Vizio 42in Gal series 1080p - $1139

[dispair]

Vizio GV 42inch 1080p

Above is the link to the tv. This is ripped from FW but the TV is just sick to say the least. It is much better than the similiarly priced Westinghouse. I picked this set up this weekend and can't rave enough about it. I had a 32 inch westinghouse(3213) and a 37 inch(37w3??) and recently bought a 720p plasma from Costco(the maxent). I returned the maxent and sold the Westinghouse 37 so that my wife would let me buy this beauty and she/I couldn't be happier. It has a great simulated surround sound, the speakers r detachable, and the quality is sick. While I'm not a fan of shopping at sears or sears.com the service I recieved at the store here in Seattle was excellent. I wihs I could post pics, but my wifey lost our digi cam.... Either way though this is Super hot at 1055.23 shipped or picked up in the seattle area...

 

[isekii]

What's the standard amount of HDMI ports ?

2 ?

what about the stuff with HDCP or whatever it is.

 

[dispair]

Originally posted by: isekii
What's the standard amount of HDMI ports ?

2 ?

what about the stuff with HDCP or whatever it is.

Whats the standard amount of HDMI? hrm...well up until 2007 1 was godsent, now most do 2 or more, some have 4, but 2 is a pretty good benchmark for a min.

The HDCP is somewhat a standard now, but it is there. I get the damn pop up everytime I play a movie thru my xbox360 elite...HDCP connection reconnected or some stuff....

It really is a great deal on a 1080p set, specially if u missed the costco deal a month ago, or was not a member.

 

[erwos]

It doesn't really matter how many HDMI inputs it has anyways - Monoprice sells cheap, IR-controlled HDMI switches for like $60 now.

Also, most receivers will have a couple of HDMI ports as well - considering how awful the scaler tends to be in budget sets, something like the Denon 2308CI receiver might be handy anyways.

 

[imported_OrSin]

Why would some get a $1200 MSRP reciever for a $1000 TV. Some people just like to go over board on everything. Most sets sold now have decent scalars. I say decent not great, but if you need to get a scalar then its best not even to get the TV. And for a 42inch set scaling is really not needed. Now if you have a projector doing 100+ then scalars are worth it.

 

[Basilisk]

FWIW: The $60 discount -- part of $1139 price, above -- expires TODAY.

AND the 15% off coupon sounds like it takes 4-5 days to receive, making it mutually exclusive with the $60 off. Sigh.



Edit: I guess the GOOD GNUS is one only loses $51 in discount since the 15% coupon increases $9 in value when the discount vanishes! :laugh:

Edit2: I'm having NO luck displaying the 15% offer page -- always comes up empty whatever link I follow to it. Ohh... Now I get it:
- Must use IE browser for coupon offer ( http://www.sears.com/offers ), not FireFox.

 

[etrin]

How is this LCD on fast action?
Any pixilation?

 

[Basilisk]

Dropped in on a Sears to day to stare at one: unfortunately it was on an end-cap, making comparisons difficult (no adjacent models).

I was pretty neutral about it, but you can't play with the settings much (no manual) or control the signal feed, so I can't trust my sense that it wasn't as bright/crisp as those around the corners. A particular problem was this end-cap faced the general store and had mucho reflected ceiling lights while the models around the corners were at 90 degrees and reflecting only the dark TV-area ceilings.

There was one moment I thought I discerned coarser pixel-blocks -- I presume this is "pixelation" -- during a short football segment. Might not have noticed were I not looking for it. These weren't static blocks of noise, just a very transient coarser image along a fast-moving image.

There was an advert on for a (future?) PC game, something about ["Universal"?] Action Heroes. On the Vizio it was hard to discern many details one could see on the Sharp/Sony/Samsung around the corner. 'May have been black level or contrast adjustment, or may have been those ceiling lights.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Be warned, it will not operate any greater than 1366 X 768 when connected to a PC.

 

[bash125]

Were you using an analog VGA cable or DVI to HDMI connection?

 

[ArchAngel777]

It is a limitation in the TV itself. Go to the MFG's website and look it up. It explicitly states that the highest resolution when connected to a PC is 1366 X 768, which means it cannot handle 60Hz at 1920 X 1080, which also means that 1366 X 768 will be scaled and thus, will look like utter crap.

If you are buy this solely as a TV, then you are fine.. But if you have PC in mind, be warned!

 

[dispair]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
It is a limitation in the TV itself. Go to the MFG's website and look it up. It explicitly states that the highest resolution when connected to a PC is 1366 X 768, which means it cannot handle 60Hz at 1920 X 1080, which also means that 1366 X 768 will be scaled and thus, will look like utter crap.

If you are buy this solely as a TV, then you are fine.. But if you have PC in mind, be warned!

Manual PDF

Well, Hrm...i Just don't know what to say. Everything I read says you can use it at 1080p, but maybe I'm wrong. I don't know exactly how it breaks down with timing etc...

I didn't bring this deal here for pc monitor use, but rather as just a hot deal on a good TV.

Other points of interest...

The demo models instore typically aren't the best to go by, especially if someone will not provide you with the remote to tune it yourself. Also the feeds after being split 50x can sometimes play a role in the pq.

As for the deal itself, yes, it took me a few days to get the mail about the 15% link, however I contacted sears.com CS(sucked but I still got what I wanted) and told them my situation. IE.. Me signing up because I wanted to purchase said TV and the coupon taking days to get to me. They said to call them when the transaction was complete and they would send me back the 15%(just showed up on my BoA account, but is still pending).

This TV isn't the end all be all, but as for bang for your buck it is definetly up there.

 

[ArchAngel777]

I want you to know that maybe that MFG didn't update their documentation on their website for PC supported resolutions. So it is QUITE possible, that it will in fact run 1920 x 1080, but I am VERY skeptical of that. I was not trying to do any thread crapping at all, FYI, so please don't take offense if it seemed that way. I don't want to see someone buy this and be dissapointed, which is the reason I post something.

Now, if you have this TV, we can put this entire notion to rest! Bring your PC, hook it up and see what resolution it accepts! Because, IF indeed their documentation is wrong, then this IS an awesome deal for those looking at using it with a computer.

 

[Basilisk]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I want you to know that maybe that MFG didn't update their documentation on their website for PC supported resolutions. So it is QUITE possible, that it will in fact run 1920 x 1080, but I am VERY skeptical of that. I was not trying to do any thread crapping at all, FYI, so please don't take offense if it seemed that way. I don't want to see someone buy this and be dissapointed, which is the reason I post something.

Now, if you have this TV, we can put this entire notion to rest! Bring your PC, hook it up and see what resolution it accepts! Because, IF indeed their documentation is wrong, then this IS an awesome deal for those looking at using it with a computer.

Let's test my reading skills:
From Owner's Manual:
P31 - ...refer to your graphics card guide and ... "find out if it is capable of an output of VESA 1920x1080 at 60Hz resolution ...: if not supported, then use VESA 1360x768".
P32 - a restatement of above
P32&P68: three more references to 1360x768 as an available display rate, along with 1920x1080 and others.

As I read it, the sole five references to "768" merely indicate it's an available option and a fall-back if your graphics card cannot handle 1080.

I would accept that this TV is incapable of arbitrary upscaling -- that it cannot display full-screen a signal of, say 999x666... or that it might do something unintended with that.


PS: "The death rate is one per person and we are all going to make it " Not really true until there's no person left alive. Who knows, there may be some poor loser out there who will be stuck hearing all of the White House's remaining political speeches throughout history.... Fortunately, that will not be ME as I'd rather slicet my wrists than face such horrors....

 

[ArchAngel777]

Specification
Size: 42-in*
*Viewable: 42-in
Tuner: Integrated NTSC/ATSC/QAM HDTV Tuner

Supported TV Formats
1080p, 1080i, 720p, 720i, 480p, 480i

Native Panel Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Supported PC Resolutions
1366 x 768, 1280 x 720, 1024 x 768, 800 x 600
Specification
Panel Type: 42" Diagonal*, 16:9 Wide Screen, Color TFT Active Matrix LCD
Panel Specifications: Anti-Static and hard coated surface
Pixel/Dot Pitch: 0.485mm (H) x 0.485mm (V)
Display Compatibility: FULL HDTV (1080P)
Signal Compatibility: 480i (SDTV), 480P (EDTV), 720P (HDTV), 1080i (HDTV), 1080p (FHDTV)
Response Time: 8 ms (typical)
Colors: 16.77 million
Brightness: 500 cd/m2 (typical)
Contrast Ratio: 1800:1 Dynamic
Viewable Angle: 178° (horizontal and vertical)

Straight from their website... Now, as I said before, it is possible that they simply forgot to add 1920 X 1080, but I highly doubt it... How often does a company UNDERSELL a product? Not often... It is always, what? Thats right, oversold!

 

[pete777]

it does support pc at 1920x1080
as this link http://www.vizio.com/media/pro...V42LF_Spec_Sheet-1.pdf

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: pete777
it does support pc at 1920x1080
as this link http://www.vizio.com/media/pro...V42LF_Spec_Sheet-1.pdf

Nice find... I guess they better update their website... They might lose sales over something like that. Then, this TV gets my full thumbs up

 

[MintBoy]

Read the avsforum thread about this monitor. It supports 1920x1080 via the HDMI ports. The VGA port is only good for 1366x768.

 

[dispair]

Originally posted by: Mint_Boy
Read the avsforum thread about this monitor. It supports 1920x1080 via the HDMI ports. The VGA port is only good for 1366x768.

As usual, people are speaking without any facts to back them up. If one does read the avsforums(which I recommend if you are into anything home theatre related) you will find that this model does in fact support 1080p over vga. The VU model you can purchase at costco supposidly doesn't, and the GV42L(last years model) does not. Please before you attempt to post what you think is fact, research it first... NY Times anyone?

PS-I have my pc hooked up to it via my 8800 gts and it seems to output 1080p thru vga, but I'm sure I'm wrong and you are right Mint....

 

[imported_BS]

.

 

[Basilisk]

Bit: Ordered one this evening. A horrifyingly convoluted process as Sears 15% discount is deeply messed up on their web-site, but here's how it should've looked:

($1199.99 - $150 "Ultimate Football Special Savings" (to everyone) ) * .85 = $892.50

'Had it delivered to a Delaware Sears store 25 miles away, so for 3 gallons of gas and $3 bridge tolls I'm spared the $65 taxes, any s/h fee, and any risks attending house-delivery. It was ready for pick-up 30 minutes after order, judging by the email.

'Might even be another $44.62 off that price: Sears presented a "Special Savings" of $202.50 (rather than $150) when I first tried to order it, tonight, but their check-out process went nuts and I had to restart the order; second time through I got the $150 discount. I've explained the problem to them -- with their own HTML showing the pricing -- but I've no great expectation I'll receive this credit -- in fact, I expect they'll say "No way that could have happened!" -- it certainly made no sense to me!

The enormously bad news was just how screwed up their site s/w is. I spent around 2 hours on the phone with them trying to get the site to recognize my "account" email/passwd which results in the 15% discount. Finally had to have them handle the ordering. Wasted scads of their time; clearly a lot of folks were having this problem as well. More time was wasted when their staff didn't mention the 15% would be handled as a -credit- in 3 or 4 days, so I went nutzo when I received an email notice of the order at the $1049.99 price.


'Won't pick it up until tomorrow. I (again) checked out this model in a Sears, yesterday, and realized my true love was a nearby Samsung -- @ 2.5 the price. 'Think I can live with the Vizio for $900.

Edit: Sears notified me that the $157 Credit (15% of $1050) had been turned into my CC company, yesterday. Amazingly, I still haven't unloaded it from my car! Lame a$$ed idiot am I.

 

[ICXRa]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the picture quality after you have it tweaked in. I have been looking at this model after looking at the Sammy's and Sharps because I can't bring myself to drop that kind of jack.

 

[Basilisk]

Originally posted by: ICXRa
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the picture quality after you have it tweaked in. I have been looking at this model after looking at the Sammy's and Sharps because I can't bring myself to drop that kind of jack.

Will do, but unlikely until weekend, alas! I'm not yet equipped with anything that will drive this to its limits: I'll have to find something for my computer that will push the 1080p qualities -- any suggestions on that? Guess I have a DVE disk available to borrow, if that has any interesting tests.

 

[Carmen813]

Could someone explain to me how exactly this works?

I'm assuming it's 15% off anything you buy, you sign up, and 3-4 days later you get a code?

Or do I signup, order my item, and then a few days later get a 15% refund?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ICXRa]

I don't have any great suggestions but I am just wondering how it looks after it's fine tunned with something like DVE. When I looked at this set at Sears it was positioned on a end of a row like you previously indicated in this thread but unfortunately for me it wasn't powered so I couldn't see anything. I'm just curious how good the picture quality is in SD as I have read this is one of the weaker points of less expensive LCD TV's. Also picture quality overall and if you notice flash lighting on dark scenes etc. Would be interesting ti know how the computer looks on it, or a console game. I don't know anything good 1080P to suggest, just wondering if it looks good on a quality DVD, maybe something like the last Star Wars movies due to the technology used to film them.

I first stated looking at the AQUOS but it seems they are riddled with problems according to the folks over at AVSForum. Banding, clouding/flashlighting and the 42" model only has 3 wave vs 4 wave in the larger models being produced in their 8th gen plant....which is also producing buggy TV's. The Sammy's look good to me but people are reporting problems with HDMI drop outs then there is something about their inability to do 1 to 1.....whatever that means. I almost pulled the trigger on the XBR2 that Sears is blowing out but it too is get raked over the coals with flashlighting issues but the one I saw at Sears was hands down the best picture quality.

All these issues have made me reluctant to drop that much money into an LCD so if this TV is even close to those in picture quality and doesn't have a bunch of motion blur/artifact and pixilation problems problems I would be more inclined to go this route while they continue to work the bugs out. I assume from your post you opted not to get a extended warranty.

sorry to ramble on!