Comments on: The secret of Vizio's success

The Southern California start-up's strategy of low prices and discount retail wins out, as it tops all LCD TV makers in the second quarter.

[iserum]

vizio sets

i don't think any vizio set is even close to samsung and SONY quality, if you have a set sitting in Warehouse (Costco Sam's) with really low end SONY or SAMSUNG even then it is not better, it is for those people who can see differnce between SAMSUNG and VIZIO, they have to pay half the price of SONY for a VIZIO. It is like those Kia/Huyundai add comparing it to BMW/Mercedes.

[JLDJR]

I own a Hyundai ... it's much more reliable than a Mercedes or BMW ... just because "brand name stigma" is higher for those autos than Hyundai doesn't amount to anything these days. The same holds true for Visio. The picture quality and cost point are excellent. Good systems engineering practices have been applied by Visio to produce a quality product and excellent support.

[ecotony]

Reality: LCD's Don't Look Very Good

The funny part of this whole story is that LCD's don't have the picture quality of CRT's or Plasmas. Between motion blur and lame black levels, LCD's are still second tier.

As the newer LCD's begin to roll out, and they begin to address these issue, 120Hz & Localized LED dimming, those issue should fade. But LCD's today generally stink. Save yourself the bad picture quality and get a plasma.

[rikkus256]

Vizio is based in Irvine

Vizio is headquarted in Irvine, CA. Not Costa Mesa.

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
VIZIO, Inc.
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone:[phone]
Toll-Free: (888) VIZIO CE
[phone]

Source: Vizio.com

[lbaby6916]

your comments are rude and have no value

one of my good friends works at Vizio she is the head of one of the customer service departments , she does a very good job!! and all of the people there are not retarded! maybe you are the one who started the ordeal with a bad attitude, I myself know that an angry screaming customer on the phone is not the easiest to deal with. remember noone is perfect, and mistakes do happen.

[acekj1]

VIZIO's CUSTOMER SERVICE Is AWFUL

I was not a screaming customer. I was a nice customer that told them I had been very happy with my VIZIO...and was very disappointed when it failed after only 2 years. And they would do nothing to help me get it repaired. I have never had such bad customer service with anything and I buy a lot of electronics.. VIZIO SUCKS! POOR QUALITY....VIZIO is JUNK!

[acekj1]

VIZIO SUCKS

I purschased a 50inch Plasma and I got the VIZIO "Pop of Death" after only 26 months. This is a known issue that happens at about the 2 year timeframe. I was first told by as VIZIO tech that they would repair it but I would have to fax my proof of purchase...then call back.. Well, I did and I called back and after talking to 3 techs I was told they would do nothing for me....even though this is a known manufacturing defect and it has happened to a lot of their TVS. So, don't make the the same mistake I made....buy anything but a VIZIO. I bought mine at COSTCO...but I had a Circuit City sales man tell me that an average of the 3 out 4 come back there. So, don't by VIZIO the customer support sucks and so do the TVs.

[hpew]

An Apparent Lack of Quality Control

This is what happens when you do not care about the quality of the
parts that go into the TVs. It's a great way to save money: Let the
customer take the gamble on the overall reliability of your product.

You DO get what you pay for (unless you buy Sony, and then you
pay a lot but can still find yourself in the same gamble.)

[lronmcjesus]

I am a salesman of televisions for over four years at Sears. I am not your average underachiever that you will typically find at Best Buy or Circuit City that are nothing but glorified cashiers. Reading all of your posts I would like to point out that almost none of you made a wise purchase for several reasons. Reason the first, you bought Vizio. Vizio is pure garbage and the fact that they shipped the most TVs is hardly a reason to buy one. Honestly, from my years here it is rarely the best product or even the best valued product that moves the most merchandise. It is usually the turd product with the most attractive sugar coating. Case in point the iPod for media players while they are clearly inferior to several others of their kind on the market. I won't get in to that one on this forum but most real tech oriented people realize that iPod is clearly not the best.
Second and probably the single most annoying thing to a qualified sales associate is that several of you voiced your delight in a 1080p capable TV in that price bracket. Let me say this once and for all, 1080p does not make up for god awful color and horrible black levels. It doesn't counter the fact that the image is washed out either. At the moment we are selling the Vizio 42" lcd for $1200, and yes it is a 1080p display. At the other end of the store we have 2 42" Panasonic plasmas that are cheaper and infinately better. The 720p display is $800 and the 1080p is $1000 and both are 2008 models. The is absolutely no comparison in the color quality and the smoothness of high motion between the two sets. And to all of you plasma haters, you really need to stop listening to your know it all friend that you think knows about TVs. Plasmas are better than LCDs on the whole. To get an LCD that will hang with a decent plasma, you will literally spend about double the money and you will hate your black levels in a night time setting. I own 2 LCDs myself because I bought into the hype. I will not make that mistake again as my next set that I am buying in a couple weeks is a plasma. Until the Samsung 9 series LED backlit style LCDs are more affordable I will not own another LCD. And before the usual and obvious comments bashing plasma come, let me lay some of them to rest. Number one, burn in is no longer a problem among the better sets as long as you aren't leaving static images for extreme durations. There is no such thing as a recharge and estimated gas lives among the leading brands in plasma exceed that of the backlight in an LCD. They also have superior off angle viewing, better color, and handle motion better. That is my two cents, take it for what you will.

[amayfield1979]

I must say. Based on my experience so far with my 32" Vizio LCD TV, I love it. They will do well if they continue making quality TVs at great prices. To the poster above that said it will die within 2 years I ask this.........Who keeps TVs that long these days anyway? When it starts acting flaky, it will go on craigslist and be replaced with another one.

[gametamer]

SONY SUCKS! SONY REALLY SUX! ONLY A PERSON IN DENIAL OR A SONYSUCKER WOULD DISAGREE.
I AM AN AUDIO & VIDEOPHILE. I STARTED A DJ SERVICE WITH CUSTOM BUILT SPEAKERS AT AGE 18. I HAVE HD-DVD. I HAD BLU-RAY. I RECENTLY BOUGHT A BLU/HDDVD/DVD/CD WRITER FOR MY PC.
SONY MAKES BLUE LASER/LENS ASSEMBLIES THAT HAVE A SENSITIVE AND OR SHORT LIFESPAN. A LOT OF PS3 OWNERS LOSE BLU PLAYBACK AND OF COURSE THAT MEANS NO DVD OR GAME FUNCTIONALITY.
I JUST GAVE AWAY MY SELDOM USED SONY ALL-IN-ONE DVD, FM TUNER, HOME THEATER SYSTEM. DVD STARTED TO NOT PLAY THE FIRST FEW TRIES, AND LATER, NO LOADING EVER!!!
STAY AWAY! RESIST THE NAME. IT IS A DIRTY FOUR LETTER WORD.........

[altr0s]

I enjoyed the cheaper price and the fair quality of the television until something went wrong then I found out the true side of VIZIO. The warranty covers everything... everything but the TV. They completely bend the consumer over and really ram home the fact you bought the cheaper TV. Oops should have sprang another couple hundred for a decent TV and an honest company. Don't waste your money on this, spend the extra $300 and deal with a company who cares about their customers.

[rds959]

I paid $600 for a Vizio 32" plama HDTV 15 months ago and it is starting to go out already! It takes longer and longer to come on. Now it clicks on, then off, then on... it does this sometimes 5 or 6 times before it finally comes on... an email to Vizio tech support has so far gone unanswered. $600 is about twice what I have ever paid for an analog TV which usually lasted 6 or 8 years before being replaced; and then they were usually given to someone else since they STILL worked! I'm a little disappointed that CNET gave VIZIO such a good review. I'm one of those 600,000 people who bought a Vizio but I would never buy another one!

[JamalDurrani]

I just bought a Vizio 42" 1080p at Wal-Mart for ONLY $479.00! I don't understand. But my Brother has a 40" Samsung 1080p and I have to say there isn't a big difference. he bought his refurbished for $1000 at Canada Computers. I have to say this is the best purchase I have ever made.

[richardgilson]

I'm hoping that the negative Vizio posts are just from the few and not the masses. I just ordered the 55" LED Vizio from Dell because the reviews on it have been great. It's a little pricey, but less than the other LED TV's the same size. I'm going to hope for the best. I was excited about my purchase until I read the negative posts. Not the way to start my day....ughhh.