Any experience with Vizio plasmas?

PhilNYC · « **on:** 22 May 2006, 10:45 pm »

I'm possibly going to be in the market for a big TV (50"+). Was hoping to keep the budget to something under $3K, so I was resigning myself to a rear projector DLP...not incredibly crazy about that because of issues like viewing angle brightness, rainbow effects, etc. Then on a weekend trip to Costco, I saw a 50" plasma from Vizio for $2500 with a pretty good picture quality. Research has uncovered that Vizio is a California-based company founded by the original founder of Princeton Graphic Systems (a leading computer monitor company). Reviews of this plasma TV appear to be stellar...all saying "incredible value", with some saying "great picture quality regardless of the price".

Anyone here have any experience with Vizio plasma televisions? Any particular red flags about the products beyond being a relatively unknown brand?

95bcwh · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 May 2006, 11:00 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC

I'm possibly going to be in the market for a big TV (50"+). Was hoping to keep the budget to something under $3K, so I was resigning myself to a rear projector DLP...not incredibly crazy about that because of issues like viewing angle brightness, rainbow effects, etc. Then on a weekend trip to Costco, I saw a 50" plasma from Vizio for $2500 with a pretty good picture quality. Research has uncovered that Vizio is a California-based company founded by the original founder of Princeton Graphic Systems (a le ...

I have a friend who bought a Vizio 50" plasma, when I saw the TV in his house, the picture quality is good, but I don't like the materials used to construct the TV, looks pretty cheap, also I thought the fan was a little bit noisy.

If you're looking for something in that price range, another brand to consider is Maxent

mjosef · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 May 2006, 05:09 am »

Are you saying that some plastic looks cheaper than others? Isn't all modern TVs now made of plastic? I have been looking to upgrade my old 27"er crt to a 42 or 50" plasma, and in the last 2-3 months been checking the usual outlets to see whats out there, to me they all look like overpriced plastic boxes, some may be grey, some black some silver colored, but its all plastic.
Over at AVS, it seems that the top tier are the Fujitsu, NEC, Pioneer and Panasonic...and at the 50" size all over 3big kahunas.
With the French Open and World Cup in a week or so... even a no name brand would be better than nothing at all...isn't there like only about 3 or 4 manfacturers(OEM) whom actually make the plasmas, and then they are rebranded by whomever?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 May 2006, 05:56 am »

It's my understanding (although I could be wrong) that only a few companies make the actual glass sandwhich part but that each company makes its own electronics and case. Not unlike a situation where ten speaker companies buy the same raw drives but build unique cabs & x-overs and end up with ten very different speakers. Not a perfect analogy, but it's something like that.

I know nothing about Vizio's build quality or reliability, but in the displays I've seen they're consistently among the nicer looking plasma sets there.

StevenACNJ · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 May 2006, 10:19 am »

Take a look at this Plasma from Visual Apex:

Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK HDTV - 50-inch plasma TV - on sale for $2,795 (plus shipping & additional blade inputs which you may require)

They are an AVS Forum sponsor & great people to deal with. I bought my 50PHD7UK a year ago from them and paid about $4,200 with shipping.

Since I recently had the plasma ISF Calibrated, picture quality is stunning.

Ask for Candace:

http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-50PHD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

Eric5676 · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 May 2006, 01:31 pm »

Do yourself a favor and be patient. Save up enough money until you can buy either a Panasonic or a Pioneer Elite plasma. You won't regret it. It's worth waiting for and saving up for to get the job done well and right.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 May 2006, 02:55 pm »

Thanks for all the input. Yeah, the Panasonic is definitely the best (already have a 42" Panasonic plasma) and I would like to go that direction. It's just that the research on Vizio seemed to be pointing to a great value without sacrificing much performance. However, Steve's reference to Visual Apex may just do the trick (I like the idea of getting the pro version without all the bells and whistles of HD tuners et al).

mikey300 · « **Reply #7 on:** 23 May 2006, 04:14 pm »

Cnet.com rates the Panasonic PHD series as Editor's Choice - their 50" model can be had for a little more than the Vizio and might be a little better choice. I would recommend checking out cnet.com since they appear to be objective ratings since they don't sell TVs but they sell advertising so they might not be 100% objective.

A definite plus for the Vizio is that you can buy at Costco which I hear accepts returns in case you have any problems or change your mind. The Panny is only available via mail order and can't be serviced in house.

I have read a lot of the reviews on cnet.com for the entire Panasonic PHD series - typically very good reviews:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_TH_50PHD8UK/4505-6482_7-31511908.html?tag=pop

Also here is the Vizio review:

http://reviews.cnet.com/V_Vizio_P50HDM/4505-6482_7-31484764.html

mca · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 May 2006, 07:46 pm »

I have the 50" Vizio and I think it's a great set BUT I cannot get it to jive with any of the DVD players I have on hand. A lot of the scenes in DVD seem to cause a faint flicker. Someone may not even notice it if they walk in, but once you see it, you catch it in every scene it happens in.

No one has been able to tell me exactly what is causing this. I have used component video with my Denon DVD2900 and HDMI with my Oppo and Samsung players, all three do the same thing, although each to a different degree.

The picture with my DirecTV feed looks geat in both hi def and regular broadcasts. I plan to take the TV back and give another one a try. If it does the same, I will step up to a Toshiba or Panny model Costco also has in stock.

Also, when I went shopping at Costco today, I noticed the Vizeo went down in price again to 1,999.00

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 May 2006, 08:07 pm »

Quote from: StevenACNJ

Take a look at this Plasma from Visual Apex:

Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK HDTV - 50-inch plasma TV - on sale for $2,795 (plus shipping & additional blade inputs which you may require)

They are an AVS Forum sponsor & great people to deal with. I bought my 50PHD7UK a year ago from them and paid about $4,200 with shipping.

Since I recently had the plasma ISF Calibrated, picture quality is stunning.

Ask for Candace:

http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-50PHD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

I can vouch for Visual Apex (bought my two Panny AE-900's from them) and the Panny plasma. I use an EDTV 42" model from three years ago and the picture is still excellent, even without a digital connection.

I just saw the Vizio yesterday at BJ's and wasn't very impressed, but god knows they have no clue on how to set up a plasma.

If you are keeping the plasma for a while (which is probably the case), spend the extra bucks and get the Panny.

George