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Visio L37 or Viewsonic N3760W?

1387 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by roro5pm, May 8, 2006

shelljeep

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2006

Hey folks, first post here, and let me say that this is easily the most informative AV board I've ran across. Huge wealth of info to search through on just about every subject I can think of. Very glad I found it.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to wade through three days of info if I am going to get an LCD panel mailed to my wife in time for Mother's Day. I'm hoping you guys can help me get over this analysis paralysis and make a decision.

This is my first flat panel, so I'm thinking I may not notice some of the finer faults that I could avoid by purchasing a top of the line unit. This will be going in a bedroom, and will be used primarily for standard tv and dvd viewing. No games or computer monitor duty.

These 2 panels, the Visio L37 and the Viewsonic N3760W both seem like alot of bang for the buck, and there's not alot of difference in price.

I'm not against hearing about some other 37" choices in that price range, but the absolute max width that will fit is 40", so the speakers will have to be bottom mount, not side mounted.

The main differences that I have seen so far are:

Weight -Viewsonic is 25 pounds heavier, at 68 pounds. Does this indcate better quality internals?

Contrast- Viewsonic is 800:1, and the Visio is 600:1, is this going to be discernable at a 12 foot viewing distance?

Audio- Viewsonic calls their's "SRS TruSurround XT ". Is it really an improvement over stereo if both of the speakers are mounted in the unit?

Tuners- Visio has 2, one standard, and one for HDTV. The Viewsonic only has one for HDTV, and I don't have any HDTV signals coming into my home with my current cable subscription. Will it still handle the normal signals fine?

Widescreen options-The Visio also looks like it may have more viewing options, it lists Wide, Zoom, Normal, Panorama but the Viewsonic doesn't list this. Is this just an oversight on the person who wrote the specs sheet for the VS?

Connectivity-The Visio also looks to have better connectivity, although I only need to hook up to my cable coax and a dvd player/VCR, mebbe an HD antenna later.

Price- Within $50 of each other. Not really worth worrying about.

Thanks for taking the time to read this book I wrote. Sorry for not searching further, but the panels seem to be pretty even, and Chevy guys like Chevies, Ford guys like Ford. Was hoping to consolidate people's opinions and come up with some kinda consensus.

Thanks in advance.

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Sgooter

· #2 · May 3, 2006

I've had the Vizio 37" LCD for 5 weeks and I'm very satisfied with its overall performance, especially for HD. It's set up in the bedroom and we mainly watch HD programming via an HD-DVR cable box. PQ for SD programs is quite acceptable, but not great, which is a common downside with most HD sets.

For me, the Vizio L37 is primarily an HDTV, then DVDs, then SD, in that order. I consider the sound quality to be very good; it's producing a surround sound effect via the cable/HDMI connection. I assume you will use component for your DVD player, which will be fine. Just note that the S-Video connections are located along the right rear side of the panel, which will cause those A/V cables to be partially visible.

Sorry -- can't help you with the ViewSonic.

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7ntxx

· #3 · May 3, 2006

I've had the Viewsonic for about a month now. Mine is a bedrom set too and I am happy with the picture quality on both SD and HD.

The 3760 has an analog tuner as well as a DTV tuner. But, if you have a cable box, it probably doesn't matter - you will be using component or HDMI connection from the box to the TV - assuming you go with a digital/HD package. The set does not have a cable card slot.

The audio is just average, SRS or not. I have mine connected to a so-so receiver/speakers and it sounds good. There is no 5.1 output capability though, just stereo.

As far as video modes go, there are quite a few including "1-to-1", anamorphic, normal, fill all, wide, zoom - my guess is that you would find one that suits you, but it might be best to check it out in the store.

When I compared the picture to others in the same store it was as good as other options (Hitachi, Sony, etc.) - I've not seen the Visio though.

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shelljeep

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 3, 2006

From what you guys have said, I see that the audio, viewing options and tuners are actually more comparable than the spec sheets made it look like.

This doesn't really help me make up my mind though...LOL.

Can anyone tell me why there is such a big weight difference?

And what do you think of the difference in contrast?

It's starting to sound like the biggest difference is their color, silver or black.

I wish I could get to a store and look at them in person, but I'm offshore right now, working.

Thanks for all the help.

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pincushion

· #5 · May 3, 2006

I went the Viewsonic route (N3760W) based primarily on price vs visual performance. I could care less about the set having digital audio since I already have a nice 5.1 audio setup. I'm a HD newbie and my jaw still hits the floor everytime I turn on Discovery Channel HD. Awesome!

I have no experience with the Visio, but have seen it in action at Costco and it looked good. There's a killer deal out there on the Viewsonic right now if you know where to look. Not sure if I can post the link on here or not.

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