Customer Reviews

Absolutely Love this TV
I've had my Vizio SV472XVT TV for around 2 months so far (I bought it directly from Vizio in a special deal they had pre-release). I can't say enough good things about it.

First, the LED backlit screen produces an excellent picture. I would go so far as to say it's on PAR with any Samsung or Sony that I've seen. Blu-ray movies and PS3 games look perfect.

The collection of "widgets" is amazing. Netflix Streaming, Amazon-on-Demand, Vudu, Pandora, Rhapsody, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, Flickr, various Yahoo widgets, the list goes on. Some games like Sudoku and Texas Hold'em, which are neat, but would be better if you could watch TV while playing them. They have even added widgets since I bought the TV. That was actually an unusual experience seeing my TV doing an automatic firmwear update. My TV is connected to the internet through my wireless G router and a cable internet connection and streaming video quality is excellent. I've taken to watching a lot of Netflix HD streaming (there's a good amount of TV shows that stream in HD. The movie selection isn't as great), but I've also watched streamed HD video from Amazon on Demand and Vudu (HDX on Vudu which is 1080p). I haven't had a single video quality problem streaming from any of these sources.

The bluetooth remote is a bit of a love/hate relationship though.
The Loves:
1. Having a full qwerty keyboard is awesome, especially while searching through the widgets, or posting to twitter or facebook through the TV.
2. The bluetooth connectivity is great. I don't have to point it at the TV to change the volume or turn it on. It unfortunately still needs to be pointed at the cable box. That's something I can live with.
3. It was very easy to setup.

The Hates:
1. I was hoping a bluetooth remote to be able to communicate with my PS3, unfortunately I'm still using a PS3 controller when watching blu-rays.
2. It's just not very comfortable. It's square and there was no thought to ergonomics. And the shiny finish is a fingerprint magnet.
3. It doesn't have all the buttons that I would like from my cable remote. Page Up/Down and Day +- are the main ones. The absence of Page Up/Down can be a drag and at times leaves me reaching for the cable remote, the Day +- isn't as much of a loss.

All-in-all, it was absolutely worth the price and I would buy it again. Although, I would consider the 55-inch as well.

Macbook Pro Users Watch Out!
I had compared lots of similar HDTVs with different brands such as Samsung, Sony, LG, etc... Then, I found out Vizio provided the best price and more functions than other brand name TVs; therefore, I decided to go for Vizio SV472XVT. Personally, this is my first HDTV, and I loved it very much. Everything is great about this TV, but there are few things I would like to point out.

1. I tried to use this TV as a big screen for my Macbook Pro. I followed the instruction on TV menu and connected this TV with a mini-display/HDMI cable on HDMI 3 port and Y-split audio cable for sound, and it didn't work. In the beginning, I thought I might have problems with my new cables and my Macbook Pro; so, I called Apple to have my computer and cable checked out at Apple store. Then, everything worked fine there. After that, I called Vizio about this problem, and they couldn't figure out what's wrong with it (I spent more than hours on total 3 calls with them. The good thing is Vizio customer service was very patient and nice with me.) The only thing they could recommend was to use the VGA(RBG as on Vizio) cable instead of HDMI cable. So, I tried that, and it worked fine... I just felt sad that I couldn't use the HDMI to get better images from my computer. I went to my friend's house to test the computer on a Sony TV, and didn't have this problem. So, the only thing I could think of is the TV HDMI is not compatible with Macbook Pro. However, it could only happen on my computer or TV. I do recommend to bring your Macbook Pro to test it out before you buy it if it is an important issue to you as to me. (By the way, the HDMI 3 port I tested with my PS3 was fine.)

2. The TV has lots of small applications to access certain websites, but there is no browser, which means you can't go anywhere as you wanted. Before I got this TV, I used PS3 to view and browse internet on TV. When I noticed the internet capability on this TV, I was expecting it might have the same function as PS3. Well, apparently, I was wrong. I read lots of reviews before I went for this TV, and I didn't see anyone mentioned about this point... So, I just want to point this out... I also checked with Vizio about the browser issue, and they don't have a plan to develop one just yet... However, it might happen in the future... I just don't know how long do I need to wait for that to happen. ^_^

3. The model #SV472XVT is very confusing with another model #XVT472SV that doesn't have internet capability. I ordered SV472XVT from Amazon, and they delivered the wrong model. So, I had to place another order to replace the wrong model because Amazon couldn't make a change on the first order. I waited for around 3 weeks for this TV to arrive from the first day I ordered. Also, Amazon forgot to notice the shipper to swap the wrong TV for me. The huge TV box was siting with me for another 5 days, and I am still waiting a refund from Amazon due to late return. So, it will be better to double check with the shipper or Amazon that you are getting a correct model before it happened to your order too.

Basically, I wanted to give a 4.5 rating to this TV, but there is no such option available. So, I decided to give a 4-star rating. I do hope the HDMI 3 issue can be solved, and I am still waiting Vizio's feed back. If the problem was solved, I will update my review here again.

Dawn of a new era of HDTV's from Vizio? Let's hope so!
I received this item around the last week of March 2010 and decided to postpone submitting my comments about this HDTV until my excitement wore off. The verdict........ Very GOOD!

Let's start w/ the packaging. Vizo, I think has the coolest packaging I've seen to date. The box the TV came in is so colorful plus it advertises all the cool neat features you will find on the HDTV that's inside. There is also these (4) neat little plastic clips on the base of the box that you simply squeeze and pull out. This allows the end user to lift the outer carton up and off the base of the carton to reveal the foam protected TV that's covered in clear plastic. Now that's what I call making an impressive introduction!

To be honest the TV styling is very bland and the silver piece is kinda cheesy. I would have loved to have seen this TV with the Vizio "Java" styled bezel but in a solid black color instead of the brown (Now that would have been SWEEEEET).

The setup went very smooth, however the picture on this HDTV out the box was cranked too high for my taste. Trying to adjust the settings on my own was a real challenge with so many options that the picture settings allows. I just finally ended up going online to [...] and punched in a great starter picture setting. The setting gave my TV picture that beautiful image "Pop" after some personal tweaking of course.

The remote was not very comfortable to hold unless I was typing on the Qwerty keypad. The keypad is responsive, even though the buttons are a bit stiff, but it's new so I'm sure over time they will soften somewhat. The bluetooth signal is very strong and the Apps fuction works very well. The video / movie streaming via VUDU was very good with minimal buffering using AT&T Elite DSL service.

Ok.. Let me break this review down into Pro's and Cons.

Pro's:

Brilliant packaging! A well thought out and consumer friendly packaging that's second to none that I've seen. It makes shipping TV's like these so much easier and safer for both retailer and consumer.

Simple set up. The TV pretty much walked me through setting up the cable connection and WiFi internet.

The remote control is responsive most of the time and the Blue-tooth works well with this TV. I can't comment on how well it works with other devices because I only used it on the Vizio TV exclusively.


The Vizio Apps is why I purchased this HDTV and they performed wonderfully. Once you've streamed movies wireless via Netflix and Vudu you will not want to watch rentals any other way (except in Blue Ray). Nice job Vizio! Side note: Vudu has more HD and HDX movies than Netflix.

There's plenty of picture settings (can be a bit overwhelming from some).
Picture is bright crisp, clear and almost flawless once the picture settings are set just right.

The built in HD tuner pulled in so many of HD & SD channels! I'm just running basic cable to the back of the TV without a box. I was really surprised that no one mentioned in their review how receptive the Vizio tuners are. Really impressive!

The TV sound is acceptable and much better than most this size, but it's no home theater either.

Price and value! You can't beat the amount of features you get on this TV for the price ....it's unmatched period. !

Now the Cons:

The TV styling is bland and cheesy. (The "Java" bezel should have been used for this TV, but in a solid black or solid gray color)

The remote is very chunky and does not feel comfortable unless you're typing on the Qwerty keypad.

All (3) USB ports are disabled. That's unacceptable and could be a deal breaker until it is resolved. I would have liked one USB to have been functional, but all three is just terrible.

The Vizio logo is always on. Stand-by color is orange (off mode). Power on color is bright white (On mode). There's no setting to turn the logo light off. It's my understanding that this is common on all Vizio sets but the end user should have a way to turn it off if they want to.

TV locked up a few times requiring me to unplug it from the wall and reboot. This happened while cycling through the TV menu settings twice and while watching a TV show once on cable.

The TV also makes a subtle clicking / popping sound 20 to 30 seconds after it has been powered off. I don't no why nor have I contacted Vizio to find out why. Like I said it's very subtle not annoying.

There was also a problem with the TV remembering custom settings after changing channels or turning the TV off and on. That problem seems to have subsided now (possibly via automatic firmware update).

The confusing model numbers. I made a mistake and ordered the Tru-LED model without Vizio Apps by mistake because of the similarity of the model numbers. Fortunately, I was able to catch my mistake in time before the incorrect TV had shipped out to me.

Overall:

I would recommend this TV for the price. I believe this TV could serve as a new beginning (if you will) for the Vizio brand, but only time and reliability will tell. I truly hope Vizio embraces this opportunity to push forward and produce quality HDTV products that can garner a new respect for the Vizio brand. Let's hope so!