I made the plunge into the world of high definition television and purchased the GV47LF. Here is my review:

Intro

The GV47LF is a huge bargain and a great intro for first-time HDTV owners. It comes with an HDTV tuner built in and speakers (which are detachable). I am completely satisfied with the purchase. The TV works great and the overall picture quality is excellent–way beyond the standard definition experience. I am blown away by high-def television.  There were no bright or missing pixels and no mechanical problems out of the box whatsoever. This is the perfect, stress-free HDTV for any regular Joe who wants a huge 1080p HDTV but doesn’t want to go broke buying it.

In-depth Review

Now, let’s get into some details. The box the TV comes in is huge. Make sure you have a big SUV or a truck if you are purchasing it at Costco. The box was approx 4 x 3 x 1. Once unpacked and set on top of my TV stand, the TV looked much bigger than it did in the store. At first, I thought the TV was going to be too big, but now I am happy with the size, as the picture still looks great (unpixelated) at my ~8 feet viewing distance, even with 480i broadcasts.

Big Box

I like how the TV looks. The black piano gloss gives the TV a finished “expensive” appearance, and the silver speakers give it weight and don’t look cheap or gaudy (although I do think the TV would look better without the speakers, which can be detached). I especially like the text in the center of the speakers that reads, “Gallevia. 1080 Progressive Liquid Crystal HDTV.” The font used for the text gives it a nice touch of stylish detail.

Vizio stylin’

The glowing “Vizio” in the center of the bottom bezel was handled well. It dims to a pale white after a few seconds of brightness when you turn the television on. When the television is off, the text glows orange. I probably would rather a more basic color, like dark blue, but that’s nitpicking. They are sticking with one of their branding colors, Vizio orange, which I completely understand. The glowing symbol is not gaudy or dominating in the least. The orange glow is barely visible in normal lighting; you wouldn’t notice without looking for it. It only stands out in a dark room.

The touch controls on the right of the bottom bezel briefly glow orange when you turn the TV on, then fade to no lighting. Some might wonder why the controls don’t have the same faint lighting of the Vizio text, but it makes sense to me because most people don’t want any distractions. The fact that the remote control that comes with TV has backlighting limits the need for the controls on the TV to glow. Just don’t lose the remote!

The touch controls are a very cool. The text and symbols are beneath the surface and do not interrupt the smoothness of the bezel, giving the TV clean lines with minimal visual distractions.

HD looks awesome on the television. I went from a 24-inch Insignia CRT to this screen, and my jaw dropped to the ground when I viewed HD in my living room for the first time. I had seen HD in stores and elsewhere before, but it’s a different thing all together when you get the TV home in your own environment. 720p signals at a vewing distance of 8 feet looks crisp and perfect, there is no pixelation, as would be expected. At the time of this review, I have only viewed 720p and 1080i signals on the television.

DVDs look crisp in 480p (with component cables) and do not appear pixelated at a viewing distance of 8 feet. The big weakness of the TV are black levels, but I want to point out that even though I will talk a lot about the black levels, I find them not to detract much form the overall viewing experience. However, it is noticeable, even to my amateur eye. Any time the screen fades to black or there is a scene that is almost entirely dark, the GV47LF shows black as ghostly black-grey, not black. There is also clouding, which is an unevenness to the blackness on the screen, displaying clouds or splotches of lighter shades. This was noticeable several times on Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The weak black levels are most noticeable if you like to watch movies in completely dark rooms. It’s recommended you keep at least a low level of ambient light (turn on a single lamp with a dimmed setting), especially during movies with dark lighting or lots of space scenes. Check out my post of the best settings for the GV47LF or view CNET’s recommended dark room picture settings for help in improving the picture in to dim to dark lighting.

It’s not remotely bad

Before I bought the television, I heard a lot of complaints about the remote. I think it’s fine. There is a lot of space between the buttons, so that basically makes up for the small size of the channel and volume buttons (see picture above). I find the commonly used buttons (channels and volume) easy to find without looking. It is also a “universal” control with programming for VCR, cable, and DVD players. Of course, if you have the cash, I’m sure there are plenty of better controllers for your money.

Time to see the eye doctor?

Another complaint is the small text of the Vizio’s menu. At eight feet, I have problems reading the text and have to approach the television to be able to read the settings. A small annoyance that seems like it should be easily fixed. Come on Vizio, just increase those font sizes!

There is an “info” button which allows you to see what signal is going into the television (1080i, 720p, etc), but the text is likewise hard to read.

Vizio adds another touch of class by including a microfiber cloth to keep all the accidental smudges clean from your television. Whatever you do, don’t use Windex (you can damage your screen).

Keep your Vizio dust free

The detachable speakers deliver adequate sound. They are loud enough for everyday living rooms, even those complete with loud ambient noise (kids playing in the next room). For those who have their own sound system, the speakers are detachable via a screwdriver.

Conclusion:

There is very little to complain about with this television. High definition content is delivered beautifully with bright colors and no motion blurring. 480p DVD signals are also displayed crisp and clear. Clouding and black levels are the biggest con of the television, but are acceptable with a little tweaking. The screen is huge for those who sit 7-10 feet away from their TV. Anything above 50 inches would seem redundant and perhaps detrimental to the HD viewing experience. And you can’t beat the current $1,599 price at Costco with a 90 day return policy. This is the perfect television for 1080p hunters who are looking for a bargain.

More pictures of my TV below.