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You get what you pay for: A cautionary tale
Menelaus | 1:31 PM on 12.10.2008 13 comments


Back in March, I decided that I wanted a Wii and an HDTV to go with it. I'd never owned a TV before, and didn't want to spend every last dime to get one, so I settle on Vizio. They seemed to be a middle of the road sort of brand, with above average reviews for their price bracket.

I purchased their 720p 42'' model at Sams because of the awesome return policy, although I obviously hoped I would never have to use it. Wrong. The backlight started bleeding so bad that you could even notice while bright colors were being displayed. Major issue, especially for gaming. Took it back after 3 months and swapped with another unit of the same model.

The new unit worked beautifully until a month ago, when all of a sudden I would get audio dropouts while playing the XBOX. Not a huge deal in most games, but I had just picked up Rock Band 2, so obviously, this issue wasn't going to fly. I hauled the unit back to Sams, just as the first, and with much hesitation they took it back.

Deciding that it was most like just a lemony model, I told them I'd pay the difference to step up to the 1080p 120Hz model. That was 30 days ago.



I got my first lock up this morning.

Maybe I should have just gotten a Samsung instead.



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12 comments | showing # 1 to 12

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perri's Destructoid Blog
hm. What exactly a 'lock up' on a TV? It froze? Never saw that before... I'm not yet into the HD era though, still warmin up the tubes down here!

Also, My buddy just got a 36" Toshiba LCD and it looks great. No complaints from him yet. (I think it's a Toshiba...)

Samsungs always look nice in the stores...Also on 360 Kiosks.
TheDreadHawk's Destructoid Blog
Toshiba is really good, my friend owns one. But he also owns a Samsung, which is even better. I would get a Samsung, because... that's what I'm getting when I get the money for it.
Usedtabe's Destructoid Blog
Just got a 46" 1080P 20,000:1 contrast ratio Samsung for $899. I fucking love Slickdeals.net
Primo's Destructoid Blog
That sucks man and kind of strange. Vizio has had a pretty good reputation even considering that they are cheaper.

If you can afford a Samsung, get it.
galagabug 's Destructoid Blog
hehee. i had to talk my bro out of buyin one of those turds when we were at costco. next to a sony or a samsung you see how truely shit the picture is. the people that review vizio sets online clearly never owned a decent tv before and are just happy to finally have one in their price range.

if your buyin lcd. there's only 2 brands. sony and samsung.

if your buyin plasma, there's only one. pioneer.

you can get a 46" samsung lcd w/ 120hz refresh for about $1500 right now. do it.
RonBurgandy2010's Destructoid Blog
Go with a 9" SDTV.
Menelaus's Destructoid Blog
@What exactly a 'lock up' on a TV? It froze?

That's right. Wife was watching TV and it completely locked up; the image on the screen froze, and the audio dropped. All buttons became unresponsive. Had to pull the AC plug to reset it.

Investigating this Sony as we speak: Linky
Requeim's Destructoid Blog
That sucks man, i would get a Sony or Samsung if i was you, they seem like the best for videogaming
necrozen's Destructoid Blog
Yeah, samsung is real good. I actually like them over Sony when it comes to TVs. Got my 46 incher from best buy almost 2 years ago and I haven't had any complaints so far. It'll probably die after my 3 year warranty is up LOL.
braulio09's Destructoid Blog
check out the LG Scarlet. really good if you can afford it (got a 37 inch one and it works great). also, hdtvs are prone to messing up....mostly with dead pixels.
miketava's Destructoid Blog
I got myself a Viewsonic LCD 42" N4285p, full HD 1080p setup for 1100$ CAD from Costco (dunno if that's the same as Sam's Club...). Anyways although it's not a super recognizable brand in the world of TVs, it really kicks ass, no problems whatsoever in over a year of use.

Only minor issue is it's a tad bulkier than the Sony and Toshibas of the world, but oh well...
brainderailment's Destructoid Blog
If you are getting lock ups, update the firmware. I've had a couple of weird problems with my cheaper HDTV and upgrading the firmware remedied them.


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