Vizio Plasmas @ Walmart: 32" for $547, 42" for $747 (not YMMV)

Gamerguy

Gamerguy

CAGiversary!
Some people prefer LCDs for gaming, but after seeing these TVs, they look awesome. I have a 26" Vizio LCD that I bought from Walmart and it's been wonderful, so I'll probably upgrade to one of these by the end of the summer.

This is NOT a sale price. These two sets just came out on the market. When Vizio revealed them, they were originally priced about $200 higher than Walmart has them for, but I guess that didn't hold.

Both sets are 720p.

32" ($547)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8477433

42" ($747)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8477432
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote name='greyzieoriental']How do you guys like your 32" plasma vizio?
i'm in the market for it and having a lot of trouble finding real reviews

and the life expectancy of this tv? 60000 hours display life its saying
i dont know much about that but does that mean a good chance of more than 10 yrs?

and does a plasma TV have burn in, since i play halo 3 a lot will it burn an image of my hud if i play too long?

also if your had to choose between a vizio lcd or plasma what would it be?
like this one:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=398012&pCatg=9666[/quote]

It depends on how long you watch. It can last pretty much between 12-55 years.
Plasmas have improved over the years for burn-in so just make sure you use the included break-in CD.
Get the Plasma.
 
[quote name='greyzieoriental']How do you guys like your 32" plasma vizio?
i'm in the market for it and having a lot of trouble finding real reviews

and the life expectancy of this tv? 60000 hours display life its saying
i dont know much about that but does that mean a good chance of more than 10 yrs?

and does a plasma TV have burn in, since i play halo 3 a lot will it burn an image of my hud if i play too long?

also if your had to choose between a vizio lcd or plasma what would it be?
like this one:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=398012&pCatg=9666[/quote]

I am enjoying my 32". Like you I was deciding between the LCD and plasma, I decided on the plasma because the higher contrast ratio, lower response time, and addition HDMI ports. The only thing the LCD has over the plasma is the aspect ratio, but for a 32" 1024 x 720 is fine.

As for the Burn in, most plasma's currently out don't really get them, but what I have been doing is just playing DVDs, bluerays, and only playing games for less then an hour; so I don't have a static image on the screen for to long, should continue this for the first 100 hours. I also brought the settings down so the tv is displaying really brightly, the settings out of the box are not the optimal.

Albo I didn't get any start up CD in my plasma.
 
[quote name='ighosty']I am enjoying my 32". Like you I was deciding between the LCD and plasma, I decided on the plasma because the higher contrast ratio, lower response time, and addition HDMI ports. The only thing the LCD has over the plasma is the aspect ratio, but for a 32" 1024 x 720 is fine.

As for the Burn in, most plasma's currently out don't really get them, but what I have been doing is just playing DVDs, bluerays, and only playing games for less then an hour; so I don't have a static image on the screen for to long, should continue this for the first 100 hours. I also brought the settings down so the tv is displaying really brightly, the settings out of the box are not the optimal.

Albo I didn't get any start up CD in my plasma.[/quote]

Odd, I purchased mine last night and its running the Break-In CD now.
 
[quote name='Albo23']Odd, I purchased mine last night and its running the Break-In CD now.[/quote]
did you buy the 32" or 42"?
Where was the disk, with the remote, with the manual?
 
thanks for the input guys, i'm off to walmart and i'll be home with impressions by tonight, i actually purchased my 80gb metal gear bundle and sold it for $110 profit and have the $100 gift card, so $400 out my pocket will be a great investment on my no interest for a year citi mastercard

ia lso did a study on plasmas and lcds last nite, and made up my decision last nite, cant wait
 
I picked up the 42" version. Its my first hdtv and I'm very excited! I wouldn't have known about this set if I didn't check this forum. Thanks OP
 
picked up my tv, so far not that impressed, ordered my hdmi cables so i should be receiving them in a few days from monoprice, paid for 1 day shipping total was $21.76 for 3x 10ft 28awg 1.3 HDMI cables

i went from a 30" CRT which i played in 1080i, gave the TV to my mother now
my CRT looked really nice with my 360 and wii, this plasma colors dont seem as nice so far

also when i play with my component cables on my 360 i get lines thru the screen
really disappointed with that

my local HD channels that i get with an antennae look great though
the tv remote also is very plain, its nice but the vol and ch buttons i dont like, i wouldve liked a little gap between the buttons

could you guys post some of your settings? so i can see if i like it the way you have it
i cant seem the get the picture the way i like it, maybe i'm not used to the switch yet
 
[quote name='greyzieoriental']picked up my tv, so far not that impressed, ordered my hdmi cables so i should be receiving them in a few days from monoprice, paid for 1 day shipping total was $21.76 for 3x 10ft 28awg 1.3 HDMI cables

i went from a 30" CRT which i played in 1080i, gave the TV to my mother now
my CRT looked really nice with my 360 and wii, this plasma colors dont seem as nice so far

also when i play with my component cables on my 360 i get lines thru the screen
really disappointed with that

my local HD channels that i get with an antennae look great though
the tv remote also is very plain, its nice but the vol and ch buttons i dont like, i wouldve liked a little gap between the buttons

could you guys post some of your settings? so i can see if i like it the way you have it
i cant seem the get the picture the way i like it, maybe i'm not used to the switch yet[/quote]

I used a THX dvd to set my settings they are:

Brightness:45
Contrast:54
Color:48
Tint:in the Middle
Sharpness:3
Color Temperature: Warm
 
[quote name='ighosty']I used a THX dvd to set my settings they are:

Brightness:45
Contrast:54
Color:48
Tint:in the Middle
Sharpness:3
Color Temperature: Warm[/quote]

Those aren't entirely accurate. They're specified for that movie you're watching. They help, but I recommend Avia or DVE's Calibration.
 
[quote name='Albo23']Those aren't entirely accurate. They're specified for that movie you're watching. They help, but I recommend Avia or DVE's Calibration.[/quote]

Ya I know, I have Digital Video Essentials on the way from amazon. It is just a temporary set up.
 
[quote name='ighosty']Ya I know, I have Digital Video Essentials on the way from amazon. It is just a temporary set up.[/quote]

Sweet dude, when you calibrate it, please leave us your settings. It will really help us. :cool:
 
[quote name='Albo23']Sweet dude, when you calibrate it, please leave us your settings. It will really help us. :cool:[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing!
 
hey ighosty did you happen to calibrate your TV yet?

i notice that on my new plasma tv, i am worse at halo 3 than i was on my CRT
still need to get used to it, also i'm really thinking about returning the 32" for the 42" only an extra $200, well i still have 2 more months to think about it, i like that 90 day return policy
 
So for those who have it, is it good for gaming? I've been meaning to get my own personal HDTV for my 360, but I haven't found a good enough deal as of late.
 
Just decided to bite on the 42". Everything I've read seems to indicate that it's really nice. I haven't unboxed it yet, since my apartment is sort of in disarray because of moving, but I'll let you guys know how it looks.
 
How is the response time on these.
And how do the older consoles look on them... PS2, Dreamcast, etc, if anybody knows.
I recently bought a Samsung LCD and it looked HORRIBLE running the Wii and other 480i/p games. If this is decent i'm thinking about getting the 32".
 
[quote name='CosmosTheMouse']How is the response time on these.
And how do the older consoles look on them... PS2, Dreamcast, etc, if anybody knows.
I recently bought a Samsung LCD and it looked HORRIBLE running the Wii and other 480i/p games. If this is decent i'm thinking about getting the 32".[/QUOTE]

I've got a Wii running through component on mine right now, Mario Kart looks nice, no problems I can report. The Vizio site says its a .01 ms response time I believe?
 
I just finished calibrating using the DVE dvd. Heres what I ended up with.

Brightness - 53
Contrast - 45
Color - 48
Tint - 1
Sharpness - 3
Temp - normal

I turned off all of the extra options.

Everything seems to be sharper and easier to my eyes.
 
This is good to hear.
The 32" is 5ms... *scratches his head* I had a 6ms LCD before and noticed no lag, but the picture was awful. If I get this I dunno if I should go for the smaller or bigger one. My room isn't really that big.
 
Picked up the 32 today.
Fits perfectly on the shelf and looks good so far.
Tested the 360, Wii, and dreamcast on it. Everything looked pretty nice.

Now all I have to do is clean everything up I have on the floor and set everything up again. ;p

The only downside to this TV so far is the sound, and it's actually not bad. And it gets a bit hot, but all TV's pretty much do.

-Edit-

Well. That didn't last long at all.
I played COD4 for about an hour, then stuck GTAIV in and all of a sudden... long dark scraggly lines appeared across the screen. After that anything connected GRB seemed to be screwed like it blew. Regular standard still worked, but the RGB connection was trashed within hours and I had to return it.

My other option was the 47" that was on display.... but the sound on it was totally busted. Looks like these ain't built to last I guess. My search continues.
 
We bought one of these to use to show movies at our library.

It's okay. The picture is alright, but the sound isn't all that great. And the screen gets hot to the touch after its been on for a while.
 
[quote name='Albo23']Anyone notice any Burn-in or image retention?[/quote]

Mine had an odd burn in image right out of the box.

I noticed it when i did the "clear image" option. It sets the screen to white for a bit and then back. When it was like that I noticed what looked like the top and right sides of a square about 8 inches all around in the middle of the screen.

And like said above.... this thing gets hot as hell.
 
i was in love with this tv, but it does get really hot, i came home today and it had burn in from my wife watching xmradio on directv, taking it back, should i get another or get a diff type
 
Been debating on both the 32" and 42" model.

One walmart had the 32" for $528. Both had the 42" for $747.
Both look really good in store.

Just can't pull the trigger yet. :)
 
So want to ask you guys to bite or not. I am going to get an HDTV in the next few months. Question is do I run out and buy one of these.....or do I keep holding my breathe and hope to find a Black Friday sale?
 
So I bite on this but im having annoying lines through my TV. You dont notice it much at all on some games and my PS2 doesnt seem to do it at all. However the 360 has it worse. Some like bomberman I notice up close but sitting at a distance it isnt bad. Some like Halo I can spot the lines at any distance and they are really annoying. I tried running the TVs built in function to fix ghosting and lines but it ran for over 2 hours and never finished.

If anyone has a clue what the problem is, or has recommendations for the TVs various settings then id appreciate it. Saw many of you said you were ordering things on Amazon to help with the settings sooooo.
 
i bought the 32", a month or 2 later i decided for another $200 10" will be worth it
returned the 32" and bought me the 42", the 42" is much better

i noticed that with my 32" it had some IR and possible burn in, games like ninja gaiden 2 quickly left the health bar on the screen

with the 42" i havent noticed one little bit of IR, i have my TV on about 5+ hours a day
watching the olympics in HD is amazing, the color is as close to my old CRT as I could want

Played halo on my buddies 47" LCD 1080p Vizio, i'm much more satisfied with my TV
Maybe my buddy didnt set all his setting the way i like it though

But for games I recommend this TV, weird thing is, is that when i put my 360 in 1080p
it says its displaying at 1080p even though i'm sure it doesnt go to that resolution
I tried switching between 720p and 1080p, with the 1080p setting on my 360 it looks much better, less jaggies

Also I have no problems with my Wii, but its really hard to tell with a Wii because the graphics suck regardless, 480p looks good on the TV as well

I also stream a lot of Videos from my computer to my 360, all the Videos look Great, I can barely tell the difference between the DVD and the 700mb compressed avi

Oh yea with the purchase of my TV i purchased a HD-DVD player for my 360 and Planet Earth, Al i can say is WOW...Just that HD-DVD was worth it alone, but has anyone watched Galapagos or Blue Planet yet? (might consider getting those too.)
 
[quote name='greyzieoriental']i bought the 32", a month or 2 later i decided for another $200 10" will be worth it
returned the 32" and bought me the 42", the 42" is much better

i noticed that with my 32" it had some IR and possible burn in, games like ninja gaiden 2 quickly left the health bar on the screen

with the 42" i havent noticed one little bit of IR, i have my TV on about 5+ hours a day
watching the olympics in HD is amazing, the color is as close to my old CRT as I could want

Played halo on my buddies 47" LCD 1080p Vizio, i'm much more satisfied with my TV
Maybe my buddy didnt set all his setting the way i like it though

But for games I recommend this TV, weird thing is, is that when i put my 360 in 1080p
it says its displaying at 1080p even though i'm sure it doesnt go to that resolution
I tried switching between 720p and 1080p, with the 1080p setting on my 360 it looks much better, less jaggies

Also I have no problems with my Wii, but its really hard to tell with a Wii because the graphics suck regardless, 480p looks good on the TV as well

I also stream a lot of Videos from my computer to my 360, all the Videos look Great, I can barely tell the difference between the DVD and the 700mb compressed avi

Oh yea with the purchase of my TV i purchased a HD-DVD player for my 360 and Planet Earth, Al i can say is WOW...Just that HD-DVD was worth it alone, but has anyone watched Galapagos or Blue Planet yet? (might consider getting those too.)[/QUOTE]

What are your settings for your TV on, and how do you change the resolution on your Xbox?
 
Actually; if you go to the AVS Forums under the Vizio Plasma Thread, they talk about the lines that you are experiencing. I believe that if you were to switch to HDMI the lines would go away, but you may want to ask again over there.
 
[quote name='munoi']Actually; if you go to the AVS Forums under the Vizio Plasma Thread, they talk about the lines that you are experiencing. I believe that if you were to switch to HDMI the lines would go away, but you may want to ask again over there.[/QUOTE]

1. Whats AVS forums?

2. Im hoping the HDMI thing is true. I didnt return the TV because I ordered a pair of HDMI cables off of ebay($7 shipped vs $40 in store)so im waiting to get them and see how it looks with the HDMI cables....would be nice if it fixed the issue. Hopefully they come fast, we are moving in 2 weeks.
 
[quote name='ns27']I have no knowledge about HD tvs, so I'm just asking, are the tvs in the original post suitable for console gaming?[/QUOTE]
Yes they are. My bro uses a plasma for playing 360 and it plays great and never encountered problems. I wish I can afford one though :( . The only thing I could afford is a kickass surround sound. I reccomend getting a good home theater system when buying a tv because it's awesome
 
I had a 50" Zenith plasma that died after 18 months. It was a nice 100lb $2k paperweight. I ended up giving it to a friend who was able to repair it. I just didn't want to look at the thing out of disgust.

Be careful on lower end plasmas. Plasma TVs already consume a ton of power, and some of the cheaper models have issues with faulty power supplies or circuit boards. Sure they rate the screen and plasma gas at some ridiculous amount of hours that will exceed a lifetime, but the other components won't last that long. I'm not sure where Vizio falls on the scale, but I would definitely do your research before jumping in. LCD has the benefits of being lighter and consuming less power, but they do suffer from motion trails in some situations.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']What are your settings for your TV on, and how do you change the resolution on your Xbox?[/QUOTE]

My TV settings are to my liking, not for really watching movies and keeping skin tones and everything as close as possible, i like my picture a little bright

Brightness = 50, Contrast = 55, Color = 50, Tint = 0, Sharpness = 4

I didnt really change much from the default settings but then again I havent really sat down and messed with the settings yet

and switching the 360 resolution you go to the last settings tab and go to console settings and display settings

and i know exactly what kind of lines you are talking about with the component cables, buy some HDMI cables and they'll go away, the only systems i have are 360 and Wii, I do not notice the lines thru component on the Wii, but did with my 360
 
[quote name='misbitski']I had a 50" Zenith plasma that died after 18 months. It was a nice 100lb $2k paperweight. I ended up giving it to a friend who was able to repair it. I just didn't want to look at the thing out of disgust.

Be careful on lower end plasmas. Plasma TVs already consume a ton of power, and some of the cheaper models have issues with faulty power supplies or circuit boards. Sure they rate the screen and plasma gas at some ridiculous amount of hours that will exceed a lifetime, but the other components won't last that long. I'm not sure where Vizio falls on the scale, but I would definitely do your research before jumping in. LCD has the benefits of being lighter and consuming less power, but they do suffer from motion trails in some situations.[/QUOTE]

Well the one suggested in this topic is an Energy Star so the power shouldnt be bad. And if anything dies I bought a 3 year warranty.

My TV settings are to my liking, not for really watching movies and keeping skin tones and everything as close as possible, i like my picture a little bright

Brightness = 50, Contrast = 55, Color = 50, Tint = 0, Sharpness = 4

I didnt really change much from the default settings but then again I havent really sat down and messed with the settings yet

and switching the 360 resolution you go to the last settings tab and go to console settings and display settings

and i know exactly what kind of lines you are talking about with the component cables, buy some HDMI cables and they'll go away, the only systems i have are 360 and Wii, I do not notice the lines thru component on the Wii, but did with my 360
Click to expand...

THanks Ill try those out later. And good to hear the line is probally just caused by the HDMI cable....like I said I had been waiting on the one I ordered to come before assuming the TV had a problem and returning it. None of my other systems had the lines so thought it was kind of odd.
 
[quote name='munoi']Actually; if you go to the AVS Forums under the Vizio Plasma Thread, they talk about the lines that you are experiencing. I believe that if you were to switch to HDMI the lines would go away, but you may want to ask again over there.[/quote]


This is correct. I have this TV and I switched from component to HDMI on my 360 (before it red ringed), so if you have a 360 with HDMI that is the way to go.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']This is correct. I have this TV and I switched from component to HDMI on my 360 (before it red ringed), so if you have a 360 with HDMI that is the way to go.[/QUOTE]

Nice to see this said again thanks. Hopefully this does the job then. Another quick question for you guys. This TV is supposed to get pretty hot right? I know that the way Plasma works is by a heater getting gas excited....but it still is just so crazy to me to touch a vent and feel something be this hot.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Nice to see this said again thanks. Hopefully this does the job then. Another quick question for you guys. This TV is supposed to get pretty hot right? I know that the way Plasma works is by a heater getting gas excited....but it still is just so crazy to me to touch a vent and feel something be this hot.[/quote]

Yeah, it gets hot, but I think I just got used to my LCD for my PC being cool. Before I got this Plasma TV I used my LCD monitor with my 360.
 
Ya I figured it was ok....still im like you. Im used to LCD and other TV/Monitors so it getting this hot just makes me nervous like its gonna end up breaking!
 
[quote name='paddlefoot']The pixels are rectangular in shape.


I use a plasma for gaming. The only thing I would be apprehensive about is using it solely as a computer monitor.[/quote]

the whole rectangular pixel thing confuses and bewilders me. doesn't it add weird artifacts? or take away detail?
 
Another quick question. Its no biggie to leave something on if the TV itself is off correct? Like for example if im using it as a monitor as I am now, and I have to go switch my laundry around or take the dog for a walk or make dinner or something and I turn the TV off but leave my computer/xbox on but on pause it wont burn the image on since the TV is off?

Just want to make sure since iv been using it as a PC monitor and a few times had to run out for like 20 mins but didnt feel comfortable leaving the TV off and the PC plugs still in it.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Another quick question. Its no biggie to leave something on if the TV itself is off correct? Like for example if im using it as a monitor as I am now, and I have to go switch my laundry around or take the dog for a walk or make dinner or something and I turn the TV off but leave my computer/xbox on but on pause it wont burn the image on since the TV is off?

Just want to make sure since iv been using it as a PC monitor and a few times had to run out for like 20 mins but didnt feel comfortable leaving the TV off and the PC plugs still in it.[/QUOTE]

Yea, I wouldn't worry about anything if it's only a few minutes even (like the laundry), but burn in only occurs when the TV is actually displaying an image, not when it's powered off.
 
32'' is $514 at both of my local Wal-Marts. Tempting, but I'm trying to snag a the Samsung LN32A450 for ~$640 on Amazon with Gold Box.

Really ready to be done with TV shopping :drool:.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top