Geeks.com, known for their cheap televisions, sent us in the 22″ Vizio VO22LFHDTV model for a review. This full 1080p has the size of a PC monitor, so it was tested as both a TV and a PC monitor, and as a hybrid: external TV monitor for video editing while connected to a PC. Its size makes it ideal for such a scenario, but is it really the ideal product for this kind of usage?
This traditional technologically-speaking LCD HDTV, sports a full 1920×1080 progressive resolution, a dot pitch of 0.248 mm, an integrated NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner, 5 ms response time, 16.7 Million colors, 300 cd/m2 brightness, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 that can be boosted to 5000:1 when in the dynamic mode, and a respectable viewable angle at 170 degree horizontally & 160 degree vertically. It has a removable and adjustable base and it’s wall-mountable. The TV can operate both at 50 (PAL) and 60 Hz (NTSC). Other hardware features include two 3 Watt speakers, one RF input, two HDMI with HDCP ports, 1 component YPbPr port, 1 composite port, 1 S-Video port, and a 15-pin VGA port with a 3.5mm stereo port (only works when the VGA port is connected). It also has an SPDIF digital optical audio and a Stereo Mini Jack for headphone operations.
The remote control is very simple to use, it has much fewer buttons on it compared to other TVs, and that’s a good thing. All operations can be carried out with this uncongested remote, so this is a job well done by Vizio. The on-TV controls are located on the right side of the device, vertically. When the TV is on stand-by the word “Vizio” is illuminated in a nice yellow color on the front of display.
I was positively surprised to see the amount of options the user can play with: backlight, brightness, contrast, color saturation, tint, sharpness, color temperature, black level extension on/off, white peak limiter, CTI on/off, flesh tone on/off, adaptive luma on/off (to automatically change the settings depending on how much light is in the room), volume, bass, treble, audio balance, surround audio on/off, sleep timer, H/V picture position, English, Spanish and French languages. The TV has only two picture modes though, Wide and 4:3 (most TVs have more settings, e.g. panorama, cinema, smart stretch etc).
The picture mode has four presets: Movie (low contrast, more natural look), Game (for gaming, to help with burn in), Custom, and Standard (super-saturated and contrasty). Each one of these are customizable with the above mentioned settings. Thankfully, the Movie mode was the default setting. I played with all the settings and tried to create an even more natural look: lower contrast, lower sharpness and color, a look that I absolutely love as it’s more “filmic”, and more in line with what plasma TVs do. The angle of viewing was pretty good, and the black levels were considerably better than the previous TV I reviewed last year, so for a cheap LCD, these aspects were very acceptable. Of course, quality-wise this TV can not compete with our $3600 Pioneer Kuro plasma TV, but I didn’t expect it to anyway.
However, what I did expect it to do correctly was its PC support. Unfortunately, the monitor adds a sharpen filter internally, after it receives the signal, and so even if you cram all the way down to 0 the “sharpness” setting, it will still be over-sharpened, making it impossible to view your footage or your operating system’s GUI as it’s supposed to be. Therefore, graphics or video work becomes too imprecise with this model. Only movie viewing and PC gaming doesn’t seem that much of a big deal with this flaw. When I googled about it, I found that other Vizio models suffer from the same problem.
The positive surprise was the quality of the sound out of these small speakers. Definitely better than what I expected, and better than my PC speakers.
Overall, this is a good product though, with enough settings and picture quality compared to most cheap TVs out there, it’s just that there are 2-3 things that could have been done better, especially its PC support.
Rating: 7/10
What monitor is your daily PC monitor (for comparison)? And while following the link gave me the price it would have been nice to be part of the article.
P.S. Welcome back Eugenia, I am glad to see you here again.
Thanks. I am using a complex setup with up to 4 monitors (depends what I am doing each time), but this is what I mostly used and compared for the PC support:
22” Viewsonic VS11446 and the 28″ HannsG HG281DJB.
Edited 2009-02-16 03:53 UTC
Small world, I have a pair of HG281D monitors attached to my Mac Pro – worth every penny. 🙂
I have a 28″ hanns-g. Totally pleased with it except for a stuck green pixel right in the middle of the screen.
Question:
Don’t these 1080p televisions run @24/48fps instead of the 60fps that most computer monitors run at?
Not usually. Plus, it wouldn’t have been really nice watching something at 24 fps. Even 48 hz is not enough, too flickery. Our Pioneer Kuro TV does support 24p via the 72 Hz trick and it’s smoother than Panasonic’s 48 Hz support.
doesn’t flicker only exist on CRT and PDP?
And there we have it. From the Martha Stuart of the video world. The world is on the brink of economic collapse. The oceans are rising. The glaciers are melting. And Eugenia is worried about 48 Hz being too flickery on her big-screen TV.
Edited 2009-02-16 10:59 UTC
…and we have you taking the time to make a comment about it. You do see the irony in that one, don’t you?
Sorry to go off topic but…Sbergman27. what happened to you? It used to be that you were by a far margin the commenter I respected the most. Your comments were consistently so well thought and on target I would read them if I saw them on the side bar, even if I had no interest in the article. Over the last few months you have taken to being vicious for no reason I can determine sometimes though. You still post insightful stuff, but you have become just another poster and this makes me sad.
Eugenia enjoys doing video work and does it quite a bit. So she has formed opinions on the tech involved. Similarly you have developed opinions on the tech (and programs) involved in thin clients. When you make comments about epiphany I understand that at least in part it is from your experience in your field. This flavors the opinion and I do not make light of your experience when you comment about it.
I expect attack pieces from some of the others but not you. Or at least I used to not expect it.
The whole point is that the refresh rate won’t cause any flicker on a TFT screen. Not because the number is too low.
There’s a reason why TVs are cheaper per-inch than computer monitors.
Also, as someone who has worked in electrical retail and home theatre setup: Not only should you not buy a cheap LCD TV for use as a computer monitor, but you should not buy a cheap LCD TV. Period.
Agreed. Just sit closer, dammit! Unfortunately, Best Buy keeps a fairly formidable “size matters” field operational during their hours of business.
Edited 2009-02-16 09:41 UTC
Last year I purchased a Vizio 22″ Monitor/TV to use as a TV in my bedroom. The picture quality is fine but I was very disappointed in the on screen text. It would ok if you were sitting in front of it like a monitor but it was too small to view as a TV.
Eugenia, this was I have been wondering about in many ways. I have an “old fashioned” TV and have wondered about how a 22″ or 23″ LCD TV would be as a replacement, especially in the context of having a small apartment I live in by myself. Too small? Just about right? What do you think? Thanks!
I’d say it’s a bit too small. I think that a 32″ 1080p (or even 720p) would be just right for a small apartment (unless you don’t have the money for such a bigger TV). I could only suggest a 22″ if you are living in a small college room and you want to couple the TV as a PC monitor and gaming monitor.
haha I must be living in the 90’s still because my sole household television is a whopping 19 inches, and CRT. Exactly the same as one of my computer monitors; the other is 17 inches, and both are sadly CRT. :S
TFT doesn’t mean necessarily “better than CRT”. In fact, I sometimes think about replacing my TFT with a good CRT again.
heh, the single TV in use at my house is a ~36-40″ “floor tv”. You know, the ones that look like furniture and you can use as a table? I love it
Best speakers ever.
I much prefer the image of a CRT over an LCD. I’ve had to work with lots of various LCDs, including the 20″ Apple Cinema Displays. And there is something about it I can’t put my finger on that I do not like. I’m thinking about replacing the Trinitron on my NeXT with an LCD just for space/power concerns, but my main PC will stay with my 19″ CRT for awhile yet.