Vizio has for years now been knocked in some circles (for good reason), and lauded in others. Known and respected for the majority of its products as a value leader, Vizio announced products in CES 2010 that are changing the landscape for value in televisions. The key difference this year and years’ past is, Vizio is offering products that are pulling no punches when it comes to competing against the big boys in performance.
The Vizio 72″ is the largest television in their lineup as of early 2010. The new set is offering 480Hz refresh, LED backlighting with local dimming (differentiated from edge-lighting, which might offer better longevity than cold-cathode lighting, but not necessarily a better picture), 3-D, and wireless HDMI. The television is clearly designed to take the reigns in the category of offerings that connect to the internet, utilizing wireless networking and widgets, which Vizio dubs “Vizio Internet Apps”, or “VIA.” Most interesting from an evolutionary perspective are 480Hz refresh, and wireless HDMI.
Wireless HDMI is something that many custom installers and early HDMI adopters might, at first glance, eschew as being fraught with challenges. Although the technology is unproven on a mass-scale, and in a variety of environments, Vizio tackles the issue with a full-frontal assault. The television’s wireless HDMI technology is called “SiBEAM”, operating at 60GHZ, to all but completely avoid signal corruption and competition from wireless telephones, microwaves, and most cell phones. HDMI signals are delicate in a wired environment, and Vizio attempts to overcome this via an adapter that offers up to four HDMI connections, and functions at 1080p. This innovative technology is perfect for a panel television, as many installations today have the television on display, speakers surrounding it (in a surround environment), and equipment sequestered in an equipment closet or basement, out of sight. A challenge installers have had is getting an HDMI cable from the audio rack (where the switching happens) to the display, without loss. Vizio’s solution by using a robust transmission technology should go a long way in saving clients money by not having to purchase a long HDMI cable, to installation charges from installers not having to engage in a protracted troubleshooting session to get everything to sync.
LCD televisions have been playing catchup with plasma displays for some time, in terms of smooth motion. LCDs, in terms of color and blur, once carried the unfortunate moniker “lowest common denominator”, because they couldn’t keep up with their plasma brethren at larger sizes in satisfying the discriminating viewer. Vizio attempts to tackle the motion issue by offering 480Hz refresh, a first for LCD panels in this size and price range. Although frame interpolation has its critics as “creating something out of nothing”, the technology needs help to prevent stutter and motion blur. The key is to make the result look real, and not make everything have that “live TV” look that can ruin films. Vizio’s attempt to make the image look more realistic is convincing, which is refreshing, considering that many competitors’ efforts have been met with underwhelming response in many cases.
Vizio, with their XVT line, is truly making every effort to establish themselves as a serious competitor, marketing themselves to consumers that previously might ignore them. Value brands have an uphill climb, mainly due to self-inflicted perceptions of poor quality and worse, poor after-sale support. Vizio, although never suffering from those issues with any unusual frequency, is rapidly moving into a category that Samsung occupied three years ago – high performance, aggressive cost.
