We have had this TV for three weeks. It replaces a Vizio 50" Plasma purchased 4 years ago that died.
- Picture quality is outstanding. Very dark black with no visible back-lighting. NFL games and fast-action video work great. Side-angle viewing is good with this TV.
- Tons of inputs.
- Vizio Support answers the phone promptly. They're helpful and courteous.
- Excellent matte screen surface with little to no glare from lamps, windows, and doors. Because of the matte finish, we opted to move our TV location perpendicular to a an 8ft sliding glass door out to the pool. We have had no problems with light or glare degrading picture quality. In contrast, this door would have caused extreme glare on the slick surface of the plasma, while also washing out the picture.
- Internet Aps are handy. Neflix is the one we use primarily. Because the TV is now the sound source, an Optical Cable is needed for connection to the Receiver. Once setup, sound and picture quality are outstanding. Getting to a list of movies with the VIA button on the remote takes only a couple of clicks. The NetFlix ap works so well, we barely use our media computer hooked up to the system.
- Remote Control and TV Setup menus on the unit are intuitive, easy to use, and graphically well done. The TV picture quality was great for us out of the box, requiring no adjustments. Remote control setup via the on-screen configuration automatically tries codes and only requires the user to click "worked" / "didn't work" in order to cycle through and find the right code. Best remote setup I've ever seen.
- Remote Control itself is nearly perfect. Well-spaced buttons that are easy to read and arranged logically and in similar locations to other DVR's. Physical size is ideal, Not too long like many remotes. Keyboard flip out is a fantastic addition.
- TV mounts to a wall without any problems. (We used the Vizio XMA 1200--worst user manual I've ever encountered) The unit is surprisingly light, given the TV's size. Still best to have two people when hanging the unit on the wall.
- Because our previous Vizio died after only 4 years, we bought a 4-year Square Trade warranty from Amazon (STAY AWAY FROM ALL WARRANTIES BY THE COMPANY "NEW"). Our Sams Club warranty was through NEW. A month of being hassled resulted in our TV being picked up and taken to a local shop. After another 10 days NEW gave us an undetermined ETA on Parts for the repair. We called SAMS CLUB and explained our warranty nightmare. Sams Club Manager told me to bring in the TV. NEW Refused to give the TV back. I found a phone number to the shop they contracted out and was able to get a address, then go pickup the TV myself. Sams Club gave us a full-refund! Avoid NEW (read reviews here on Amazon of New Warranties). Vizio also offers a similarly priced warranty extension. There is paperwork in the box for purchasing this product from Vizio.
- We're very happy with the TV.
Update 3/16/2011
We've had this TV now for approximately 6 months and are still happy with it. However, one complaint: I notice on very black screens where there is a an object that is brightly colored, you will see haloing. For example, credits on a movie where the screen is black and the text is white will show haloing around the text. Another example, the moon against a black background will have haloing. Seems to be a panel lighting issue. This issue can detract from your viewing experience in these high contrast scenarios. VIZIO XVT553SV 55-Inch Class Full Array TruLED with Smart Dimming LCD HDTV 240 Hz SPS with VIZIO Internet Apps
This TV is amazing. The only thing more incredible is the bargain. I have been shopping flat screens for about a year now. I almost pulled the trigger on a Samsung C8000 until I came across this TV. You get everything Samsung has to offer minus the 3D which, for me, is still too new to invest in. This model boasts a 10,000,000 to 1 Dynamic Contrast ratio compared to Samsung's 8,000,0000. Blu-Ray (Sony BDP-570) looks and sounds spectacular. DirecTV HD shines as well. The set-up was a breeze. The only problem I encountered was the actual wait-time to get this thing. It took about three weeks since it was on pre-sell. However, once it was released, the shipper contacted me and I had this thing in my house three days later. If you want a TV packed full of features that you can actually enjoy but don't want to drop $3,000....this is your set. Pair this thing up with a decent home theater (I have the Sony HTSS370-It blows us out of the living room.) and you will truly be able to enjoy movie night at the house! I can't wait for College/NFL football to crank up! Vizio has stepped it up big time with the new XVT series!!!
First of all my review is solely for the TV itself, and not Amazon, since we purchased this TV at Wal Mart.
- Start up and Set up -
With so many features offered I thought this TV might be overwhelming to set up out of the box - it ISN'T. It walks you through step-by-step on things such as synching up the remote with your cable/satellite box, receiver, setting up the network to use the "WIDGETS" (or apps), etc. I was up and running literally within 10 minutes.
- Picture Quality -
The picture qualioty is AMAZING. I Googled "XVT553SV picture settings" and used the settings found on a CNET discussion board [...], but added my own tweaks such as I turn the back light up some, and for my XBOX 360 input I turn color enhancement on "normal." The colors are very rich, the black levels are AMAZING so long as you've got the Smart Dimming turned on, and there is little, if any, "blocking" or pixelation when there is fast moving scenes like waterfalls, or explosions on movies.
- "Smart Dimming" local dimming -
While the picture is certainly great, it has some flaws. There is some "blooming" or whitish halos around white objects that are against black backgrounds. I only see this on slow, or fixed screens such as when changing inputs and there is an all black screen with a "No Input Selected" white message in the middle of the screen. It is also more evident as the viewing angles get wider. Evidently this is a by product of local dimming (Smart Dimming) but in all honesty I NEVER notice this when watching TV, playing video games, or watching movies. You quickly notice how BLACK the screen can be. I have an LCD 1080p TV and a DLP 720p TV and neither come close to the black levels on this Vizio with its Smart Dimming turned on. When the screen goes black it looks like the TV is OFF! Not so with the Smart Dimming turned off.
- Smooth Motion Feature -
With ANY 120hz TVs (this is truly a 120hz TV with a scanning back light creating a "240hz" like affect) the "smooth motion" feature can make cinematic shows/movies look strange. It has been described widely as "The Soap Opera" effect, and it makes even wonderfully filmed/edited shows/movies look as if filmed with a camcorder. Camera panning looks wobbly, peoples' movements are super smooth, but it really looks like you are there while filming, which is NOT good. Simply turn off the Smooth Motion feature if watching anything such as movies, or movie-like TV shows that are not reality TV, etc. Sports look AMAZING with Smooth Motion turned on high. Animation and CGI animated shows/movies look AMAZING with Smooth Motion turned on.
- Gaming on the Vizio -
I play an XBOX 360 console, and with some types of TVs delay can be evident when playing. Not with this Vizio. I play lots of first person shooter games, music type games requiring perfect timing for inputs from musical instrument type controllers, and motion-based Kinect games which also require perfect timing. Everything runs smoothly on this TV. The picture quality is the best I have EVER seen when playing XBOX 360 of any TV I've seen/owned.
- Sound -
Surprisingly such a thin set of speakers sound pretty darned good. I personally turned my speakers off, and I use the Vizio remote (I'll get to the remote itself) to adjust the volume on my receiver and use the larger speakers. This not only gives me better quality, but it saves me from blowing out the small Vizio speakers down the road like one of my other flat panel TVs has in the past.
- Inputs -
Inputs are abundant with this Vizio, with HDMIs dominating. I know component cables are on their way out, but only having ONE component in (the 5 wire input with red/green/blue video and white/red audio) might require one to buy a switching device that takes one component in and turns it into three such as the one in this link [...]which can be $45.00 or more depending on quality.
The ability to custom name inputs (rather than having generic "game" or "cable") is a nice touch. You can have "Cable Box" or "Direct TV" or "XBOX360" or "PS3" etc. etc. For those that have literally 5 HDMI devices plugged in it keeps things much more organized in the menus.
- Remote Control -
This might be a polarizing topic for this TV. I LOVE the remote. It does feel slightly "cheap" due to the slide-out portion not really staying 100% solid when not in use, but it doesn't bother me. The remote being bluetooh enables one to control the TV without pointing anywhnere near the TV, in fact, I can control the TV in another room altogether if desired. The remote also linked to my cable box and stereo receiver in a very simple menu that asks "what model" you have, then it auto scans and asks you to perform a funtion for the device, then click "yes it worked" or "try next code" and mine both worked on the first try.
The slide out QWERTY keyboard is not PERFECT, but it's great. The top row of buttons can be obstructed by the fixed portion of the remote, but it's better than not having a QWERTY keyboard at all. It seems like a NECESSITY when using WIDGETS/apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix (makes searching easier) etc.
- Widgets/Internet Apps -
What can I say? I don't know how we did without these before. Right out of the box we have Yahoo! news, weather, sports, fantasy football (updates stats real-time while watching TV), Pandora internet radio, Blockbuster on Demand, Hulu Plus, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon movies on demand, and TONS more. I can check my local weather, or any number of custom-set cities around the world. It's funny to ask XBOX friends in England how they're enjoying their current conditions when we chat.
After another firmware update (second one since Christmas) we not only have MORE Widgets, but the interface for existing ones (Netflix for one) has been improved upon. It's nice to know that they aren't resting on their laurels when it comes to the apps.
The wireless connection is STRONG. It auto detected our wireless network, and it works so well I've not yet climbed in the attic to run a dedicated ethernet cable to the TV as I'd planned to. I can stream Netflix as smoothly (maybe better?) then I can with my ethernet-wired XBOX 360!!! I have not had it slow/pause a movie/playback due to internet/connection speed yet! This is also on a wireless G router too, and not the fancier N router.
***WARNING ABOUT THIRD PARTY/INDEPENDENT APPS!!!***
I have discovered that at least one third party, independent app was causing my TV to shut itself off and cause it to go in a "standby" mode. The entire issue is explained in the next section. I would steer clear of any apps not made by big companies. The exact app name is "1337 Pwn" and it's published by a company called BrickSimple.
- Problems and Vizio's customer service -
With all of the great things I've said about this TV, it did have a few bugs to work out. First of all the TV would shut itself off after 10:00pm (hey that's what it did!) and then the Vizio logo would flash orange/white just as it does when it receives a firmware update. After a few days of this I was about to exchange the TV for another just like it, but decided to contact Vizio customer support first. Through a series of messages with a REAL PERSON in a real time chat on Vizio's website, we set up a phone call with a "Level 3" tech to see if we could fix the issue. We did a "memory clear" procedure and the problem was FIXED. A real human being in AMERICA that spoke perfect English helped me not only fix the issue, but also walked me through resetting all my settings AND told me about some features I didn't know about.
***UPDATE***
I believe I have found the true source of my shutting down problems - BAD THIRD PARTY APP!!!
It was only AFTER I added a third party app for monitoring XBox Live friends (The exact app name is "1337 Pwn" and it's published by a company called BrickSimple) did the TV have the shutting off issues. I was able to figure this out when I finally re-added this exact app to the TV (I never added it after "fixing" the TV with Vizio Tech on the phone) this week, and what do you know? Random shutting off with the flashing Vizio logo! I deleted the app, and once again TV works perfectly as it should. When Vizio Tech walked me through the rest it deleted any apps not already on the TV, the XBox one included. THAT is why it "fixed" the TV!
- OVERALL -
I could not be happier with this purchase. I know nobody likes to spend lots of money only to say how crappy the product was, but if I were not 100% satisfied with this Vizio XVT553SV I would have easily exchanged it for something else. The fact is I cannot think of any other TV that offers the same features, picture quality, etc. for the price. Some top level plasmas might do the trick, but they put off more heat, and suck much more power. If this Vizio lasts for YEARS without issues I could call it the PERFECT TV, and would absolutely buy more Vizio TVs in the future. - Led Backlight - Vizio - 55 Inch Tv - 1080p'
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