Costco has the Sharp Aquos LCC-5262U listed as a “hot buy” on their website at $1,699. To give you an idea on price drops over time, one year ago, this is the price I paid for my 47-inch Vizio 1080p LCD from Costco. The Aquos delivers an overall better picture than the comparable 52-inch Vizio.
Helpful Links:
Discussion of Aquos vs Vizio 52-inchers at AVS Forums.
Some believe spring to be the best time of year to buy an HDTV. Why? Because new HDTVs are released in the late spring or summer, and stores want to clear their inventory of old TVs beforehand. That usually means a sale.
The truth is, there are sales throughout the year. There are sales on Black Friday. Post-Christmas. Pre-Super Bowl. And Post Super Bowl. In fact, HDTV prices fall slowly throughout the year. If you’re waiting for the lowest price, you may never actually purchase the television.
Over the past few years, the average price of HDTVs has fallen pretty quickly. In 2005, a 40-inch Samsung LCD had a retail price of $5,000. Now you can get one for $1,200. But it appears the days of dramatic price drops are dwindling. Consumer Reports is reporting a deceleration in falling prices for the 2008 Holiday season:
In midsized to larger LCD TVs, price cuts will range from 5 percent to 19 percent, according to industry experts at the recent DisplaySearch Flat-Panel TV Conference….
• a 32-inch 720p set will sell for $647, down 7 percent from December 2007
• a 37-inch 720p LCD TV will cost $782, down 5 percent
• a 40- or 42-inch 720p LCD TV will sell for $944, down 5 percent
• a 40- or 42-inch 1080p set will sell for $1,123, down 19 percent
• a 46- or 47-inch 1080p set will sell for $1,528, down 17 percent
• a 52-inch 1080p LCD TV will sell for $2,243, down 19 percent”
Other predictions are an increase in interest of 120 hz displays (despite a 30 percent penalty in cost); Costco, Wal-Mart, and other discount clubs becoming bigger players in HDTV sales thanks to year-round low prices and sales; and a focus on selling HDTV bundles (with Blu-ray players, cable packages, etc) in an attempt to increase profit margins that have been shrinking.
The deceleration in price drops may be comforting news to those who pride themselves in always getting the lowest price. They’re now more likely to pay close to what the television will sell for months from now. However, for those who are still waiting for that 55 incher to fall another 50%, they may waiting be a long time.
So, when is the best time to buy an HDTV? Well, if you can afford the TV you want, and you have access to HD content, it’s likely that today is as good as time as any. Except maybe for Black Friday. But do you want to deal with the crowds, or do you want to be watching the crowds on your 50-inch HDTV with a cup of hot cocoa in your hand?
Read Consumer Reports: Link 1. Link 2.
Read TV Predictions: Link.
Almost all LCD owners will notice some degree of clouding effect on their HDTVs during dark or completely black scenes. What is the clouding effect? It’s a varying degree of brightness visible across the screen. HDTV reviewers tend to describe the clouding effect as “poor screen uniformity.” It can be caused by different sources, most often from uneven backlighting or flaws in the LCD’s matrix of thin-film transistors. Clouding is most noticeable when a single dark color is shown on the screen, eg, black or dark blue. Other terms for the effect are backlight bleed, flashlight effect, cloud effect, and mura or the mura effect. Mura is a Japanese word meaning an unevenness, blemish, or inconsistency. The clouding effect is generally limited to LCDs because plasmas have a different back light technology.
One way to combat this effect is to avoid watching your television in completely dark rooms. Turn on a lamp with a low light setting to keep a small amount of ambient light in the room. Some LCD manufacters offer ambient light built in to their television, most notably Philips Ambilight.
CNET’s HD guru David Katzmaier has published a thorough review of the Vizio VO47L, giving it a score of 6.2 out of 10. Positives for the television include a bargain price, good color reproduction, 4 HDMI inputs, good screen uniformity, good-looking all-black bezel and speakers, and a comfortable remote control. The cons are poor black levels, the need to adjust the color settings out of the box, and only two aspect ratios for viewing HD content.
“[The VO47L's] image quality stands solidly in the middle of the road, with those lighter black levels and subpar off-angle viewing characteristics seen on many other budget LCDs, but balanced by good color accuracy, at least after adjustment. You can still find numerous larger, 50-inch plasmas available for around the same price, but if you must have LCD and want a big screen for smaller money, the VO47LF deserves strong consideration.”
The score Katzmaier assigns the VO47L, 6.2, seems surprisingly low, as the Vizio GV47LF, 47-inch Vizio LCD the VO47L replaced (and is essentially the same as), is rated at 6.6. Perhaps the low score is an indication of the scales tipping in favor of plasma televisions, which, on average, offer a must better viewing experience than LCDs. Just browsing through CNET’s scores shows lower scores on average for most LCDs compared with plasmas. The main justification for the VO47L’s low score seems to be poor black levels, which have tended to be a strength for plasma technology.
Katzmaier’s mention of the VO47L’s better than average screen uniformity comes as a surprise, as Vizios (and most LCDs, in fact) are notorius for a clouding effect on dark screens. The VO47L’s good screen uniformity should come as a big plus for those thinking about buying the television, as it’s a rare attribute for bargain televisions. However, Katzmaier does mention noticing one corner of the screen is brighter than the rest. I’ve had a similar experience with my Vizio GV47LF, but it’s interesting to note that my screen uniformity has improved over time.
Link to review.
Also checkout our collection of VO47L customer reviews.
It’s a new year, and along with it Vizio has introduced its 2008 LCDs. How much of an update is this year’s 47-inch 1080p LCD, the VO47L, over 2007′s GV47LF? There are few nice tweaks, but not enough to call it a major update.
Vizio added two more HDMI inputs for a total of four on the VO47L, as opposed to two on 2007′s GV47LF. Also, the VO47L comes with a 6-foot HDMI cable, a nice consumer-friendly touch from Vizio.
Vizio also updated the TV’s look. The VO47L now has black speakers along its undercarriage as opposed to the awkward silver look from last year’s GV47LF. A very smart design move. Although it now appears the speakers are no longer detachable.
Compare the pictures below:
2008′s VO47L:
2007′s GV47LF:
However, a big disappointment is an apparent lack of picture improvement for the 2008 model. The technical specs from Vizio’s site has the contrast ratio staying the same at 2000:1 contrast ratio (with DCR). Contrast ratio was one of the biggest weaknesses from last year’s model, so it’s a little surprising they didn’t choose to improve it. Until CNET gets around to reviewing the unit, potential buyers should probably check out reviews of last year’s GV47LF. Also, check out the V047L thread on the AVS Forums. New owners will report their reviews and problems there.
There are reports the VO47L is selling now in some Costco stores for $1,399. Other Costsco stores are reportedly holding back until they clear current inventory (probably the GV47LF). Vizio.com has the manufacturer’s price at $1,499. That is a lot less than last year’s GV47LF’s starting price of $1799.
*Update* I’ve gathered together customer reviews for the VO47L from the AVS forums here. There’s also a CNET review of television.
Links:
Official Vizio page for the VO47LF Evolution.
VO47L thread on AVS Forums.
EngadgetHD news blurb about all the new Vizios.
The best deal for this year’s Black Friday may be the 46″ Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD (Model: LC-46D64U) for $1,300 (a $500 savings according to Gizmodo’s Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide). It can be found at Circuit City. CNET.com reviewed its 52-inch brother and gave it a good review. (BlackFriday.info’s Circuit City deals.)
720p plasmas have always been a smart bargain. So, the second best deal might be the 42″ Panasonic TH-42PX75U for $900 at Best Buy. CNET hasn’t reviewed this set, but they did review its close cousin, the TH-42PX77U, which got a great review. Panasonic plasmas review very well in general.
The Vizio GV52L is on sale at Sam’s Club for Black Friday for $1890 (link). That is only $110 less than its price at launch when it had a $200 off coupon. I think they can do better than that. The 42″ Sharp Aqous for $900 is a much, much better deal. That is a great television.
Check out Costco’s Black Friday deals. They are offering a 47″ Philips 1080p TV for $1,499.
It is a great time to buy a television. Of course, things will always get cheaper, and better televisions are always being made. But the quality of even the cheap televisions is enough to satisfy most people.
If you’re wondering how the graphics of the Nintendo Wii fare on a large HDTV like the 47″ Vizio, I can tell you, they look…..eh, ok. I purchased the Wii because it’s supposedly the best of the new consoles in terms of sheer entertainment. The functionality of the controllers gives games a wider range of gameplay and allows players to get more involved in the game.
The Wii is capable of pumping out widescreen 480p, the same as a DVD. You need to buy a special cable for 480p, otherwise, the Wii outputs 480i. I think the cable is worth the price for the extra clarity a progressive signal brings to the LCD. Many of the Wii’s early games are ports of early Gamecube games, and thus carry previous gen graphics. For example, the best game so far for the Wii (in my opinion) is Resident Evil IV. The game has been ported from the Gamecube edition. The game looks grainy on my screen, even at viewing distances of 8 feet. In contrast, Warioware: Smooth Moves, a game made specifically for the Wii, looks sharp and clean, mainly due to its cartoony graphics and bright palette of colors.
So far, the Wii has been an average entertainment experience, mainly because of the lack of great games. But the potential is obviously there, in terms of gameplay. Graphics for the console haven’t been pushed to the limit yet. But, the ceiling will always be 480p. If you want cutting edge graphics, of course you should go with the 360. But if you want to get the whole family involved or entertain a lot, the Wii is a good choice, even for large HDTV owners.
*Update* Check out Part II of my take on the Wii on my HDTV (I included better pictures).
Sep 15
A clear sign Vizio has become a huge player in HDTVs is that virtually every TV they release gets a CNET review. The GV52L is no exception, as it gets a thorough review from HD guru David Katzmaier. Check out the excellent review.
He gives the television an average rating and points out that plasmas in similar price range deliver better picture quality (but not 1080p). As always, these reviews should be taken in context, as David reviews $6,000 HDTVs alongside consumer sets like Vizios. A helpful quote from Katzmaier comes from his review of a 50-inch Vizio plasma:
“As you can see by reading user opinions on CNET, most people who buy an HDTV, any HDTV, are thrilled with their purchase. They cite numerous reasons, but one of the most common, at least for buyers of Vizio TVs and other bargain brands, is value”
As you always get what you pay for. But sometimes you can make your dollar go a little farther, and HDTV sets like Vizio and Westinghouse are a good way to do that.
The Vizio 52-inch 1080p LCD officially went on sale yesterday. Initial reviews are coming in from buyers who are posting on the AVS forum. I found an excellent review from forum user TheKal that seems the most genuine and well written—the review hits on all the important pros and cons I’ve noted with my GV47LF. There are lots of relevant details here for people choosing between the GV47LF and the GV52L. I’ll repost the review here, but I highly recommend checking out the latest posts on the GV52L forums. From TheKal:
“Well I am the previous owner of a GV47. I owned for almost a full 90 days however I returned it as I had a VERY uneven backlight with severe clouding and streaks during night time viewing in dark scenes. I have been looking at several HDTV’s for a while now so I feel I am pretty well qualified to describe the new Vizio. I have Time Warner digital cable and Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player.
First off, this thing is HUGE. I didn’t realize how overkill it was until I put it up on my wall. It looks monstrously bigger than the 47 I would have never thought 5″ would do so much. I am viewing this TV at about 10 feet eye ball to screen and while it is the perfect size picture for watching HD movies it is too big in my opinion for watching SD material. I will be playing with the zoom feature and will probably be watching SD material shrunk down to a more enjoyable size as SD material has tremendous artifacting and pixilation at this size and viewing distance. I don’t know how much of this can be improved on by the TV as I really think this is just a result of digital cable at 480 lines with a lot of compression. At 52″ and 10 feet you really see the quality of the source material as even HD cable looks far more noisy and artifacted than a real high definition disk where those 1080 vertical lines makes a huge difference on this big a set. IF you own this set and you do not own a HD DVD or Blu Ray player you are robbing yourself from the experience of this TV as everything else looks so overblown up and pixilated.
Anyway, the GV52 has significantly better sound quality than the GV47. We are talking night and day difference. GV52 probably has one of the best speaker setups of anything built into a flat panel on the market. The blacks on the GV52 are quite noticeably darker and blacker. I feel the picture is richer and more saturated looking giving it better depth and color intensity. I popped in the HD DVD version of Training Day, the picture was stunning in all the bright scenes, and as good as anything, you can find on the market. The black is absolutely an improvement over the GV47 however when watching the TV in the dark it is still not a true black but still a dark grey even with the backlight at 0 and the brightness/contrast turned down a few clicks. GV52 still lacks the ability to produce the deep blacks of Sharp or Samsung. On a brighter note, however the back light uniformity on my set is picture perfect from corner to corner in a pitch-dark room with a black screen. No clouding in the corners at all. I made sure to transport the set upright the entire time so this may have something to do with it. Unfortunately as mentioned earlier in the dark scenes, there does seem to be considerable shadow detail that is lost and there are plenty of these scenes in training day. The blacks appear to be a bit over saturated and I would love to hear any tuning adjustments from future guru’s to improve on this drawback as it is really the only flaw I can find with the TV PQ. So far, in playing with adjustments, the only way I can bring the shadow detail back is to turn up the brightness and contrast to where the TV looks washed out and the blacks are significantly greyer. This may make or break it for some people if you can live with the lack of shadow detail against black backgrounds this is a tremendous value for the money. I really hope some of the guys in here come up with some settings to clean up this problem as much as possible.
HDMI connectivity has been perfect and the on screen menu is far superior to that of the GV47. Overall, the set for sure has an overall newer generation look and feel about it. There are independent adjustments to move the picture left right up and down. By the way I also noticed the white bar noise at the top of the screen when I had the Cable DVR set to up convert SD to 1080i. Go into the DVR/Cable box settings and have it force SD programming to 480p and you will not have this problem and this will also unlock all the picture modes for SD 4:3 programming built in. If you are still unable to fix this problem, you can always shift the image up.
Anyway, so far this is my input if anybody has any questions I’d be happy to answer them I know there is many excited prospective buyers out there looking for some owner insight.
FYI there is no speaker hum whatsoever however; there is backlight buzz when the backlight is set less than 90. I really feel this is inherent in all Vizio’s due to the type of transformer they use to modulate the backlight. Bummer but it seems to be the way it is. On the brighter side, the PQ with a 90 backlight is much better than it was on the GV47, which would wash out with so much backlight so in most room lighting you will be more than happy with the backlight at 90 PQ.”
