Monitor Reviews

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This review is for the 32" Vizio LCD bought in late June 2006.
4 stars because I have used it for 2 weeks (6-10 hours every day) and the TV has performed well so far. Have to see how it does in the next 3-6 months.

Overall, I felt it was the best combination of features I wanted and the price I wanted to pay; + the promised at-home technical support (they have to come through on that).

My Buying Criteria + Review:
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1.) Less than $1000
Prices in the ~30" size have dropped significantly in the last 1 year that I felt confident that manufacturers have taken in decent profits on early releases.
2.) 'Decent' size
Since most (probably all) sub-$1000 HDTV's are not 1080p yet, I wanted to buy a TV that I could later move into my bedroom (and not crowd it with a humongous wall filler) once 1080p TV's are cheaper.
3.) HD/ATSC Tuner
I am not planning to get cable for the next few months; can't get satellite (north facing apt). Hence, I need the HD tuner to get over the air (ota) signals. Also bought a Terk HD antenna for that.
4.) VGA input (called RGB on Vizio)
Plan to use my PC as a media server to watch home movies, listen to my mp3 collection and ocassionally surf on the net. The PIP/PBP combination of VGA with other inputs is restricted. This TV can't do PIP/PBP of VGA with ota signals. But that feature is probably useless.
5.) PIP and Picture-By-Picture (PBP)
A little disappointing that although the Vizio has both, it restricts the combination of inputs allowed in using PIP & PBP.
6.) Variety of inputs, especially HDMI
Would've been nicer if they used DVI instead of VGA for PC input.

Surprises (may apply to other HDTV's too):
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1. Speaker quality a lot better than I expected. Haven't connected my home theater system to this yet.
2. Looks - silver-black finish is nice, speakers at bottom are less distracting than side speakers
3. At 40lbs, I can move it around the house very conveniently.
4. Number and quality of over the air (ota) HD and SD digital channels.
5. Remote Control - decently designed, unlike my Yamaha Amp/Tuner, Sony/Aiwa DVD Players. Would've been nicer if it was backlit or had some flourscent coating.

Just bought this TV from Costco for $799.00. It looks so nice in my living and displays the images beautifully. Just a note for people who DO NOT WANT to pay the HIGH cost of cable tv, this TV works just GREAT without it!!! You can still get your regular channels that you got with your previous TV (some channels though not crystal clear) and watching DVD's is like having a theater in your home. I'm very happy with this purchase and even happier that I don't need cable to enjoy it!

I bought this TV to put in my kitchen while cooking, etc. but it was not what it thought I was getting.

This "TV" does not have a built-in TV tuner which of course is not mentioned in the product description. It does come with a small external tuner w/ remote. Of course by the time you get it all hooked up looks like the back of your computer - a mass of wires albeit a small one. However, the picture quality is great, sound quality is okey and the fact that it comes with a remote is a bonus. It even has a freeze frame button on the remote.

The downside of this system is you have to turn both the monitor and the tuner on to get it to work. A real design flaw! But you can avoid this by spending another $70-$100 and you do not even get a remote! If Viewsonic integrated the power controls, this could be a sweet little package.

The bottom line is I put in my bedroom and trashed my 19" CRT TV. Because the picture quality is so good I can lie in bed and watch it from 10-12 feet and not lose any detail.

This is not what I consider a "high" end TV but either is the price! In addition, it is a Viewsonic and I have used their computer monitors for years both CRTs and LCDs and they build a high quality bulletproof product. My next "big" TV will probably be a Viewsonic. Forget Sony. This product just needs a little help on the integration side.