Vizio

Congrats to Matthew S. of Stamford, Conn., for winning a Super Mario Bros. gift pack in last week's giveaway. This week, we've got a hot one for you. OK, so it's not a huge 3D TV, but it's still a 3D TV -- the 42-inch Vizio E3D420VX from Vizio.

I should also point out that this is a review sample, so it's slightly used, but it was fully checked out by our TV guru David Katzmaier, who had some good things to say about the set. While its 2D picture quality was only OK, he said the Vizio E3D0VX series "has excellent features for the price, including 3D and robust streaming." (Read the full review here).

Normally, it would cost you about $599 to buy this TV (or only $510 for a refurbished model), but one lucky winner will get it for free. How? There are a few rules, so please listen up. There will be a test. … Read more

Back in December 2011 we reviewed the Vizio Razor M3D550SR, a 3D smart television that offered decent performance and features for the price.

The only thing we didn't really go for was the 3D implementation--it was a little strong, resulting in unnatural images, and couldn't be dialed down. If 3D isn't important to you then Vizio's dedicated 2D set, the 55-inch M550SV, may be of interest to you.… Read more

Here's nearly all of the information I've been able to get from CES and since regarding the shiny new TVs of 2012.

I know it's not every TV; minor brands aren't represented, and lack of information from some manufacturers (namely Samsung) prevents me from capturing a few midrange and entry-level models. But as of press time I'm confident that the chart above contains the most comprehensive, current information on forthcoming 2012 models available anywhere.

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LAS VEGAS--Vizio is not a company that wants to be pigeonholed.

Best known for its TVs, the company threw us all a curveball at last year's Consumer Electronics Show when it showed off an Android tablet and Android phone, both of which doubled as universal remotes.

For CES 2012, Vizio's surprise announcement was a line of laptop computers. But the manufacturer is also quietly teasing its second Android tablet, the VTAB 3010 (also known as the M Series).

Unlike its first foray, the VTAB 1008, this new model has an iPad-like 10-inch screen instead of an 8-inch display. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Google TV looked like it might be on the ropes after the disappointing Honeycomb update to Android, but it's making its presence felt at CES 2012.

Vizio announced two Google TV products here at the Consumer Electronics Show: the VAP430 set-top box and the VBR430 Blu-ray. The VAP430 is one of the smallest Google TV devices available so far, looking more like a jumbo Roku box than the larger design of the Logitech Revue.

The remote included with the VAP430 will be slightly different from some of the Google TV remotes available with other products, in that apparently it will also fire IR commands to control other devices, rather than IR using blasters. There are also dedicated buttons on the remote for Amazon Instant, Netflix, and Vudu, which should be helpful for getting around Google TV's somewhat clunky interface.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Finally, a unique and worthwhile "app" comes to Google TV.

Google announced today that its much-maligned connected TV platform would support the OnLive gaming service.

OnLive's "cloud" gaming allows users to play a variety of console-quality titles on devices like PCs, tablets, and now select Google TV hardware like TVs, streaming boxes, and Blu-ray players, without having to use an actual game console.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Now I'm starting to wonder what it means for the vendors that have not announced a 27-inch all-in-one.

Asus joins HP, Vizio, and Lenovo in introducing a Windows all-in-one with a new large-screen display at CES. The ET2700 will appear this month at Best Buy with a 27-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution display built in. Like HP's Omni 27, also available now, the Asus model doesn't have a touch screen. Asus reps told me at the company's booth that it will add touch in a midyear update. I've asked for pricing information, and will update when I have it.

The screen size is really the only significant news for this system. The Core i5 CPU and GeForce 540M graphics chip should come as no surprise, and the array of ports--USB 3.0, HDMI in, eSATA--is in keeping with its competition.

I'd only note that the design of the ET2700, with its edge-to-edge glass and pedal-style support foot, joins Lenovo in borrowing liberally from Apple's iMac design language. A vendor copying Apple is also not especially newsworthy, but at least the trend remains healthy.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Google TV has a way of disappointing expectations, and one strong case in point is the Vizio's VIA Plus platform for TVs.

At CES 2011 we named the VIA Plus models as our favorite TV product of CES. They used Google TV to deliver what the company described as interoperability between the TV and Android-equipped phones and tablets. Among other features, Via Plus was also said to support the OnLive gaming service. Those extras, along with the same kind of full-array local-dimming backlight we know and love, was enough to convince us that the so-equipped TVs were going … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Do you think your wide-screen TV isn't wide enough? Vizio's 21:9 TVs have you covered.

The company's CinemaWide models, dubbed the XVT3D0CM series, offer three screen sizes (50, 58, and 71 inches) that have an aspect ratio of 21:9, which in person is noticeably wider than the normal 16:9 rectangle shape used by typical HDTVs.

The advantage of the shape, according to Vizio, is that it allows the sets to display 2.35:1 (CinemaScope) movies without any black bars. As the company points out, many big-budget Hollywood flicks are shown in CinemaScope, … Read more