Without getting into specifics, obviously, this is a promotion involving costco, and a TEMPORARY reduction of price, for costcos sake/sale.

It has caused multiple price posts, and SALE TALK, which is against forum rules.

Don't blame me because folks refuse to control themselves.

There was a way to do this, and a way not to. Some folks chose the way not to do it.

No price talk of any kind regarding this march madness promotion will be allowed.

omfg

I think I understand, although the Vizio is only sold at these warehouse type stores and all at the same price. I'm new but I do try follow the rules, unfortunately threads like these attract a lot of new users who do not bother to even read the rules let alone follow them. :(

Guys, I'd really hate to see this thread get locked. There's way too much solid info flowing here, to lose it because we can't turn off our shopping hormones. Let's try to abide by the terms henceforth. I've been as guilty as anyone, particularly early on, but I've tried to put a damper on my shopping banter since seeing the direction things were going. I guess we can discuss stock and demo displays at national chains in the sticky thread set aside for such talk.

Stavman, thanks for the additional information about the set. I'm all for an apparently larger screen. One factor that I have in mind is screen height. I'm upgrading from a 32" 4:3 SD CRT. It's screen height is actually about 19 1/4". If I'm going to consider an upgrade, I want that height to be greater in the set to which I'm upgrading. A 42" widescreen should at least give me 1 1/4" more screen height than I've got now. The screen width is going to be more like 10 1/2" more on the 42.

I simply can't watch a widescreen movie from DVD on this 32" set of ours. By the time the letterboxing is done, it's like 12" high. It will be so nice to watch a movie, and not have it scrunched down to something that I need binoculars to see from the couch :)

You've all but sold me on this set... you should ask for a commission! If I find that I can see one myself on Monday, I'll be there to get my grubby paws on it!

the "warehouse" at santa clara and mountain view california already have this in stock. Many other "warehouses" nearby should also have it. Would this be against the rules? Just wanna break in the news. Please just delete my post if i broke the rules, please do not close this thread. I apologize in advance if that's the case

I went to "the store" this afternoon and saw that they have this 42" VIZIO in stock already (8 boxes on the floor to be exact). I spent about 20 mins to take a good look at the TV and I'm pretty happy with it. The PQ and the design are very good. It sits next to the Pioneer and the Philips and I must say that its PQ is way better than the Pio and the Phil. But when comparing to the 50" Pany, well, it's still debatable. The PQ is very close or I should say the same as the 50" VIZIO.

Well, [EDIT] for that kind of PQ and design? It can't go wrong! I think I now made my final decision and will go for that one on the 20th of March.

Just my 2 cents!

Govee

I went to "the store" this afternoon and saw that they have this 42" VIZIO in stock already (8 boxes on the floor to be exact). I spent about 20 mins to take a good look at the TV and I'm pretty happy with it. The PQ and the design are very good. It sits next to the Pioneer and the Philips and I must say that its PQ is way better than the Pio and the Phil. But when comparing to the 50" Pany, well, it's still debatable. The PQ is very close or I should say the same as the 50" VIZIO.

Well, [EDIT] for that kind of PQ and design? It can't go wrong! I think I now made my final decision and will go for that one on the 20th of March.

Just my 2 cents!

Govee

Getting too anxiuos, I am going over to Costco this weekend

Goveeman, just sent you a PM

I know earlier some people had received conflicting box sizes from Vizio...I saw a box in person tonight and measured it to be (rounding up to the nearest .25"): 15" x 47.25" x 35.5"

I won't bother to repeat what others have said, but the set itself met my expectations. Very good. This is an outstanding value.

And no, I don't work for Vizio. :)

dropped by the local store and took a good look at the P50HD and the P42HDTV.
as displayed, the P50 had the edge for blacks, but i suspect that the P42HDTV was
not tweaked at all. (the P42HDTV wasn't there earlier in the week)

a pioneer 42" PDP was nearby, and the P42HDTV compared well.

also, the P50 and P42HDTV appeared to use the same size mounting bolts (M8)

can't wait to get home from TDY and pick one up for myself.

went to costco this afternoon and saw both 42 and 50 side by side. Like their 37" LCD brother, these two also have too much of yellow/green in my (possibly picky) eyes. I'm seriously thinking about returning my 37" and going for the Philips at the same store or the LG 37LC2D at CC.

I've got a Maxent MX-42X3 right now, and am fairly happy with it's performance. On the other hand, it does have several minor issues i'm not ecstatic about, if any of you have been keeping up on it's own thread.

My question: which would you rather have given the price circumstance, the availability of the Vizio and lack of availability of the Maxent, and overall specs/quality?

I'm worried about returning the Maxent, ultimately not liking the Vizio, and being stuck with it cause you can only get the 42X3 online now! I must admit I was pleased with my brief introduction to the set in the store... and as we all know, the price is certainly right.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

goveeman/AVSman/huj089/Icubed,

Thanks to all of you for sharing your first-hand impressions of the P42HDTV. As far as the green/yellow push and the black levels not equalling the P50HDM, I wonder if a calibration would resolve or at least improve these conditions? There's a statement in the Sound and Vision Magazine review of this set which which says:

" After calibration, the TV's grayscale tracking was ±100 K from 20 to 90 IRE — an excellent performance level."

I guess Sound and Vision does this for all of the sets they review, but I'd like to ask you guys - how many of you buy a set with the idea that you're going to spend an additional three to four hundred dollars to have an ISF calibration performed on it? Is it unrealistic to expect that we should get close to optimal performance out of a set with just user adjustable settings?

One other statement from the S&V review raised some concern. The reviewer pointed out that there were no advanced controls for color temperature, gamma, or noise reduction. If I recall, the P50HDM at least has color temperature and noise reduction. Do any of you find it a problem that these adjustments would be missing?

Those of you who've seen the P42HDTV in the "store"... without mentioning what the price actually was, did they have a price assigned to it yet? I just want to know if it's officially in the system.

Those of you who've seen the P42HDTV in the "store"... without mentioning what the price actually was, did they have a price assigned to it yet? I just want to know if it's officially in the system.

Yes, there was a price tag posted above the unit.

I've seen references to a new maxent 42" (with LG glass) in this thread. When is this going to be available.

Yes, there was a price tag posted above the unit.

Which store location was this in Seattle so I can add that as a stop to view it this weekend?

Yes, there was a price tag posted above the unit.

Thanks! There was some confusion on my part about what the "street date" was for the P42HDTV. There may not actually be one other than sell 'em when you get 'em.

also, the P50 and P42HDTV appeared to use the same size mounting bolts (M8)

Does this mean I need additional hardware to mount with my Peerless ST660?

I'm on my way to "the club that starts with C" to pick up my new TV now!

Does this mean I need additional hardware to mount with my Peerless ST660?

I'm on my way to "the club that starts with C" to pick up my new TV now!


not too sure since the back of the p42hdtv seems to be flatter than the earlier vizio's.
(the older ones required different length spacers for the top and bottom bolts)

i've got the same mount waiting for my p42hdtv.

I saw the new Vizio 42'' and was greatly disappointed. The local warehouse had the 42'' pioneer, the Panasonic EDTV 42'' and this new Vizio next to each other. I spent a good 30 minutes watching the same picture on these tvs. The EDTV Panasonic had the best PQ. The Pioneer was a distant second. The picture on the Vizio looked washed out like I was watching it through a veil of haze. Not only did it have the worst picture of the three sets, it also froze up intermittently. I am terribly disappointed because I have waiting for this set for months. I think it was Cosumer Report that said that a high quality EDTV screen is still better than a low quality HDTV screen. They couldn't have been more right. You get what you pay for. I will pass on this one.

Which store location was this in Seattle so I can add that as a stop to view it this weekend?

Aurora Village

i have to go check this out

i got an MX-50x3, im happy with it, except the zoom options are very limited... of course it has no tuners either

hopefully it doesnt wow me enough to want to return my mx-50x3, the friggin thing is like 120 lbs :(

I couldn't wait any longer and took a drive to Nashua, NH and made the purchase. I will be setting it up tonight and will provide my review tomorrow.
Rick
Westborough, MA

I saw the new Vizio 42'' and was greatly disappointed. The local warehouse had the 42'' pioneer, the Panasonic EDTV 42'' and this new Vizio next to each other. I spent a good 30 minutes watching the same picture on these tvs. The EDTV Panasonic had the best PQ. The Pioneer was a distant second.

Interesting.... there was also an EDTV 42" Panasonic at the local warehouse store I visited Wednesday. I was as impressed with it in many of the closed circuit demos as anything else in the joint. It looked to me like some of the demo material was SD, and this is where the Panny EDTV really shined. I gave the Panny HDTV plasma a slight edge over the Pioneer. As I said earlier, the Vizio, to my eyes, lagged behind by 10-15% PQ, if one can truly quantify such a dgement.

My eyes are only "normal" at 2 1/2 to 7 feet distance. I need reading glasses closer than that, and my contacts do less than an optimal job beyond that. I can barely tell a difference in the Panny & Pioneer over the Vizio at the distance I'll normally be viewing (10-11'). I almost hate to have my prescription changed to "get me right" again, because it might wind up costing me more with HDTV! :confused:

The picture on the Vizio looked washed out like I was watching it through a veil of haze. Not only did it have the worst picture of the three sets, it also froze up intermittently. I am terribly disappointed because I have waiting for this set for months.

I hope to get my first look at the P42HDTV on Monday. I'll report my thoughts here if I do. I just knew that the P50HDM I was comparing to the Panny and Pioneer didn't quite look as sharp. That may be what you were describing as looking through a haze. Still, I was impressed and wouldn't have had any second thoughts about the Vizio having poor image quality, had I not seen the Panny and Pioneer. I appreciate your candor though... I probably need to have some of my mostly unfounded optimism dampened a bit.

I couldn't wait any longer and took a drive to Nashua, NH and made the purchase. I will be setting it up tonight and will provide my review tomorrow.
Rick
Westborough, MA

I hear ya' Rick! I'll be anxiously awaiting your review!

Hi Rick. Could you tell how many of the Vizio's were in stock at the Nashua store?

I checked out this one in San Jose warehouse. It was sitting right next to P50HDM. The colors were indeed washed out. I tried playing with the settings, but couldn't get it to come close to its 50" elder bro.

Have been waiting for this for months. Probabaly will check some other warehouse locations, to see if this one was not set up properly.

When you guys gunna just face the facts that the Panny rules and even a ED shines above the rest for a few hundred more!
Remember...bigger pixel's means more light and color shine thru!

When you guys gunna just face the facts that the Panny rules and even a ED shines above the rest for a few hundred more!
Remember...bigger pixel's means more light and color shine thru!

As long as I'm able to draw a breath, I'll be in denial. It's one of the the tenets of faith for tightwads like me :D

I checked out this one in San Jose warehouse. It was sitting right next to P50HDM. The colors were indeed washed out. I tried playing with the settings, but couldn't get it to come close to its 50" elder bro.

Have been waiting for this for months. Probabaly will check some other warehouse locations, to see if this one was not set up properly.

I'm an obsessive tweaker... I won't be able to resist the temptation to adjust teh P42HDTV if they have one set up when I go into the local warehouse on Monday morning. I got a rush out of fiddling with the P50HDM on Wednesday... I'll start out by going to the same settings I had for it. Did you try matching the numerical settings between the two?

Speaking of the 50" elder bro.... I just conducted a little experiment in my living room. I cut out a white piece of cardboard to match the actual screen size of a 42" widescreen (20.6" x 36.5") and then placed it in front of my current TV cabinet. I sat back on the couch and tried to envision how this would look. Much to my chagrin, it seemed to be a little lost from 10'. With the dummy screen in front of the cabinet, it was actually at least a foot closer to me that it will be when the cabinet is replaced.

I'm torn now as to whether a 42" set isn't going to leave me with a little remorse that I didn't go for something bigger. 42" is as much as I can afford in a plasma. I then cut out a piece to represent my original HDTV selection (a 52" JVC HD-52G786), and was shocked at how much difference that additional 5" of screen height, and 9" of additional width made with the immediacy of the screen.

Hopefully when I see this set in person on Monday, I'll have some more to go on in making my decision. I'm starting to see the basis for the recommended screen size for viewing distance chart I saw a while back. It tapped a 52-56" screen as being optimal for 10-11'.

I did the same thing with a cardboard box that conveniently was about 20x35". It just didn't seem very big to me from about 11' away, and with the new house I'm about to close on(20x20' den area with 12' vaulted ceilings) I think I'll probably end up about 14-15' back from the set.

The 50" sets do seem much bigger to me when I go into the store from even 7-8' away, so I'm beginning to wonder if I should just hold onto my old and crusty 25" CRT for a bit longer until a 50"ish screen hits my "perfect pricepoint," which is below $2k with a tuner right now. I even find myself stopping into the Front Projector forum from time to time even though I think it'd be too impractical to have one as my primary display.

Ahhh... this board is fostering so much indecision!!!

I just came back from the Costco in Mission Valley (San Diego) and they have the new Vizio 42" HDTV's in stock and on display. I have been waiting for this tv for the last 2 months, being absolutely sure that this was the set for me. At this price point and with the good review in Sound and Vision, I almost bought it for the $1799 list price.

I had it loaded on the cart, ready to go, when I compared it to the Panasonic 42" 4214 on it's left, and the 50" Vizio HD-ready TV on it's right. All 3 were playing the exact same INHD material. At first glance the 42" Vizio looked really washed out, no "pop" at all. But I figured that someone had fooled with the control and thrown it out of wack. So I started trying to adjust it, and I literally spent 1 hour trying every adjustment this tv has available. User adjustments: I tried everything, then Vivid 1, 2 and 3. No matter what I tried I could NOT get the Vizio 42" nearly as sharp nor to have nearly the "pop" of either the Panasonic nor the Vizio 50". It just looked washed out. Also this set suffers from noticeable overscan, although this may be able to be adjusted with advanced controls.

Someone said it best: like looking through gauze. I am so disappointed :mad: Guess I'll have to spend the extra $ for the Panasonic 42PX60U :(

I just came back from the Costco in Mission Valley (San Diego) and they have the new Vizio 42" HDTV's in stock and on display. I have been waiting for this tv for the last 2 months, being absolutely sure that this was the set for me. At this price point and with the good review in Sound and Vision, I almost bought it for the $1799 list price.

I had it loaded on the cart, ready to go, when I compared it to the Panasonic 42" 4214 on it's left, and the 50" Vizio HD-ready TV on it's right. All 3 were playing the exact same INHD material. At first glance the 42" Vizio looked really washed out, no "pop" at all. But I figured that someone had fooled with the control and thrown it out of wack. So I started trying to adjust it, and I literally spent 1 hour trying every adjustment this tv has available. User adjustments: I tried everything, then Vivid 1, 2 and 3. No matter what I tried I could NOT get the Vizio 42" nearly as sharp nor to have nearly the "pop" of either the Panasonic nor the Vizio 50". It just looked washed out. Also this set suffers from noticeable overscan, although this may be able to be adjusted with advanced controls.

Someone said it best: like looking through gauze. I am so disappointed :mad: Guess I'll have to spend the extra $ for the Panasonic 42PX60U :(

Sad news, i've been waiting for this one as well. I can't see how it can be worse than the P42Hde that people were at least fairly satisfied with?

/Chris

I did the same thing with a cardboard box that conveniently was about 20x35". It just didn't seem very big to me from about 11' away, and with the new house I'm about to close on(20x20' den area with 12' vaulted ceilings) I think I'll probably end up about 14-15' back from the set.

LOL.... you're one of me! I hate to tell you what the sizing chart recommends in screen size for 14-15 feet away!

The 50" sets do seem much bigger to me when I go into the store from even 7-8' away, so I'm beginning to wonder if I should just hold onto my old and crusty 25" CRT for a bit longer until a 50"ish screen hits my "perfect pricepoint,"

I'm in a similar quandry, although I've got a 32" CRT. My brand new XBox 360 is just screaming for a Hi-def display though! I just got my annual bonus, plus the 'you-know-what' deal is going to be on us in a week... all of that spells compulsive buy. I'm trying to avoid that. This *may* force me to wait on the 2006 JVC 720p D-ILA's to arrive.

Ahhh... this board is fostering so much indecision!!!

I thought that for a while, but then I realized... we're getting some good, reasoned feedback here from a variety of sources. I've come to look at it as though it's helping me avoid a rash decision. Just look at HomeTheatreMaven's experience above... those are factors we need to consider!

I forgot to report that a not so technical measurement of the wall mounting holes, looks like 7 7/8 inches high and 23 5/8 wide.

Jay

At first glance the 42" Vizio looked really washed out, no "pop" at all. But I figured that someone had fooled with the control and thrown it out of wack. So I started trying to adjust it, and I literally spent 1 hour trying every adjustment this tv has available. User adjustments: I tried everything, then Vivid 1, 2 and 3. No matter what I tried I could NOT get the Vizio 42" nearly as sharp nor to have nearly the "pop" of either the Panasonic nor the Vizio 50". It just looked washed out. Also this set suffers from noticeable overscan, although this may be able to be adjusted with advanced controls.

Thanks for sharing your impressions HomeTheaterMaven. I'm still wet behind the ears with plasma displays... is there anyway what you're describing above is indicative of a new, "non-burned" in set? I can see the 42 Vizio not comparing favoribly to some of the more expensive sets, but I would think it would be very close to the P50. You did see an option to get to the advanced controls, didn't you? I played with the advanced controls on the P50... the ones I understood anyway.

Someone said it best: like looking through gauze. I am so disappointed :mad: Guess I'll have to spend the extra $ for the Panasonic 42PX60U :(

That's two very similar impressions thus far... I'd really like to know if there's really something up with this set (could it be the MTK Deinterlacer versus the Faroudja, for example), or either it hasn't been "burned-in"? Anxious to hear other thoughts on this.

It looks like I did not get my first post in, telling of my purchase today of the Vizeo 42 inch. I am busy learning all I can about it now.

Jay

It looks like I did not get my first post in, telling of my purchase today of the Vizeo 42 inch. I am busy learning all I can about it now.

Jay

Cool! We'd love to get your thoughts on it blue.... get your feet good and wet with it and keep us posted - congratulations!!

Including learning to spell Vizio! Sorry.

Jay

Including learning to spell Vizio! Sorry.

Jay

It could have been worse... you could have spelled it v-i-s-i-o, as I've seen done on lesser forums ;)

LOL.... you're one of me! I hate to tell you what the sizing chart recommends in screen size for 14-15 feet away!


Oh I know... it's what had me looking at a DLP front projector at first. Then I realized it's just not practical for a room without 100% light control and primarily SD viewing.


I might just bite the bullet and go with the 42er if it strikes my fancy and upgrade to something of "proper size" a few years down the road when it's easier to stomach. Those 65" plasmas sure do catch the eye at the store!!!

Thanks for sharing your impressions HomeTheaterMaven. I'm still wet behind the ears with plasma displays... is there anyway what you're describing above is indicative of a new, "non-burned" in set? I can see the 42 Vizio not comparing favoribly to some of the more expensive sets, but I would think it would be very close to the P50. You did see an option to get to the advanced controls, didn't you? I played with the advanced controls on the P50... the ones I understood anyway.

Sorry but I haven't heard of a plasma set needing to be "burned in". Burn-in usually has a bad connotation when talking about tvs.

By advanced controls, you don't mean Contrast etc under the "User" setting do you? Usually advanced controls are accessed by inputting some codes on the remote or the tv that bring up settings that control overscan, greyscale etc. The Vizio also lacked a color temperature setting and noise reduction.

I popped by the Downtown Seattle 'savings' store to see if the 42" Vizio was on order, and they had two of them there. I've been waiting as well (fyi..I bought the 50" a month ago, and it was WAY too big for my house). I sit 11.5' back from the wall, and we just kept feeling like we wanted to be further away from it...Even after tweaking a bunch (based mostly on settings from this forum). Thank god for the store's VERY good return policy.

I'll be VERY suprized if the 42" version doesn't look as good...

damn. This decision is killing me. I can't bring myself to spend the $$ for the LCD/1080p stuff yet as I have Comcast Cable, and lordy knows when THEY will stream the higher res stuff. I don't have a game console either...

part of me just thinks to get the nicest, least expensive 42" plasma I can (this new Vizio certainly counts), and just live with it for a year or two until the 1080p/HD-DVD/BlueRay blah blah blah all settles in.

otherwise..I'm just gonna start reading more books.

:)

dave
helldogmusic.com

Went to the "C" word store this morning and saw the P42HDTV right next to the P50HDM. The 42" looked crisper (which was expected, standing the same distance away). And I do agree with everyone else that the colors are a bit washed out when compared to the 50", but when compared to the rest of the panels, I didn't see anything that absolutely "blew it away", especially for the price.

So, I took it home (upright in the back of a extended cab Chevy truck), and finished mounting and hooking up my new P42HDTV.

Installed using the Peerless ST660 universal mount. The instructions obviously don't list this new model, and Peerless was closed today, but the correct mounting hardware IS included. Use the M8 x 25 screws with the .344 spacers and the mounting brackets will fit the panel perfectly. This mount rocks... SUPER easy to setup... a no brainer.

Hooked up my Cox Cable provided SA 3250HD box via DVI->HDMI, and my Sony progressive scan DVD player via Component.

At first I tested DVD, and after setting the DVD player to 16:9 output instead of 4:3 (duh)... it looked great! Moved on to the cable box, which, for some reason I could NEVER get the picture size set correctly. It was always missing the top or bottom. I went through the output mode settings in the Cable Box and finally (accidently) found the "HD Zoom" button on the remote (another duh). It was on zoom mode.

No syncing, or handshaking issues with the HDMI and STB, and everything is centered as it should be. Cox provided HD looks awesome. 4:3 stuff looks fine... but, when watching HD Basketball, the ball does get a little jaggy when moving fast.

All, in all, it's an awesome value in my opinion. I have an Avia disc that I will use to help me set the picture when I have the time.

Attached is a pic of the new setup.

Oh, and btw, I hooked up my 15"G4 Powerbook via DVI -> HDMI and it recognized it as 1280x720 and filled the entire screen no prob.

Oh, and btw, I hooked up my 15"G4 Powerbook via DVI -> HDMI and it recognized it as 1280x720 and filled the entire screen no prob.

Thanks GVB for the review. Could you comment on the quality of the picture from you notebook at 1280x720?

Thanks, Chris

Hooked up my Cox Cable provided SA 3250HD box via DVI->HDMI, and my Sony progressive scan DVD player via Component..

just curious if you'd try something...Can you hook up the DVD player via HDMI and the Cable box via Compnent??? I just got a new upscaling DVD player, and was told to use the HDMI out of it..

I've also got another thing to try for myself..I got a new Outlaw Audio 1070 reciever(VERY COOL..www.outlawaudio.com) in the system and will TRY to use HDMI to DVI cables from both the DVD and Comcast box INTO the Outlaw, then one DVI out to the Vizio. (I've got optical digital outs running from both units as well)..

thanks for the review of your rig...and the Powerbook tip..I've got an 867 TiBook to try out :)


dave g
helldogmusic.com

I'll be VERY suprized if the 42" version doesn't look as good...

part of me just thinks to get the nicest, least expensive 42" plasma I can (this new Vizio certainly counts), and just live with it for a year or two until the 1080p/HD-DVD/BlueRay blah blah blah all settles in.

otherwise..I'm just gonna start reading more books.

:)

dave
helldogmusic.com I bought this 42 Visio ahead of next week and managed to get the savings that everyone has been talking about. I purchased it to replace my old 36" tube - I did not look for any HDTV features in particular. I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the NTSC tuner. I agree with you, it is the cheapest and best unit right now out there. My goal is to buy a 45"+ LCD unit in a few years till they become affordable. This thing should easily last 5+ years.

I dont have any HD sources except a couple of off air channels like WB2, FOX - I am very impressed with this unit. I did hear a little bit of buzzing but only if I get close to the back of the unit - overall I am extremely pleased/satisfied. If you are looking for a 42" unit, this is the one to get, plenty of inputs, good features.

Multi source PIP is very cool (just like my old Sony Vega - PIP is not dual tuner, it sort of is, since you can pip between HDTV tuner, NTSC tuner and other video sources), (well thought out) remote works with my satellite receiver, DVD player, and old VCR.

Think about it, I dont have too many HDTV sources, not interested in paying extra to the cable company for few/sparse HDTV broadcasts. But a good unit if you need to catch "off air" HDTV channels. It is a very able unit even if you are thinking about subscribing to HD service.

This unit, IMHO, will give the more expensive peers a run for their money, it is a strong competitor to the 42 Panasonics, Samsungs, and Pioneers. Specs:

http://www.vizioce.com/site/products/product_p42hdtv.html

As I mentioned last night I couldn't wait any longer and purchased the vizio yesterday. Keep in mind that I didn't take the time to compare PQ at the store. I have seen the P50 over the past few weeks and felt that if the 42 was as good, I would be happy.

I still have a week before I get a HD box from charter and a few days before I received my antenna so my feedback is based on a DVD movie. Also, for some background, I am coming from a Zenith 36 inch that I have not been happy with compared to my 25 inch Sony XBR from 20 years ago. My Soney xbr is still the standard in CRT's in my opinion.

Set-up was easy and pretty much plug and play. I had to make an adjustment on my DVD player for 16:9 but that was it. I didn't make any other adjustments.

Out of the box, my family and I were blown away. I will not be comparing side by side with other models in my home so in many ways the side by side comparisons based on store feeds is irrelevant.

The PQ was very sharp. The whites were white and the blacks were very black. The color jumped out of the screen and we felt like were at the theatre. Keep in mind that I am a noobee. This is my first plasma and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this budget plasma set. We are all fooling ourselves to think that this set is going to be as good as the much more expensive name brands.

I have been longing for a new TV for several years and I finally found one that hit my price point. You also need to keep in mind that I am a financial planner and the $1,500 that I saved by not purchasing the name brands will be worth over $6,000 in 15 years at 10% rate of return. These incremental savings do add up over time.
Rick
Westborough, MA

P.S. lots of stock in Nashua

. You also need to keep in mind that I am a financial planner and the $1,500 that I saved by not purchasing the name brands will be worth over $6,000 in 15 years at 10% rate of return.

NOW you're talkin :) Of course, if you were a little risky, you could have some fun in the OTCBB stock market and make more than 10%...lolol :)

fwiw..I AM a techno nut. I own a small recording studio.. I freelance at a VERY high end video-production facility, and hang around video people all day long. I'm a total gear head. But this switch to HD has driven me NUTS. (and my wife...) I see/hear about what's coming down the pike, video wise, very far in advance from my coworkers.

It really has finally just come down to money, and the acceptance that one can NEVER keep up..if you keep waiting, you just won't ever GET anything....and, what's 'good enough' for a while. Heck..I've been watching a 12 year old 32" JVC crt since I got married...so ANYTHING is gonna be an improvement!!!

I have no doubt that, at this price point (sale or no sale) this unit will work FINE in my 14' x 12' living room with too many windows. I got a nice upscaling DVD playwer with HDMI...The Comcast Cable box give me HDMI out and all my local Seattle stations in HD, plus a few others... In a few years, the Vizio can go in the bedroom of a new house, and we'll see what NEW goodies are out there!

I'm as much, if not more, into to the SOUND SYSTEM that I'll have along with the TV. That's where I tend to put my money. I'm blown away by the stuff from www.outlawaudio.com (I just got the 1070 reciever), and now..I'm on the Hunt For Killer Speaker systems to replace my older Bose's (I have 4- 301's for the fronts/surrounds, and a nice Advent center and sub). I'll dive into an Axiom or similar quality system.

I mean..what good is having a stunning picture if you're listening to built in 10 watt speakers????

:)

dave
helldogmusic.com

NOW you're talkin :) Of course, if you were a little risky, you could have some fun in the OTCBB stock market and make more than 10%...lolol :)

fwiw..I AM a techno nut. I own a small recording studio.. I freelance at a VERY high end video-production facility, and hang around video people all day long. I'm a total gear head. But this switch to HD has driven me NUTS. (and my wife...) I see/hear about what's coming down the pike, video wise, very far in advance from my coworkers.

It really has finally just come down to money, and the acceptance that one can NEVER keep up..if you keep waiting, you just won't ever GET anything....and, what's 'good enough' for a while. Heck..I've been watching a 12 year old 32" JVC crt since I got married...so ANYTHING is gonna be an improvement!!!

I have no doubt that, at this price point (sale or no sale) this unit will work FINE in my 14' x 12' living room with too many windows. I got a nice upscaling DVD playwer with HDMI...The Comcast Cable box give me HDMI out and all my local Seattle stations in HD, plus a few others... In a few years, the Vizio can go in the bedroom of a new house, and we'll see what NEW goodies are out there!

I'm as much, if not more, into to the SOUND SYSTEM that I'll have along with the TV. That's where I tend to put my money. I'm blown away by the stuff from www.outlawaudio.com (I just got the 1070 reciever), and now..I'm on the Hunt For Killer Speaker systems to replace my older Bose's (I have 4- 301's for the fronts/surrounds, and a nice Advent center and sub). I'll dive into an Axiom or similar quality system.

I mean..what good is having a stunning picture if you're listening to built in 10 watt speakers????

:)

dave
helldogmusic.comThe previous 2 posts bring up good issues. I must point out that the 10 Watt speakers are not really that bad. I had been reading posts here regarding how bad the sound was on the 50" unit. Again, the TV has been full of surprises. Very good color, very good looks, sleek, lightweight (it weighs less, for a change, than me :D ).

If you are looking to buy the absolute top-of-the-line unit (Plasma/LCD), be prepared to write a big check. If you have a fixed $$ amount in mind, and you want something today, next week, this is the unit to get IMHO.

For rmshrier: What antenna did you buy ? I have tried a Radioshack amplified antenna without too much luck. It is probably due to my location relative to the TV tower(s).

Sorry but I haven't heard of a plasma set needing to be "burned in". Burn-in usually has a bad connotation when talking about tvs.

Just wondering... I never considered a plasma to be within my reach until learning of this set about three weeks ago. I keep seeing "burn-in" threads at various forums, where people are discussing what to do and what not to do during the first 100-200 hours of life.

By advanced controls, you don't mean Contrast etc under the "User" setting do you? Usually advanced controls are accessed by inputting some codes on the remote or the tv that bring up settings that control overscan, greyscale etc. The Vizio also lacked a color temperature setting and noise reduction.

I remember there being an "advanced" sub-menu in the Vizio P52HDM I checked out last week. It had three or four items within it. Seems like there were noise and motion filters there... can't remember what else may have been there. There's a color temperature setting for the 50PHDM in the main menu... really surprised to hear that there's not one for the P42HDTV.

The previous 2 posts bring up good issues. I must point out that the 10 Watt speakers are not really that bad. I had been reading posts here regarding how bad the sound was on the 50" unit. Again, the TV has been full of surprises. Very good color, very good looks, sleek, lightweight (it weighs less, for a change, than me :D ).

If you are looking to buy the absolute top-of-the-line unit (Plasma/LCD), be prepared to write a big check. If you have a fixed $$ amount in mind, and you want something today, next week, this is the unit to get IMHO.

For rmshrier: What antenna did you buy ? I have tried a Radioshack amplified antenna without too much luck. It is probably due to my location relative to the TV tower(s).
Hey Anonymouse99,

I have been using an antenna with my 30" Sony HDTV for about 1 year now. I literally tried 7 or 8 antennas before I found the DB4 which you can find at antennasdirect. I am not sure if I ordered it from them or someplace else. Anyway, it blows away anything else I tried. I actually have it mounted in my attic and get great reception. I am in between Boston and Providence and get almost all of the stations from both cities even though it is a directional antenna. Can't say enough good things about this antenna. However, you will have a hard time picking up analog stations bleow channel 12. But the whole point is to get the digital and hi-def channels anyway.

Hope this helps.

I finally saw this model in the store yesterday. When compared to the 50", the phillips, the pioneer, and the DLPs... this unit was on par if not better. However, the store did not have much to compare to. If we want to talk about "in the same cateogry" comparisons, there was really only the phillips and the pioneer. The pioneer didn't look any better and was obviously more expensive. The one comparison that did bother me (avs guys, please comment if this is unfair) was the comparison to the 32" phillips LCD (not plasma)... where the blacks were truely better and the detail was better. In fact, all the smaller LCDs looked far better. What I really want to know is how the vizio compares with 42" pannys, samsungs, and sonys.

While I'm still new to this... I felt the vizio looked strong. the silver speakers at the bottom looked fine to me. It's all preference anyways. At this point it's boiled down to "how much better are the highend models"

I always find that the plasmas at C*stco look awful compared to the LCD's. The Philips LCD always looks awesome. if the blacks were better I would grab it in a heartbeat.

i purchase zenith antenna from amazon.

go to antennaweb.org to determine proper antenna for your location
rick
westborough, ma

At first I tested DVD, and after setting the DVD player to 16:9 output instead of 4:3 (duh)... it looked great! Moved on to the cable box, which, for some reason I could NEVER get the picture size set correctly. It was always missing the top or bottom. I went through the output mode settings in the Cable Box and finally (accidently) found the "HD Zoom" button on the remote (another duh). It was on zoom mode.

Kudos on your purchase (nice setup, btw)! I noticed that you found the 42" set "crisper" than the 50".... that's as I would expect, but nice to hear a confirmation on.

Do you think your cable box defaulted to zoom "on"? I have no experience with this, but I will get exposed to it once I get digital cable.

No syncing, or handshaking issues with the HDMI and STB, and everything is centered as it should be. Cox provided HD looks awesome. 4:3 stuff looks fine... but, when watching HD Basketball, the ball does get a little jaggy when moving fast.

All, in all, it's an awesome value in my opinion. I have an Avia disc that I will use to help me set the picture when I have the time.

Good news on the HDMI and STB handshaking, I had some concern for that myself. As for the motion jagginess, see if you can't find a motion filter for that. I thought there was such a filter in the P50HDM.

One concern I have is SD quality. I'm probably going to be watching more SD content on mine that most people. A lot of the college football and basketball that I watch is regionally broadcast in SD.... am I going to be disappointed with what I see?

I
I dont have any HD sources except a couple of off air channels like WB2, FOX - I am very impressed with this unit. I did hear a little bit of buzzing but only if I get close to the back of the unit - overall I am extremely pleased/satisfied. If you are looking for a 42" unit, this is the one to get, plenty of inputs, good features.

Thanks for your report anonymouse99, the buzzing you were hearing came for the power supply, I take it? This set doesn't have a fan, correct? I've got cable in my area, although I know nothing about my provider's digital cable (I'm still on analog). I need to explore that a bit. Good to hear the report on the tuner... I may want to use OTA as a backup.

for some reason, the msrp of the new 42 vizio in sunnyvale warehouse rose to 1899.99! Bad news.

Out of the box, my family and I were blown away. I will not be comparing side by side with other models in my home so in many ways the side by side comparisons based on store feeds is irrelevant.

The PQ was very sharp. The whites were white and the blacks were very black. The color jumped out of the screen and we felt like were at the theatre. Keep in mind that I am a noobee. This is my first plasma and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this budget plasma set. We are all fooling ourselves to think that this set is going to be as good as the much more expensive name brands.

Rick, thanks for your review! Is your DVD player an upscaling type? I've got an XBox 360 that outputs at 480p for DVD playback, even though it displays games at 720p. I've wondered if there was a significant improvement in the PQ from an upscaling DVD player.

I have been longing for a new TV for several years and I finally found one that hit my price point. You also need to keep in mind that I am a financial planner and the $1,500 that I saved by not purchasing the name brands will be worth over $6,000 in 15 years at 10% rate of return. These incremental savings do add up over time.

I've set a limit of $1,900 on my purchase, simply due to current budget constraints. I wish I had enough discipline to do some serious financial planning. However, I'm only now beginning to realize that I don't have a piece of furniture that's going to come close to serving as a stand for my A/V equipment and for my HDTV. I'm handy with woodworking, so I may wind up building my own. I could save myself some grief though with the extra savings the )4 2HDTV would afford me, and buy a stand that suits my needs.

It sounds like you're a satisfied customer, whose satisfaction is based on properly scaled expectations. I'm not expecting to buy a Panny/Pioneer killer myself, so I'm fairly confident I would be happy with this set. My remaining question is screen size. I came very close to buying a JVC HD-52G786 (52" screen). It found a source where I could get it for surprisingly little more (still barely within my budget) than what the P42HDTV would cost me next week. I held off buying it because of bulb life concerns. For my tastes, the PQ on it was slightly better than the P42HDTV, although it's black levels weren't as pure. I'm struggling with taking a 10" diagonal screen size cut, but that's the price I might have to pay for piece of mind and long term costs (rear projection bulbs run $200-$250).

for some reason, the msrp of the new 42 vizio in sunnyvale warehouse rose to 1899.99! Bad news.

Had they previously had it tagged as $1799.99 MSRP, or was this their initial posting? This could simply be an administrative error on their part. I'm sure others will comment.

I have had moreof an opportunity to watch SD through my standard cable box. It looks pretty good. Certainly acceptable and my kids are extremely pleased. Keep in mind I have not made color adjustments.

Also, my TV/family room is 20 feet X 15 feet. The TV is 11 feet from the couch. I am very happy with the 42 inch size. It fits perfectly in the room.
Rick
Westborough, MA

Congrats on your purchase, Rick! Would you or anyone else who has already bought the tv mind measuring the base? I'd like to see if it will fit on my stand.

I just came back from the Morena Blvd (San Diego) store. They had the new 42-inch Vizio next to a 42-9nch Pioneer and not far from the 50-inch Vizio. I have been eagerly anticipating this TV and was ready to buy it.

However, I have to agree with the posters who said the picture was washed out and looking as though the screen was veiled. Despite spending several minutes trying to adjust the brightness and contrast, even maxing out the contrast at 100, I could not get it to have anywhere near the picture quality of its bigger sibling. The Pioneer trounced them both.

A big disappointment, to say the least. I decided not to buy it.

Thanks GVB for the review. Could you comment on the quality of the picture from you notebook at 1280x720?

Thanks, Chris

OK I guess... Looks like I could probably browse parts of the web (those with larger fonts) from across the room if I wanted to.

Saw the 42" Vizio at the warehouse today. The OVERSCAN was absolutely terrible!

The remote was handy, so I went through the menu, but found no user control that would change it.

Unless there is a way to get this fixed through the service menu, I'll pass on this one.

just curious if you'd try something...Can you hook up the DVD player via HDMI and the Cable box via Compnent??? I just got a new upscaling DVD player, and was told to use the HDMI out of it..

I've also got another thing to try for myself..I got a new Outlaw Audio 1070 reciever(VERY COOL..www.outlawaudio.com) in the system and will TRY to use HDMI to DVI cables from both the DVD and Comcast box INTO the Outlaw, then one DVI out to the Vizio. (I've got optical digital outs running from both units as well)..

thanks for the review of your rig...and the Powerbook tip..I've got an 867 TiBook to try out :)


dave g
helldogmusic.com

Sorry... only component out on my DVD player. One of the drawbacks of the 42" vs. the 50" is the single HDMI on this one.

I went to the warehouse and they didn't have the new vizio on display. They just had the old, boring, ugly, silver, one with the speakers on the side.

However, I have to agree with the posters who said the picture was washed out and looking as though the screen was veiled. Despite spending several minutes trying to adjust the brightness and contrast, even maxing out the contrast at 100, I could not get it to have anywhere near the picture quality of its bigger sibling. The Pioneer trounced them both. A big disappointment, to say the least. I decided not to buy it.

wow :( care to speculate on WHY this might be happening on this set?? At first glace, it just seems like it should be just like the 50, with the same specs. Could it have been the way Costco's signal was being split out? I'm glad I still have 10 days to keep looking at other units, but, damn..for the price point...it sure seems hard to beat.

Of course..looking at the 1080p 42" LCD's on the near horizon is driving me nuts..but I'm not sure I want to spend the extra money on first-generation boxes (like the Sceptre from Costco, etc...). The Westinghouse one looks ok, and the Sharp units are starting to appear as well.

damn..this is driving me nuts.

:)

However, I'm only now beginning to realize that I don't have a piece of furniture that's going to come close to serving as a stand for my A/V equipment and for my HDTV. I'm handy with woodworking, so I may wind up building my own..

we ran into the same issue, even tho we know what ever 42" unit we get WILL get mounted to the wall..We have limited space, so my wife designed this unit based on some photos we saw that was WAY too spendy...so, we're gonna have it built by the people who did our kitchen cabinets....

unless you're close to Seattle and want to build two...

feel free to use this as an idea :)

Well after all the chatter....... we can now actually see it in action - and there seemed to be plenty in stock. Unfortunately, it was............ underwhelming, admittedly sitting next door to a $$$+ Psonic you'd expect it to compare not so well. But even allowing for that it seemed, as others have said, a bit of a washed out picture.
Just to confirm I'd like to check it out again at another Branch. Check it out for yourself wherever you are.

Isn't this a Costco only item?, with there great return policy there's no worries, if you bring it home and dont have anything to compare too next it it will look great!!
Just dont get a $80 20" CRT next to it!!!
with the [EDIT] it seems a good deal.
I would never buy a plasma without the intentions of having a HD feed, it isnt worth it if you dont.

i just cant believe you people...no matter how much the mods edit posts and delete posts, you all INSIST on posting prices paid, price differences, coupons, etc...i just dont get it...especially from people that have been on here for a long time and know the rules.

we ran into the same issue, even tho we know what ever 42" unit we get WILL get mounted to the wall..We have limited space, so my wife designed this unit based on some photos we saw that was WAY too spendy...so, we're gonna have it built by the people who did our kitchen cabinets....

unless you're close to Seattle and want to build two...

feel free to use this as an idea :)

After a quick perusing of what's out there in the mass market, I don't see anything that really strikes my fancy. I've got an XBox 360, and surround sound receiver, a CD player, and a VCR to accommodate. I'm concerned about making sure I get rid of all the heat the XBox 360 generates. I may have a ventilation fan in its compartment to exhaust the heat out the back.

I tried to get your image to come up, but IE can't open it or save it. Do you know what might be wrong? I'm 20 miles south of Charlotte, home of the team you guys knocked off in the NFC Championship! :o I'll be lucky if I can get myself to make one for me, the way my woodworking passion had dropped off of late. I'll post pics of what I build, if I decide to go that route. I'd still like to view your suggestion..l.

Saw the 42" Vizio at the warehouse today. The OVERSCAN was absolutely terrible!

The remote was handy, so I went through the menu, but found no user control that would change it.

Unless there is a way to get this fixed through the service menu, I'll pass on this one.
overscan is horrible on all vizios...and yet, they will not give out the service menu procedures. they insist on blaming it on the board...listen up vizio, its NOT THE BOARD. the adjustments are wrong IN THE SERVICE MENU. i have had 3 p50's so far, and every one of them has been set up EXACTLY THE SAME on overscan...test patterns looked the same on ALL 3. changing the boards wont do it, the default factory settings on overscan need to be changed..PERIOD. this is one reason mine is going back as soon as the new pannies are out.

i just cant believe you people...no matter how much the mods edit posts and delete posts, you all INSIST on posting prices paid, price differences, coupons, etc...i just dont get it...especially from people that have been on here for a long time and know the rules.

Hopefully you've shamed the offending party into going back and editing his post... before a mod has to do it.

Hopefully you've shamed the offending party into going back and editing his post... before a mod has to do it.
too late onlooker, woodrow beat em to it.

Thanks for your report anonymouse99, the buzzing you were hearing came for the power supply, I take it? This set doesn't have a fan, correct? I've got cable in my area, although I know nothing about my provider's digital cable (I'm still on analog). I need to explore that a bit. Good to hear the report on the tuner... I may want to use OTA as a backup.I am at roughly 6K feet above sea level. Plasma's have issues with buzzing at high altitude, I presume this may be related to that phenomenon. I am not sure if the 42 has a fan (I dont hear a fan), I do believe based on other posts, that the 50 does have a couple of internal fans.

I wont be getting HD service right away, the built-in NTSC tuner seems to do a good job IMHO.

it's been confirmed that the 42 is indeed fanless

Anyone with a 360 pick this up? How do you like it?


Am I correct that the overscan issue is 1080i content only? If it's 720P is it fine?

omfg


Exactly :(

As I mentioned last night I couldn't wait any longer and purchased the vizio yesterday. Keep in mind that I didn't take the time to compare PQ at the store. I have seen the P50 over the past few weeks and felt that if the 42 was as good, I would be happy.

I still have a week before I get a HD box from charter and a few days before I received my antenna so my feedback is based on a DVD movie. Also, for some background, I am coming from a Zenith 36 inch that I have not been happy with compared to my 25 inch Sony XBR from 20 years ago. My Soney xbr is still the standard in CRT's in my opinion.

Set-up was easy and pretty much plug and play. I had to make an adjustment on my DVD player for 16:9 but that was it. I didn't make any other adjustments.

Out of the box, my family and I were blown away. I will not be comparing side by side with other models in my home so in many ways the side by side comparisons based on store feeds is irrelevant.

The PQ was very sharp. The whites were white and the blacks were very black. The color jumped out of the screen and we felt like were at the theatre. Keep in mind that I am a noobee. This is my first plasma and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this budget plasma set. We are all fooling ourselves to think that this set is going to be as good as the much more expensive name brands.

I have been longing for a new TV for several years and I finally found one that hit my price point. You also need to keep in mind that I am a financial planner and the $1,500 that I saved by not purchasing the name brands will be worth over $6,000 in 15 years at 10% rate of return. These incremental savings do add up over time.
Rick
Westborough, MA

P.S. lots of stock in Nashua

If I don't want to change my mind for the 35th time on what TV to go with then your post is the only one I think I should read.

I just came back from the Morena Blvd (San Diego) store. They had the new 42-inch Vizio next to a 42-9nch Pioneer and not far from the 50-inch Vizio. I have been eagerly anticipating this TV and was ready to buy it.

However, I have to agree with the posters who said the picture was washed out and looking as though the screen was veiled. Despite spending several minutes trying to adjust the brightness and contrast, even maxing out the contrast at 100, I could not get it to have anywhere near the picture quality of its bigger sibling. The Pioneer trounced them both.

A big disappointment, to say the least. I decided not to buy it.

I'll just pretend I didn't read that. :confused:

I have been reading this thread with the same anticipation as everyone else, having plans to buy on the 20th. After viewing the set for the first time today, I have to agree with the naysayers. The overriding thought I have is that the set has a horrible black level, which is killing its contrast. I plan to view the set again at another location tomorrow, but cannot believe that I will see something significantly improved from today. I seem to be one in a lengthening line of disappointed shoppers.

The store I was at had all of the flat panels in a line, so comparisons are easy. The same, diluted, crappy feed as usual was being piped in using component inputs. The 50" Vizio was right next to the 42". The sets simply do not compare in terms of contrast and black levels. On bright scenes, the P42HDTV has wonderful detailing and very lifelike color. Very nice looking indeed. On dark scenes, however, there isn't a set at the store that looked as horrible when it came to producing blacks. This caused the set to look tired, and washed out. It reminded me of seeing an Akai plasma for the first time (thinking, who would buy that?)

I admit that I did not have time to mess with the settings, and there is a slight chance that the brightness was turned all the way up or something. I will have more time on my hands tomorrow. I hope it is something that can be significantly improved, but am not optomistic. There seems to be too many people on this forum with the same impression.

The thing that I cannot figure out (but gives me hope) is how a professional reviewer thought that this set was acceptable.

If anyone sees one of these panels with a comparable picture to the 50", please tell us about it.

I'll just pretend I didn't read that. :confused:

ROTF...If it makes ya feel any better, I'm sharing in your agony. I've lost track of how many times I've changed my mind (my wife hasn't)....

ESPECIALLY, because I actually BOUGHT the 50" Vizio, and had to take it back. It was just WAY to big for my small living room..Actually hurt to watch it..I'm barely 11 feet back, and I just wanted to be another 3-4 feet away from it. The wall it's going on is only 11 feet wide (because of the hallway leading to the back of the house...) So, 42" is the most I can do.

guess I go to a different Costco tomorrow and try to do some serious comparing....or just re-up my Book of The Month club subscription and just fah-get-about-it.

:)

I got my 42 inch vizio up and running and so far I love it. It took a while to figure out which input to use, I have cable and outside antenna. After eliminating the cable box and going direct to the cable, I am receiving great SD pictures. I still have not tried a true HD source but will soon.

Jay

Just returned my Maxent MX-42X3, and picked this set up. I was pleased with the MX-42X3 but have been experiencing some difficulties with it, and figured I'd end up returning it sooner or later, so I took the plunge. If you want to beat the craze that may take place on the 20th... just purchase now, and bring in your receipt for the lowered price. You've got 30 days from your purchase to be reimbursed. And hell, if they give you trouble, just return it and get another one. That's why we shop 'here'!

Got it wall mounted fine with the Peerless ST660, will upload some pics shortly.

I must agree with everyone else so far though... my initial reaction was a very murky image, but I'm gonna dig in with my DVE disc right now and see what I can't clear up.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I also bite the bullet today and bring it home. As the others have pointed out, it looks a little bit washed out. When I watch it at home with DVD, it looks fine though, maybe no comparison at that time. :)

Can you tell me more about the DVE disc (pm)? I might want to adjust the color setting a little bit.

Thanks!

Just returned my Maxent MX-42X3, and picked this set up. I was pleased with the MX-42X3 but have been experiencing some difficulties with it, and figured I'd end up returning it sooner or later, so I took the plunge. If you want to beat the craze that may take place on the 20th... just purchase now, and bring in your receipt for the lowered price. You've got 30 days from your purchase to be reimbursed. And hell, if they give you trouble, just return it and get another one. That's why we shop 'here'!

Got it wall mounted fine with the Peerless ST660, will upload some pics shortly.

I must agree with everyone else so far though... my initial reaction was a very murky image, but I'm gonna dig in with my DVE disc right now and see what I can't clear up.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

thanks for the update! Can't wait to see if you can tweak it with the DVE disk to your satisfaction...and of course, will watch for your settings info :)

So I did the B/W calibration using AVIA. Set the Color and Tint to 50 and the Sharpness to 0 and ended up with Brightness at 55 and Contrast at 82.

Seems kind of high for initial/burn-in/break-in period so I dialed em both down to the mid 40's.

Anyone else calibrated using Avia or DVE yet? What settings did you end up with?

Well guys... here's my take:

the set itself looks great. however, the intensity of it's image definitely leaves me wanting more. As previously mentioned, it's not the pixel quality or sharpness - it's all the faded color. That's just what it looks like... faded.

DVE kind of left me nowhere unfortunately. The pluge it includes for brightness, where the outer bars are supposed to be below black level (you're not supposed to see them until you turn up brightness all the way), weren't even visible with the brightness all the way up. This leads me to believe there may be an issue with the quality of the darker colors. Bright colors do look decent however.

These are the settings I'm using right now. I do not believe these to be the safest of settings for the plasma; however, they are the closest I could find to making the set look 'normal'.

brightness 55
contrast 75
color 58
tint 50
sharpness 50

So where does this leave me? I can't go back to the Maxent MX-42X3 I just returned which had a great picture yet plenty of minor issues... so I think i'll just wait until the new 42" Maxent comes out and maybe make the switch.

Also, I'm presently having major difficulties getting the Harmony 880 working with the set. But that's another issue...

As-is, I don't think this purchase will last for me unless some drastic settings are achieved.

Here's a photo.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1115791/P42HDTV10a.jpg

Hmm, i still have yet to check this out, but it seems like i might be ready for disappointment..

I'm with some of you guys... I was poised on compulsive buy last week, now I've erased just about all the preconceived notions I had about the P42HDTV. That's probably a good thing. I'll be making a call to my 'nearest prospective Vizio P42HDTV retailer' in a couple of hours, to see if they have one on display. If they do, I'll make the trip and see for myself what it has to offer.

I've come to the realization that if this one doesn't float my boat, I'll await the release of the JVC HD-52G787, rear projection D-ILA with optical iris. That had been my original plan anyway, until the fervor started for this 42" Vizio plasma. I do want to thank all of you for your feedback so far. It will help me make a much more "sober" decision about this set!

I got my 42 inch vizio up and running and so far I love it. It took a while to figure out which input to use, I have cable and outside antenna. After eliminating the cable box and going direct to the cable, I am receiving great SD pictures. I still have not tried a true HD source but will soon.

Jay

Your report on SD quality is invaluable to me.... thanks! Could I ask you to check out some basketball or hockey in SD and let me know if you see any artifacting or blurring? I won't be able to check for this using the inhouse feed at the 'Vizio retailer' from whom I would be purchasing the set. From what I gather, we aren't going to have access to any filters for dealing with these issues in the P42HDTV, like the P50HDM affords. If I see SD artifacting or blurring in action scenes, especially sports, that's going to be a deal breaker for me! :eek:

Just returned my Maxent MX-42X3, and picked this set up. I was pleased with the MX-42X3 but have been experiencing some difficulties with it, and figured I'd end up returning it sooner or later, so I took the plunge.

So you'd rate the Maxent MX-42X3 PQ higher than the Vizio P42HDTV? I've not seen a Maxtent in action yet. I do like the trim, elegant styling of some of their sets, just from looking at screens of them online.

You've given me an idea though... I don't know what the potential is for my 'local warehouse' is to eventually stock the JVC HD-52G787 (which I have had designs on since it was announced), but I thought about the possibility of buying the P42HDTV and then exercising the option to return it for the HD-52G787, if the Vizio doesn't get the job done for me. Of course, this is contingent on whether this retailer will stock the HD-52G787. This is one reason I'm not as reluctant to make such a purchase from a retailer with such a liberal return policy. I don't want to abuse the policy, but I would like to have an option for real satisfaction on such a major purcahse.

I just bought the Vizio last night and have it partially hooked up - standard DVD player via component cables, and directly to the coax cable, bypassing the cable box. So far - mixed results:

The DVD (Goblet of Fire) looked great on the screen - the blacks were black and I thought the colors were vivid. I definitely don't get the sense of a washed out picture.

The OTA TV picture, however, was disappointing. SD looked decent, depending on the channel, but the HD looked a bit blocky, especially the 1080i signal. Maybe this is a function of the quality of the built in tuner, so I'm going to connect the HDTV box I have on my other TV to this one tonight, and will see what happens. I'll post some more impressions later.

I just bought the Vizio last night and have it partially hooked up - standard DVD player via component cables, and directly to the coax cable, bypassing the cable box. So far - mixed results:

If your cable company is like mine, you're not going to get a digital signal without the box. I'll be using component cables with whatever HDTV I wind up buying because I'll be using my XBox 360 as a DVD player... at least until I can be convinced that an upscaling DVD player would be advantageous.

The DVD (Goblet of Fire) looked great on the screen - the blacks were black and I thought the colors were vivid. I definitely don't get the sense of a washed out picture.[

As I read some of the less than flattering reports of the PQ on the P42HDTV earlier in this thread, I wondered how much difference a quality input might change things. However, I have to keep in mind that these negative reports were based on comparisons in the store to other sets displaying the same content. I didn't get a chance to go to my local warehouse this morning, so I didn't even bother to call to see if they had a display model on the floor yet.

The OTA TV picture, however, was disappointing. SD looked decent, depending on the channel,

Decent SD is about as flattering a report as I've read on a microdisplay. This is somewhat encouraging to hear.

but the HD looked a bit blocky, especially the 1080i signal. Maybe this is a function of the quality of the built in tuner, so I'm going to connect the HDTV box I have on my other TV to this one tonight, and will see what happens. I'll post some more impressions later.

Here's where I have to wonder if some of the blockiness you're seeing isn't a result of bypassing your box. I'm a n00b when it comes to digital cable and HDTV (I still own neither!), but I know that if i fed my cable directly to any of my televisions right now, they're going to get be getting an analog signal. I'm sure that are other ways of doing it, but I thought I'd throw that in.

Please report back when you get the box patched in and let us know how the HD looks then. Also, if I could trouble you just a bit... check some fast action scenes on SD, and see if you notice any artifacting or motion blurring.

I'd really take the "at store" reviews with a grain of salt. It seems like most of the owners that have seen the sets in actions in their homes are much more impressed. Even the review link that Jim Noyd posted was a positive one (although I'm not sure how credible Sound and Vision Mag are).

If anyone missed that it's at http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/ . I will refrain from posting a direct link as it contains prices that are not MSRP.

ok, this may sound weird but here's my story with my P42HDTV.
I had been researching this tv for a while and decided to be one of the people that purchased it as soon as he was able to get his hands on it, and i did. I picked this tv up last friday afternoon and brought it home as quick as my 4runner would drive. I called my local cable company to get my HD box set up, but unfortunately the soonest i can get it hooked up is this saturday, so i wasnt able to do that. But there were a few other things i was able to do.

First thing i noticed was the washed out look that a lot of people had noticed, i played with the settings for all it was worth, but couldnt get that cloudy look to dissapear. I was using my cable company's SD box to do this. The PQ wasnt too bad, and although it looked as good as SD could on a microdisplay, i didnt notice any ghosting on fast scenes. Which brings me to my next setup.

I bought an xbox 360 last week and couldnt wait to hook it up to this tv. I hooked it up via component and started to play the game Burnout revenge which has some of the fastest moving graphics of any game for the system right now. This game looked SPECTACULAR, there was NO noticeable bluring at all, and the colors were very rich and deep, blacks were black, and brights didnt cause any image retention. Made for a perfect gaming experience.

Next i hooked my laptop up to it via the VGA port. My computer has only standard VGA, so i wasnt able to test via a DVI to HDMI signal. What i DID notice here however is that once again the blacks were hazy, and to my surprise, a lot of the whites were less than stellar, they came out as an almost darkened cream color. When i played World of Warcraft on this screen, no matter how i messed with the contrast and brightness, it was a pain in the rear to see ANYTHING that was in a shaddowed environment (such as the corner of a room). This was rather dissapointing, but possibly a result of the analog signal, or the fact that my laptop i couldnt get to output the exact native resolution that the tv is able to display. Perhaps DVI would be better.

Next thing i did was play a DVD on my xbox. Here i noticed that my picture looked quite good, for a scaled image environment. The images looked good, and didnt have the washed out look like the regular SD programming showed from my digital cable box.

Finally after all this i decided to watch some programming from my DVR, and something really odd caught my attention. I could swear to you that the washed out look that i had first noticed when i turned on my tv for the first time had seemed to be all but gone. Perhaps i had been watching it long enough that I had just gotten used to it, but i swear that the blacks had seemed to have deepened. Call me crazy, but by the time i was done with all of these tests, i ended up quite happy with my purchase. Perhaps down the road when i have a better job, or a little more discipline in saving up some cash i might sell this set and buy a really top of the line brand, but for the time being, im very happy with my purchase, and wish everyone else the same happiness.

My 2 cents.

ok, this may sound weird but here's my story with my P42HDTV.
I had been researching this tv for a while and decided to be one of the people that purchased it as soon as he was able to get his hands on it, and i did. I picked this tv up last friday afternoon and brought it home as quick as my 4runner would drive. I called my local cable company to get my HD box set up, but unfortunately the soonest i can get it hooked up is this saturday, so i wasnt able to do that. But there were a few other things i was able to do.

First thing i noticed was the washed out look that a lot of people had noticed, i played with the settings for all it was worth, but couldnt get that cloudy look to dissapear. I was using my cable company's SD box to do this. The PQ wasnt too bad, and although it looked as good as SD could on a microdisplay, i didnt notice any ghosting on fast scenes. Which brings me to my next setup.

I bought an xbox 360 last week and couldnt wait to hook it up to this tv. I hooked it up via component and started to play the game Burnout revenge which has some of the fastest moving graphics of any game for the system right now. This game looked SPECTACULAR, there was NO noticeable bluring at all, and the colors were very rich and deep, blacks were black, and brights didnt cause any image retention. Made for a perfect gaming experience.

Next i hooked my laptop up to it via the VGA port. My computer has only standard VGA, so i wasnt able to test via a DVI to HDMI signal. What i DID notice here however is that once again the blacks were hazy, and to my surprise, a lot of the whites were less than stellar, they came out as an almost darkened cream color. When i played World of Warcraft on this screen, no matter how i messed with the contrast and brightness, it was a pain in the rear to see ANYTHING that was in a shaddowed environment (such as the corner of a room). This was rather dissapointing, but possibly a result of the analog signal, or the fact that my laptop i couldnt get to output the exact native resolution that the tv is able to display. Perhaps DVI would be better.

Next thing i did was play a DVD on my xbox. Here i noticed that my picture looked quite good, for a scaled image environment. The images looked good, and didnt have the washed out look like the regular SD programming showed from my digital cable box.

Finally after all this i decided to watch some programming from my DVR, and something really odd caught my attention. I could swear to you that the washed out look that i had first noticed when i turned on my tv for the first time had seemed to be all but gone. Perhaps i had been watching it long enough that I had just gotten used to it, but i swear that the blacks had seemed to have deepened. Call me crazy, but by the time i was done with all of these tests, i ended up quite happy with my purchase. Perhaps down the road when i have a better job, or a little more discipline in saving up some cash i might sell this set and buy a really top of the line brand, but for the time being, im very happy with my purchase, and wish everyone else the same happiness.

My 2 cents.

Picked up the set myself this past weekend, and wanted to echo pyrophite's sentiments on this set. I had seen this "washed-out" look at the store, but after setting it up at home I've been really pleased with the picture quality. DVD's from an upconverting toshiba dvd player looked really good, certainly nothing to make me think the colors weren't vibrant. Life-like I'd call them. OTA HD channels looks amazing too. Haven't watched a lot of SD, but family guy last night looked as it always did on my old 27" non-hd crt, only way bigger :).

I'm not sure why the display unit looked hazy in-store, but I haven't seen this at all since bringing it home. Perhaps I too just don't notice it either in it's new environment, but I'm more than satisfied with it myself (especially considering it's budget standing).

No discount or coupon talk, please. Thanks

RyanWild,

This site has very strict rules when it comes to discussing Costco, coupons, and any prices other than MSRP. This thread has come close to getting shut down on numerous occasions. There is a Costco master thread that you should post your question to. EDIT: I take that back - not even the master thread allows discussion of coupons. I suggest deleting your other post to make sure this thread doesn't get closed.

Thanks!

Awesome guys, thanks for providing your feedback. At this point I'm just going to take it home and if I don't like it then I'll bring it back.

pyrophite, I'm either buying this set, or the 50" version, and it's going to be used for 85% Xbox 360 use. By any chance can you take pictures of your games running on the set? The 50" looks awesome (pics in 50" thread) but the picture is cut off about 1/4th of an inch all around the screen. No big deal, was just curious if the 42" did it too.

fwiw..everything I'm reading in other forums here says NOT to use plasma for the XBOX 360, but to use a 42" LCD (or bigger)...you might want to do some further reading...just my worthless .02...

Awesome guys, thanks for providing your feedback. At this point I'm just going to take it home and if I don't like it then I'll bring it back.

I guess I will take the plunge and bring it home as well. I am strongly opposed to all those on this forum who consider a generous return policy a license to trade up when new technology comes out. This set, however, seems like it might not live up to the hype and therefore, could be returned with little guilt.

Thanks to all who have posted your experiences. I will try to do the same.

pyrophite, I'm either buying this set, or the 50" version, and it's going to be used for 85% Xbox 360 use. By any chance can you take pictures of your games running on the set? The 50" looks awesome (pics in 50" thread) but the picture is cut off about 1/4th of an inch all around the screen. No big deal, was just curious if the 42" did it too.


Sure thing, im at work til 5 PM PST, but i'll see if i can take some pictures tonight of it in action. I'd take some movies, but then the quality would be kinda based on the quality of the camcorder and not the tv.

Sure thing, im at work til 5 PM PST, but i'll see if i can take some pictures tonight of it in action. I'd take some movies, but then the quality would be kinda based on the quality of the camcorder and not the tv.

Thank you very much! :)

fwiw..everything I'm reading in other forums here says NOT to use plasma for the XBOX 360, but to use a 42" LCD (or bigger)...you might want to do some further reading...just my worthless .02...


Do they give reasoning for this? It doesnt have any kinda ghosting or image retention from what i could ascertain. And the picture quality was awesome. Response time was instantaneous, and the whole experience blew me away. I'll also see if i can rent or buy Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter which just came out and is already hailed as the ultimate game in the graphics department. This game should be a completely TRUE test of the quality of the 360 on this tv.

ok, this may sound weird but here's my story with my P42HDTV.
I had been researching this tv for a while and decided to be one of the people that purchased it as soon as he was able to get his hands on it, and i did. I picked this tv up last friday afternoon and brought it home as quick as my 4runner would drive. I called my local cable company to get my HD box set up, but unfortunately the soonest i can get it hooked up is this saturday, so i wasnt able to do that. But there were a few other things i was able to do.

pyrophite,

First off... let me commend you on a wonderful report on your experiences with this set thus far. You've struck many a chord of interest to me. I want to address them each contextually.

I'm totally unfamiliar with the equipment required to get digital cable service, let alone HD. My cable provider's internet site has very sketchy information about the nuts & bolts of the process. I had a converter box for my analog cable that I got years and years ago, which I setup myself. They did away with the box requirement about 4 years ago, and I've been going straight to my set since.

Does the cable company have to setup the HD box, or can you simply not pick it up and hook it up yourself? My provider's website has digital cable, which requires a box, and then it sounds like there's either an additional box for HD, or the plain digital box gets replaced with one that can deliver HD. I just wondered how much was involved in actually getting this service.

Do you not live in an area where you might be able to pick up an HD channel OTA? I'd like to hear your results if you can.

First thing i noticed was the washed out look that a lot of people had noticed, i played with the settings for all it was worth, but couldnt get that cloudy look to dissapear. I was using my cable company's SD box to do this. The PQ wasnt too bad, and although it looked as good as SD could on a microdisplay, i didnt notice any ghosting on fast scenes.

Is this a digital SD box? I know analog converters are still in use in some parts. I'm relieved to hear that you didn't see any ghosting.

I bought an xbox 360 last week and couldnt wait to hook it up to this tv. I hooked it up via component and started to play the game Burnout revenge which has some of the fastest moving graphics of any game for the system right now. This game looked SPECTACULAR, there was NO noticeable bluring at all, and the colors were very rich and deep, blacks were black, and brights didnt cause any image retention. Made for a perfect gaming experience.

Now you're preaching to the choir! I just got an XBox 360 two weeks ago and I'm still languishing in SD with it. My HDTV will serve at least 1/3 rd of its life as a monitor for XBox 360 gaming. Deep blacks, rich colors and no blurring are all top concerns of mine. I'm very plussed to read your comments on this! :D I'd still go easy on the contrast and brightness during the first hundred hours or so. I guess you give it a courtesy screen wipe from time to time?

Next i hooked my laptop up to it via the VGA port. My computer has only standard VGA, so i wasnt able to test via a DVI to HDMI signal. What i DID notice here however is that once again the blacks were hazy, and to my surprise, a lot of the whites were less than stellar, they came out as an almost darkened cream color. When i played World of Warcraft on this screen, no matter how i messed with the contrast and brightness, it was a pain in the rear to see ANYTHING that was in a shaddowed environment (such as the corner of a room). This was rather dissapointing, but possibly a result of the analog signal, or the fact that my laptop i couldnt get to output the exact native resolution that the tv is able to display. Perhaps DVI would be better.

I dought I'll ever hook my PC up to mine, but I'm sure there are all sorts of tweaks in the graphics card control panel that might be of help with this.

Next thing i did was play a DVD on my xbox. Here i noticed that my picture looked quite good, for a scaled image environment. The images looked good, and didnt have the washed out look like the regular SD programming showed from my digital cable box.

And this is a confirmation of Meltz's report of his DVD experience. Excellent!

Finally after all this i decided to watch some programming from my DVR, and something really odd caught my attention. I could swear to you that the washed out look that i had first noticed when i turned on my tv for the first time had seemed to be all but gone. Perhaps i had been watching it long enough that I had just gotten used to it, but i swear that the blacks had seemed to have deepened.

You've done a number of drills with your set. I wonder if there was something about the paces you put it through, or unique adjustments that you made, that brought this on? There are plenty of other P42HDTV owners tuned into this who may be able to attest to the veracity of your claim. It would be easy for cynics to to dismiss your claim as a buyer trying to rationalize the wisdom of his purchase, but don't sell your judgement short. Do some more testing and see if it holds up.

Call me crazy, but by the time i was done with all of these tests, i ended up quite happy with my purchase. Perhaps down the road when i have a better job, or a little more discipline in saving up some cash i might sell this set and buy a really top of the line brand, but for the time being, im very happy with my purchase, and wish everyone else the same happiness.

You've just enstilled some added vigor to my quest to check the P42HDTV out. The XBox 360 performance really gives me a good vibe. Please keep us posted as your impressions dictate!

I picked up a P42 this weekend also ... for the most part I'm happy with it. Picture quality is more than adequate. There is some power supply noise (one of the reasons I returned the P50) ... on the P50 it was particularly noticeable and varied depending on the brightness of the scene which I found distracting. On the P42 it's constant and higher pitched. I haven't yet decided if I can live with the noise.

The second disappointment I had was in using the QAM tuner with my Comcast cable ... it picked up all the unscrambled stations, but no station ID (PSIP) information. This makes the QAM tuner pretty much useless to me. I'm guessing this may be a Comcast issue rather than a Vizio issue, but since I don't have access to another QAM tuner, I have no way of knowing (if I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I might call Comcast and attempt to ask them).

I picked up a P42 this weekend also ... for the most part I'm happy with it. Picture quality is more than adequate. There is some power supply noise (one of the reasons I returned the P50) ... on the P50 it was particularly noticeable and varied depending on the brightness of the scene which I found distracting. On the P42 it's constant and higher pitched. I haven't yet decided if I can live with the noise.

The second disappointment I had was in using the QAM tuner with my Comcast cable ... it picked up all the unscrambled stations, but no station ID (PSIP) information. This makes the QAM tuner pretty much useless to me. I'm guessing this may be a Comcast issue rather than a Vizio issue, but since I don't have access to another QAM tuner, I have no way of knowing (if I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I might call Comcast and attempt to ask them).

I had to hunt and find the channels on Comcast via QAM on the Philips unit. They were all over the place. I'm in the DC area, though.

I picked up a P42 this weekend also ... for the most part I'm happy with it. Picture quality is more than adequate. There is some power supply noise (one of the reasons I returned the P50) ... on the P50 it was particularly noticeable and varied depending on the brightness of the scene which I found distracting. On the P42 it's constant and higher pitched. I haven't yet decided if I can live with the noise.


Interesting, because I haven't noticed any noise coming from the power supply of my unit. Maybe I have the volume up too loud :).

The second disappointment I had was in using the QAM tuner with my Comcast cable ... it picked up all the unscrambled stations, but no station ID (PSIP) information. This makes the QAM tuner pretty much useless to me. I'm guessing this may be a Comcast issue rather than a Vizio issue, but since I don't have access to another QAM tuner, I have no way of knowing (if I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I might call Comcast and attempt to ask them).

I don't have another QAM tuner to point to, but I can give you a different cable provider data point. I use RCN cable and have the same problem as you - no station ID info. I also think I get a whopping 3 HD channels, which is fairly annoying.

Do they give reasoning for this?.

Maybe one of the more technical folks can answer that..but it has to do with burn-in on a plasma vs. no burn-in on lcd.

it has to do with potential burn in casued by static images found in most games. for the most part, i don't believe this is an issue. i have quite a few friends that game on plasmas and haven't had a problem.

Ok, i dont like to quote long posts, but im going to write a few responses to some posts above.

First, as for picking up the HD box, i tried to bargain with my cable company (Time warner cable in san diego) and they said that for HD boxes they REQUIRE a technician to install it so that they make sure it works for the first time (not sure why but i wasnt going to argue).

Second, i dont have a OTA antenna, so i wasnt able to pick up any of the channels, and i didnt want to spring for one at the moment.

Next, i have not noticed any buzzing comming from my unit, however my computer's speakers buzz when the tv is on, but i think it's because they're unsheilded, and are only a foot or so away from all my electrical equipment, it actually might be being caused from my yamaha receiver.

As for doing the occasional clearing, yes i have done it a few times, i just do it to try and keep the tests objective.

Finally, i was able to take some pictures on my set from home on my lunch break today, however i found out a few important factors. Since the set has a glossy front to it, it's hard to eliminate all glare, and even when the lights are off, and the curtains shut, it's hard to take a picture of the set with low light without bluring as a result of the shutter speed needing to be slowed down to catch enough light to see the set. Also, my camera actually has sort of a white balance compensator in low light, making the set apper a little more washed out than it actually is. When i turn the white balancer down, the camera for some reason makes the image come out with a rainbow hue (dont ask me why, i have NO idea what could cause THIS).

ok, i had to create at least 5 posts before it would allow me to post any links on the foum so here they are.

For those of you who are at least interested in the pictures, i will post a link to them, i took a picture of SD on the Digital cable box in a cartoon, i took one of SD on the digital cable box in a real time action show, i took it of a DVD being played off my xbox 360, and one of me playing Burnout revenge on my 360.

Ok, im not sure the rules of linking here, but there's a slideshow Here (www.brimmysworld.com/plasma/default.htm) that shows all the images that i took. Family guy is the cartoon in SD, Scrubs is the DVD on the 360, Stargate SG-1 is the live action in SD, and Burnout revenge is the 360 game. Also Here (www.brimmysworld.com/plasma/MVI_0173.AVI) is a link to a video i took on my camera of Burnout revenge for anyone that's interested.

Also if i've violated any rules for the forum, let me know and i'll modify this post immediately. Thanks and enjoy!

ok, i had to create at least 5 posts before it would allow me to post any links on the foum so here they are.

For those of you who are at least interested in the pictures, i will post a link to them, i took a picture of SD on the Digital cable box in a cartoon, i took one of SD on the digital cable box in a real time action show, i took it of a DVD being played off my xbox 360, and one of me playing Burnout revenge on my 360.

Ok, im not sure the rules of linking here, but there's a slideshow Here (www.brimmysworld.com/plasma/default.htm) that shows all the images that i took. Family guy is the cartoon in SD, Scrubs is the DVD on the 360, Stargate SG-1 is the live action in SD, and Burnout revenge is the 360 game. Also Here (www.brimmysworld.com/plasma/MVI_0173.AVI) is a link to a video i took on my camera of Burnout revenge for anyone that's interested.

Also if i've violated any rules for the forum, let me know and i'll modify this post immediately. Thanks and enjoy!

Wow burnout looks awesome. I'm trying to pick between this set and the 50" (not sure if I have eough room to sit far enough away for 50") and that looks really great.
Thanks a lot for the pics and video :)

No problem. Also if anyone has any requests for something to be played and photographed, let me know, and when i get off work i'll see what i can do.

Burnout really does look great! Oh, and thanks for posting the Scrubs screenies.. that's gonna score some points with my wife. :D

No problem. Also if anyone has any requests for something to be played and photographed, let me know, and when i get off work i'll see what i can do.

I'd love to see some more 360 stuff (Dash, other games) :)

ha ha, one VERY important thing i forgot to mention! All my SD programs are being transmitted to my tv via an analog RCA video cable. My current Digital cable box doesnt have component out, and i cant seem to find my svideo cable, None the less, the images from like family guy and stargate SG1 should be taken with that knowledge in mind. I cant wait to get my HD box up and running this next weekend!

I'd love to see some more 360 stuff (Dash, other games) :)


The only game i own is burnout right now, but i might see about renting Fight Night round 3, and Ghost recon. If i do, i'll make sure to take some pictures.

Just a heads up from reading other user reports, some are seeing the TV turn itself off repeatedly, sometimes accompanied by clicking, others have not noticed the clicking. None off the users here have reported this problem from what I have read.

really!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? where?

Just a heads up from reading other user reports, some are seeing the TV turn itself off repeatedly, sometimes accompanied by clicking, others have not noticed the clicking. None off the users here have reported this problem from what I have read.

Are you sure you haven't gotten the P42HDTV confused with the Vizio 37" LCD? I'm reading reports of it clicking and powering off intermittantly, but I've read or heard nothing of the sort for the 42" plasma.

fwiw..everything I'm reading in other forums here says NOT to use plasma for the XBOX 360, but to use a 42" LCD (or bigger)...you might want to do some further reading...just my worthless .02...

I've frequented a number of XBox 360 forums, and I haven't read but a few horror stories with some of the older plasmas. The majority of the reports I read from XBox 360 plasma display users is highly pro. Yes, you've got to exercise more caution with plasma on any sort of screen image that's going to have a static field displayed for a long time. I know of one guy who has a Viewsonic plasma of 2002 vintage, and he's got an indelible image of the local weather channel's frame graph burned into his set.

I've studied this issue in depth over the last couple of months, and I have no qualms about using a plasma display with my XBox 360. However, I also realize that it's going to take a little more discipline to avoid abusing the screen... especially during the first 100 hours, or so.

Do a google search for Vizio P42HDTV. First returned item is a forum thread.

I had to hunt and find the channels on Comcast via QAM on the Philips unit. They were all over the place. I'm in the DC area, though.

Gulp... here's a whole new technology I've got to get aquainted with. I have no clue what you're talking about. :o

QAM = HD over cable

ATSC = over the air HD

Last night my p42hdtv shut off at least 4 times about 10-15 minutes apart and i had to unplug it in the middle of the night because of clicking every few minutes and its not quiet.its the same click as when i turn my tv on.Looks like i need to call vizio and see whats going on and if they dont have a solution its back to the store.

I've been following this thread for a while and am ready to purchase the P42HDTV- despite some of the questionable/negative aspects voiced by some. I'll be my first plasma and first HDTV and I realize that I get what I pay for, but I can't beat the price for the features it has. I'm truly excited about upgrading from a 36" RCA CRT. Maybe in a few years when I get more discriminating about contrast/PQ/noise and the prices fall, I'll upgrade again.

I've seen another question about this - what are the recommended guidelines for "burn-in" in the first few hundred hours of use? If it's already in these forums, can someone point me to them? Thanks.

Do a google search for Vizio P42HDTV. First returned item is a forum thread.

Okay... I saw it (I'd mention the name of the forum, but it's main purpose is to discuss discounts, so I'll leave it be). Yes, there are two users who are having problems with intermittant shutting down. One is mentioned here, so it may not be as rampant as the 37" LCD's problem, but one that bears monitoring, none the less....

While I still believe the P42HDTV is a very good value, I've decided to wait for the 2006 Panasonics to come out. (Each year Panasonic has been chopping the MSRPs on their plasmas, and it's finally to the point where I'd consider pulling the trigger.)

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and opinions (both positive and negative). I hope everybody ends up happy with whatever they decide to get.

And remember, it's possible to overanalyze a decision. :)

I've been following this thread for a while and am ready to purchase the P42HDTV- despite some of the questionable/negative aspects voiced by some. I'll be my first plasma and first HDTV and I realize that I get what I pay for, but I can't beat the price for the features it has. I'm truly excited about upgrading from a 36" RCA CRT. Maybe in a few years when I get more discriminating about contrast/PQ/noise and the prices fall, I'll upgrade again.

I've seen another question about this - what are the recommended guidelines for "burn-in" in the first few hundred hours of use? If it's already in these forums, can someone point me to them? Thanks.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=608677

That is the master burn in thread for all your answers and questions

Also it might be good to mention that AMEX extends the warranty of your purchase for another year. Just in case!

Last night my p42hdtv shut off at least 4 times about 10-15 minutes apart and i had to unplug it in the middle of the night because of clicking every few minutes and its not quiet.its the same click as when i turn my tv on.Looks like i need to call vizio and see whats going on and if they dont have a solution its back to the store.

skinzer, you aren't by chance a poster known as "cathallan" in the other thread referenced by Atrail are you? The style of your report looks similar. I'm just trying to get a handle on the number of people having problems with shutting down, and wanted to rule out this as a duplication.

i just got off the phone with tech support and they said try unplugging the tv foar a half hour (some kind of reset) and if that does not fix it they will send someone out to check out the problem.

to onlooker delay this is my only screen name

i just got off the phone with tech support and they said try unplugging the tv foar a half hour (some kind of reset) and if that does not fix it they will send someone out to check out the problem.

to onlooker delay this is my only screen name

Okay, so that's three confirmed reports of intermittant shutdown. Interesting that it's also showing up on the new 37" LCD.

Please let us know if this cures your problem.

RPS13, thanks for the mini-glossary. I'm going to visit my cable provider's office tomorrow and see what materials they have about their service. They've got a very slick website, but it's pretty devoid of information that ought to be there.

pyrophite, I really enjoyed your screen shots and the video. I think you did a good job with each. I'm anxious to see what difference digital cable makes versus analog.

Let me ask you this, are you impressed with how much more readable the text is on the XBox 360 dashboard in hi-def? I'm playing a lot of Tiger Woods 06 on my 32" SD CRT with my 360, and at times it's really difficult to read the text, where distances and elevations are given. I'm hoping HDwill eliminate much of that.

Before returning your sets to the warehouse, try this for a day or two and see if it works.

Using a heavy duty extension cord 14 guage or less, the lower the number the heavier the guage, directly connect JUST your TV to a little used or better yet an unused electrical circuit somewhere inside your house. Make sure it is on seperate circuit from your other AV equipment! You can do this by turning on your equipment and turning breakers off at the circuit panel until you find one that is different from your usual circuit. After re-routing the power to this set, power up and run everything as you normally would. See if the clicking and shutting down goes away.

With all the AV equipment we have today and the way some houses are wired, especially older homes, it doesn't take much to max out a 15 amp circuit. Even though your breakers aren't shutting off, you could still be drawing too much current for this TV to work properly.

This may sound a bit far fetched, but I am certain others could chime in with similar results, especially with AV receivers and definitely seperate power amps. I just finished re-wiring my family room with 2 seperate 20 amp circuits, one for audio and the other for video. Previously, my entire downstairs (5 rooms) was wired with (1) 15 amp circuit! Older homes were never ever designed to run the power hungry appliances and electronics that we have today.

Please post your results if you do try this.

*** Never mix AV electronics with appliances like refrigerators, washers, Air conditioners, etc. Most of those appliances are designed to be used with their own 15-20 amp circuit even though they are rarely used that way.

RPS13 pretty much captured it. QAM is a type of modulation, and it is used for digital cable signals (including HDTV). HD tuners in TVs can do one of the following:
OTA (only over the air)
OTA+QAM (over the air + unscrambled digital cable)
OTA+QAM+CableCARD (over the air + unscrambled digital cable + scrambled digital cable)

I know you should transport plasmas "standing up", but I have no friends or family or anyone with a truck to get it home that way. Costco is only 15 mins from me, is it "ok" to lay the tv flat in the back for that ride home? I guess since I'm spending so much I can whip out 20 bucks to rent a UHaul for the day but that would be a pain and a half.

I posted on the fatwallet forums too (slicks2k) but I tried unplugging the power cord, and leaving it unplugged for 30 minutes and still no go. TV does not turn on at all, just the yellow standby light is on. Tried plugging into different outlets in my room, just the tv itself, etc., and nothing. This sucks, first big tv purchase and it has huge freaking problems, not even one day of use. :o :mad:

Given the somewhat negative reviews on the latest 42", I'm wondering how it compares to the 37" lcd model. Is the 37" closer to the 50" quality? If it's better quality, I just assume get the smaller size. 37" vs 42" isn't that big of deal to me.

I remember there being an "advanced" sub-menu in the Vizio P52HDM I checked out last week. It had three or four items within it. Seems like there were noise and motion filters there... can't remember what else may have been there. There's a color temperature setting for the 50PHDM in the main menu... really surprised to hear that there's not one for the P42HDTV.

There is a color temp setting in the p50? I have a p50 and do not have this setting...can someone with a p50 confirm this? Maybe it's in the newer firmware?

Anyone else have any thoughts???? I have one of these sitting in a box in my living room, I am now wondering if i should keep it. Any thoughts?

I know you should transport plasmas "standing up", but I have no friends or family or anyone with a truck to get it home that way. Costco is only 15 mins from me, is it "ok" to lay the tv flat in the back for that ride home? I guess since I'm spending so much I can whip out 20 bucks to rent a UHaul for the day but that would be a pain and a half.

I transported my 42" Maxent plasma lying down flat, and my friend transported his 50" Vizio lying down flat. No problems whatsoever. As long as you take it easy and aren't planning on off-roading I doub't you'll have a problem. It's more risky of course, but when they repair these, they lay them down flat to take the back cover off. It's not like the glass is going to fall out or anything.

There is a color temp setting in the p50? I have a p50 and do not have this setting...can someone with a p50 confirm this? Maybe it's in the newer firmware?

Yes, there definitely was a color temperature setting on the P50HDM I played with at my nearest 'national warehouse chain' store last Wednesday. I don't even think it was in the advanced menu. I seem to recall there were 4 or 5 settings; something like - cool, warm, vivid, game, and maybe one more. The effects were certainly noticeable.

Given the somewhat negative reviews on the latest 42", I'm wondering how it compares to the 37" lcd model. Is the 37" closer to the 50" quality? If it's better quality, I just assume get the smaller size. 37" vs 42" isn't that big of deal to me.

The 37" LCD is having intermittant shutting down problems also, but as for the rest... I dunno. I had to compromise my limits just to bit to entertain the notion of going as small as a 42". The sofa puts the main viewers 10 1/2 to 11' feet away from where the screen will be. The screen size charts recommend 50-56" for that distance. If I was going to be 8-9' away, I might be able to go for a 37".

What finally drove my screen size decision was screen height. I currently have a 32" 4:3 SD CRT. The screen height is ~19 3/8". I can't see getting a television for my 14' x 22' living room that's shorter in screen height than that set. With a 16:9 screen ratio, the minimum I could accept is 40", and still meet that limit. 42" puts the screen height at 1 1/4" taller than what I have now (I know it will be almost 10" wider, but I'm thinking of text height in XBox 360 games, primarily). I know this sounds a bit anal to some, but you've got to have certain limits... that's one of mine, as goofy as it sounds. ;)

As for the shutting down issues with the P42HDTV, I almost wish I could uncrate the set while in the 'warehouse', plug it up, and give it a dry run before carting it home. I would hate to get this thing home and have it shutting down on me like it has with some. It's a bit surprising to hear these issues with this set, given that the same phenomenon has been seen in the 37" LCD. It does give one cause for suspicion.

I know you should transport plasmas "standing up", but I have no friends or family or anyone with a truck to get it home that way. Costco is only 15 mins from me, is it "ok" to lay the tv flat in the back for that ride home?

This topic has been discussed forever, but much of it seems based on common sense and conservative practice, i.e., better safe than sorry. The conventional wisdom is to transport only in a "standing up" position. This seems to make sense assuming the glass panel is only supported near it's edges as a horizontal panel would tend to bend more under vertical accelerations like a bump in the road. Bend too much and it breaks! Some manufacture's boxes are even marked with a warning label to only ship standing up.

Another AVS member, however, reported that Vizio customer service stated transporting the P42HDTV on its side would be OK. So I decided to double check and called their customer support as well as emailed them with this same question. In both cases I was told there was no problem in transporting the box on its side. They said it would not void the warranty to do so. The only restriction was to not put anything heavy on top of the box. I was also told the primary reason for shipping or storing in the "standing up" position was to allow the boxes to be stacked one on top of another.

So for what it's worth, I now have some insurance in the form of an email from Vizio that state: "Transporting the P42HDTV on its side will not effect the operation on the TV." just incase something bad does happen.

Anyone else have any thoughts???? I have one of these sitting in a box in my living room, I am now wondering if i should keep it. Any thoughts?

I'd at least plug it in and see if you have intermittant shut down problems. If I decide to buy one of these myself, I'll be worried about this happening to me, especially during the "burn-in" phase.

is anyone that is experiencing these issues calling vizio? if so, what are they saying?

This topic has been discussed forever, but much of it seems based on common sense and conservative practice, i.e., better safe than sorry. The conventional wisdom is to transport only in a "standing up" position. This seems to make sense assuming the glass panel is only supported near it's edges as a horizontal panel would tend to bend more under vertical accelerations like a bump in the road. Bend too much and it breaks! Some manufacture's boxes are even marked with a warning label to only ship standing up.

Another AVS member, however, reported that Vizio customer service stated transporting the P42HDTV on its side would be OK. So I decided to double check and called their customer support as well as emailed them with this same question. In both cases I was told there was no problem in transporting the box on its side. They said it would not void the warranty to do so. The only restriction was to not put anything heavy on top of the box. I was also told the primary reason for shipping or storing in the "standing up" position was to allow the boxes to be stacked one on top of another.

So for what it's worth, I now have some insurance in the form of an email from Vizio that state: "Transporting the P42HDTV on its side will not effect the operation on the TV." just incase something bad does happen.

Thanks for the info! I picked one up last night and laid it on its side in the back of my SUV. I drove slowly and avoided potholes. I haven't opened it up yet, but I didn't hear any cracking sounds! I did this with another PDP last month, and it went fine. I'm going to crack the seal on the box tonight!

is anyone that is experiencing these issues calling vizio? if so, what are they saying?

On page 13 of this thread, skinzner wrote that he did, and here's what he was told:

"i just got off the phone with tech support and they said try unplugging the tv foar a half hour (some kind of reset) and if that does not fix it they will send someone out to check out the problem. "

Before returning your sets to the warehouse, try this for a day or two and see if it works.

Using a heavy duty extension cord 14 guage or less, the lower the number the heavier the guage, directly connect JUST your TV to a little used or better yet an unused electrical circuit somewhere inside your house. Make sure it is on seperate circuit from your other AV equipment! You can do this by turning on your equipment and turning breakers off at the circuit panel until you find one that is different from your usual circuit. After re-routing the power to this set, power up and run everything as you normally would. See if the clicking and shutting down goes away.

You've already given me an idea that I should have already implemented. I'm simply going to run a dedicated 12 gauge service to the outlet that serves my living room's entertainment center, and put it on its own 15 amp breaker. The circuit its currently on has a desktop PC, 4 lamps, and a ceiling fan on it. Occasionally my wife and daughter plug a portable ceramic heater in. When they turn it on high power, we've actually tripped the breaker. I've told them to keep it on "low" if they insist on using it, but "it doesn't get hot enough".... (sigh).

There is a color temp setting in the p50? I have a p50 and do not have this setting...can someone with a p50 confirm this? Maybe it's in the newer firmware?

I went a little further with this pdawg17... in section 3.5.2.1.2 of the manual for the P50HDM, it describes the "color temp" settings. The section is called "Image Setting". What I referred to earlier (game, vivid, movie, sport, etc.) is under "Picture Setting" (just prior to Image Setting in the manual). I was mistaken in saying they were color temp related... they are more to do with brightness, contrast, and possibly sharpness settings.

Well, I payed a visit to our favorite warehouse last night and got a look at the 42" Vizio. I gotta say, to my untrained eye, I could not see this dull picture everyone else is talking about. It looked as good as the 50" Vizio and the 42" Pio and 42" Phillips right next to it. The only TV that looked more vivid was the Panny 42" EDTV, but the images looked pretty jagged looking on that set. It was quite a relief to see such a good picture on the Vizio after hearing a lot of negative feedback from other people's in-store experiences. I will definitely be picking this set up on Monday.. granted that I'm still not hungover. ;)

Well, I payed a visit to our favorite warehouse last night and got a look at the 42" Vizio. I gotta say, to my untrained eye, I could not see this dull picture everyone else is talking about. It looked as good as the 50" Vizio and the 42" Pio and 42" Phillips right next to it. The only TV that looked more vivid was the Panny 42" EDTV, but the images looked pretty jagged looking on that set. It was quite a relief to see such a good picture on the Vizio after hearing a lot of negative feedback from other people's in-store experiences. I will definitely be picking this set up on Monday.. granted that I'm still not hungover. ;)

Thanks for the report bump... I hope that I can squeeze in a trip to my nearest 'warehouse' today or tomorrow, and see for myself. I also found the 42" EDTV Panny to be quite impressive in its sharpness. If I had never seen a true HDTV, I'd have no problem buying the Panny EDTV. I'm a little concerned with the 3 reports out of 15 that I've read now, where intermittant shutdown is being reported.

Well, I payed a visit to our favorite warehouse last night and got a look at the 42" Vizio. I gotta say, to my untrained eye, I could not see this dull picture everyone else is talking about. It looked as good as the 50" Vizio and the 42" Pio and 42" Phillips right next to it. The only TV that looked more vivid was the Panny 42" EDTV, but the images looked pretty jagged looking on that set. It was quite a relief to see such a good picture on the Vizio after hearing a lot of negative feedback from other people's in-store experiences. I will definitely be picking this set up on Monday.. granted that I'm still not hungover. ;)

I still have the Philips hooked up, so I'm going to do a bit of A-B comparison. I'm 99% certain I'm keeping the Vizio and returning the Philips, but we'll see how the final comparison goes!

i was at costco to pick up a patio set, but left with the plasma instead, hehe, long story

anywho, have had it since friday, and have had the hd cable box since sat. so far, i'm quite happy with the tv. watched star wars III and batman begins. imho, i thought it performed quite well. i'm still playing with the settings and getting familar with it. the best thing about it is the PIP/POP.

there are a few quirks about it, the remote suxor, esp. the grip. the range is ok, but you have to have it directly aiming at the tv or else you'll get a delay in response. and the power relay is super loud when turning off the tv.

question for people with this tv: i called the cable company (time warner) and they said that i have digital cable; however, when i use the co-ax output from the cable box to the dtv input, i get nothing. i tried the scan channel, but it wasn't able to find any. anyone else with this problem? or am i missing something here?

question for people with this tv: i called the cable company (time warner) and they said that i have digital cable; however, when i use the co-ax output from the cable box to the dtv input, i get nothing. i tried the scan channel, but it wasn't able to find any. anyone else with this problem? or am i missing something here?

Well the simple solution is to use different cables to connect the cable box to the TV. Try using component or HDMI and you'll see everything. I believe the DTV input is made to be used without a cable box, but I could be wrong.

Well the simple solution is to use different cables to connect the cable box to the TV. Try using component or HDMI and you'll see everything. I believe the DTV input is made to be used without a cable box, but I could be wrong.


Yeah, if your using just the coaxial cable without the box the TV will tune into the HD channels. With the box you need to use the DVI/HDMI or component imputs. However, you have to set the box to output either 1080i or 720p. Otherwise, it will just output 480i through these imputs. At least that's the way my Motorola box from Comcast works.

well, i finally got it home and hooked up. my initial impressions are that everything about the set is fine except for the black levels. it just does not produce as deep a black as i would like. i think this is a "you get what you pay for" moment. after calibration using DVE, the washed out picture that i saw in the store is much better. only in dark scenes do i desire a little more detail. i have only spent about 2 hours messing with it, so maybe i can improve things further with a little more time. for now, the picture is borderline. it sucks to feel liked you splurged ($1500 is sooo much money for me) and still have to compromise on PQ.

i may have missed it in previous posts, but i don't remember anyone actually verifying that the panel is an LG. there is a sticker that can plainly be seen through the cooling holes on the top of the panel.

i'm surprised no one has gotten hold of the service menu code for the vizios yet. i know it's just a matter of time.

What picture settings are you guys ending up with?

i'm surprised no one has gotten hold of the service menu code for the vizios yet. i know it's just a matter of time.

what will the service codes allow you to do? I'm assuming it will allow further adjustments... possibly improving the black levels?

i was at costco to pick up a patio set, but left with the plasma instead, hehe, long story

anywho, have had it since friday, and have had the hd cable box since sat. so far, i'm quite happy with the tv. watched star wars III and batman begins. imho, i thought it performed quite well. i'm still playing with the settings and getting familar with it. the best thing about it is the PIP/POP.

there are a few quirks about it, the remote suxor, esp. the grip. the range is ok, but you have to have it directly aiming at the tv or else you'll get a delay in response. and the power relay is super loud when turning off the tv.

question for people with this tv: i called the cable company (time warner) and they said that i have digital cable; however, when i use the co-ax output from the cable box to the dtv input, i get nothing. i tried the scan channel, but it wasn't able to find any. anyone else with this problem? or am i missing something here?

So far I have gleaned that the cable box takes the digital signal and converts it to analog. Therefore hooking the box to the DTV input on the TV will cause the TV to not detect any digital channels. Everything will work right if you hook to the TV input. However, you will have nothing on the digital side. Also, PIP will not work. And the picture on SD is mushy. I will continue to experiment with this until I get it figured out. I have asked for some advice on another part of this forum (Is my didital cable really digital?) and they are giving me some suggestions.

Keep me informed if you find solutions.

Jay

RPS13, thanks for the mini-glossary. I'm going to visit my cable provider's office tomorrow and see what materials they have about their service. They've got a very slick website, but it's pretty devoid of information that ought to be there.

pyrophite, I really enjoyed your screen shots and the video. I think you did a good job with each. I'm anxious to see what difference digital cable makes versus analog.

Let me ask you this, are you impressed with how much more readable the text is on the XBox 360 dashboard in hi-def? I'm playing a lot of Tiger Woods 06 on my 32" SD CRT with my 360, and at times it's really difficult to read the text, where distances and elevations are given. I'm hoping HDwill eliminate much of that.

The dashboard is amazingly sharp and clear, i was surprised how vibrant the colors were, and how amazing it looked. Before i bought this tv i had a 20 inch LCD, and although it looked pretty good on that as well, this just makes it that much better.

question for people with this tv: i called the cable company (time warner) and they said that i have digital cable; however, when i use the co-ax output from the cable box to the dtv input, i get nothing. i tried the scan channel, but it wasn't able to find any. anyone else with this problem? or am i missing something here?

It depends on your cable box - cable output could be either just the signal on the video outputs modulated to channel 3/channel 4 or a pass through of the cable signal or disabled. On mine it appears to be disabled, so I needed use a splitter prior to the input to the cable box and put one input into the DTV input and the second to the cable box.

It depends on your cable box - cable output could be either just the signal on the video outputs modulated to channel 3/channel 4 or a pass through of the cable signal or disabled. On mine it appears to be disabled, so I needed use a splitter prior to the input to the cable box and put one input into the DTV input and the second to the cable box.

That's what mine does - it comes through on channel 3.

what will the service codes allow you to do? I'm assuming it will allow further adjustments... possibly improving the black levels?

yes, it allows for adjustments that cannot be made in the regular menu. overscan adj., for example.

How's the black level compare to it's 50" version?

That's what mine does - it comes through on channel 3.

On my Motorola box to get an HD output I either have to use Component cables out or the DVI out. I use a DVI/HDMI cable. However, I can get an HD signal without a box through the coaxial since it is unscrambled.

How's the black level compare to it's 50" version?

My in store impressions are that the black level is a little worse than the 50". That being said, I have never had a 50" at my house.

It will be interesting to see how CNET likes this set before and after calibration. Of course, we won't know for months. They always seem to be behind the curve when it comes to reviews. Wouldn't it be smart of Vizio to send them the set well before the release date? Unless they are worried about a bad review......

i'm not too interested in what CNET has to say about TVs, but i'll read any review out there on this set.

i'm not too interested in what CNET has to say about TVs, but i'll read any review out there on this set.
Yeah, it seems CNET reviews are at odds with the owner's reviews. When CNET gives a fair or poor rating the customers usually love their TV's, and vice versa..

Yeah, it seems CNET reviews are at odds with the owner's reviews. When CNET gives a fair or poor rating the customers usually love their TV's, and vice versa..

thats true, but is hard to argue with people who are looking at tvs for a living. i think that the reason that they give lower scores to cheaper products is that they really don't compare. they are fine, (i just bought one) but don't really measure up side by side. have you seen a newer Panny HD plasma with a good feed? there is just no doubt that it has superior PQ to the Vizio. thats why they would give it a 7.8 as opposed to a 7.0.

Can someone show me (or point me to) how to calibrate the plasma TV? I'm new with the plasma's and still not sure what the options and how that's done. I got that VIZIO 42" in my house now and would like to see if I can improve the PQ if possible.

Much appreciated!

Govee

Can someone show me (or point me to) how to calibrate the plasma TV? I'm new with the plasma's and still not sure what the options and how that's done. I got that VIZIO 42" in my house now and would like to see if I can improve the PQ if possible.

Much appreciated!

Govee


buy the dvd called "digital video essentials". there is also another called avia.

Spoke to vizio support and they said I could either take it back to costco or they will send a tech out. Definitely taking it back, but undecided if I'm going to exchange it or refund it now.

buy the dvd called "digital video essentials". there is also another called avia.

Thanks Guadalahara! I searched and found them on eBay. I'll give it a try then. Which method is better though?

Govee

Thanks Guadalahara! I searched and found them on eBay. I'll give it a try then. Which method is better though?

Govee

I have only used DVE. It is boring and tedious, but gets decent results. There are lots of compromises when calibrating a set like the p42hdtv. You will find that it is impossible to get everything to adjust to a "reference" level.

I got a chance to evaluate the P42HDTV this afternoon at the 'nearby warehouse'. It was about what I expected, to be quite honest. I see where the "washed out" look comments are coming from. They had it right next to a Phillips 42" plasma, and no matter how long I tweaked the P42HDTV, I couldn't get it to match the vibrance and natural color of the Phillips. They had it set with one of the presets - Vivid 1. I took it to user setting, and got it closer to the Phillips, but it still had a softer, less dynamic image.

Don't misconstrue my comments to mean that the Vizio P42HDTV wasn't worthy, I expected it to not meet the standards of the costlier sets (Pioneer and Panasonic), but I expected it to be more comparable to the Phillips. I would say that what I saw met my performance expectations, overall, keeping in mind what I'll be able to get this set for next week. I might be able to do better adjusting it with a tool like DVE... who knows. I'm not a stickler for the ultimate in PQ, but I will not tolerate ghosting or blurring. I didn't see any of that in the action scenes being shown on the rolling store demo feed.

I'd also say that the image quality on the 42" was slightly below what I was able to get out of the Vizio P50HDM, which was now only three slots down from the 42. The 50 has more adjustments, for example, and I was able to tailor its look more to my liking. I also found it strange that the sharpness adjustment only has 5 settings on the P42HDTV: 0,25,50,75,100!?

I didn't see anything that would discourage me from buying the set, but had I not already read the feedback here, and have an understanding that there are tools out there to help me reach optimum settings. However, I didn't see anything that would have sold me on this set relative to its competition. At current prices, I would have spent the additional 5.5% on the Phillips. That difference, as we now know, will not be valid next week. I would have no problem choosing which one to go with then.

I've still got some contemplating to do on this, but at least now I've got some hands on experience to apply.

These are the settings I'm using right now. I do not believe these to be the safest of settings for the plasma; however, they are the closest I could find to making the set look 'normal'.

brightness 55
contrast 75
color 58
tint 50
sharpness 50

As Major Hochstetter would say..... "veddy interestink". The user settings I settled on using the 'warehouse' demo feed were:

brightness 52
contrast 70
color 56
tint 50
sharpness 50 (but on some material 75 looked better, IMO)

Those are not settings that I would feel comfortable with during the burn-in phase of plasma ownership, but that's where I had to go to get this set to approach what I was seeing on the neighboring Phillips 42" plasma. I didn't play with the tint long enough to get rid of the green push that others have already noted... got tired of dodging the buggies and carts of passers by.

I'd like to read some of the settings others are coming up with.

I got a chance to evaluate the P42HDTV this afternoon at the 'nearby warehouse'. It was about what I expected, to be quite honest. I see where the "washed out" look comments are coming from. They had it right next to a Phillips 42" plasma, and no matter how long I tweaked the P42HDTV, I couldn't get it to match the vibrance and natural color of the Phillips. They had it set with one of the presets - Vivid 1. I took it to user setting, and got it closer to the Phillips, but it still had a softer, less dynamic image.

Don't misconstrue my comments to mean that the Vizio P42HDTV wasn't worthy, I expected it to not meet the standards of the costlier sets (Pioneer and Panasonic), but I expected it to be more comparable to the Phillips. I would say that what I saw met my performance expectations, overall, keeping in mind what I'll be able to get this set for next week. I might be able to do better adjusting it with a tool like DVE... who knows. I'm not a stickler for the ultimate in PQ, but I will not tolerate ghosting or blurring. I didn't see any of that in the action scenes being shown on the rolling store demo feed.

I'd also say that the image quality on the 42" was slightly below what I was able to get out of the Vizio P50HDM, which was now only three slots down from the 42. The 50 has more adjustments, for example, and I was able to tailor its look more to my liking. I also found it strange that the sharpness adjustment only has 5 settings on the P42HDTV: 0,25,50,75,100!?

I didn't see anything that would discourage me from buying the set, but had I not already read the feedback here, and have an understanding that there are tools out there to help me reach optimum settings. However, I didn't see anything that would have sold me on this set relative to its competition. At current prices, I would have spent the additional 5.5% on the Phillips. That difference, as we now know, will not be valid next week. I would have no problem choosing which one to go with then.

I've still got some contemplating to do on this, but at least now I've got some hands on experience to apply.

i don't think you will have any trouble with blurring, but if you do, remember that much of that can come from a less than stellar feed. I watched basketball highlights on ESPNHD and they were amazing. Watching the Crossroads Guitar festival on INHD, however, there was noticeable ghosting. Its not the TVs fault.

I have my Vizio 42 working pretty good now. What I did was connect the cable box to the TV via component cables (box does not have any other choices). Then I connected my outside antenna to the TV cable input. I left the DTV input on the set empty. Now the PIP works, with all of the cable channels on one side and with the OTA chanels on the other side. If I wish to watch an OTA HD channel, I bring it up in PIP and hit the swap button.

We will see how this works. Love the Vizio so far.

Jay

i don't think you will have any trouble with blurring, but if you do, remember that much of that can come from a less than stellar feed. I watched basketball highlights on ESPNHD and they were amazing. Watching the Crossroads Guitar festival on INHD, however, there was noticeable ghosting. Its not the TVs fault.

My HD n00bism is definitely showing here... this makes sense that the fault with blurring would more likey lie with the source. One of the most impressive things I've seen in my months of HDTV shopping was watching college basketball on ESPN HD on a JVC HD-52G786. Nothing I've seen on the demo feed at the nearby 'warehouse' on *any* of the sets in there approaches it.

Well i just opened mine, hooked it up via HDMI for some HD goodness and........................
It looks amazing!!! This is my 5th HDTV so i have a reference point. To my eyes the picture was not washed out at all, very vibrant colors and very sharp. Looked very close if not better compared to my 53' panny RPCRT. I would describe the picture as "life like" I was watching a program on INHD on gardening and all the flowers looked perfect, very vibrant. It was basically like looking through a window. The set looks MUCH better than it did in the store. The picture compares very favorably to the other TVs i have spent much more on.

Well i just opened mine, hooked it up via HDMI for some HD goodness and........................
It looks amazing!!!

Great news Gibson! Are you making your assessment based on one of the preset picture settings (Vivid 1, 2, or 3)? The sets at the 'warehouse' are all connected via component 1. I'd like to hear what personal settings you wind up with once you get into some tweaking.

Keep those impressions coming folks, I find this discussion very informative and useful!

I have my Vizio 42 working pretty good now. What I did was connect the cable box to the TV via component cables (box does not have any other choices). Then I connected my outside antenna to the TV cable input. I left the DTV input on the set empty. Now the PIP works, with all of the cable channels on one side and with the OTA chanels on the other side. If I wish to watch an OTA HD channel, I bring it up in PIP and hit the swap button.

We will see how this works. Love the Vizio so far.

Jay

Good stuff Blue... I'm interested in the tuner performance myself. What type of cable box do you have? I thought most cable boxes would have HDMI.

I found that the "vivid 1" was closest to my liking for a preset,as far as my user settings i just fiddled around for a while until i found what i consider a good picture, better that the presets. After watching for a while I decided to dial everything down quite far for burn in purposes. To my surprise with most of the settings below 50 it still produced a quite watchable and good picture. I guess the 100 hour burn in wont be so bad after all! :cool:

Also I have run the TV for about an hour striaght without any problems, I know its not that long but atleast it did not shut off on itself lol

Hey Gibson lp, any pics of your set up and running? :)

I spoke with some idiot at Vizio who told me that there is nothing I, they, or anyone can do about the overscan and that there must be something wrong with my TV if there is any overscan.

Nice to FINELY see some encouraging reviews.
The " washed out " comments and the " not so good blacks " were all but upsettting.

I just wanted to throw some questions...

1) Anyone using DTV HD Box, possible HD DVR. I noticed lots of cable users. Just wondering how that looked. If so, are you using HDMI
2) Any others planning on getting the HDMI adapter over at monoprice. To get more than the one HDMI connection. This looks like a must
3) So, after AVIA or DVE, is a Professional Calibration still a possibility. What are your thoughts. Will you be going this route.

My local place still does not have this set yet.

Thanks

I am using a comcast HD DVR. The picture looks great. One thing i have noticed is that i can not get 4:3 material to fill the screen using the aspect controlls on the vizio. I am hooked up via HDMI so i wonder if that has anything to do with it.

I'll be watching via my HD PVR when they hook it up this weekend, I cant wait!!!! Expect more pictures then!

I'll be watching via my HD PVR when they hook it up this weekend, I cant wait!!!! Expect more pictures then!

I can't wait to see!!
Any chance for some Xbox 360 Dashboard pics?

I am using a comcast HD DVR. The picture looks great. One thing i have noticed is that i can not get 4:3 material to fill the screen using the aspect controlls on the vizio. I am hooked up via HDMI so i wonder if that has anything to do with it.

your DVR or STB is putting out 1080i regardless of what your viewing. your display should be set to wide and there should be a setting on your STB/VDR to zoom, or stretch, etc...

i was at costco to pick up a patio set, but left with the plasma instead, hehe, long story

anywho, have had it since friday, and have had the hd cable box since sat. so far, i'm quite happy with the tv. watched star wars III and batman begins. imho, i thought it performed quite well. i'm still playing with the settings and getting familar with it. the best thing about it is the PIP/POP.

there are a few quirks about it, the remote suxor, esp. the grip. the range is ok, but you have to have it directly aiming at the tv or else you'll get a delay in response. and the power relay is super loud when turning off the tv.

question for people with this tv: i called the cable company (time warner) and they said that i have digital cable; however, when i use the co-ax output from the cable box to the dtv input, i get nothing. i tried the scan channel, but it wasn't able to find any. anyone else with this problem? or am i missing something here?
Just use the HDMI connection from the cable box to the TV, or if unavailable, use the composite (Red - Green - Blue).

I'm curious... would it be possible to use the onboard speakers of the P42HDTV as the center channel for a surround sound receiver? I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to arrange things if I buy this set, and finding a spot for my current center channel speaker is going to be difficult. I guess the real difficult part would be whether it could work in a passive mode (the set off) while simply listening to audio on the surround system.

I found that the "vivid 1" was closest to my liking for a preset,as far as my user settings i just fiddled around for a while until i found what i consider a good picture, better that the presets.

That was my favorite preset while viewing it in the 'warehouse' as well.

After watching for a while I decided to dial everything down quite far for burn in purposes. To my surprise with most of the settings below 50 it still produced a quite watchable and good picture. I guess the 100 hour burn in wont be so bad after all! :cool:

How far below 50 did you go on brightness? I never tried dropping it below 50 while I was playing with it in the warehouse today. I probably should have... I just couldn't get the initial impression that the image was "dark" out of my mind. I should have tried for different blends on the other end of the spectrum, I guess.

OK, I've got the Philips and the Vizio hooked up next to each other, each on HD. The colors are different, but I can't tell which one is "correct". I'm likely keeping the Vizio, but if anyone has a quick suggestion for "fixing" the color on one or the other, I can give it a try!

OK, I've got the Philips and the Vizio hooked up next to each other, each on HD. The colors are different, but I can't tell which one is "correct". I'm likely keeping the Vizio, but if anyone has a quick suggestion for "fixing" the color on one or the other, I can give it a try!

Can you take pics of them side-by-side with the same show/content on? So we can see and compare?

My advice to anyone on the fence. Buy the set, hook it up in YOUR environment with YOUR equipment, and see how it looks. Believe me when i tell you that for the most part the way a TV looks in the store isn't a very good benchmark. I feel that i was able to tweak the set to a very very good picture. I have bought and returned several HDTVs from a "warehouse" simply because i was not happy with the PQ. I find the more i watch this particular set the more i like it, especially when i think of the price :cool:


Most of my video settings are in the low to mid 40s, and while its not ideal, for the first 100hrs of casual viewing I find it more acceptable than I would have thought.
By the way i have a 27" LCD in the bedroom with DCDi by Faroudja, and I am finding the SD content on the Vizio ok. Im sure the screen size has something to do with it, but the SD on the Viz is not bad at all :cool:

Pix of both:
http://www.mahshie.net/misc/VizioPhilips/

WOW thanks Mash. that was very awesome of you!!!! :D

ok, thanks for the tips. i ended up splitting the incoming signal BEFORE it enter the cable box. one end went into the dtv input, the other into the cable box input. the dtv now works.....pip/pop engage. i'm a little giddy.

i wish my cable box has hdmi output, the only way to get an hdmi output from the cable box is if i ordered the box w/dvr.....screw you time warner

I think the colors on the Viz look a little more accurate. Atleast in my eyes

So I went to the store tonight to check out this disappointing P42HDTV and they did not have one on display. I didn't even see any Vizio 42" Plasmas there, so I went to the service desk to ask. He found one that had been deleted out of the system. I pressed him and he found one that was a new item. They did not have any in stock, but they did have some in transit.

Are you guys *positive* you are looking at he P42HDTV sets and not the old P42HDe sets? They look completely different, so I don't see how that is possible, but the old P42HDe had 5000:1 contrast vs. the new P42HDTV 10,000:1 contrast ratio that matches the P50 specs. I saw the P50 and the color on that set looked great. Also, the old P42HDe sets were listed for more than the new P42HDTV sets, so that would explain the price discrepance some people saw.

I used the same setup as you! Comcast doing the same trick, only DVR has HDMI output... Luckily it will have a dvi port, so we can use dvi-hdmi cable.

One question to ask though: is the cable plugged into DTV port the same coxial cable we use for normal cable tv? I thought I needed special DTV cable, but it seems to me that the normal cable works and passes thru the digital signal.

BTW, the HD content looks just great!

ok, thanks for the tips. i ended up splitting the incoming signal BEFORE it enter the cable box. one end went into the dtv input, the other into the cable box input. the dtv now works.....pip/pop engage. i'm a little giddy.

i wish my cable box has hdmi output, the only way to get an hdmi output from the cable box is if i ordered the box w/dvr.....screw you time warner

I got the set home on sunday evening and I am happy with the PQ and features sofar. I tried TV, DTV, RGB, RCA and component inputs and all worked like a charm. I am still trying to test all the features and I noticed the following.

I dont have the automatic shutdown problem. However it is possible that it is turning off if it can't find signal. It happened just once with me.

Any one tried DTV with builtin tuner ? It tuned well and looks good. However, the channel numbering is wierd. Channel numbers are like 101-1, 101-2 .. 116-1 etc. One cannot directly go to 116-3 with remote. It only likes three digits and it first takes you to say 116-1 and then you have to press "channel +" until you get desired channel. This is bad. Also it doesnt show the channel name, info and the guide is empty.

The manual has 4 viewing modes but when you press "wide" button it shows only 2 modes "normal" and "wide".

Pix of both:
http://www.mahshie.net/misc/VizioPhilips/

Talk about granting someone's request....very impressive!

Pix of both:
http://www.mahshie.net/misc/VizioPhilips/

Awesome, thanks :) They look very close and I'd keep as is!

Great stuff mash! Thanks for putting that slide show together. It's really strange, in about half of your pics, I prefer the Vizio's image, while the other half, I lean towards the Phillips. I couldn't have said that about anything that I viewed on the two today at the 'warehouse'.

ok, thanks for the tips. i ended up splitting the incoming signal BEFORE it enter the cable box. one end went into the dtv input, the other into the cable box input. the dtv now works.....pip/pop engage. i'm a little giddy.

i wish my cable box has hdmi output, the only way to get an hdmi output from the cable box is if i ordered the box w/dvr.....screw you time warner

I appreciate your sharing that technique. I didn't have time to go by my cable provider's facility today. I want to see what they have in the way of cable boxes/converters. I'm on analog right now and the cable comes straight to my sets.

So I went to the store tonight to check out this disappointing P42HDTV and they did not have one on display. I didn't even see any Vizio 42" Plasmas there, so I went to the service desk to ask. He found one that had been deleted out of the system. I pressed him and he found one that was a new item. They did not have any in stock, but they did have some in transit.

Are you guys *positive* you are looking at he P42HDTV sets and not the old P42HDe sets? They look completely different, so I don't see how that is possible, but the old P42HDe had 5000:1 contrast vs. the new P42HDTV 10,000:1 contrast ratio that matches the P50 specs. I saw the P50 and the color on that set looked great. Also, the old P42HDe sets were listed for more than the new P42HDTV sets, so that would explain the price discrepance some people saw.

I'm absolutely positive what I saw was a Vizio P42HDTV, it was on the placard (showing the regular price which you can find on VizioCE's website... I don't know if it's considered MSRP so I won't mention it here). Below it were at least a dozen boxes with P42HDTV all over them. These weren't there when I went in last Wednesday. It also looks like a smaller version of the P50HDM, which was just down the aisle from it.

I think we all have to realize that we're talking about subjective judgements here. What looks good to me, might not look as good to you. I'm sure that there are some who would say that the vivid, crisp image I saw on the Phillips was a falsely reproduced, over-enhanced image. I just know that I slightly preferred it to the Vizio P42HDTV. The level of preference varied according to the material. This is not to say that I didn't like the image on the Vizio. I did... I could take either one of them and be satisfied. I know that they each smoke the Toshiba SDTV I'm looking at now! For the price difference that will be realizable next week, I would have no trouble choosing the Vizio over the Phillips with no remorse whatsoever.

At this point, I'm still leaning heavily towards a purchase of the P42HDTV, but I won't have to make a decision until Monday. Meanwhile I'll continue to pour over the data and evaluate other options.

I would say that what I saw met my performance expectations, overall, keeping in mind what I'll be able to get this set for next week.
...
That difference, as we now know, will not be valid next week.Why next week? You go next week and get the difference, this way you avoid the rush :)

Pix of both:
http://www.mahshie.net/misc/VizioPhilips/

The Philps definitely has some red push. The Vizio doesn't look bad.

Definitely need to check it out in person though. I'm leary of comments that a TV's colors look "washed out". If you are comparing it to a set that has over saturated colors, then any properly adjusted set will look washed out. The over saturation of colors may look like eye candy, but after you get used to it, it makes everything look "cartoonish".

Regards,
Scott

Awesome, thanks :) They look very close and I'd keep as is!

lol - unfortunately, my son would tear the Vizio apart. We had to put a gate around the TV to keep him away!

We're keeping the Vizio. The Philips looked sharper, but I liked the colors on the Vizio better. The Philips had much better picture controls, but the audio sucked. The Vizio looks (aesthetically) nicer, and has a more intuitive menu system. Plus, the QAM tuner worked better than the Philip's. Add in the 25%+ price difference, and there's really no contest.

The Philps definitely has some red push. The Vizio doesn't look bad.

Definitely need to check it out in person though. I'm leary of comments that a TV's colors look "washed out". If you are comparing it to a set that has over saturated colors, then any properly adjusted set will look washed out. The over saturation of colors may look like eye candy, but after you get used to it, it makes everything look "cartoonish".

Regards,
Scott

Red Push...

Memories of the Mit RPTV b4 it was fixed through adjusting!

That is what I noticed on the Philips as well, i.e Red Push
I just had a 2nd opinion on " What set looked the best " per the posted pics above
We both agreed, at least in this case, the Vizio looked better

Why next week? You go next week and get the difference, this way you avoid the rush :)

I won't have the moolah to buy it until Thursday (when my annual bonus check gets deposited), unfortunately, I'll be working 6:30 until 6:30 Thurday though Sunday, so my hand is forced. I'm not going to sweat the rush. If they sell out, I know I can get a rain check, but I'll be a bit bummed. These extra 5 or 6 days will help me make a less impulsive buy as well.

Red Push...

Memories of the Mit RPTV b4 it was fixed through adjusting!

That is what I noticed on the Philips as well, i.e Red Push
I just had a 2nd opinion on " What set looked the best " per the posted pics above
We both agreed, at least in this case, the Vizio looked better

I've known this about my preferences since I first saw color television... I think I have a tendency to lean toward a red push. This would explain why I slightly preferred the Phillips today. That wasn't the entire reason though, I just thought it had a more dynamic, vibrant contrast. I won't say that it was more natural, but probably more immediately appealing to my "eye-candy hungry" eyes :D

Are you guys *positive* you are looking at he P42HDTV sets and not the old P42HDe sets? They look completely different, so I don't see how that is possible, but the old P42HDe had 5000:1 contrast vs. the new P42HDTV 10,000:1 contrast ratio that matches the P50 specs. I saw the P50 and the color on that set looked great. Also, the old P42HDe sets were listed for more than the new P42HDTV sets, so that would explain the price discrepance some people saw.
Some stores have the new model on display - some don't. I've visited three stores over the last several days, and although two stores had the new model up and running, the other store had no sign of it anywhere. The two P42HDTVs that I saw were both clearly "washed out" compared to the surrounding models. No amount of tweaking could bring the colors out to the same intensity as the other plasmas on display. Another thing that stood out was the text - it didn't seem as sharp as other brands. One of the nice things about HD is the extremely sharp text. If you look at the side-by-side comparison z.mash was nice enough to post, you can see in several of the shots that the Visio text is just not as sharp as the Philips. That's what it looked like to me in the store.

The Philps definitely has some red push. The Vizio doesn't look bad.

Definitely need to check it out in person though. I'm leary of comments that a TV's colors look "washed out". If you are comparing it to a set that has over saturated colors, then any properly adjusted set will look washed out. The over saturation of colors may look like eye candy, but after you get used to it, it makes everything look "cartoonish".

Regards,
Scott
I've seen the "washed out" look on the new Vizio, and IMHO its not a matter of the other models being oversaturated. To me, its as simple as the other models having a vibrant life-like look (even with a relatively crappy signal) and the Vizio looking flat and lifeless. When it clearly stands out as the worst of 6 different models on display (including the P50HD) all lined up in the same place, you know there's something not quite right about it.

I just had a 2nd opinion on " What set looked the best " per the posted pics above
We both agreed, at least in this case, the Vizio looked better

I had a second and third opinion offered here in my house. I showed my wife and teenage son the slideshow, and didn't mention which set was which and asked them which had the "better" picture. My wife preferred the Phillips, while my son preferred the Vizio. I do see more of the "red push" in the Phillips now that you guys have called more attention to it.

Another thing I noticed about z.mash's side-by-side comparison: the Philips clearly has an overscan problem that the Vizio does not. There have been a few comments in this thread regarding overscan on the Vizio, so this is certainly good to see. When I was at the store making my own comparisons, I also did not see any overscan problems with the Vizio.

I realy hate the silver bottom of the Vizio. It looks like the middle is dented.. For the life of me I'll never know why they make the speakers silver.

I took the opportunity to tweak one at the local store today, based on settings from you kind people. The audio/video mgr there was VERY helpful, and willing to tweak with me!

I've pretty much concluded that I can't make a solid critique with warehouse lighting :) I DO think some of the issues looking at it in the store is that they're using component input, not HDMI.

I'm beginning to take the 'what the hell do you WANT for $1500' opinion tho. Yeah..I'm giving serious consideration to the new NEC 42" unit, even tho it's nearly double the price..but..it may be worth it.

of course..THAT money could also go towards new Aperion speakers...

damn. my brain is gonna expolde. :)

Can the " red push " be adjusted n the Philips?
If it can, I do see the " pop " in it..Or possibility there of.
Reason-In taking another look, the blacks were a bit better in the Philips

The Vizio looks fine
I am just wondering if the Vizio, with the proper adj. can get some " pop "?
If so, this set would have the WOW factor, especially when consider the price-value in it.

All said, I still will get this set and give it a try.

I realy hate the silver bottom of the Vizio. It looks like the middle is dented.. For the life of me I'll never know why they make the speakers silver.


I SOOO have to agree with you on that!!! I'd venture to say that 85% or more people who drop this much money on a TV plan on NOT using the built in speakers... I sure as hell wish I could take them off.

I live in-between 2 "Warehouses" (approx. 12 miles in each direction.)

"Warehouse" #1 has had the 42" Vizio HDTV on display, and for sale (at the non sale price) since last week.

"Warehouse" #2 has NOTHING on display, but has over 20 on pallets up high. Each pallet has note attached that says "To be brought down on the 20th".

So much for consistent store to store policy.

My P42 sure isnt lifeless! Its also funny because the P42 is right next to the P50 at the "store" by me, and the difference is neglegable. It is so easy to return the TV if you dont like it, I think the smart thing to do is watch it at home with normal lighting.

I realy hate the silver bottom of the Vizio. It looks like the middle is dented.. For the life of me I'll never know why they make the speakers silver.

LOL.... my wife saw the Vizio P42HDTV for the first time in mash's pics and wanted to know how the cabinet got dented at the bottom! It does look a bit odd in pictures, but it makes a little more sense when you see it in person. Yeah, I still don't like the silver speaker panel, it's just too much of a clash for my tastes. If I buy this set, I'll likely paint the speaker grill black when the warranty has expired. I just read the manual for this set online and saw that there would be no way I can use the onboard speakers as the center channel, so yes - the speakers will be useless to me. Too bad there isn't a way the speaker panel could be detached as an option.

I live in-between 2 "Warehouses" (approx. 12 miles in each direction.)

"Warehouse" #1 has had the 42" Vizio HDTV on display, and for sale (at the non sale price) since last week.

"Warehouse" #2 has NOTHING on display, but has over 20 on pallets up high. Each pallet has note attached that says "To be brought down on the 20th".

So much for consistent store to store policy.

Un-bleepin-believable :eek: :confused: ... I can't for the life of me figure out the disparity in the way this rollout is being handled by this warehouse chain. It sounds more like something the government would do rather than a cutting edge, private enterprise!?

i could care less about what my tv looks like as long as the PQ is decent. :)

I live in South Dakota and the nearest store where this will be sold is about 200 miles away. Do I drive there and get it, or do I buy the Akai at the local wallyworld warehouse, or do I skip over both and buy the phillips for 4 benjemens more?

i could care less about what my tv looks like as long as the PQ is decent. :)
Not me, I feel the aesthetics play a big part in the look of the TV.

My P42 sure isnt lifeless! Its also funny because the P42 is right next to the P50 at the "store" by me, and the difference is neglegable. It is so easy to return the TV if you dont like it, I think the smart thing to do is watch it at home with normal lighting.

Good advice Gibson. Three things really bother me about evaluating sets in the warehouse near me:

A.) The lighting is really harsh.
B.) I feel like I'm under assault by shoppers pushing buggies and carts behind and in front of me. I'm as aware of dodging traffic as I am watching the display.
C.) The aisle is like 7' wide. I can't get to a distance that replicates my home viewing distance of 11'. If I go to the next aisle over and look from there, I'm now like 15 to 16' away.

I have a hunch that a P42 will be sitting in my living room next Monday afternoon, and I'll be reporting back here to substantiate your theory ;)

Not me, I feel the aesthetics play a big part in the look of the TV.

yup...just one of the reasons the NEC floats my boat..

http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Products/Product/?product=90f8cb80-824a-4e8f-b636-3134a0d2df5c

Its worth a shot Onlooker :cool: As a side note, The remote seems very comfortable to me, and the menu system intuitive. The more I play with it the more me likey. The cabinet also seemed very sturdy when i was unwraping and moving it around my house. I think Viz makes a nice set.

But ofcourse let your eyes be the judge!! ;)

yup...just one of the reasons the NEC floats my boat..

http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Products/Product/?product=90f8cb80-824a-4e8f-b636-3134a0d2df5cW/due respect, I would much rather get the newest 1080p Sharp 45 LCD at the same price point as NEC (apparently they have newer LCD techology that improves blacks, brightness, etc). It has much higher resolution/features.

It is really a matter of priorities (PQ, features, etc. etc.) vs. budget. IMHO, the Visio can't be beat at the present, given my budget.

W/due respect, I would much rather get the newest 1080p Sharp 45 LCD at the same price point as NEC (apparently they have newer LCD techology that improves blacks, brightness, etc). It has much higher resolution/features.


Indeed!! And that IS another one I've considered, because of it's native resolution, and total 1080p compatabilty. And, if there's an XBOX 360 in my future..well... :)

http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelLanding/0,1058,1592,00.html

it's just a bizzare time to be buying something. Lots of choices and opinions and decisions. But it sure has been a LOT of fun the past month or two learning and doing research, and discovering THIS place!!

I don't know how much you can really evaluate from pictures taken of a Plasma TV, but my roommate and I both agree that the Vizio looks better in those comparison pictures.

I think the true test is where the rubber meets the road - i.e. in your own living room. I find the Visio experience amazing (I realize that there are better units out there!), but given the fact that technology is somewhat leapfrogging (and prices are dropping slowly but surely!), I will stick with the Visio. Good luck to you all !! ;)

Great News Just Purchased The Vizio 42in Plasma Tonite. Fantastic Tv. Has The Burn Tool On It. Tuner Works Great. I Had Two Sony Lcd Rear Projection Both Went Bad, Just Had Rear Lg Crystals Blowup On 52in Lg Only Had It A Year. Had A Lcd Sceptre 37in Colors Faded Terrible Tv. This New Vizio Rocks. Great Blacks And Also The New Tuner Is Awsome. Hope It Last For A Long Long Time. Bought My At Costco. Not As Bright As The Spectre 37in Lcd. But Lots Clearer And Also Does Not Have The Jumping Prblem. Super Tv This 42in Plasma From Vizio Recommend Every One To Buy One.

it's just a bizzare time to be buying something. Lots of choices and opinions and decisions. But it sure has been a LOT of fun the past month or two learning and doing research, and discovering THIS place!!

It never gets better. This is the fourth HDTV I've bought, and, with the exception of one that was an impulse buy, it's always torture!

I live in South Dakota and the nearest store where this will be sold is about 200 miles away. Do I drive there and get it, or do I buy the Akai at the local wallyworld warehouse, or do I skip over both and buy the phillips for 4 benjemens more?

You're in a bit of a tough spot there scott. My advise to you is to make the drive to your 'nearest store' where you can buy a Vizio. However, I would see if you make arrangements to take it somewhere near the store, if not in the store, to plug it up and give it about a 30 minute dry run. They way you'll know you won't have a dead set OOB, which has happened to not only buyers of this set, but others as well. You might also get a hint of the intermittant shutdown in that time, if this one is prone to do it.

I'm not sure you can get the Vizio shipped, at least not as part of the forthcoming promotion ('you know what it is' ;)). 400 miles of driving is a lot of time and gas, but I still know you'd come out cheaper than paying to have one of these puppies shipped.

I don't know which Akai you have in mind so I can't comment on it. The Phillips was a nice set, but I know that for me it's not as much nicer as it would cost me next week over the Vizio. I also prefer the Vizio's bottom mounted silver speakers as the Phillips side mounted silver speakers... they're not quite as distracting.