Well I was going to buy from woot until I saw it $30 cheaper on the deals.woot site. If you buy it on the other site and pick up a squaretrade warranty for a year, it’s still cheaper then buying from woot.
I bought this tv last summer from Walmart for $408. Office Max had it recently for $299. TV works great for me, only downside is that there are only 2 HDMI ports.
720 not worth it
LCD screens work with a back lit, polarized screen. The liquid crystal cells “twist” polarization to pass more or less light.
In low room light, like at night, a bright back light can wash out the blacks and the whites may be glaring bright. That same back light level during the day will be too dim. The white areas will be dim or gray, and the dark areas will be blacked out.
So the TV senses the ambient light and adjusts the backlight to give you the best contrast range.
See this Vizio press release discussing some of the back light and edge light technology.. Then click the link for the “reviews tab” to read details about the impact this can make.
anyone else expect blinking lights of a wootoff?
My guess is next Tuesday. Of course, it’s just a guess,…
Uh, the deals.woot bar has it for $220.99 w/ free shipping
I own the 320va and have had great luck with it. Someone ask about the light on front. Easy to fix I would think the vl is the same.
Remove the back easy to do the light plugs into the board inside top right hand side. Tv works fine without it.
I haven’t had a Vizio yet that I have been entirely impressed with, but for 250 and 1080i, i’d say this is worth it.
From the description:
“Digital Ambient Light Sensor that automatically adjusts backlight levels to the brightness of its surrounding”
Keep in mind that this uses the older technology of CCFL backlighting (aka fluorescent), not LEDs. As such, the lifespan will likely be shorter. The tubes, for example, can crack from impact and they generate heat.
The bigger issue, however, is how this Ambient Light Sensor affects the tubes. In general, fluorescent tubes can’t use dimmers, and the newer ones can generally have shorter lifespans. I wonder if this feature is actually useful, however. I mean, how often do you find yourself dimming your laptop to ambient light? It’s very easy to do so but I’ve never done it. And about 30 years ago, Zenith TVs (remember them?) had a similar photocell-circuitry to dim their TVs in accordnace to ambient light. The feature was not a hit. No other company copied the technology and even Zenith dropped it in future models.
Probably way more review than you ever really wanted to read about this tv…
http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/Vizio-E320VL-LCD-HDTV-Review.htm
Unfortunately, that PR page is about their LED-backlight TVs. This model uses the older technology of CCFL (aka fluorescent) tubes. Dimming CCFLs is quite a bit harder than dimming LEDs, and dimming CCFLs will likely impact their lifespan. Just compare the impact of lowering the voltage on a fluorescent bulb vs that on an LED. The LED, like that in flashlights, will generally dim. Fluorescent bulbs, however, will flicker.
ALL? Do any others have the option to shut it off? Thanks for the heads up.
Mine doesnt. I have a 22 inch though.
Costco had a -$60.00 coupon. I paid $279.99 + sales tax + CA recycle fee.
Design:
Picture - great
Sound - OK on some channels, bad on others
On screen info boxes - way too small
Remote - design really sucks
Quality:
Sometimes switches itself to mute. A nusance.
My Costco 90 day return rights expired 2/26.
I see from the posts other places to buy this one for less than I paid Costco, but it’s too late now.
Maybe I should have spent more $$ and got another brand.
You can’t get a Squaretrade warranty on it though. There is no classification as “excellent” Only new and refurbished unless you buy it on eBay. And I would definatly want a extended warranty
Where is NightGhost? I can’t make a decision without those quality posts.
It’s cold and lonely in here.
He’s here, more nowadays with comments on wine.woot:
http://members.woot.com/NightGhost
For what it’s worth, this was some of his comments last woot, from the woot before–hope he doesn’t mind:
mkentosh wrote:Froogled
NightGhost wrote:You don’t really need 1080p on a screen this size:
1080p charted: Viewing distance to screen size
About response rates:
60Hz vs. 120Hz vs. 240Hz vs. 480Hz - LCD Response Rate