flat-panels, and passive-polarized 3D TVs.

CES 2010
Vizio VBR100
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2009

After its meteoric rise in the flat-panel business, Vizio is expanding into the realm of Blu-ray players with the VBR100. It's BD-Live with 1GB of internal memory, it has 7.1 analog audio outs, and it can bitstream and decode all the advanced audio codecs. It should be available in April for—get this—$200, the magic price point. Mainstream, here we come!

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LCD TV Reviews
Vizio VF550XVT LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 27, 2009
Price: $2,000 At A Glance: Beautiful colors • Excellent HD detail • Frame interpolation works well • Poor black levels • Would not accept 1080p/24 from some BD players

V for Value

If you read my review of the Vizio VP505XVT plasma HDTV in the April 2009 issue, you know that I think it is—or, more accurately, was—the best flat-panel value on the market. (Just after that review went to press, Vizio announced it was getting out of the plasma business to concentrate exclusively on LCDs.) I was eager to see if the latest Vizio LCD could meet that standard of excellence.

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LCD TV Reviews
Vizio VF550XVT LCD TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 18, 2009

Vizio is the little company that could. Founded only six years ago, it has risen to be ranked number two in US flat-panel sales. How can this be? A combination of good performance and low prices, that's how.

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CES 2010
Vizio VF551XVT
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2009

The 55-inch VF551XVT is Vizio's first LCD TV with LED backlight and local dimming. Slated for June, it also operates at 240Hz and offers a USB port and five HDMI inputs. The price? Only $2000! For that little, I could certainly tolerate the garish red soundbar grille below the screen.

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LCD TV Reviews
Vizio VF551XVT LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 19, 2010
Price: $2,200 At A Glance: Superb video processing • Improved menu operation and calibration controls • So-so black level and shadow detail on real-world material

LED for the Masses

At the 2009 CES, Vizio took the wraps off of its first LCD HDTV with LED backlighting and local dimming, which consumers have been eagerly waiting for ever since. At $2,200, the VF551XVT is the least expensive 55-inch local-dimming LCD available, which makes it mighty attractive to cash-strapped TV shoppers. How well does it fulfill the promise of LED backlighting? Read on to find out...

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Vizio VIA Plus Ecosystem
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 03, 2011
I normally don't cover smartphones and tablets on UAV, but this is something special that relates to flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray players. At CES this week, Vizio will introduce its own smartphone and tablet, both based on the Android operating system, that incorporate the next generation of Vizio Internet Apps dubbed VIA Plus. In addition, we will see the company's newest LCD TVs and Blu-ray players, also with VIA Plus.

The big news here is the seamless integration of TVs, Blu-ray players, and mobile devices, allowing you to enjoy any available content on whatever device is most suitable for a given situation—you can even start watching something on one device and transition to another device at any point in the program. Not only that, the phone and tablet include an IR blaster and universal-remote app, allowing them to control a home-theater system. Finally, both can play HD video from an HDMI output, which is way cool in my book.

Oh yeah, one more thing—the new TVs and Blu-ray players will incorporate Google TV with Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard/universal remote, Wi-Fi, and Chrome browser. As you may have heard, Google has asked its partners not to tout Google TV at CES because it's not quite ready for prime time, but Vizio has decided to do so anyway. It should be an interesting show!

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Vizio VP505XVT Plasma HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 23, 2009
Price: $1,500 At A Glance: Razor-sharp detail with HD content • Solid blacks and shadow detail • Less-than-inspiring performance with DVD

Best Value at the Warehouse

In the six short years that Vizio has sold flat-panel TVs in the U.S., the company has risen to third place in flat-panel sales (plasma and LCD combined) in the North American market. This tremendous and rapid success is because of the high value that these TVs offer—in particular, they offer surprisingly good picture quality for surprisingly little money.

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