2009 Vizio XVT Series: 240Hz, USB input, LED backlight [NO PRICE TALK] - Page 3

The CES demo of the VF551XVT had a red and gold soundbar that's absolutely hideous. I can't post a URL since I haven't posted 3 messages here, but search google for "vf551xvt gizmodo" and hit the first link to see.

I looked at the picture. Could the colors in the picture be a reflection of a red light? Vizio's way of doing a "Touch of Color". Just a thought.

I'd say it was just a reflection. The pics I've seem don't show any color.

Can't wait to see the 55" Vizio, hopefully it will be replacing my 52" DLP set.

I went to my local sams and costco to check out the current 55" but neither had it in stock.

I hope it has a removable sound bar.

The 550's showing up @ Costco are not red. Let's hope the 551 will follow the same color scheme.

Gizmodo.com has a picture of a new QWERTY remote and is reporting a 802.11n WIFI for some 2009 Vizios. Worth waiting for!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/01/vi...tflix_vod.html

It does indeed look like a pretty compelling set.

I agree about the remote but it looks and sounds like Vizio is finally making a big effort to step up to the big leagues. 32" and 37" 120HZ also are in the lineup. The 55" 240HZ is a no brainer at under 2000$.

Don't forget local dimming LED backlights. I just wonder however, having seen this in a Samsung LN46A950, if it will be nearly as good.

This product from Vizio seems too good to be true. Has there been any working prototype reviews?

"Netflix members pay as little as $8.99 per month for unlimited instant streaming and unlimited DVDs from a catalog of more than 100,000 DVD titles in more than 200 genres."

WOW, fantastic! If this is a feature of the VF551XVT I'm all over it.

The end of optical discs is near.

I agree! it is good for mother earth and mother companies prob with copyright, ripping discs

I saw the 550 today, and I actually was pretty impressed...I know that these are not the same sets, but if the 551 is a step up, I certainly would consider it as an option...

I agree... that was a horrible photo, certainly not one under which you would want to use to assess the styling of the case!

I have a sinking feeling that it's going to use the same gray speaker bar as the 550, which IMO, looks like a cheap aftermarket add-on. I wish they would at least make it detachable so those who don't plan on using the internal sound could have an option. Otherwise, I find the 550's upper case to be acceptable.

Will it be possible to enable the scanning backlight without turning on motion interpolation? This would allow reduction in motion blur without the side effect of making film look like video (and introducing interpolation artifacts). After seeing a demo of Samsung's interpolation last year, I have been frustrated that reducing motion blur in LCD is conflated with interpolation. I think I'd much rather have 50% brightness than video-like motion in film-based content.

I don't understand why backlight scanning is derided as a marketing trick to brand 120Hz panels as 240hz. I think backlight scanning is a desirable feature in and of itself.

Also, will these TVs be capable of 5:5 pulldown for film?

Oh I'm sure you can do that, but that's not what I was refering to. I think the speaker bar looks like a cheap add-on, and I was asking about it being physically detachable. I think I could go for this set if I didn't have to look at a contrasting, gray & chrome attachment that clashes so loudly with the styling of the screen bezel.

I bought a Vizio P-42 plasma screen back in 2006, in spite of my objections to its piano black bezel, accompanied by a broad, chrome speaker grill at the bottom. I never got accustomed to it and wound up trading the set in.

Vizio has some case designs that I really like. For example, I have a Vizio VA19L in my kitchen that has as attractive a case as any HDTV set I've seen. If the 551's case were to be a 55" version of that case, I'd buy it with no hesitation.

The sound bar is not removable, I received an e-mail from Vizio confirming that

Bummer, I hate the way it looks, just my two cents.

So you're saying that Vizio is already confirming that the speaker bar will not be removable in the 551, as well? I guess it will be the same gray/chrome scheme as the 550?

FYI, from Vizio's website:

"Vizio has said the set has an in-plane switching panel, so, by comparing specifications, it's not hard to guess the panel is from LG Display."

Yeah, that's no surprise as Vizio/Amtran has a joint venture with LG Display. LGD panels are nothing to be stiffed at, with LGD having been a pioneer with the 7.5G LCD fab generation where the panel is probably produced. The company has had several years experience optimizing the production process in that fab. The relationship with LGD and its good quality level probably contributed to Vizio gaining the premium budget brand status in the US over competitors using mostly Taiwanese panels (which is kind of ironic because Amtran, the manufacturing arm of Vizio, is based in Taiwan).

LGD TV panels use S-IPS technlogy or its successors which is good for viewing angles, but perhaps less suited for gaming/PC type applications.

LG itself of course also uses these panels, and it seems they have been getting more respect recently in the US market. LG is a minority shareholder in LG Display.

Top of the line will be the 55-inch VF551XVT LCD-TV, available this summer. The set will have a 120Hz refresh rate and motion estimation and motion compensation (MEMC) to control both motion blur and judder. A direct white-LED backlight with local area dimming has 240 LED zones and, I’d guess, a bit over 2000 W-LEDs. Moving picture response time (MPRT) is 6ms; luminance is 500 nits; color gamut is 77% NTSC, and dynamic contrast ratio is a claimed million to one. (In general, I take these very high contrast-ratio numbers with some skepticism, but the black levels on the Vizio set were certainly very dark.) Vizio has said the set has an in-plane switching panel, so, by comparing specifications, it’s not hard to guess the panel is from LG Display

Either this is a misprint, or the info from CES was wrong, or Vizio made some changes...take your pick. He says 120hz , but doesn't mention that it's 240hz by way of a scanning backlight NOT MEMC which is implemented by Samsung and Sony. The new LED sets from Toshiba and LG also use a scanning backlight. He mentions it may have 2000 LED's with 240 zones, 240 zones is fine, Toshiba will be doing this, however, 2000 LED's will probably show blooming. The Toshiba, from what i was told, is using far more, this is to correct the blooming problem. You guys better hope he's wrong about the 77% color gamut. The 77% color gamut and 6ms sounds like a Chi Mei panel. I know it will be priced around 2K, but the specs on this panel are not very flattering. There has been very conflicting info coming out on this new display since CES, one of you guys should contact Vizio and get the record straight. The first thing i would ask about is the 77% color gamut panel.

Or it's a mea culpa. Calling an 120Hz panel with backlight scanning "240Hz" fits into the same sort of dodgy specmanship that Philips used when they claimed their panels had a "2ms" response rate. It'd be nice to see the industry move away from that.


Zones, not LEDs, and the dimming algorithm, determine how bad blooming is. They could have 6,220,800 LEDs and still have blooming problems if the zones were too big.


Sounds like a Chi Mei backlight. Panels don't have colour gamuts.

Chi Mei can make 55" panels though, but as far as I'm aware they're MVA not IPS.


Yeah, a 55" IPS LED-LCD with local dimming, motion interpolation, backlight strobing and HD media playback for $2k sounds like a terrible idea.

I'm curious as to what would be required in a TV for you to find it acceptable.