Vizio GV47LF LCD TV

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Repeat Performance?

September 12th, 2008 -- by
Source: Playback
Products in this article:GV47LF

In the five short years since Vizio started selling flat-panel TVs in the U.S., the company has steadily increased its market share until it is now ranked No. 1 in unit sales. This tremendous and rapid success is due to the high value offered by these TVs—in particular, surprisingly good picture quality for surprisingly little money. Does the 47-inch, 1080p GV47LF LCD TV lives up to the company’s well-earned reputation? Let’s see ...

Features

  • Elegant design with detachable, bottom-mounted speakers.
  • No 1:1 mode, which means some pixels in a 1080i or 1080p signal are cropped from all four edges of the image, and the picture is a bit softened.
  • 1-year, in-home warranty, Zero Bright Pixel Defect guarantee. (TV is replaced if even one pixel is stuck on), lifetime tech support by e-mail or phone.

User Interface

Remote

  • Illuminated remote is universal, can control four devices.
  • Buttons small and undifferentiated.
  • Direct-access buttons for each type of input; yea!

Menu System

  • Well-organized, easy to navigate.
  • Basic picture controls drop to bottom of screen for adjustment; advanced picture controls do not, making it difficult to see what you’re adjusting.

Recommended User Settings

Picture Adjust

  • Backlight: 0
  • Contrast: 83
  • Brightness: 53
  • Color: 53
  • Tint: +3
  • Sharpness: 2
  • Color Temperature: Warm

Advanced Picture Adjust

  • DNR: Off
  • Black Level Extender: Off
  • White Peak Limiter: Off
  • CTI: Off
  • Flesh Tone: Off
  • Dynamic Backlight: Off
  • Adaptive Luma: Off

Performance

  Detail Color Blacks Shadow Detail Artifacts/Noise
HD DVD
(Apollo 13)		 Much better than DVD;
instruments and control
panels crisp.		 Natural all around, including
skin tones, green grass.		 Not great; space was washed out and letterbox bars were always apparent. Few scenes in this title to test this. Ringing much less than with DVD.
DVD
(Star Trek: Insurrection)		 Not quite as sharp as I’ve seen in other comparable TVs. Excellent; skin tones natural,
realistic green foliage.		 Black of space fairly washed
out and flat.		 Pretty poor; much of lowlight detail in observation post lost in solid dark patches. Ghostly white lines at edges (technically called “ringing”) could not be completely eliminated.
  • Ambient Light Tolerance: No problem; puts out lots of light.
  • Viewing Angle: Better than many LCDs.
  • Audio: About average for TVs.

 

Conclusion

Vizio’s reputation for high value takes a bit of a hit with the GV47LF. The blacks were not as deep as I like to see, and shadow detail was so-so at best. DVD images were not exemplary— slightly soft with some unavoidable white ghost lines. The sharpness and ringing were much better on HD DVD, and the color was generally good on both. At $1800, this is among the least expensive 47- inch LCDs on the market, so any criticisms must be taken in that context. Even with the shortcomings I found, TV buyers on a budget would be well-advised to take a good look at the GV47LF.