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Vizio SV472XVT

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The good: Less expensive than other local dimming LED-based LCDs; reproduces relatively deep black levels; excellent bright-room performance; controls blooming well; solid uniformity; black areas have neutral color; superb streaming and widget content via well-integrated Apps platform; includes unique Bluetooth remote with slide-out QWERTY keyboard; integrated Wi-Fi.

The bad: Uneven grayscale leads to less accurate color; backlight fluctuates with program content; couldn't handle 1080p/24 content properly; poor off-angle viewing; fewer picture controls than some high-end HDTVs; less impressive Wi-Fi performance; chunky external styling.

The bottom line: The Vizio 2XVT series offers the best Internet experience we've tested and very good image quality, all for a price that makes other high-end HDTVs seem expensive.

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CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed on: 04/19/2010
  • Released on: 02/01/2010

If you were one of the billions of people who watched the Super Bowl, you may have seen an ad for a certain TV company called Vizio, promoting a TV that connects to the Internet to offer Facebook, Rhapsody, Netflix and a host of other dot-com-style names. That TV is the 2XVT series, first announced more than a year ago, and to judge from our experience with those Internet services--conveniently called Apps--Vizio spent all that time getting the experience of getting the Web onto a TV right. Response times were quick, the Apps interface is well-designed and surprisingly easy to use, and integration and content selection surpasses that of any other Internet-enabled TV, regardless of manufacturer. The industry's only included remote with a slide-out keyboard and/or Bluetooth, as well as built-in Wi-Fi, don't hurt. The 2XVT's picture quality somehow falls short of the company's best effort last year, but it's still among the better-performing LCD TVs available. Best of all, as usual for Vizio, is the prodigious bang for the buck.

Series information: We performed a hands-on evaluation of the 55-inch member of the Vizio 2XVT series, but this review also applies to the 47-incher. According to the manufacturer both should provide very similar picture quality, although their styling is different and the 47-inch model has fewer inputs. There's also a 42-inch member of the series, the SV422XVT, that lacks the LED backlight and so is not included in this review.

Models in series (details)
Vizio SV472XVT 47 inches
Vizio VF552XVT (reviewed) 55 inches

Design

Vizio 2XVT series
A big, nonremovable silver speaker bar contributes to the Vizio's bulky, dated look.

Design highlights
Panel depth 5 inches Bezel width 1.8 inches
Single-plane face No Swivel stand No

The Vizio VF552XVT looks exactly like the company's two higher-end 55-inch LCDs from 2009, the VF551XVT and the VF550XVT, and compared to most other competing LCDs, it lags behind the design curve. It's not the 5-inch thickness that bugs us--that's plenty "flat" enough in our book--it's the big silver speaker bar, reflective chrome-ish strips, and logo-festooned window. You can disable the illumination on the logos, thankfully, but you can't disable the VF552XVT's chunkiness. Vizio's look will get a refresh in June with the XVT Pro models.

The 47-inch model in the 2XVT series looks marginally better, lacking the big bar and instead going with a silver rectangle below the screen, but neither Vizio will appeal to design-first buyers. We'd also like to see the company step up with a swivel in its stands.

VIZIO 2XVT SERIES
The remote's slide-out QWERTY keyboard might feel a bit cramped, but it's still a huge improvement over onscreen keypads.

Remote control and menus
Remote size (LxW) 6.3 x 2.2 inches Remote screen N/A
Total keys 91 Backlit keys 0
Other IR devices controlled Yes RF control of TV Yes (Bluetooth)
Shortcut menu No Onscreen explanations Yes
Other: Remote has slide-out QWERTY keyboard and integrated control for other IR devices

Vizio's remote is the first we've seen that makes using interactive TV applications easier. Its secret weapon, found on no other TV remote we know of, is a full slide-out keyboard with dedicated keys for letters, numbers and symbols, just like on a smartphone. Best of all, it's included with the TV for free, not as an expensive option like some other Internet-friendly remotes.

We found the thicker, heavier clicker reassuring in the hand. Its standard keys are easy to navigate and thoughtfully laid-out, although we'd appreciate more differentiation by feel. The lack of any kind of illumination didn't help, and we missed having a dedicated key for aspect ratio. The keyboard worked on all of the apps we tried, and although we found it a bit cramped compared, say, to the keyboard on our T-mobile G1, it's perfectly usable and makes Tweets, Facebook status updates, and username/password sign-ins a breeze. Bluetooth means the remote works without needing line-of-sight, and also promises future functionality. The TV could pair with other Bluetooth devices in the future (full-size keyboard? iPad?) and Vizio even hinted that its remote might be able to control a PS3 via a future software upgrade.

The universal aspect of the remote was also well-thought-out. Onscreen prompts, as opposed to long lists in the instruction manual, guide you through programming control codes for your devices, while the volume and mute keys can "punch through" to operate external gear like an AV receiver. It lacks the full task-based functionality of a Harmony, but this TV remote still goes further than any we've tested toward obviating most users' need to buy a universal model in the first place.

Vizio's menu system resembles another App in appearance, and we liked that the picture settings section is actually integrated into the main App taskbar (see below). Responses were fast, explanations complete and we had no problems finding our way around. In sum, the remote and menus of the 2XVT series were among the best we've used, and surpass in many ways the efforts of more well-known brands.

VIZIO 2XVT SERIES
Vizio's 2XVT setup menus look like another app, integrating nicely into the TV's overall user interface.

Features

Key TV features
Display technology LCD LED backlight Full-array with local dimming
3D compatible No 3D glasses included N/A
Screen finish Matte Refresh rate 240Hz
Dejudder (smooth) processing Yes 1080p/24 compatible No
Internet connection Yes (built-in Wi-Fi) Wireless HDMI/AV connection No

Vizio's 2XVT models occupy a high place on the 2010 TV features totem pole, and only lack of 3D and wireless HDMI--both found on the XVT Pro models coming later this year--keeps them from earning a "10" in this subcategory. Local dimming of the full-array LED backlight, our favorite variety, is the main display-related draw. One difference between the two LED-lit sizes in 2XVT series is the number of LEDs: 960 for the 55-incher and 640 for the 47. Since both sizes group those LEDs into 80 control blocks, however, we don't expect that difference to have much of an impact on blooming or other picture quality characteristics. See Performance for details on blooming, as well as on the results of our 1080p/24 testing.

We applaud the integration of Wi-Fi, but in our testing the Vizio fell short of the integrated Wi-Fi on Sony's NX800, the dongle-enabled Wi-Fi on LG's LE8500, the Roku and other streaming devices. Streaming services on the Vizio via Wi-Fi were far worse than via Ethernet, with more frequent interruptions, longer load times and truncated quality. In our lab, according to the 2XVT's test screen, wired bandwidth registered around 36,000 kb/s, while wireless ranged between 2,100-7,200kb/s. We were surprised by these results since Vizio uses 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi, which should have plenty of throughput, and other devices worked fine with our test router (we did not try another router by press time). Your results may vary depending on your router and setup. Our testing below was performed via Ethernet.

Streaming media
Netflix Yes YouTube No
Amazon Video on Demand Yes Rhapsody Yes
Vudu video Yes Pandora Yes
CinemaNow No DLNA compliant No
Blockbuster No USB No
Other: Synch TV Kids

The important names are all accounted for here, aside from YouTube, and we love to see new services like Rhapsody, an app that no other TV currently offers.

Netflix, Vudu and Amazon VOD, generally exhibited the picture quality we expected, and we appreciated that full picture control was available. Vizio treats these streaming services as a separate input, and unlike other such TVs can run other Apps simultaneously, allowing you to Tweet or check Facebook while watching Netflix, for example. Think of it as TV multitasking, or just think of streaming services as another TV channel.

VIAIO 2XVT SERIES
Unlike other Internet-enabled TVs, the Vizio lets you run an app while using a streaming service.

Nearly every Rhapsody function is included in the app, turning the Vizio into a celestial jukebox for subscribers (starting at $10 per month; the TV doesn't count as a "device" against your total) and begging for connection to an external audio system (analog and digital audio output is supported). Searches for artists, songs etc. came up quickly, and an autocomplete kicked in as we typed the first few letters. We assembled a playback queue, called up Rhapsody's channels and our own custom playlists, and enjoyed cover art on the big screen. All was not perfect--we experienced some delays and freezes, such as when loading a large My Library list, and once or twice between songs--but in general this ambitious app is a winner. We just wish the screen went into a dark screen saver mode during long playback sessions.

The free Pandora service also worked well in our testing, syncing custom stations with our online account. Neither audio app lets you run other apps or sources simultaneously, and neither does video from Synch TV Kids, which features full episodes of animated titles like "Babar" and "Class of the Titans."

We did experience some hiccups, such as when we couldn't fast-forward or rewind within a Netflix video, when a big "Missing" icon came up behind the Pandora playback screen, when an app called "FreeStreamMedia" displayed "Coming Soon" and no other content, or when we saw strange interference patterns or missing backgrounds on the icons in the apps bar. But in general the streaming experience on the 2XVT series was very good.

Unlike most other Internet-enabled TVs, the 2XVT series currently does not offer streaming of your music, photos and video via a home network (DLNA) or USB stick.

VIZIO 2XVT SERIES
Rhapsody turns the 2XVT into a big-screen jukebox.

Internet apps
Yahoo widgets Yes Skype No
Vudu apps No Weather Yes
Facebook Yes News Yes
Twitter Yes Sports Yes
Photos Picasa/Flickr Stocks Yes
Other: At press time there were 15 total non-streaming widgets, including 13 Yahoo widgets with 3 games, eBay and more; MediaBox allows access to Picasa accounts

Although Samsung has also appropriated the popular "apps" title for TVs, Vizio arrived at the Apple iPhone nomenclature imitation party first. It calls its platform VIA, for "Vizio Interactve Apps," although in our book the "I" could stand for "integrated." VIA is the most tightly woven Internet TV experience we've tested yet, and acts like Yahoo Widgets should have all along (see that writeup for basic information).

All of the applications, from Amazon VOD to Netflix to Yahoo Weather, can be found in the Widget Gallery, which conjures up a notification graphic when new apps are available. When downloaded they appear after a few seconds in the task bar along the bottom of the screen. Load times were entirely tolerable, and navigation was snappy both within apps and between them on the bar itself, even when we filled it with 15 apps. That said, it can still be a pain scrolling through a lot of Apps in the bar to find the one you want; we'd like an alternate multi-app tile view as well, similar to Samsung's interface.

Notable nonstreaming apps include eBay and another (for now) Vizio exclusive: Facebook. It can show your wall, photos, profile info, friends, and news feed. You can also update your status from within the app. We'd like to see slideshow functionality, basic messaging or chat, but the basics are here and we had no problem using it.

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Vizio SV472XVT: $1,447.00 - $1,549.00
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