I know Vizio has yet to match Panasonic in terms of overall picture quality, but they have a decent track record for a lower end HDTV manufacturer. The spec sheets for their new sets though look comprable to Panasonics 2008 line. The increased brightness, contrast, and the inclusion of the Reon chip have me realy curious about whether Vizio has somehow managed to bring their extremely affordable displays up to mid-ranged Panasonic levels. Specifically, I wondering if anyone has seen the Vizio's at CES and can comment on how they look compared to the PZ80/PZ85s.

I guess no one who went to CES did so to bother with Vizios. I can understand that. I would have been plotting how to steal the 150 inch Panasonic the whole time if I went. Still, maybe I'm just buying into spec sheet hype, but they really do look promising. Does anyone who might know more about the Reon chip or Vizio in general want to burst my bubble? Vizio's past panels would indicate I'm being overly optimistic in thinking that these new set will be in the same league as Panasonic, but at that price point, I sure am hopeful--$1700 SRP for a 50 incher with those features sounds pretty sweet. Under 2.5k street for a 60 inch plasma with that spec sheet seems pretty sweet too. 1080p, 4 hmdi, alleged 30k contrast, Reon chip. Not a bad tv on paper.

I'd really like to know more about the Reon chip--Sd viewing is still a big deal to me and it seems like Vizio will now be as good with scaling SD content as any plasma out there. But for HD viewing, is it just a pipe dream to hope that Vizio, at this crazy low prize point will be close in PQ to the mid ranged Panasonics like the PZ80 or PZ85?

Vizio's model so far has been the disposable TV. After they cease production of a specific model, no parts are available anywhere. I guess they expect you to 'trade in' on a new one, like with cell phones.

Even in these heady days, when I buy a TV, I expect it to last 5-10 years. I think that's a stretch with Vizio. Opinions will vary.

Vizio's model so far has been the disposable TV. After they cease production of a specific model, no parts are available anywhere. I guess they expect you to 'trade in' on a new one, like with cell phones.

Even in these heady days, when I buy a TV, I expect it to last 5-10 years. I think that's a stretch with Vizio. Opinions will vary.

Yeah, I have heard that about Vizio and that disturbs me. I too expect a TV to last at least 7-10 years. The price is far less attractive if it isn't likely to last more than a couple of years. However, is this widely held opinion, or is there any data on long term failure rates for plasmas? I've read that Panasonic is great in terms of this, but I can't seem to find hard data on any of the brands.

Long term failure rates for plasma is about the same as for lcd's and is around 3% iirc..both of which are much better than rptv/dlp. Sorry I don't remember where I got that from but it most likely originated from consumer reports.

I too have heard that lower cost brands such as Vizio, Olevia etc..will use whatever parts they can get most cheaply during a production run which means that even sets of the same model number may not have the exact same parts inside depending own when it was produced. You also have to consider that the companies making these bugdet sets don't have the money to stock a huge variety of parts for sets they made years ago. Also since they didn't make the parts themselves it would be difficult to obtain from their original sources. (if the company has converted their production facility to something else, gone out of business etc..)

Vizio's model so far has been the disposable TV. After they cease production of a specific model, no parts are available anywhere. I guess they expect you to 'trade in' on a new one, like with cell phones.

Even in these heady days, when I buy a TV, I expect it to last 5-10 years. I think that's a stretch with Vizio. Opinions will vary.

After the warranty is over MOST if not ALL flat panels are disposable. The prices drop so much from year to year fixing any TV after warranty is pointless. You could get your tv fixed but for a couple hundred more you could have a new TV.

FYI Vizio uses many of the same parts as LG/Phillips,S-LCD For LCD and LG for Plasma. The only part the vizio makes themselves is the video board. So LG, Phillips and others must not have parts for there tv's either.

Funny thing is Vizio outsells all their suppliers.;)

enkidu77, its hard to judge based on pics. However, I will believe that Vizio has fixed their reliability problems on their newer displays. I am going to try to believe this.

Performance will only be determined when reviews are available. Until now we can only speculate.

Chris

They have no authorized repair in the U.S., isn't that strange?

At CES you really can't compare a two manufactures sets. Almost all big companies use there own source material and the bigger companies booths are almost the size of a Best Buy. You can't generally see two companies products side by side.