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Vizio 32 720p LCD HDTV VU32L HDTV

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars A good, basic set with great HD performance
I have to admit I bought this set on an impulse, without a lot of research. I needed a new TV, I'd heard and read some positive reviews about Vizio (in general, not this set in particular), it looked great in the store (don't they all) and the price was right. So without any experience with or knowledge of HD televisions I took the plunge.

Set up couldn't have been easier, although the down-facing inputs are a little difficult to access. The manual and back panel are well diagramed and it was simple figuring out what goes where. I had the cable box and DVD player hooked up immediately and was watching standard def TV within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box. I got an HDMI cable the next day from my cable company for $9 (DON'T OVERPAY for an HDMI cable!) and was accessing the Hi-Def channels after that one simple connection.

The 32" size is perfect for my small (15 x 15) living room. I was immediately impressed by the picture, but the factory settings for brightness and color were way too high for my taste. After getting slightly frustrated with the many picture adjustment settings and choices and having trouble getting a consistently good picture from channel to channel, I found a review online on cnet of the similar VX32L which listed the exact settings they used for the review...I transferred those settings to my set then slightly tweaked them to my liking and the picture is now pretty close to perfect.

Like I said, I have no experience with HD so I can't say if this set has a better picture than its competitors, but standard-def stations are actually better than I expected they would be and most hi-def content is absolutely amazing. If you're getting this set to watch sports that are shot and broadcast in HD you will not be disappointed. I can't imaging the picture being any better - it far exceeds my expectations. That being said, if you expect all channels to look like the HD demos they display in the stores, you're in for a let down (nothing to do with the Vizio, but the majority of programing out there is still standard def). It takes a little getting used to the bars on the side or the stretched image (depending on what mode you choose to watch standard TV on), but the Vizio makes it easy to access the menus and experiment with those different viewing modes. Some of the other hi-def content has been a mixed bag. Most of the sitcoms on TBSHD don't look that much better than the standard-def versions. The movies on HBOHD are considerably better than the standard broadcasts, but none have blown me away with crisp detail and vivid color like the sports and concert content have.

The Vizios remote is very basic. Adjust volume, change channels, choose input source, and bring up the menus. That's it. Unless you have another universal remote that can handle all the Vizio's options you're going to need at least one other remote to fully operate your system. Another minor complaint is that the viewing angle is not as good as advertised. I found that viewing off center by as little as 25 or 30 degrees dulls the picture considerably. No big deal for me, but something you might want to investigate if it's important to you. On the plus side, room lighting had very little affect on the quality of the picture - it looks just as good in the day with the blinds open as it does when the room is completely darkened. A nice surprise.

The built-in sound is adequate. Typical simulated surround sound option and a basic equalizer. Clear dialog and good enough to live with until I get a real surround system, but nothing to write home about.

DVDs look just fine, but it's hard to get excited over the quality after experiencing the HDTV. Just keep in mind that DVDs that aren't already 16 x 9 will still have to be viewed with bars (top and bottom, or side to side depending on the original aspect ratio) or be stretched (i.e. distorted) in order to fill the screen. Know this going in, as this is the top complaint I'm hearing in talking to other new wide screen owners.

Overall all I'm very happy with my purchase. I think I had realistic expectations of what standard def programming would look like on an HDTV and I'm satisfied (though not thrilled) with the Vizios performance. I am thrilled, however, with the Vizios HD performance - It is amazing, and I would recommend this set to anyone looking for an affordable entry point into HDTV.

5 Stars Incredible Quality
This is our first LCD HDTV and I am extremely happy with it. The picture quality is gorgeous and the price is very inexpensive. I dare say that the quality is matched with Sony and Samsung!! That's just my opinion.

I love that there are all these inputs, 3 HDMI, Composite, S-Video, Component and RGB.

I first hooked it up to my PC and immediately it was so nice. My goodness. I highly recommend this TV and other VIZIO's. Don't do what I've done for many, many years and stay with the higher more expensive brands. Dare to compare this one with the leading brands.

5 Stars One remote fits all
We bought two not only is the picture great but the cable boxes like it too. We replaced our westinghouse tv's with Vizio's and now we can use the remote that came with the cable DVR for everything.

5 Stars Awesome Value
If you want to get Hd television for little money, VIZIO is amazing/ The built-in hd tuner is awesome! The picture quality is outstanding & it weighs nothing! The only downfall to this LCD is that there are no audio outputs, so could be frustrating. If you are like me though & have a cable or sattelite receiver you can just run your audio straight from the box to your receiver w/ minimal problems. Amazing quality for the price/ worth a try!

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Panasonic Viera TH 46PZ800U 46 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Marketing description is not available.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great picture for 1080p and for up-converted non HD signal.
I bought the Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ800U 46" 1080p Plasma HDTV because of the THX certification and the reviews on cnet, I was not disappointed. The picture is highly adjustable, but the four preset options are very good for watching different inputs. For example when you select the game input it automatically increases the brightness and color, for watching BR movies it gives you a warmer setting. The only disappointing part was the delivery. The delivery guys were dirty, leaving marks on the floor and walls. They didn't know if they were supposed to attach the stand, and when they decided it was necessary they did not seem to take great care with the TV. In the end everything worked great.

5 Stars Awesome Plasma!
I looked at HDTVs for almost a year and this is the one that caught my attention.I seriously considered Samsung LCDs and Pioneer Plasma and found this Panasonic delivers the best performance for the money. I have it hooked up to HD satellite and love it. Movies look great and HD football is amazing. Individual grass blades and clean motion contribute to my enjoyment of a terrific picture. The blacks are black and contrast is vivid, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I am looking forward to purchasing a Blue-Ray player to add to the fun. thanks

5 Stars Wonderful TV excellent service.
The 46PZ800U is everything I was hoping for in a HDTV. Beautiful picture, easy to hook things up to, and a great looking addition to my living room. The size was perfect for a long narrow room (17x11.5). The CEVA delivery people assembled the stand and then placed it in its permanent location, had me connect my HD cable box to it. (yes I was excited about getting the TV. Got the HD cable box 2 days ahead of time, Blu-ray player and HD dvd player were sitting here waiting along with the cables to hook them up)We tested the TV and then when everything was working they asked for my signature. Overall the whole experience was great and I would reccomend Amazon as a Wonderful way to get a new Panasonic TV. PS price on Amazon was over $300. better than any other price I saw for this model.either in store circulars or on-line. Last, I chose this model mainly because of the over 5000 gradients of color, the single sheet of glass construction, and the THX certification.

5 Stars Brilliant
This TV is superb. HD images are amazingly clear, and the color is awesome!

When I was looking to buy an HDTV, I was worried about how bad standard def images would look. SD images looked pretty bad on a lot of the HDTVs I had seen. However, this TV does a fine job cleaning up SD images, and I don't notice any artifacting unless I'm only 3 or 4 feet from the TV. This is pretty important, because a lot of programming is still only available in standard definition.

This TV also has great sound. I know that's not something you normally look for in a TV. However, I live in an apartment, and I don't plan on getting a kickin' sound system anytime soon, because I don't want to disturb my neighbors. The speakers on this TV perform nicely instead, and the bass is pretty dang good.

Overall: highly recommended.

5 Stars Fantastically Realistic Looking Picture
I purchased this TV about a month ago and I was holding off on my review because I wanted to break in the set first (yes, you should still break in plasmas in spite of what the manufacturers say). I am at about 250 hours on the set, and I have to say that it is the most realistic looking picture that I have seen in a flat panel. I would even put it right up there with the Pioneer Kuros. Fleshtones are incredible and there is no oversaturation of colors. I simply used the THX mode and made basic adjustments using the DVE calibration disk on Blu Ray.

I had initially purchased a Samsung LN46A650 LCD. I liked the set but I just felt that it wasn't quite as sharp as my Samsung 42 inch 720p plasma. Also the colors were a touch too oversaturated. Amazon returned the set with no hassle and delivered the Panasonic in its place.

Initially the Panasonic also did not look quite as sharp as my 42 inch Samsung although the picture was less noisy. However, right around 200 hours or so, the picture really sharpened up. Now that the set has some hours on it, the picture is just amazing! The only other set that I have seen with a better picture (and not by much)is a 60 inch Kuro. The only thing that the Kuros have over this Panasonic is that they are a touch sharper.

This Panasonic is a phenominal buy if color decoding and a realistic picture is most important to you. If you're looking for a panel that has a bright, punchy picture with colors that are slightly cartoonish but that pop, go with the Samsung LN46A650 lcd.

PROS: Phenominal color decoding, incredibly realistic looking picture, fantastic price

CONS: Picture could be just a touch sharper, speakers are mediocre

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Panasonic Viera TH 46PZ85U 46 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

46" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) *

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars I would give it 4 1/2 if I could.....
For the price, this TV is all most perfect! After MONTHS of researching I bought this puppy last weekend and the picture is just amazing. I have friends that have spent $2,500+ on HDTV's last year and this one blows them away.

Don't let people tell you this is a great "entry level" or "mid-level" T.V., because I have seen Pioneer's elite brand and I can tell you that most people will not be able to tell the difference.

Sure if you are a videophile (or work for cnet) you will be able to tell the SLIGHT difference in picture quality and response (oh! Look for that millisecond in the corner of Star Wars, you can actually see the rendering of the ship, wow! That is worth the extra $2k!).

To me, spending double (or sometimes even triple) for a picture quality that I *might* be able to tell the difference on *some* movies seems to be a waste to me...I rather spend it on my audio system where I can tell a REAL difference.

So why only 4 1/2 stars out of 5? Read on:

Pros: Price is awesome (bought mine at ABT for $1199 and got a free Bluray player). Picture is just awesome, it blows away "mid-range" Sony, Samsung, Sharp HDTV's. Unless you are planning on paying 3k+ for an HDTV, you will be wasting your money to buy something more expensive.

Cons: Here is where I take half a star off, sound. The sound is not terrible and it doesn't ruin the T.V. however, it just isn't up to par with other sets I have listened to. I am not sure how to describe it but it sounds "thin" if that makes any sense. Some people might not like the fact that it only has 3 HDMI ports but that seems plenty for my setup.

So you should buy this TV if:

-You do not mind that it only has 3 HDMI ports

-You will be hooking it up to an AV receiver or external speakers of some sort

-If you do not plan to hook it up to an external sound source, you do not mind that the speakers are lacking (they don't have that "full sound" to them).

-Looking for the "best bang for your buck"

Again, I do not see the reason to spend any more money UNLESS you need a bigger screen or need the 800 Panasonic series because you need 4 HDMI ports or need to connect your TV to the internet to get the latest weather and stock reports.

Just my 2c

5 Stars Very good HDTV
Pro:

I settled on this HDTV after much research.

If you want an HDTV that can be used as a monitor, this is a good one because there is a setting for overscan. Overscan is the amount of picture your digital TV will cut off. Then it resizes the image, then displays it. If you have a true 1080p source, you want to eliminate overscan so you are displaying every pixel of input (for actual 1080p Blu-Ray or computer input). The problem is that this setting is buried in the menus, and is not easily accessed. An improvement would be to put this as a button on the remote.

You DON'T want this setting activated when watching normal TV because there is garbage at the top and bottom of most TV signals. Having this setting on displays the garbage!

Another reason I picked this HDTV was for sports viewing. I'm a sports junkie, and watching 720p input from ESPN or ABC looks great. The TV scales this input very well. I can even zoom in and the 720p signal zoomed looks good.

A word on blur: There is no blur on a plasma. LCD screens can make a tiny amount of blur. Great. But when I watch the sports shows I normally watch, the broadcast has a slight amount of blur from camera motion and perhaps poor image processing.

The only thing you might want to consider if you're considering this TV is getting the next models up, which are the Panasonic TH-46PZ800 or TH-46PZ800 models. Both will display 24Hz, which is what Blu-Ray movies come in. This is only needed with Blu-Ray - HDTV is in 60Hz. The 24Hz display mode will result in smoother Blu-Ray viewing. If you don't get this, the Blu-Ray player must be set to 60Hz output, and the change from 24Hz to 60Hz can be a bit choppy, and result in "judder" during some panning scenes. Ask a Circuit City or Best Buy employee to show you, and you'll see. Or don't, and you'll probably never ever notice.

Also, the sides of the TV are a little larger than I think they need to be. There is a good 2.5" border of "frame" around the picture; I'd prefer 1" or less. Go check it out at a big box store, and see for yourself - this is simply a question of taste.

Other models I considered: Sony's 120 Hz LCD 46 inch, Samsung's LCD TVs, Toshiba's 120 Hz 46 inch LCD. All had slight blurs, so I went with plasma.

If you're worried about plasma screen burn in, do some research. This TV will shift the picture up and down to avoid that effect, and will also turn OFF if the picture is from the same channel for too long. From what I've read, that almost totally eliminates burn-in issues.

5 Stars Excellent tv
I had spent many months searching for a tv for my great room. After doing a significant amount of research I decided to go with the 46" Viera TH-46PZ85U. I'm impressed by the overall quality of this product as I have been a fan of Panasonic tv's for a while but the picture on this is amazing. I have mounted it on the wall paired with a polk audio 5.1 home theater setup and I feel as though I'm at the theater. Very deep blacks and watching the NFL on Fios TV is like being at the game. i would recommend this tv to anyone.

5 Stars Plasma vs LCD
I've owned the Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46" 1080P PLASMA HDTV for a little over a month now and it is awesome.The picture is even better than I expected and is worlds away from the old 32" Sony WEGA CRT television I had been watching for years. You really don't appreciate what you had been missing before the plasma flat screen.Broadcasts in 480i almost make you shy away from watching once you get spoiled by high def. We have only been to see one movie since buying the TV. I'd rather just rent movies at home since I added the Bose 321 system (which is not a must).The TV speaker quality is very good-much better than most, but now it's like a miny theatre at home.

Everything on the TV is very user friendly and I have no problems whatsoever with glare, burn-in, or heat that some people claim is associated with a plasma. You can't go wrong with this HDTV. I researched a lot and spend several trips comparing TV picture quality and features.I was leaning toward it or the Samsung LCD. I've seen the picture quality of my freinds Samsung 550 LCD and it's good too, but for the money ....I'll take my plasma.Panasonic claims 100,000 hours before the plasma screen begins to loose half brightness where all the others are rated at 60,000hrs.Amazons white glove service and Panasonic's Viera plasma get an A rating from me. I am very happy with my purchase and will gladly do it again in the future.Overall...very pleased.

4 Stars Excellent TV
I did a lot of research for both LCD and plasma. At the end I had two strong candidates, the Sony Bravia and the Panasonic Viera. After a side by side comparison at a local store I decided to go with the Viera. I purchased the unit a month ago and I'm very happy with my choice of the TV and purchasing from Amazon. Delivery company delivered on the date and time promised. Performance so far has been flawless. Colors are rich, warm and the image quality is awesome. Watching NBA games in high definition takes TV watching to a new level with this plasma TV. Just turn your lights off at nightime and watch your favorite sport and you'll see what I mean. Highly recommended.

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