I've purchased a number of HD sets for myself and for friends over the last few years. When my Samsung 46" DLP bit the dust (CPU) a few weeks ago, I wanted to replace it with Samsung 46" LED 3D set, but could not fit it into my wall unit or into my budget. I came across the Vizio sets in Costco and bought this set the day they were unpacked onto the shelves. The 42" fits perfectly into the 42" wall unit. The fact that it had speakers on the front of the unit and most plasma and other flat screens I looked at did not, also was a big plus given my space was a 3 foot deep box meant for a traditional TV. I actually returned a Panasonic and LG set of the same size for that reason.
The extra $500 for this set was well worth it for the additional features that I use today and will use in the future. I bought it for the 480hz refresh rate and the built in WiFi and Bluetooth radios as well as the compatability with my wireless N router. It streams HD Video almost instantly with no buffer pauses at all. The universal remote/keyboard with bluetooth connectiviity is also a big plus. Setup was a breeze. My only complaint was having to spend an hour or so adjusting the picture settings to get the color and brightness just where I wanted it. Sound quality is good, but hooking the Digital Optical cable to your stereo makes for a very high quality experience. The Internet Apps are great. I hooked up my Amazon, Pandora, Netflix and Facebook accounts in a matter of minutes and I'm really impressed with how it handles them.
My only real complaint is the lack of ACtive Shutter 3D glasses. The Real 3D ones you get in theaters do not work on any 3D broadcasts from DirecTV and I"m not about to spend an additional $200 for the Active Shutter ones to play with that technology. In a year, when it's more prevalent, I know I'll have a BluRay player with 3D titles and I also know Vizio supports all known 3D standards out there right now.
A great set that keeps getting better with each day of exploration. VIZIO XVT3D424SV 42-Inch Full HD 3D Edge Lit Razor LED with Smart Dimming LCD HDTV 480 Hz SPS with VIZIO Internet Apps
Coming from an "old" 720p Panasonic plasma, I had high hopes for this TV and boy did it deliver. Action scenes are very fluid, the colors are crisp, HD sports broadcasts are a crisp and clear. The internet apps are pretty neat, especially the twitter application which overlays the broadcasts you are watching so you can tweet without missing the action. The bluetooth remote is very convenient, however the lack of lighting on the remote makes it difficult to type in the dark. It is very light weight and very easy to set up with an easy to follow set up guide as well as on screen instructions to get you going. I bought this mainly for 3D gaming and it does not disappoint! Super Stardust HD in 3D is the perfect game to showcase 3D gaming. The glasses are comfortable, easy to use, but expensive. I'm hoping the prices drop soon as I'd love to have people over to watch ESPN 3D.
I am very satisfied with this TV, but there are a few areas where it falls short. The best audio out method available on the TV is via Optical out. This means DTS-MA is a no go. I really wish Vizio had added an HDMI audio pass through on this TV. Screen glare is an issue with this TV; you don't get the best picture unless the lighting is behind the TV or completely off. The TV has 3 USB ports, but you can't use them. It would've been great if this TV had some sort of DLNA or picture/music/video viewer to allow you to stream movies or plug in a USB drive to show your media. Hopefully a firmware update fixes that, but I'm not holding my breath.
Overall I'm glad with this purchase. If Vizio would've fixed the glare issue and added HDMI audio out, this would be *the* perfect TV.
I purchased this TV to replace a 3 year old Magnivox LCD that developed a dark spot right after the first year of course. I don't like the way the 480 hz looks unless I'm playing my PS3, but luckily you can turn that feature off. The picture is outstanding, it was dark but it turns out it was because the ambient light sensor. Turned that off and the picture just seemed to POP and it looks amazing. The audio is great on the TV, I had purchased the VHT510 for the Magnivox and I almost don't need it with this TV, but of course still use it for the surround sound. The only little quirk I noticed was the widget gallery didn't have any widgets in it, I called VIZIO tech support and they walked me through a quick process of resetting the TV and it works like a charm now. I do recommend that you have at least a 10 Mb connection if you decide to use the widgets, you'll have a much smoother experience watching Netflix and Vudu. As far as connecting it to my ancient Linksys router, it was simple and easy. I use WPA security encryption and no problems connecting. I really haven't utilized the 3D aspect of the TV yet so stay tuned for that review, I apologize I'm sure more people care about that aspect than any other. All in all, I don't think you'll find a better 42" especially one that includes 3D for this price.
I bought this TV about six weeks ago (two of them, actually... for different rooms) and was very excited about it. The picture looks great and it is a very feature-rich TV. However, one of the TVs is notorious for shutting off and resetting itself after about an hour of viewing.
After owning it for two weeks, I contacted Vizio customer service and was informed this was a known problem and it would be fixed shortly with a firmware update. I decided to give them a chance to get this firmware update out to see if it resolved the problem. After about a month of waiting for the firmware update(and living with a TV that loves to turn itself off and back on at inopportune moments)I contacted Vizio again. I also informed them that the remote was periodically freezing up (controlling not only the TV, but other devices, too), along with the controls on the TV itself, forcing me to unplug the TV to shut it off. I was given the same answer as before... the TV is supposed to do this and there is going to be a firmware update to fix this with the release date unknown.
I am very disappointed in Vizio's quality control and customer service in regards to this TV. It is very apparent to me that there is something wrong with one of the TVs but Vizio does not feel that they need to address the problems in a timely manner. Very disappointing in regards to what would otherwise be a incredible television. It's a shame to have to return them.... - 240hz - 1080p Lcd Hdtv - 42 Inch - Excellent Value'
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