A Quality TV from… Vizio?! Smooth. Home-Theater Feeling, November 24, 2010

By 

Kiyo M. – See all my reviews

  

  

Customer Video Review Length:: 5:41 Mins

I added a video showing the VIZIO SV470M TV playing back some video games (PS3/PC) and Blu-Ray movies. Obviously, it’s not going to look exactly like you would see it in real life on a recorded video camera – and on top of that, a uploaded compressed internet video/low resolution; however, you should get a better idea of the smoothness and the size.

To be honest, when the brand name “Vizio” came to my mind before, I had a feeling it was more of a value brand than quality; however, I have a totally different view of them now after this TV. I’m impressed and more than satisfied with this TV compared to my Toshiba 40RV525R 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

47″ is quite a nice size. What a difference just 7″ makes. Movies and games feel way more thrilling than it ever did with the Toshiba 40″ HDTV. It’s a really good size for feeling like you’re at the movies, but just at home.

Besides the size being an obvious upgrade, the 120Hz and “Smooth Technology” is really the other main selling point here. If you ever wanted that real feeling like you’re looking through a window, then you’ll want a fast motion 120Hz TV because the movement will really look faster and seem more life-like. This is really great for sports and reality TV because it really feels like you’re actually there more. It really does make a difference.

However, this can be a bad thing for watching most film movies (shot at 24FPS) because it will literally make you feel like a movie shot on a film looking like it was originally shot on digital video instead! Some films just end up feeling really cheap at those speeds and is really distracting to watch (especially those shaky camera films because you’ll notice the camera being more berserk than before and end up giving you more seizures; the subtle camera movements will be even more noticeable). Moreover, sometimes, when set to the max smoothness, it feels like the movie is being fast-forwarded but with the audio still magically syncing up…

Thankfully, the “Smooth Technology” can be disabled to still have that film feel (although it’s still pretty smooth)! I’ve actually become a fan of this feature (even for someone like me who doesn’t really like the modern digital look and prefers 24FPS film look) because it can actually give a whole new experience on watching films; it really gives a strange raw feeling like you’re there at the scene watching it. You can enjoy movies in two different ways! It’s really nice watching animation films with this feature on.

I find myself constantly turning this feature on and off depending on the content. I really wish there was easier access or button on the remote to quickly change this! It actually gets very cumbersome pressing “Menu”, then “Picture”, then scrolling to “Advanced Video”, and then scrolling again to “Smooth Mode Effect” just to turn this feature on/off.

Speaking of the menu, it is really small and only takes up a small section of the screen. I also find it strange in order to change the aspect ratio, it’s under the “Setup” option instead of the “Picture” setting. What’s worse is there is no button on the remote to quickly change aspect ratios either! The remote is VERY basic. It’s as basic as it can get.

Watching Planet Earth on Blu-Ray is much more enjoyable and thrilling with the 120Hz Smooth Technology because it really feels like I’m looking through a window now.

I also played PC and PS3 games on this and it looks fantastic. I played NBA 2K11, and with this TV, it really felt like I was at a real game! It is smooth 5ms and the experience is just so much more fun and amazing than it was on my Toshiba. It is such a blast to play it on this TV.

The audio on this TV actually impressed me too. You can’t expect much from built-in speakers, especially in the bass department, but there’s really good surround sound/depth feel to it (again, playing NBA 2K11 sounded like I was at the game!) It is without a doubt, the speakers on this is better than the one is on the Toshiba.

Most people should be very satisfied with the video quality. Despite this being 7″ larger than my Toshiba, I find it to be sharper; it doesn’t look that bad up-close like it did with the Toshiba. The further away you are, the better it will look.

I have seen deeper colors from other TVs and I also feel the blacks were better on the Toshiba, being really picky, but overall,…

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excellent LCD for the price., November 29, 2010

I was able to purchase this LCD from Amazon for the price of 9.99 on Cyber Monday, I think that’s a great price, I saw several at my local Costco selling for 9.99 before instant rebate, with tax and green fee pushing it to 6.16, I would say Amazon is the best deal with no tax and free shipping. anyway, when I was at several Costco stores around the San Fernando valley, and compared all the available Vizio, I have to say the picture is very high def, and very sharp when watching it from 2 feet away. the further I move back, the sharper the screen looks, but comparing next to the LED or a LG LCD, it’s not as bright, and the contrast is not as dark, but then Costco has very bright ambience light in their warehouse, I usually watch TV in a lower light room. at another store, Avatar was shown, and the picture is just incredible, even sharper than the brocasted HD program. of course, the blue ray helped too. overall, I think it’s a great TV for the price, if it’s on sale again, don’t hesitate.

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Very Pleased, December 6, 2010

Very pleased with the Vizio SV470M HDTV I got on Cyber Monday for 9, free shipping, no tax. Can’t beat this deal. The picture is great, better than my Sony HDTV. The sound is fine. Easy to set up. Initially I had a little problem with some channels only getting pictures but no sound If I use HDMI to connect my TV with Set-Top-Box. No problem with Component or Composite connections. I finally got it fixed by changing the sound output of the Set-Top-Box from Auto to L-PCM. How to do this is a little tricky. You need to google ‘Vizio No Sound’ to find out how to do it with your particular Set-Top-Box. Overall, I am very pleased.

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