[arakail3]

Has anyone else here purchased this TV from Costco, or am I the only one in the world who has it? I can't find any "official" threads for it here.


I was at the Costco by Christiana Mall on Sunday and picked it up. They had the older model - not sure which one - on the floor, but I saw this on the shelves high up and asked for this one since it looked newer and came with an HDMI cable.


I wanted to get other people's reviews on the TV and see if anyone has good recommendations for color and contrast etc. since I am not so good and setting those.

 

[arakail3]

Anyony? Bueller? Hello?

 

[arakail3]

This board sucks.

 

[[H]gregnash]

HOLY CRAP NO ONE RESPONDED TO A BRAND NEW LCD WITHIN THREE HOURS OF YOUR POSTING!!! Please.....


For your information, this is a brand new set the Vizio just released about 2wks ago at the CES show in Vegas. I have seen them and done a little bit of looking around on the Vizio website but it seems that you are the first (YES YOU) to own one so far. This looks to be the replacement for the VU42 series LCDs that Vizio currently has out. All of this is the reason why you cannot find anything on them (holy crap). And the amazing thing was that you even said you "thought" it looked newer so you grabbed it. Might have been a better idea to have spent some MORE time researching the product and found out "HEY they just released this, I might be the first one to own one!!!"


/pissy mood


Ah much better

 

[3sila]

Well, the Costco coupon will not used until Feb 11, so i dont see why the hurry to spend an extra $150. you know you can use that for 5 years EW at Vizio.

Wait til second week of the month of Feb and you may get better respond.

but i do like the 120Hz.


How is the picture compare to the VU42XX? the costco store display for $1050.

 

[3sila]



Quote:
Originally Posted by [H]gregnash /forum/post/12980781


HOLY CRAP NO ONE RESPONDED TO A BRAND NEW LCD WITHIN THREE HOURS OF YOUR POSTING!!! Please.....


For your information, this is a brand new set the Vizio just released about 2wks ago at the CES show in Vegas. I have seen them and done a little bit of looking around on the Vizio website but it seems that you are the first (YES YOU) to own one so far. This looks to be the replacement for the VU42 series LCDs that Vizio currently has out. All of this is the reason why you cannot find anything on them (holy crap). And the amazing thing was that you even said you "thought" it looked newer so you grabbed it. Might have been a better idea to have spent some MORE time researching the product and found out "HEY they just released this, I might be the first one to own one!!!"


/pissy mood


Ah much better

I like the constructive sarcazm btw.

 

[arakail3]

I bought it now and will get a price adjustment on Feb 11th.


I am very pleased with the TV so far. The picture quality is great. But as I said before, I don't really know much about calibrating it so hopefully when more people get the TV I can get some recommendations then.


Thank you.


And sorry if I was pissy, long day at work.

 

[[H]gregnash]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 3sila /forum/post/12980916


Well, the Costco coupon will not used until Feb 11, so i dont see why the hurry to spend an extra $150. you know you can use that for 5 years EW at Vizio.

Wait til second week of the month of Feb and you may get better respond.

but i do like the 120Hz.


How is the picture compare to the VU42XX? the costco store display for $1050.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 3sila /forum/post/12980949


I like the constructive sarcazm btw.

Thanks!.... Been a bad day for the crystal supplier world as China is going on holiday (damn Chinese New Years) plus the freak snow storm they had has effectively shut down like half the country (atleast where my factories are). Of course all this does is get me a rash of **** from my customers because their deliveries are now going to be late and/or are indefinitely suspended.


So the VS is the 120hz refresh after all?! Only thing that sucks is that they have told me that it is on an 8bit panel so the picture is not going to be quite as clear as say a Sony KDL-40S3000 (which is 720p) but I am very interested in seeing what this bad boy can do.


Actually, I am waiting on the SV "Black Tie" series information in hopes that they have moved to the 10bit panels and processing for those. Vizio + 10bit panel/processing = Stellar!

 

[dustman52]

Hmm, I'm debating between this 42" and picking up a 720p Panasonic Plasma for about the same price. I'm worried about the contrast on this set. Whichever I buy is going to be used as a bedroom TV. It needs to have a QAM tuner, and will be used as a computer monitor once in a while. I'm learning towards the vizio since I believe it has the vga input and the higher resolution. However, I have last years model of the 50" 720p Panasonic plasma and love it.

 

[[/quote]]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dustman52 /forum/post/13022919


Hmm, I'm debating between this 42" and picking up a 720p Panasonic Plasma for about the same price. I'm worried about the contrast on this set. Whichever I buy is going to be used as a bedroom TV. It needs to have a QAM tuner, and will be used as a computer monitor once in a while. I'm learning towards the vizio since I believe it has the vga input and the higher resolution. However, I have last years model of the 50" 720p Panasonic plasma and love it.

You would really buy a Vizio over a Panasonic for the same price??


I own a Vizio and like it a lot, it's a VX32L for my bedroom. However, I understand that it is a "lower" brand (that's why I got it so cheap compared to name brands like Panasonic). I would never personally buy a Vizio if a name brand TV was the same price, just my opinion, YMMV.

 

[maldb]

I just picked this up today at Costco with the $150 off coupon. Swapped it out with my 37" Vizio in the bedroom and right out of the box, the picture was jaw-dropping amazing on my HD channels and HDMI inputs for my DVD player and recorder. I tweaked the settings using the THX Optimizer on one of my Star Wars DVDs - just amazing at how good the picture is for a 42" set under $1000 - very nice. Get it at this price while you can - I highly recommend it.

 

[c5chris]

I got one today!!

Review follows after setup.

 

[cofga]

I got one today and didn't even know it was the new model until I saw a post in the VU42LF thread. I am still on a digital SD feed and it is great. I used the settings posted in the VU42LF thread and also the CNET review then tweaked them and it is great. I can only imagine how it will look with an HD feed--Larry

 

[c5chris]

Here's my critique on the TV:


Packaging/Contents/Warranty: TV comes in a nicely designed carton, same as the VO47FHDTV, which guarantees zero bright pixels, and a year warranty. I got it from Costco which automatically adds a year, plus charging it on Costco's AMEX will add another year which effectively makes it a 3 yr. warranty. I also like the easy off clips that holds the bottom end of the TV and eases the unboxing of the TV. It's a good touch, beats those that still use plastic bands to hold a box. It comes with an HDMI cable (coolness!) which saves me at least $10 and a trip to the local Fry's.


Aesthetics: Still looks like the old Vizio, with black bezel and a darker gunmetal colored speaker (at least it's not bright silver). The speaker area is thinner too, probably less 30% of the old design. I wanted the VO style but I wanted a 42", not a 47" for this purpose.


Connections: Comes with 2 HDMIs, 2 set of components, usual composite + SVGA, analog audio and digital audio. Im glad it comes with an analog RCA audio outoput since I use it to connect a powered subwoofer by itself.


Setup and PQ - easy setup using the ATSC tuner's autoscan (im using an OTA antenna). However, it did miss 2 HDTV channels when I ran it the first time. The Scepter X42BV I have took longer to scan but it did recognize all the ones that matter (FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC). Im still using DirecTivo so Im using SDTV for some of my viewing, which is very good on this TV. OTA programming like the news and esp. sports are exceptional. Too bad it's no longer football season, I cant observe how good the set is when it comes to motion blurr.


Im still playing with the settings, waiting on guys here to post their calibration numbers.

 

[jmcferrin]

I got one today also; paired with an HR20 directv receiver. Terrific picture even with mark I eyeball calibration. Along with many others, I'll be watching for one of you guys with the right equiptment to post calibration numbers. Thanks in advance.

 

[monologuist]



Quote:
Originally Posted by c5chris /forum/post/13084136


Here's my critique on the TV:


Packaging/Contents/Warranty: TV comes in a nicely designed carton, same as the VO47FHDTV, which guarantees zero bright pixels, and a year warranty. I got it from Costco which automatically adds a year, plus charging it on Costco's AMEX will add another year which effectively makes it a 3 yr. warranty. I also like the easy off clips that holds the bottom end of the TV and eases the unboxing of the TV. It's a good touch, beats those that still use plastic bands to hold a box. It comes with an HDMI cable (coolness!) which saves me at least $10 and a trip to the local Fry's.


Aesthetics: Still looks like the old Vizio, with black bezel and a darker gunmetal colored speaker (at least it's not bright silver). The speaker area is thinner too, probably less 30% of the old design. I wanted the VO style but I wanted a 42", not a 47" for this purpose.


Connections: Comes with 2 HDMIs, 2 set of components, usual composite + SVGA, analog audio and digital audio. Im glad it comes with an analog RCA audio outoput since I use it to connect a powered subwoofer by itself.


Setup and PQ - easy setup using the ATSC tuner's autoscan (im using an OTA antenna). However, it did miss 2 HDTV channels when I ran it the first time. The Scepter X42BV I have took longer to scan but it did recognize all the ones that matter (FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC). Im still using DirecTivo so Im using SDTV for some of my viewing, which is very good on this TV. OTA programming like the news and esp. sports are exceptional. Too bad it's no longer football season, I cant observe how good the set is when it comes to motion blurr.


Im still playing with the settings, waiting on guys here to post their calibration numbers.

Can you give us a comparison of the picture quality compared to the Sceptre 42"? I had the Sceptre briefly and it had excellent black levels for its price as well as sharpness of picture. However I had to return it b/c its color is imbalanced, hyping red, pinks, and purples. The older Vizio 42" that used to be at Costco did not look very good to me (particularly in terms of black levels and shadow detail) and was clearly in a class below the Sceptre, but the VS42L I saw at Costco this past weekend looked at first glance to be an improvement over that one. Only thing is that the specs would not support this as this new unit only has a constrast ratio of 1000:1 as opposed to the older Vizio 42" which is 1500:1.

 

[mrHix]

I bought a VU42LF at Costco last week and then returned it for a VS42LF yesterday (to get the $150 off - some confusion was involved). I can't see any difference in picture between the two. They both look great or crappy, depending on source and settings.


I also don't see any difference in picture using the included HDMI cables versus using component cables. I was going to buy an HDMI cable for the VU to see if it made a difference but I didn't have to with the VS.


Everything I read about contrast ratio says it's a bad reference spec. It's just a measure of the ratio of the brightest white to the darkest black. You'd think a higher ratio would imply a darker black but it actually just means a brighter white. So bright you can't stand it. Adjusting the settings using the THX optimizer or some other reference seems to help a LOT with picture quality.

 

[laguna47]

I too returned my VU42L to Costco yesterday and purchased the VS42L. Right out of the box using the Pre-Programmed custom settings, this set surpassed the VU significantly. The only thing I notice is the black bezel surrounding the screen seems to have more glare, not sure if the other one was a bit more matte and this is polished, but picture quality to me is outstanding on both over the air and Directv HD.

 

[3sila]

Well, this is My 1st Full HDTV, i looked and search for a 42" Full HDTV under $1000, and the Vizio came on top of the list, the picture with OTA programming is amazing.

480i is crystal sharp. the setup wizard was that impressive. you could run the setup again from the "menu screen". i havent used the SVideo or HDMI cables ye, as my devices support only Components.

I am still using the factory default setting (custom) and the picture is great.

I did a check for dead/stock on pixel and i could not find any,

PIP will not function if you are running Ant and comps out. so you will see not signal with PIP or POP ( split screen ).

POP: it like having 2 tuners, as you can watch 2 shows side by side.


OTA antenna, i did a scan and it picked up about 60 Digital and 30 Analog channels.

lot of hidden channels that you will not receiver through your cable or satellite providers.


I will be testing this TV for what more can it do.


The best bang for the money. 1 year manufacturer warranty, 1 year Costco EW and 1 year AMEX CC EW.

 

[Ragnorok64]

Wait, is this set even 120hz? All the google-ing I'm doing tells me that the SV42LF is the 42" 120hz set and that it isn't out yet.