TV Shop » Vizio TV and Home Theater

Deals, Returned: Thursday Edition --

We present the return of our great, almost famous HDTV deals, and without further ado, let’s kick it off with a great deal:

Walmart – How about a great deal on a Vizio 42″ E420VL 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $548 – free in-store pickup included (option is $20 for shipping). With a 120Hz refresh rate, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and 3 HDMI inputs, tough to beat this one!

BuyDig.com – You know we love LG: how about a 55LV5500 55″ 120Hz LED HDTV for $1619 and $30 off with our special coupon code “BUYDIG30” = $1589 – and with free shipping? How can we do it?

Thanks for joining us and have fun!

3rd and 4th Place: Sony and LG respectively, LCD sales --

You know the market is pretty topsy-turvy when Vizio is so dominant with LCD HDTV sales, and a company like LG is in 4th place (and very far behind indeed). Curious is the word we’d use.

Now we know the raw reasoning behind this number: Vizio is prominently featured at Wal-Marts across the country, and their prices are pretty tough to beat. Never mind their pure stats with contrast ratio, etc are inferior to Sony and LG. Marketing and decent technologies have combined with low prices to make a juggernaut the other companies cannot ignore.

Raw numbers: Vizio captured a 27.6 percent market share, shipping roughly 2.9 million units in the US last year, a huge number. Samsung was second (kind of a surprise) with a 20.6 percent market share, shipping about 2.1 million sets total. Sony was third with 10.1 percent market share while LG was fourth with 9.4 percent.

Early Party: Vizio celebrates its reign as LCD champ? --

All of the numbers are not in, but early indications are that Vizio is once again the HDTV sales champion for last year, 2010. It’s the first place sales king for LCD’s, and no real surprise: their presence in Wal-Mart, low prices and decent technology have allowed it to ascend fairly easily, in reality. Read on:

Industry analysts will reveal all the numbers later this week but according to Vizio its LCD HDTVs have outsold all others, again. Specifically, it has again rated as the #1 seller of LCDs in North America according to DisplaySearch and #1 seller of LCDs in the US according to iSuppli by carving out a 27.6% share of the market, the largest for any seller since 2004.

Among some of us in the home theater community there’s still, deserved or undeserved, a perception of the company as simply a cheap, low end manufacturer that’s not as reliable as others but with results like these it looks like the rest of the market will be the ones with something to prove in 2011.

Our early gut feeling tells us 2011 won’t be that different really, as Vizio’s solid quality/low price combo continues to dominate the marketplace in sheer units moved.

SB Follow-Up: Wal-Mart’s HDTV Super Bowl Madness begins --

Last article, we discussed Consumer Report’s picks for the best of the best among HDTV units, now we have Wal-Mart jumping in to offer great deals on HDTVs across the board. Here’s a preview of some great deals:

* Vizio 32″ LCD HDTV (720p, 60Hz, 31.5″ diagonal screen size) – $348
* Phillips 40″ LCD HDTV (1080p, 120Hz, 39.9″ diagonal screen size) – $498 ($100 savings)
* Vizio 42″ LCD HDTV (1080p, 60Hz, 42.0″ diagonal screen size) – $548
* Vizio 47″ HDTV (1080p, 120Hz, 46.1″ diagonal screen size) – $698

$698 for a 47″, 120Hz HDTV? Now that really is madness, and Vizio has established itself as a very decent brand nowadays. It’ll be interesting to see the sales totals after the Super Bowl is played, and we’ll truly hope that really helps to move units.

Lawsuit Settled: Vizio vs. LG --

After several years and lots of legal wrangling, the ITC was just about to rule on the lawsuit between Vizio and LG when they suddenly announced a settlement between the two parties of their own accord. Settling usually ends up being the least expensive and tenuous option, and it’s good to see to two HDTV giants getting back to business as usual.

The agreement was apparently a (as of now undisclosed) cross licensing agreement of some sort, and both parties are saying they’re happy with the results. This isn’t even the first patent related lawsuit with Vizio and another party, and may not be the last either, if reports are accurate.

LG and Vizio fall on the same side of the fence when it comes to glasses-free vs. traditional 3D, so perhaps it isn’t a huge shock it turned out the way it did.

HDTV 3D Newness: Vizio to release passive-glasses HDTV 3D model line --

Vizio is jumping into the fray of the 3D HDTV battle with their newest line release, The Theater 3D lineup. Its Vizio’s attempt to stay up with the current HDTV trends, and it looks pretty good, we have to say. Here’s more details:

We doubt we’ve seen all of Vizio’s 2011 product lineup yet, but the latest information is that it’s expanding upon the one Theater 3D TV model currently available with an entire line — promising to offer 3D with passive glasses in sizes from 22- all the up to 71-inches. There are 21 models detailed in the press release after the break including LED edge lit LCDs, direct LED backlit models, ones with the Yahoo! Widgets VIA package and a couple of the new Google TV-powered models. No word on price or ship date yet, but the company is quick to point out that putting the 3D processing into the screen means cheaper movie theater-style 3D glasses with ostensible greater brightness and less flicker, plus compatibility with Oakley’s “optically correct” specs.

Advancements are good, even if they are being geared towards a technology that isn’t exactly lighting up the shelves around the globe.

Monster 3D: Vizio 65″ 3D HDTV announced for release this month --

We’ve heard of big 3D HDTV units, but this is one of the largest of the consumer units we’ve reviewed (and about the cheapest for its size as well and it comes with four pairs of glasses) and its from Vizio. More details for your reading pleasure:

If the current crop of active shutter 3D televisions isn’t your style and you’d prefer some cheaper specs, say hello to VIZIO’s new 65-inch Theater 3D Razor XVT3D650SV LED set, its biggest TV yet. Previously spotted lurking about on the manufacturer’s website, this set uses cheap polarized glasses like the ones in most movie theaters unlike the more expensive (and, according to the press release, more prone to dimming and flickering) active shutter glasses used on most televisions today, including a few of VIZIO’s own. Beyond that, it’s a 120Hz edge lit LED LCD set that comes with four pairs of glasses and also includes VIZIO Internet Apps and SRS TruSurround integrated speakers. The downside for the cheap glasses however, is that most of the cost is in the display itself ratcheting the price up to $3,499 when it arrives on Sam’s Club shelves this month.

We’ll attempt to cover this monster unit in a review when it gets released later on.

Stream of News: Vizio to examine HDTV move streaming options next year? --

Yes, we all know movie and content streaming is probably the next big thing, but it appears even HDTV makers are thinking along the same lines. Witness this tidbit of interesting news from Vizio:

As if we didn’t already know that video on demand was the hot new ticket, the Wall Street Journal is today reporting that a couple more companies are ready to throw their hats into the ring. OnLive, the cloud gaming upstart, has confirmed its intention to offer up a subscription-based movie streaming service at some point next year, while HDTV vendor Vizio is said to also be looking at its options. What makes these new guys intriguing (aside from the fact that Vizio sells a lot of TVs in the US) is the general feeling among media companies that Netflix is growing uncomfortably big and should be diversified away from.

We actually disagree; big means standards, and this is an industry aching for standards to be established. Still, big HDTV companies getting into the race can mean only good things for its future.

More Google TV Fun: Toshiba and Vizio to jump on the bandwagon next year --

It appears Google TV has been a moderate success, at least with TV execs. It appears (according to Engadget and various other blogs and sites) that HDTV makers Toshiba and Vizio will be joining the G-TV parade in January or so of next year. Read for more info:

Content providers might be banning Google TV left, right, and center, but hardware partners don’t seem to be losing any enthusiasm. After Samsung openly admitted to contemplating a HDTV with Google TV hardware and software built right in, Toshiba and Vizio are now said to have firm plans to introduce such new products at January’s CES 2011. While neither manufacturer would be drawn into confirming this latest bit of insider info, Toshiba’s American GM, Jeff Barney, is quoted as saying, “Google certainly is a key partner for us on the PC side and will likely be key for us on the TV side as well.” How else could Google function as a key TV partner than with its web-connected TV experience?

Hopefully, this will convince content providers that GTV is worth supporting and lift their embargo of the service. We aren’t holding our breath to be honest, but we can always hope.

Discounted: Vizio 3D HDTVs showing up with slashed prices --

We always like price surprises, and this time is no exception as Vizio’s 3D HDTV line is appearing on US shelves, with a several hundred dollar price reduction over the MSRP, a welcome sight indeed. Read on via Engadget:

Right on cue, VIZIO’s latest XVT 3D LCDs have been spotted on retail shelves. One reader noticed this 55-incher at Costco with a $1,999 price tag, a few hundred bucks off the initial MSRP. We’d still like to see some of those 3D specs thrown in, but with a pretty significant price advantage over similar TVs from other manufacturers like Sony we’re thinking there’s some room in there to snatch them up separately if one is so inclined.

Now all we need is a more complete detailing of the specs of the unit, and we’ll be all set. Anyone want to volunteer to check them out for us?