It’s been a week packed with surprises for me, folks, as I discover yet another brand I hadn’t seen very many entries from, Vizio, make an out of nowhere play with a deeply surprising, high quality entry, the Vizio VW37L.
The Vizio VW37L is a thirty seven inch 720p LCD television that includesa component input, a composite input, an S-video input, a PC input, and two HDMI inputs.
I’ll be honest with you, folks, I was just plain old amazed by this television. It had a great picture and sound to match, with simple to use controls. In fact, about the only downside to this television is that it’s somewhat limited in its ability to be a fully featured home theater setup television. it just doesn’t have the ports for it, you understand–two is somewhat minimal without some juggling around. But still, there’s more than enough to like here, and the price, five hundred bucks on Amazon (though if you’re willing to go used I’ve seen it hit much, much less.) isn’t too bad for what you get here.
The Vizio VW37L is a solid entrant, if not exactly top of the line.
There is a new top dog as far as LCD sales are concerned and that happens to be Samsung Electronics. Samsung has passed Vizio which took the limelight earlier this year based on their market shares. It seems that Samsung’s LED backlighting technology was the main reason for the boost, accounting for 16.8% of total U.S. sales. Vizio garnered only 15.7% not bad considering they are both well off from other companies such as LG, Toshiba and Sony. But these are only number based up to the third quarter of the year. With the Holidays coming up, expect some dramatic changes in LCD TV purchases but from the looks of it, these two, Samsung and Vizio are the only ones who will be competing on who will be the king of LCD TV sales for 2009.
Too good to be true, right? Well, not really. Vizio’s actually giving one away, but you’ve got to win a contest to get in on this one.
You’re going to have to dust off your essay skills and crack off a five hundred word piece on why you’re tired of loud commercials.
We all know the type, right? Where we’re watching a nice quiet movie or a nature program or something and it’s kind of lulling and we’re just getting into it and then all of a sudden the picture briefly goes black, as though the gentle lull had reached its apotheosis and then it’s TIME FOR BIG LOU LEMON’S USED CARS! COME ON DOWN! WE GOT BIG CARS! BAD CARS! BIG AND BAD CARS! FREE HOT DOGS FOR THE KIDS! IF I CAN’T MAKE YOU A DEAL I WILL KILL THIS PUPPY LIVE ON TELEVISION SO GET DOWN TO BIG LOU LEMON’S USED CARS!
Yeah. Like THAT. Anyway, the Vizio soundbar puts a muzzle on Big Lou once and for all by using “psycho-acoustic programming” to regulate broadcasts to one clear and universal constant. Big Lou’s screaming will be automatically reduced to the same level as your nature show. And that’s a really awesome idea.
If you’re looking for a smaller TV for, say, a bedroom or the basement or something similar, you may want to consider part of the new Vizio lineup of televisions, a nineteen inch and a twenty three inch television that both have a profile thickness of just under an inch.
Now here’s the interesting part–these two actually use LEDs as backlight for the front panel. While only the twenty three incher is 1080p, both feature 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios, 5ms response times and 300 nits of brightness. And both of them also offer two HDMI inputs, a PC input, SRS TruVolume so that when you go from the nature show to the used car ad you’re not blasted out of the room, and SRS TruSurround HD.
The phrase “tiny but mighty” comes to mind here, even if the prices of three hundred fifty and four hundred dollars respectively is a bit salty for such small units from Vizio.
Vizio, AmTran, TPV Technology, Top Victory Electronics, Envision and Proview International…you’ve all been allegedly very very naughty, and the Federal Trade Commission is taking a very close look at you.
Seems these guys, according to rival Funai Electric, have been using digital screens in the construction of their products that violate patents held by Funai. The Federal Trade Commission actually stepped in once and ordered such activities stopped, but that didn’t seem to matter to the gang of six listed above. Funai cried foul once again and demanded an investigation, which it seems to be now getting.
Further word out on this when it’s available, folks, but if it’s going on chances are some companies will either be paying fines out the nose or someone might be looking at a bit of jail time.
Vizio is going to launch a new Via HDTV line in November and you should already take a look at it since you might end up buying one in a few months. The new TVs will come with some cool features like Bluetooth remote control with a keyboard, LED backlighting with local dimming, 240HZ processing, WiFi connectivity, Adobe Flash support and Yahoo widgets.
Curious about prices? Well the 42-inch SV422XVT will cost $1,199, the 47-inch SV472XVT will cost $1,699 while the 55-inch XV552XVT will go for $2,199. You just have to wait until November to get one.
Vizio continues its amazing run by being the king among the LCD HDTV manufacturers after the second quarter thanks to its large shipments for a 21.7% share. But while that is an achievement, it is no safe margin as far as the other companies are concerned. And one company that is closely gaining headway is that of Samsung Electronics with 21.3%. This was an improvement from its previous numbers of 17.8%, largely due to its new LED sets.
Now that is something Vizio may want to consider. Though it has blossomed into being the leader in the LCD HDTV dramatically, the other pioneers may be catching up to them sooner than they think. And if they are not careful, they may just dip to a lower spot should they become careless. This makes you wonder if Vizio may have a new moniker in mind. If so, that should be something that can help them keep their lead if not provide distance between them and the other brands like Samsung.
Back in June we let you know that Vizio was gearing up to launch a sub-$200 Blu-ray player that would be exclusive to Wal-mart.
Well today we bring you a video of a YouTube user unboxing Vizio’s VBR100 that we have included for your viewing pleasure above. Unfortunately, as detailed in the video, the VBR100 does not come with HDMI cables, but don’t worry that’s nothing a trip to the store can’t fix.
The times are tough and the economy is hurting everyone. Luckily, we have recently found a deal that is sure to find interest in any budget-concious consumer.
Apparantly, Dell Home has recently begun offering Vizio’s 32-inch VA320M LCD HDTV for only $429 shipped. While the product is normally priced around $529, Dell offers $100 worth of instant savings and free shipping.
Vizio’s VA320M LCD HDTV features a full 1080p resolution, a 4ms resonse time, 50,000:1 contrast ratio and a built-in HD tuner. What’s not to love?
After being forced to stop dead on its tracks due to an infringement issue, Vizio has been cleared of this problem and will immediately continue importing TVs to America. At the moment, Vizio is the number one selling brand in the U.S. market. They distribute flat panel TVs via major distribution channels and retailers.
“We believe that this ruling, along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Final Rejection of Funai’s ‘074 patent, will allow us to successfully bring this issue to a close,” stated Rob Brinkman, Vice President of Operations and Administration.
On March 13, 2009 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (”USPTO”) issued a Final Rejection of U.S. Patent ‘074, the patent that Funai has claimed is infringed. Additionally, VIZIO has filed separate anti-trust and patent infringement claims against Funai for unlawfully and unfairly discriminating against VIZIO in the licensing and enforcement of the ‘074 patent.
Every time I see a Vizio VF550M LCD HDTV on display somewhere I can’t help but catch my breath in sheer astonishment. The clarity! The sheer size of it! The enormity of the price tag!
In all honesty, this is a magnificent television set. It’s a full fifty-five inch diagonal (technically it’s slightly smaller, but the Mark One Eyeball can’t tell the difference. We’re talking three, four tenths of an inch shy.) set that comes in full 1080p resolution, with a panoply of slots. Seriously, check out this rundown: five HDMI slots, two component jacks, one PC slot, two AV slots, and, as though that weren’t enough, a PC slot. It’s also got a special kind of audio technology in there called TruVolume, which regulates the volume coming out of the speakers at a continuous level. You know how when you’re watching TV, especially at the local level, and you’re watching a commercial for, say, your local library? It’s nice and calm and they’ve got some quiet instrumental going on in the background. You’re almost being lulled to sleep when ALL OF A SUDDEN COMES AN AD FOR BIG LOU LEMON’S USED CAR EMPORIUM! WE GOT CARS! BIG CARS! BAD CARS! COME ON DOWN TO BIG LOU’S!
Yeah, like that. TruVolume dials down the volume on Lou’s frantic pitch so that you’re not jolted out of your wakeful reverie. And as someone who’s nearly fallen out of a chair following one such occasion, I wish TruVolume came on more sets.
But the price…frankly, it should almost come with more slots and be larger and offer an option to change the channel by mental telepathy. They’re asking almost sixteen hundred bucks for that rig. I know, it’s huge, it’s beautiful, the resolution is positively uncanny but the price is so absolutely mammoth that it’s almost not a good value. It packs so much into one system that it should be pricey, but sixteen hundred dollars for once system? Especially these days, that’s probably too much.
If you’re looking for one of the cheapest Blu-ray players on the market then you better head over to Wal-mart next month as Vizio has just announced they will be launching an exclusive Blu-ray player there.
For just $188 you will get a BD-Live equipped VBR100 Blu-ray player who’s details are otherwise in the dark.
When more information regarding this Blu-ray player comes out we’ll let you know.
After we’ve seen yesterday that LG will be working closely with ARM for future connected TVs today we hear that Vizio is preparing to launch its next generation of LCD TVs which will come with Internet Apps. Your future Vizio LCD TV can be connected to the Internet via WiFi for all that web content you want. As for remote control you can expect a slide-out QWERTY Bluetooth remote which will help you manage a bunch of widgets like: Vudu, Revision3, Facebook, Twitter, Rhapsody, Blockbuster OnDemand, Showtime and Flickr. Pricing will start at $1,199 which is more than affordable. What do you think?
A Florida company, HybridSpace Furniture, has created what its calling the “Man Wall”. Measuring 2′ x 8′ x 8′, it comes with a cabinet, A/V, 52 inch Vizio TV, three smaller Vizios, iPod docking station, and a 5-disc 1080p up converting DVD player. It also comes with a 1,200-watt Panasonic 5.1 theatre system, a pair of wireless surround speakers and a matrix splitter which makes certain you only need to use remotes for all the four TVs.
But wait, there’s more- it comes with other bonuses such as cigar humidors, microwave oven, beer keg and tap, a 32-bottle wine rack and fridge. It costs $14,900 standard but they apparently can customize it to your needs. Gentlemen, knock yourselves out!
If you are wondering who the King of the flat panels are: in overall sales it is Samsung, in LCD it’s Vizio and in plasma it is Panasonic. While Samsung’s LCD and plasma ranks are in second place, the company has 18.2 percent of the market for flat panels overall, putting it at the top but, that’s still down more than two points from the previous year.
In LCD, Vizio has replaced Samsung in first place, with an 18.9 percent share, and is the only LCD brand among the top five to ship more sets in the last quarter. The runners up are Sony, Funai, and Sharp. In plasma, Panasonic stays on as the top brand, at 38.7 percent, followed by Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Sanyo.
Similar to what other TV manufacturing companies are employing, Vizio is the latest one to announce that they are scrapping their Plasma TV biz. This will take effect starting the second quarter and will most likely be permanent since Vizio plans to focus on its LCD line.
Cost-cutting measures is seen as the reason behind this development as most companies in the TV industry try to come up with cost-efficient measures to survive the current economic conditions. Plasma televisions are dying and with a market that is slowly dwindling in demand, Vizio is better off addressing the growing demand for LCD TVs.
“From sometime in the second quarter, Vizio won’t sell its plasma television sets and possibilities are very low that the company will re-enter the plasma business,” a high-ranking executive said Friday.
“To tackle worsening profitability in the company’s overall TV business, Vizio needs to further concentrate on LCD TVs,” according to the executive who asked not to be identified.
It was something that many expected hence the official announcement that Vizio is now tops in the LCD market is not entirely surprising. This along with the report that the demand for LCD has been strong despite the recession are highlights on the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.
“Vizio is a relatively young TV brand in the US marketplace, but their strong alignment with mass merchant and warehouse club retailers seemed to put them in the right place at the right time with growing channels,” said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch Director of North America TV Research. “As LCD TV panel makers quickly return to nearly full capacity and simultaneously push panel price increases, the industry will have to carefully monitor the impact that slower retail price declines may have on consumer demand during the second half of the year to avoid a potential repeat oversupply situation.”
Funai, another company that predominantly sells value priced products to discount retail channels, also saw their share improve from Q4’08 to Q1’09, rising from 7% to 8.5%, with shipments nearly unchanged from the previous quarter. Funai sells the Sylvania and Emerson brands in North America, and the Philips and Magnavox brands since last quarter. Premium brands like Samsung and Sony lost share as consumers became more price sensitive, looking both for better value and smaller screen sizes than last quarter.
The premium brands are stronger in the 40” and larger screen sizes, as well as offering advanced features such as 1080p resolution, 120 Hz or higher frame rates, and higher-quality image processing—all of which add to the retail price.
It is business as usual for Vizio Inc. as they can continue importing and shipping products during a Presidential review period and will continue to pursue all legal remedies.
“Based on the recent final rejections by the USPTO of both the ‘369 and ‘074 Funai patents, we believe that the U.S. Court of Appeals will be mindful of the fact and will agree that there are substantial grounds for appeal of the ITC’s ruling,” stated Rob L. Brinkman, VIZIO’s VP Operations and Administration.
“VIZIO intends to move and is moving aggressively on all possible avenues to protect its rights. Funai’s failure to license its patents on reasonable and non-discriminatory basis is the subject of a lawsuit in federal district court in California as well as a complaint filed with the FCC, stated Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Co-Founder, VP Sales & Marketing Communications.
“Even though the ITC has issued this limited exclusion order we believe that our appeal to the Federal Circuit will overturn the ruling with knowledge that the USPTO issued a second and final rejection of Funai’s ‘074 patent just as they had done earlier with their ‘369 patent. While we appeal the ITC ruling with the Federal Circuit’s U.S. Court of Appeals, we will continue to offer American’s the best performance TVs at the best values.
Even though we are committed to our policy to respect the rights of intellectual property holders, we will continue to thoroughly investigate all claims, and vigorously defend our legal rights when we feel a claim is invalid or not infringed.”
When it comes to developing and manufacturing products, having more than one is bound to affect the other. In fact that seems to be the case for Vizio which has made its VF551XVT overshadow its current model, the VF550XVT. One digit in a model number means a lot–the current model has neither of those features, although it still costs around $1999 in stores.
The VF550XVT is among the least expensive 55-inch LCDs on the market, but it has a tough row to hoe at this point In its lifespan.
First off, attentive readers will realize that if they just wait till June, when the company will ship the VF551XVT, they’ll get a lot more TV (judging from the spec sheet) for roughly the same money. We expect Vizio to drop the price on this model at that point, or discontinue it completely.
Second, the overall performance of the VF550XVT is nothing special. We liked its accurate color but found its black level performance and dejudder processing disappointing compared to other LCD sets.
That said, if you’re on a budget, want a really big screen–say, if 52 inches is just too small–and have your heart set on LCD instead of plasma, the Vizio VF550XVT makes a tempting target.
VIZIO has recently announced that three new products for its Accessories line of products including two Sound Bar systems and a Blu-ray Player will be selling for less than $200. “VIZIO doesn’t stop at high performance HDTVs at a great price. Our Accessories line continues to expand with new components and add-ons to augment the home theater experience such as our new HD Sound Bars and our first Blu-Ray player,” says Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Co-Founder and VP Sales and Marketing Communications. “These latest products demonstrate VIZIO’s continued commitment to provide the most advanced technologies at a value and a better way to enjoy HD entertainment.”
It’s been a week packed with surprises for me, folks, as I discover yet another brand I hadn’t seen very many entries from, Vizio, make an out of nowhere play with a deeply surprising, high quality entry, the Vizio VW37L.
The times are tough and the economy is hurting everyone. Luckily, we have recently found a deal that is sure to find interest in any budget-concious consumer.
