 Great TV but is very much WORK IN PROGRESS |
| Review Date: February 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: redrover, NY, USA |
Updated review 03/08/2010: Since the review below I would like to add some updates for those interested. One reviewer stated something about "stains/shadows" in the right corners but I could not find any on my unit nor the 4" shadow that from the reviewer's description would run diagonally across the screen. I am looking but nothing. I still rate the picture a 5 and the audio a solid 4 but the remote though is just too difficult to use in the dark or even in low lighting situations. Given VIZIO's design for the remote to replace your other remotes it is not useful as that due to lack of a glow button. The remote is still good but only for part of the day and again the remote still is lacking many dedicated "special" feature buttons.
My biggest concern though is the TV "locking up and re-booting" which it seems to do more frequently when I utilized the PIP/POP feature. I have a call in to VIZIO and several e-mails and they are currently researching the issue. I think for the price the TV is a great bargain and while I am no videophile/audiophile I think again for this price range the quality of the audio/video is excellent but they do need to fix certain issues. The re-booting, the missing glow and extra feature buttons on the remote, the side panel toggle switch functions, turning on all the USB ports, and the PIP/POP to better utilize the screen space and fix the audio shutting off from the main screen when you turn off the PIP/POP. The VIA apps rock and really make the TV a joy to use, I hope they add YouTube soon.
Like other reviewers, myself included: BE WARY OF THE REVIEWS ON THE VIZIO SITE.
The TV itself is great but not as slim as I expected it to be given how much slimmer my one year plus old VIZIO SV470XVT1A" LCD is. Let's start with what is good about the VIZIO 55". The remote is good and basically takes over all your other remotes and the on screen set-up of the unit is relatively straight forward as well.The wired Ethernet connection worked flawlessly but I can not speak to the wireless capabilities as I did not use that feature. The picture for me was much cleaner and brighter than my VIZIO 47" and to me needed no further adjustments. The VIA apps were easy to access, use and more are being added such as PANDORA...added 2 days after I got my TV. One of the main reasons I love VIZIO is the PIP and more specifically the Picture outside Picture (POP)capabilities of their TVs. I believe VIZIO is the only company that provides the POP to their TVs. PLEASE NOTE as of 03/01/2010: My earlier review said the volume level needed to be very high to be heard clearly but I now realize I am "deaf" lol and so to me the sound is now very good.The price for features and quality was very good to excellent and really can not be beat but...
This Vizio 55" was really put out before its time as many items are either not working or will be at a supposedly later time or the design layout was weird and needed to be corrected before being sent out. I think VIZIO skimped on the number of non-HDMI connections giving you just one each of Component and A/V inputs, if your like me you have several legacy non-HDMI components. I say skimped because VIZIO seems to be reducing inputs on its TVs compared to models from less than a year ago, the VF551XVT has 2 components and 2 AV inputs per the online manual. Yes the VF552XVT has Ethernet capability and VIA apps but I mean if they want to continue to be a standout from SAMSUNG and other high ends then they need to keep these extras as well.
What I think is the real design FLAW: the side panel controls in the manual on page 11 shows a logical layout of the controls but the actual TV itself does not look like that layout but rather: Menu and Channel Up are on the same toggle switch; The Channel Down and Volume Up are on the same toggle switch; and the Volume Down and Input are on the same toggle switch. When I called VIZIO (twice) both times they said the manual picture is generic and applies to many of their TVs and the picture is not an accurate reflection of this model but at the same time did acknowledge that the design of the side controls was non-intuitive.
The first time I used Netflix it seemed to lock up my TV and I was unable to turn it off via remote or the side panel off button. I finally unplugged it and called VIZIO who said that the TV can lock up and in the future hold the side power button down for 30 seconds or more, the issue never happened again. UPDATE 03/01/2010: Over the past few days since the NETFLIX LOCKUP the TV will on its own for no reason I can discern "reboot". I will update if it continues but it has happened now about 5 times. I think it may be because of updates to the apps but I am guessing. I have not called VIZIO yet on this batch of reboots but will if it continues. I am very happy with my VIA apps and the new addition of PANDORA but wish the other apps that already have icons were active, I am greedy lol.
I should also mention that none of the 3 side USB ports are activated as well but I saw that an earlier reviewer says they are but on my TV they are not. I called VIZIO and they said not at this time. This again is weird as the model before this has one USB port and that is active per the on screen manual. If you look at the on-screen manual for the VF551XVT it indicates in the manual the port is active and even has a corresponding button to use the port on the remote control. No such control is on the VF552XVT remote, in fact...
I think the VF552XVT has a good remote and while it does take over many of your other remotes flawlessly, the remote given its size does not have ANY dedicated buttons to call up many of the most used features of the TV. Features such as: changing the TV aspect ratio; changing the PIP size; changing the PIP input source and changing the audio from the Main screen to the PIP input; a mode button to switch between all the pre-set color settings; nor buttons to select the input source. My old VIZIO 47" remote had ALL THESE EXTRA FEATURE BUTTONS AND MORE, some were used a lot and others not so much but always better to HAVE THAN NOT HAVE. TRUST ME FROM PRIOR EXPERIENCE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THE PIP INPUT SOURCE AND AUDIO AND SIZE IS FANTASTIC AS WELL AS BEING ABLE TO CHANGE THE TV ASPECT RATIO AND MODE. I believe VIZIO either spent too much on the QWERTY keypad or just went giddy adding the QWERTY keypad and forgot how having these special feature buttons on the remote make using the TV much easier. Easier in that use of...
The on screen menu is fantastic but calling it up blocks out about a 25% of the left side of the screen from top to bottom which is very disconcerting especially if you are trying to make adjustments to the picture. It would have been more prudent if the menu had to be so large to then have the balance of the screen show the movie/broadcast but in "squashed" form without having that portion of the picture covered by the menu. Further the POP feature shows the two images side by side but with black bars top and bottom which reduces the overall size of the POP images by about 40-60%...no kidding. I mean you have a big screen with all this unused space when you utilized the POP feature.
I love the VIZIO TV price point with features but clearly this TV NEEDS the USB ports activated and the side panel issues addressed and many more dedicated buttons on the remote to avoid having to always call up a very distracting on-screen menu. The remote while very good is LACKING A MUCH NEEDED GLOW BUTTON and more separation between the buttons. If you buy the TV you will see what I mean by button separation. Look at the on screen manual for the VF552XVT and look at the remote page (enlarge that page about 300%) and compare it to any remotes you have at home and look at those button separation distance, in the dark you will appreciate those button separation distances especially with no glow button. In addition I think the TV is too thick given these are newer models and should be to me much slimmer. My old VIZIO (47" LCD) is about 3 1/2" at its thickest and 2" at its slimmest while the VF552XVT at its slimmest is over 4" thick and at its thickest about 5".
At this time 03/01/2010 I am think of doing more research and maybe getting another LCD brand, SAMSUNG as I like their picture quality but really would like to stay with VIZIO if they can fix the remote issues and USB activation soon. I also hate to give up my POP feature which seems to be unique to VIZIO?
I RATE THE OVERALL TV A 3 BUT PICTURE IS A 5 AND SOUND IS A 4. WOULD I CONTINUE TO BUY VIZIO? YES BUT I WOULD TRY TO CHECK OUT THE FEATURES AND REMOTES NEXT TIME AT A STORE BEFORE BUYING SIGHT UNSEEN. I TRIED TO POST THIS REVIEW AT VIZIO WEBSITE 3 SEPARATE TIMES I ALSO SENT AN EMAIL TO THEIR CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND THEY RESPONDED THAT IT IS IN MODERATION. YET OTHER CUSTOMER REVIEWS ARE BEING POSTED DAILY IF THEY ARE GOOD SO PLEASE BE WARY OF THE REVIEWS AT THE VIZIO SITE. VIZIO SEEMS TO ONLY POST RAVING REVIEWS OF THEIR PRODUCTS ON THEIR SITE. I HOPE THIS HELPS THOSE ABOUT TO PURCHASE. IT IS A GOOD TV BUT GIVEN IT IS THEIR CURRENT FLAGSHIP I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE BETTER ACTIVATED AND MORE BUTTONS ON THE REMOTE AND A GLOW BUTTON TOO. I HAVE UPLOADED IMAGES OF THE SIDE PANEL ISSUE,THE PICTURE OUTSIDE OF PICTURE (POP) ISSUE AND THE ON SCREEN MENU. |
A great TV!
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| Review Date: February 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: M. Marks, San Jose, Ca USA |
I bought my first HDTV nearly ten years ago. It was a pain to hook up with a mass of wires and complex antenna adjustment for broadcast reception. Took hours to set up. The Vizio VF552 was unpacked, put on the stand and hooked up in about ten minutes. I have three Direct DVRs and a blueray DVD player. Just plugged in the HDMI cable and went through the simple start up process. Even the wireless hookup to my secure router worked the first time. I think the remote is reasonably sturdy. The remote is light and easy to use. I like the input button on the opposite side of the remote from the tv on/off button. On an older Visio tv, the input button was next to the main on/off switch and I was forever turning the tv off when I wanted to switch inputs.
One problem with the sharp, bright picture is that you can see set lighting. Programs such as "Chuck" are so realistic you can tell when they are on a set.
My wife told me not to mess with the color adjustments. I think the as-received adjustments are a bit too bright with over saturated colors. I backed off the settings slightly and I think it looks better. Trouble is that programs seem to have drastically different color values and saturation (e.g. "Miami CSI" seems to be grossly saturated.) Not the tv's fault.
I don't understand comments about this unit's color accuracy when the sources seem to vary all over the place. When one program looks good, another looks cold, another warm. The source gamma seems to run the gamut, and I've given up trying to make adjustments for each program. With my old set, I always reduced the saturation and cooled the color tem for "Miami CSI". This unit's dynamic range (i.e. white whites and really black backs) makes it tolerable for me.
We really like the wireless remote that you don't have to point at the set to make changes. It has worked flawlessly. Earlier Vizio models don't have a wireless remote. The keyboard works fine, when needed.
After several weeks, we are completely happy with the performance of this unit. |
Bang for the Buck
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| Review Date: March 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Teesh Yalamanchili, Santa Clara, CA |
I purchased this TV the NEXT day after seeing the Superbowl ad. Timing was perfect since I was just moving into a new apartment and didn't have a TV set to start out. VIZIO was selling direct but they were sold out AND they were charging almost $3k more than Amazon so I place an order with Amazon.
Everything arrive on time, in excellent condition, and it was VERY easy to setup. Basically plugged it in, turned it on, and it fired right up. Setup was trivial for the networking and applications features and very easy.
If I had 2 things negative to say about the TV it would be this:
1) TV is a thicker than I thought for an LED-LCD TV. The Samsung's I've seen in stores is barely thicker than a few sheets of paper. This this is about as thick as a ream of paper so I would have expected it be a little lighter and thinner.
2) The remote control, while very easy to setup and program for other devices, seems a little low on the quality scale. It has a slide out keyboard, similiar to a cell phone, however the sliding mechanism feels really cheap to the point where you're afraid of breaking it.
Aside from that, it's a pretty awesome TV for the price and the features included. Definitely worth a look if you want to save a few bucks off the Samsungs or any other popular brand names. |
A very good television... I was hoping for greatness.
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| Review Date: February 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Leetham, Salt Lake City, UT USA |
| Let's start out by stating the obvious. This television is very good. I really don't have any problems with it's performance. However, it's not great. Now, very good is usually quite acceptable, but this television is striving to be great. I pre-ordered it and received it early this morning. I have been testing it out all day today. I will discuss a few of my issues and concerns with this television. My only major concern with this television is that from a performance standpoint, it's identical to the VF551XVT. I assumed that this television would not only be upgraging the internet apps, remote control, and other features, but that Vizio would also fine tune the performance and really make this TV shine. I knew that it was technically the same panel as the 551 (that Vizio wasn't changing the panel being used), but I still hoped they would tighten the screws a little bit, so to speak. The verdict is in. They did not. This television performs exactly like my 551. If you already have a 551, only upgrade to this 552 if you need Wi-Fi connectivity, and a full QWERTY RF remote control. With this said, let's get to a few of the concerns about this televisions performance. It is definitely a very good performing television. However, it just doesn't compare to it's main competitors. Vizio begged to go up against, and stated many times that they are pitting this against every top of the line local dimming set available. Well, they lost. The absolutely flawless UNB8500 is down to $2,900 now, so for only $900 more you can have a television that handily defeats -- absolutely crushes -- this 552 in every measurable aspect (with the exception of the features). I have 4 different local dimming LED LCD televisions -- Vizio 551, Vizio 552, Sony XBR8, and the B8500 -- in my home, and this one -- along with the 551 -- is easily the worst performing television out of the bunch (I should add that I did own the LG LH90 for about 6 months, and this one does -- albeit barely -- outperform the LG). Let me give a quick recap of the issues: First, the color accuracy is simply nowhere close to the accuracy of my Sony XBR8 or more specifically, my Samsung UNB8500. Second, it's not a true 240Hz television. It is a 120Hz television with a scanning backlight. Vizio calls it "True 240." It uses 120Hz technology and then has the backlight scan the signal continuously to achieve what Vizio calls 240 scenes per second. Well, I'm not looking for 240 scenes per second. I'm looking for a television that resolves all 1080 lines at all times. Only my Samsung UNB8500 can do that. (The video processing and motion resolution of this television does perform on par with the XBR8 though) Third, this television exhibits blooming a lot worse than either the XBR8 or B8500. Blooming is when the light from a brightened area of the scene causes darkened areas and/or letterbox bars to light up. It looks like light flooding or light leaking into darkened areas and is quite distracting. This television keeps this to a minimum, and doesn't do it nearly as often as the LG LH90, but it is still noticeable from time to time. Fourth, the black level is just not as deep and endless as the XBR8 or more specifically the UNB8500. The black level on this television seems to get as dark -- probably a little bit darker -- as the edge-lit LED models, and Panasonic Plasma's from 2009, but just can't compare to the XBR8 or B8500. (I should add here that I paid over $4,500 for my XBR8 which is well over double the price of this 552). The B8500 can especially get so dark that it looks like you have turned the television off. The 8500 literally disappears during dimming for a scene changeover. I was expecting the black level on this television to come close to and/or potentially even match that. It doesn't come close. It does still get incredibly dark black though. These 4 issues are really the only things that hold this television back from being an excellent or outstanding performer. I have noticed a fluctuating backlight from time to time when a scene changes from dark to bright quickly. I have also noticed a few issues with the consistency of the black level. It seemed to get unbelievably pitch black dark during high contrast scenes, but only 75% that dark during darker/lower contrast scenes. My XBR8 and B8500's black level remains just as dark and endless regardless of the type of scene being viewed. All in all, this is still a great television. It is at least equal to -- and in my opinion, outperforms -- the comparable LG, and is by far the best budget high end television you can buy. The features are incomparable and beat out every other competitor. I just wish that Vizio had put more time, effort, and funding into the performance of the picture. I think I was just hoping for more from Vizio this time around. I am excited for the PRO series that they are going to release later this year. I will no doubt sell this once the PRO series comes out to pick up one of those. |
Great HDTV with super value
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| Review Date: February 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: H. Hsu, CA, USA |
It is absolutely a great HDTV for the money spent. You can compare it to all $2000 HDTVs in any Sony or Samsung LCD/LED and Panasonic Plasma HDTV. I do not see any one out there with better value than this unit. In addition, you might see the 551XVT more attractive if you do not need the wifi and VIA features.
Giving a great value product for two-stars in review is totally misleading and bias. If the 552XVT is a two-star only product, then much more Samsung products deserts "one to no star" based on his ignorance and bias to a great value unit. LOL. I do not believe giving out bad review on a great value unit would shine the top 8500 model better. He is just trying to misleading the most of average buyers with limited budge in mind to believe the 552XVT is not great at all. It is great but not as superior as 8500 to most of 552XVT buyers. We notice the difference and will not pay the extra $1000 for the over-priced 8500.
One of reviewer is probably the sales rep or PR of Samsung group coming from Korean community. He is really trying to mislead us to believe the 552XVT is not great here. It seems not so fair to giving out two-star review on Hyundai Genesis, which lost most of comparisons to BMW 535i. They are great products to different types of buyers.
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The value here is unreal
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| Review Date: March 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Bassett, New England, USA |
Alright, first things first: This isn't an 8800 series Samsung LED. Get that right out of your head. Now, this IS a XVT series Vizio that offers some serious dollar stretching for all you get.
As others have said, the remote leaves a lot to be desired. Flimsy, a little clumsy, yeah, it could *probably* use a backlight (not a deal breaker by any means, but it would be nice). The keyboard is a wonderful touch, just wish they spent more time on that hinge.
The audio is acceptable, nothing game changing at all. It provides some pretty room filling sound, though, you'd be better served with a stand alone sound system. Games sound pretty anemic; live sports sound very-very good. It's exactly what you would expect for HDTV 15w speakers.
So, you bout a 240hz, LED, 55'' HDTV for the picture, nothing else. Let's touch on that. It's INCREDIBLE. Yes, you can, like I mentioned above, spend thousands more and get a better picture; barely. There is absolutely no sacrifice with this monitor, it does it all and keeps you "oooh'ing" and "awwe'ing" all night. I fought for weeks about what would be the best for my money. What would provide the best experience, what would give me the least amount of buyers remorse (hey, spending this kind of money hurts these days!). This product whole heartedly delivered.
Everything else it provides is the icing on the huge cake! The apps are fantastic, especially the Yahoo integration...oh and Netflix, how can you forget about Netflix?! My 360 is going to be lonely, what, with only playing games on it =P
If you're on the fence, I can't really give you anything to sway you one way or another, but really, at this level of consumer electronics, you aren't going to get anything *bad*, just some better than others. This is one of those that is VERY MUCH better than others, second to very-very few. |
Look Closely At Your Panel
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| Review Date: March 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Brent S, Colorado |
| I had high hopes for this unit considering its long list of features. Upon setting up the Wii console on the 552, I noticed that any time there was a solid colored background, there was a 4" wide shadow down the center of the screen from the top left to the bottom right. In addition, there were two shadow/stains in the upper right and lower right corners of the screen. After doing some research, I found that this is not an uncommon problem with the 551/552's. (Vizio QC is lacking with this issue. Several people have purchased multiple units before receiving one that has a clear panel). Once you see the imperfection, it will pop and you will notice it all the time. I really enjoyed the feature set of this unit. Vizio did not respond to my email concerning this problem so I returned the tv to Costco and purchased the Sony Ex701. I love the sony and the quality is evident between the two manufacturers. Vizio will not post any review to it's website if it is the least bit negative or not a "slobbering" positive email for their products- that should make you wonder about their quality/marketing motives. |
You will love this TV!
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| Review Date: March 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: E. Staniek, Kansas City |
Simply...if you are in debate, buy it. It's great. Any pessimist will find something wrong with everything. But everything about this tv is great, especially for the price. I would also recommend that if you are planning on a wall mount, the motorized mount from Vizio is a great addition and like all Vizio products...a great price as well.
You'll love it, I do! |
No Picture!
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| Review Date: February 24, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Marconiex, |
Just got it and it doesn't work! I'm not getting a picture. When I first turned it on it was working fine. After about 15 mins. the picture cut off. There was sound but no video from anything that was connected to it. I contacted Vizio tech support and a tech instructed me through a few tests to try on the VIZIO VF552XVT, but still no picture. I didn't even get a chance to set the tv up to any settings and I can't even tell anyone if I like the picture quality or not because it wasn't on long enough. Vizio will be sending me a new one in seven to ten days.
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UPDATE #1
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Called Vizio again because I didn't hear from them in two days. Turns out that the fax copy of the receipt that I got from CEVA the Standard Delivery: Carrier wasn't good enough. Now they want email copies of Amazon's emails that were sent to me, stating the day of purchase and the day of shipment from Amazon. Now let's see how many more days this is going to take. I also placed a review like this one at Vizo's web site and so far it hasn't been posted on their web site. Do they only post the positive reviews?
Speaking of CEVA, I think that the truck driver that delivered the TV was the cause of my Tv not working. I was watching him as he was pulling the TV out of the truck. There are two holes on each end of the box that the TV comes in. The two holes are cut half way down from the top so that you can grab and pull the box. Anyway the driver grab the box through the holes lifting the box (where he was grabbing) to around the height of his waist. When he finished pulling he let go of the box and BANG! The box must of dropped around two feet on his end. |
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How many of you pre0ordered this item? I love big screen.