Great picture but some usage problems, August 3, 2010

By 

J. Hahn “windsurfer” (Menlo Park, CA, USA) – See all my reviews

  

I purchased this unit because I have a space in a cabinet that’s less than 36″ wide and this is one of the few 37″ TVs that will fit. There are some problems which I find annoying but some people may not notice or care about. Sometimes there the audio and video are not in sync. The audio leads the video by a fraction of a second. It happens about 20% of the time. Sometimes the set reboots itself, going black and then displaying the VISIO logo before restoring the picture. This is very infrequent, but it does happen occasionally. The response to the remote in some cases is slow. For example, unmuting takes a significant fraction of a second. There are other less bothersome issues too. I called VISIO tech support and they said they weren’t familiar with these problems and had me do a full reset which had no effect. I exchanged the unit I bought for a second and it had the same problems. Then I read a review by someone else complaining about the same problems (and others). The set has great specs and the picture seems to be just fine and that’s most important. I would really prefer to replace this unit with another brand, but there are no reasonably priced 37″ sets on the market at this time that will fit.

Update (1/18/11): I ended up getting the Samsung LN37C530 (one of the few others that fits in my cabinet). I ended up spending about 0 for a TV that’s only 60Hz and would not have done that if I didn’t have to. The Samsung has none of the sync or volume issues that the VISIO did with the exact same inputs.

Some other observations: one gripe I had with the VISIO was slow tuning on broadcast signals. The Samsung tunes much faster, but the VISIO was able to do a better job of locking on to weak signals. I surf a lot, so prefer faster tuning. I had to tweak the Samsung picture to get it to my liking and I don’t think it’s as good as the VISIO (not a refresh issue; I can’t say I notice that). One big advantage of the Samsung is that it creates a program guide from the broadcast signals that’s very handy. In sum, I could not live with the VISIO issues and am definitely happier with the Samsung despite its higher cost, lower specs, and its own quirks.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comments (3)

Very happy I ignored all the bad reviews., December 24, 2010

By 

L. Cypert – See all my reviews

  

I bought this tv even with all the bad reviews and i am so glad i did. The tv arrived the next day with amazon prime free two day shipping. Just like everyone said the picture is excellent, and the 120hz refresh rate makes for an incredibly life like viewing experience. As for the sound I have noticed that the sound level does seem to fluctuate when changing channels, but this was easily fixed by turning off the truvolume feature. i have only had the tv for a week but there has been no problem with the sound matching up, i do have version so it may be that the tv doesn’t work well with certain cable providers. The volume and power of the speakers in my opinion are great, far superior to other sets I’ve seen with hidden speakers in which the sound is always muffled.

I am very pleased with my purchase, and at a price of only 0 and only for a three year warranty i don’t see how you can go wrong with this tv.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment (1)

Audio / Lip Sync Issues, August 11, 2010

I was very excited to find the 37″ Vizio E371VA as it was both reasonably priced and one of a small number of 37″ TVs that will fit in out 36″ wide cabinet.

Overall the picture looks great on HD channels.

But as other reviewers have reported there are significant audio / lip sync issues. This is without any adjustment and using the integrated speakers.

Tried disabling various video and audio processing features but can’t seem to fix it.

Will be calling Vizio tomorrow. If they can’t fix it I will look again at the Samsung LN37C530.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment