I had been researching 3D TVs for over a year before I bought this TV. Plasma had my vote as lack of deep black levels were something that were very noticeable for me on my last two televisions. I had been interested in Panasonic GT25 series for a while but the cost of active shutter glasses and up-keep (battery, wear and tear etc.) was prohibitive (this being a 2nd TV in the bedroom).
The first I had heard about FPR passive glasses based devices was about a year ago. They were said to be the next best thing but being a geek who has been burned before I was initially skeptical that the 3D effect would be very good. I was certain there will be sacrifices in image quality for 2D however I was actually very surprised by the image quality (both 2D and 3D) on this television. The device simply can not be beat in terms of image quality and features at this low price (Similarly capable LG TVs (albeit with 240 Hz and some extra bells and whistles) cost more than twice as much).
I have had an HDTV (this being my 3rd) for the past 5 years and this TV has the best image quality and features and costs the least.
PROS:
- Even though this is an LCD panel the blacks levels are actually pretty good.
- PS3 and XBOX360 on HDMI look fantastic and there are several modes available to tweak color temp and/or brightness hue contrast levels.
- 3D effect looks amazing with both games and movies. I have had the TV for only a day so I have not had a chance to watch a full length 3D movie yet. 3D games I tried include wipeout HD which looks amazing. I had tried this game previously on a 3D Sony TV before and this one looks just as good while costing one 3rd.
- Lots of options are available for different settings e.g. Zoom has 4 settings (normal, wide, zoom, panoramic)
- Internet apps are available for flickr, facebook, NEtflix, VUDU, Amazon video on demand, Blockbuster and lots of news station. Not needing to power up my PS3 (for netflix) or my PC (for amazon video on demand) mean power savings :).
- Qwerty keyboard on the remote makes using these internet apps a breeze.
- The TV has wifi n and ethernet both which makes it very flexible. It has 3 HDMI ports and 1 component and 1 VGA port.
- It has capability to play songs and display pictures a usb disk (has 2-3 usb ports, I tried connecting my western digital passport and it worked great)but no movies. Pictures app has a lot of different transitions that make the slideshow and normal photo viewing great.
- The passive glasses are much lighter and more comfortable than active shutter glasses I had tried before. I wear glasses so I have to wear these on top of my existing ones and they have been much easier to handle than other glasses. I believe one can get clip-on type attachments (generic variety not from Vizio) for prescription glasses as well.
CONS:
- None that I can think of. The TV has surpassed my expectations for its price. To nitpick it is not 240HZ, or LED backlit, does not support PIP or POP. There are less options available compared to TVs that cost more than twice as much.
- After a couple of weeks of use I can definitely say that the TV is a little slow to start compared to my older HDTV, granted this one has internet apps (implying an embedded processor with an OS that needs to boot) but it is a noticeable difference. Since, this feature was not something I could test with other floor models, this could just be the norm for internet enabled TVs.
UPDATE APRIL 16th 2011:
- Confirmed that movie playback from usb disks is not supported as mentioned in the manual.
- I had a chance to watch some more 3D content (Tangled 3D, Super stardust HD, mortal Kombat 3D demo, KillZone 3 3D demo) and played around with some internet apps like Vudu and netflix and all looked great. I have not tried the wifi n link as I have it connected via wired ethernet. Vudu has a test festure built-in that tells you what format (SD, 720P, 1080P would be most suitable as they are priced differently. There are not a lot of choices though and the prices are pretty high (4.99 - 6.99 for 720p to 1080p rentals) but they are sometimes better than Sony Playstation Network especially for 3D movies.
UPDATE APRIL 25th 2011:
- Added more information and my thoughts after a couple of weeks of use.
- I also tried IZ3D with every setting but could not get 3D (for PC)to work over HDMI. Maybe it will work over RGB but for my setup HDMI looks and works better so that is not an option I was going to try.
- I would also like to add that sound quality is actually decent on this device, depending on the source of the original material sound is clear. I was going to buy a sound bar for this TV (since it is in my bedroom) but i guess i can wait until the next version comes out in July instead of buying last years model. VIZIO E3D420VX 42 Inch Class Theater 3D LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps
I was impressed with how well this TV produced flawless 3D effects without any ghosting at all. 3D Blu-ray movies appear brighter and even more rich in color through the polarized glasses. As opposed to some of the active shutter glasses I have tried out, the lightweight polarized glasses are less strenous on both the eyes and the nose they rest on. The TV also works well with the PS3 and generates an immersive 3d gaming enviroment. While I was easily able to link my computer to it through the hdmi port to play my downloaded 3d content, I was a little dissapointed that I could not access 3d controls while trying it on the RGB port. I also could not find a way to make it work with nvidia's 3d vision. However, I am hopeful that Nvidia will provide support for this TV in a future driver release. The TV can normally autodetect 3D content but when it doesn't you can push the 3D button on the remote for easy access to the SBS, TB, or Sensio 3d settings. The wireless setup was very quick and easy and involved no more then picking out my network and typing in my password. I also really like the one touch buttons for VOD, Netflix, And Vudu. The full QWERTY keyboard on the reverse side of the remote allows for painless browsing of online movies and TV shows. In conclusion, for the features, screen size, quality and price of this TV set, it's a fantastic bargain and I fully endorse it.
IMPORTANT NOTE -- When using the TV for gaming, make sure film mode is off or you will experience massive input lag.
Update: after a bit of tinkering I have found that the TV works flawlessly with IZ3D drivers on the interleaved setting, you don't even have to put the tv in 3d mode for it to work and it produces some truly amazing pc 3d gaming immersion. Don't even bother with nvidia 3d vision its a dead end on this tv, the IZ3D software works with both ati and nvidia cards. - 3d'
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