Black Friday HDTV Deals

Steve Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
excellent LCD for the price., 2010-11-29
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
I was able to purchase this LCD from Amazon for the price of $599.99 on Cyber Monday, I think that's a great price, I saw several at my local Costco selling for $649.99 before $80 instant rebate, with tax and green fee pushing it to $826.16, I would say Amazon is the best deal with no tax and free shipping. anyway, when I was at several Costco stores around the San Fernando valley, and compared all the available Vizio, I have to say the picture is very high def, and very sharp when watching it from 2 feet away. the further I move back, the sharper the screen looks, but comparing next to the LED or a LG LCD, it's not as bright, and the contrast is not as dark, but then Costco has very bright ambience light in their warehouse, I usually watch TV in a lower light room. at another store, Avatar was shown, and the picture is just incredible, even sharper than the brocasted HD program. of course, the blue ray helped too. overall, I think it's a great TV for the price, if it's on sale again, don't hesitate.

Kiyo M. Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
A Quality TV from... Vizio?! Smooth. Home-Theater Feeling, 2010-11-24
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Length:: 5:41 MinsI added a video showing the VIZIO SV470M TV playing back some video games (PS3/PC) and Blu-Ray movies. Obviously, it's not going to look exactly like you would see it in real life on a recorded video camera - and on top of that, a uploaded compressed internet video/low resolution; however, you should get a better idea of the smoothness and the size.To be honest, when the brand name "Vizio" came to my mind before, I had a feeling it was more of a value brand than quality; however, I have a totally different view of them now after this TV. I'm impressed and more than satisfied with this TV compared to my Toshiba 40RV525R 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV47" is quite a nice size. What a difference just 7" makes. Movies and games feel way more thrilling than it ever did with the Toshiba 40" HDTV. It's a really good size for feeling like you're at the movies, but just at home.Besides the size being an obvious upgrade, the 120Hz and "Smooth Technology" is really the other main selling point here. If you ever wanted that real feeling like you're looking through a window, then you'll want a fast motion 120Hz TV because the movement will really look faster and seem more life-like. This is really great for sports and reality TV because it really feels like you're actually there more. It really does make a difference.However, this can be a bad thing for watching most film movies (shot at 24FPS) because it will literally make you feel like a movie shot on a film looking like it was originally shot on digital video instead! Some films just end up feeling really cheap at those speeds and is really distracting to watch (especially those shaky camera films because you'll notice the camera being more berserk than before and end up giving you more seizures; the subtle camera movements will be even more noticeable). Moreover, sometimes, when set to the max smoothness, it feels like the movie is being fast-forwarded but with the audio still magically syncing up...Thankfully, the "Smooth Technology" can be disabled to still have that film feel (although it's still pretty smooth)! I've actually become a fan of this feature (even for someone like me who doesn't really like the modern digital look and prefers 24FPS film look) because it can actually give a whole new experience on watching films; it really gives a strange raw feeling like you're there at the scene watching it. You can enjoy movies in two different ways! It's really nice watching animation films with this feature on.I find myself constantly turning this feature on and off depending on the content. I really wish there was easier access or button on the remote to quickly change this! It actually gets very cumbersome pressing "Menu", then "Picture", then scrolling to "Advanced Video", and then scrolling again to "Smooth Mode Effect" just to turn this feature on/off.Speaking of the menu, it is really small and only takes up a small section of the screen. I also find it strange in order to change the aspect ratio, it's under the "Setup" option instead of the "Picture" setting. What's worse is there is no button on the remote to quickly change aspect ratios either! The remote is VERY basic. It's as basic as it can get.Watching Planet Earth on Blu-Ray is much more enjoyable and thrilling with the 120Hz Smooth Technology because it really feels like I'm looking through a window now.I also played PC and PS3 games on this and it looks fantastic. I played NBA 2K11, and with this TV, it really felt like I was at a real game! It is smooth 5ms and the experience is just so much more fun and amazing than it was on my Toshiba. It is such a blast to play it on this TV.The audio on this TV actually impressed me too. You can't expect much from built-in speakers, especially in the bass department, but there's really good surround sound/depth feel to it (again, playing NBA 2K11 sounded like I was at the game!) It is without a doubt, the speakers on this is better than the one is on the Toshiba.Most people should be very satisfied with the video quality. Despite this being 7" larger than my Toshiba, I find it to be sharper; it doesn't look that bad up-close like it did with the Toshiba. The further away you are, the better it will look.I have seen deeper colors from other TVs and I also feel the blacks were better on the Toshiba, being really picky, but overall, I'm still happy with the way it looks.This TV definitely doesn't deserve anything below a 4 stars (unless you get a defected/broken unit). I give it a 4 or 4.5/5. Even though I'm a harsh rater and also very picky, at this price range, most people should be more than satisfied. I really do like this TV.I have a more positive feeling towards the Vizio name brand now.Recommended.Pros:+ 47" is a great size/quality for feeling the impact of a home theater+ Nice sexy black design+ 120Hz "Smooth Technology" gives it a more life-like feel like you're looking through a window instead of a TV screen (it can also be turned off)+ Great speakers (bass is never that impressive with built-in speakers, but the surround sound range is nice on these)+ Great 178 degree viewing angle - even watching it from the side.+ Power cable is detachable from TV (not pre-wired)+ Easy to set-up; the base is already mounted+ Handles on the back for easier lifting+ Good valueCons:- Can't turn off the "Vizio" brand name logo front bezel glow light (why couldn't they add an option to disable this light? The Toshiba has an option to do so! When the TV is off, it will glow orange; when on, it will glow white)- Very basic remote options- Menu option is a little cumbersome to work with

growinorchids Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Beware!!!, 2011-01-31
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
We purchased this TV on a cyber monday in December 2010. We have returned it twice for the same reason. When changing channels, the volume cuts out and the only way to get it to go back on is to shut off the TV and then turn it back on. (Which takes at least 15 seconds). It's really annoying. If you want to watch a different show while on commercial break, it's a game of roulette as to whether when you turn back, you will have sound. Don't forget, I said this has happened with 2 different Vizio TVs!!! We called Vizio to problem solve and they had no answer but to send it back. There are a few reviews out there that discuss this same issue. The TV itself is great--it's our first LCD. But we could not deal with the issue of the audio. We are now returning the TV and getting a refund. I'm definitely not buying a Vizio again.

JohnNJ Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Very Pleased, 2010-12-06
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Very pleased with the Vizio SV470M HDTV I got on Cyber Monday for $599, free shipping, no tax. Can't beat this deal. The picture is great, better than my Sony HDTV. The sound is fine. Easy to set up. Initially I had a little problem with some channels only getting pictures but no sound If I use HDMI to connect my TV with Set-Top-Box. No problem with Component or Composite connections. I finally got it fixed by changing the sound output of the Set-Top-Box from Auto to L-PCM. How to do this is a little tricky. You need to google 'Vizio No Sound' to find out how to do it with your particular Set-Top-Box. Overall, I am very pleased.

video_dude Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Disregard the nay-sayers, 2010-12-11
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
I bought this also on the cyber monday. We've been postponing the upgrade to HD for a long time waiting for the price to come down and the quality to go up. I've used vizio plasmas at work and panasonic screens for various AV productions. And I'm a videographer so I'm pretty picky. Also, I have no affiliation with Vizio nor do I care about the success of any particular product. This is simply my honest review!All that being said . . . here's my response to my purchase.Shipping: Amazon should stop using Pilot. Another company had to take pilots shipments from them and I got the TV 3 days after the estimated delivery date. When you're as excited as I was to get a new TV this was worse than waiting for Christmas to come. It did arrive, safely and in one piece though so I can't complain too much. At least I didn't have to go get it.Packaging: Vizio's packaging is excellent. As one reviewer said there are 4 plastic tabs that hold the bottom of the box to the top. Pop the tabs and lift. Unit inside was very secure.Setup and Use: hardest part was getting the 220lb 36" Sony out of the way. Not joking. 4 HDMI inputs made connection super simple. The remote is a little too plain jane for me, but nothing a universal remote wouldn't fix. But it's intuitive enough to work. The menu is a little wacky, but figuring out where things are and what they do wasn't that hard. Not going to complain about it, once I found the settings and got it set I doubt I'll go back and change it again.Audio: it's a TV so I didn't have high expectations of the audio quality. I hooked up a blu-ray player via HDMI and watched Toy Story 2. It was missing bass presence, but at moderate volume it was clear. Better than I expected it to be. Then I discovered it has an optical output and I could pass the surround sound from HDMI to the optical output . . . GENIUS! Worked well and sounded better through my AV system.Picture Quality: Wow - that's the short answer. The picture, color, contrast, and overall image quality on this set is fantastic. For my first HDTV I will say I'm impressed. I wanted LCD for the wide viewing angle - got it. I wanted the higher refresh rate for sharpness - got that too. Good, even brightness and contrast - yup. There was one really weird thing that bugged me about the TV. We watched an SD DVD and the motion was surreal. At first I thought it was just getting used to HD output, but there was something really unnatural about it. After some fiddling around and experimenting I discovered that in the menu there are 2 "effects" to tinker with: smooth mode effect and real cinema mode. Do yourself a favor and turn these off from the get go. I'm sure that in the preset scenes these are either on or off, but I found it so distracting that I didn't want to watch what was on the TV. Turned it off and was blown away. I have a samsung home theater in a box set (HT X50) and it has an HDMI out on it. The output is 480p. There was some noise on screen due to the TV's scaling the standard def image up, but in the menu there's a setting for noise reduction. I cranked it all the way up and watched Oceans 11 on regular DVD. The quality was easily passable for 720p. VERY IMPRESSED.Conclusion: Ignore the weird naysayers in the forums and comments. TV's have come a long way and this one is not an exception. I am happy and for $650 after tax I have NO regrets. The biggest question I have is in terms of the product's longevity. Vizio has often come under fire for product durability. But I wanted at least a 47" TV and didn't want to pay more than $650 for it.

yesviziosucks Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Customer Service is the WORST, 2011-01-20
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
I purchased a 47" Vizio LCD SV470M six weeks ago. Delivery from Amazon was excellent and the TV was very easy to set up. When the TV was five weeks old, I started having problems with the volume (when turning the TV on, there was no volume...you had to channel up or down to get volume then you could put the TV back on the channel that you wanted to watch).I called Vizio tech support on 1/15/11 and they had me unplug the TV, hold the power button for 35 seconds then plug it back in. This solved the problem for the next two times that the TV was turned off and back on but after that the problem returned. I called tech support once again on 1/17/11 and was told that they would set up an appointment to have someone come out and fix the TV and all they needed was a copy of my shipping or purchase invoice. They said to fax that and to call them the following day to get the time and date of the service appointment. I faxed a copy of the shipping invoice to them immediately, called the following day (1/18/11) and was told that they could only accept a copy of the original invoice. So, I faxed a copy of that to them and called them back. Was told to call back the following day. OK, now I'm on my 5th phone call with them and still no satisfaction. I called them again on 1/19/11 and was told that they were in receipt of the invoice and they had accepted it (very big of them, huh?) and that someone would call me the following day to set up the date and time of the repair appointment. Well, guess what?...no phone call so I called them once again on 1/20/11 and was told everything was approved and someone would call me the following day....WTH???Six days....still no appointment??? I fumed for a couple of hours and decided to call back and speak to a supervisor...was told no one was in and one would call me back within an hour. Well, three hours passed and still no call so I called them again (call #8). Spoke to woman who said someone in my area would call me within 7 business days after he received the parts.I inquired how do they know what parts were needed to be ordered when no one has looked at the TV. She replied "they know these things" (another WTH moment on my part). I told her I wanted to speak to a supervisor and she said they were all in a meeting then proceeded to hang up on me.This is the worst customer service I have ever encountered and I will NEVER recommend Vizio to anyone. Not sure what I'm going to do next but do know that if I were near Utah I'd be at their door right now !!!

Adam the Sporadic Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Pleasantly Surprised, 2010-12-13
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
I bought this TV on Cyber Monday, and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality, ease of use, and value of this television. For the price I paid, I was expecting a solidly mediocre TV: I was anticipating some amount of blurriness and lackluster sound, but was willing to take this considering the good price. However, I vastly underestimated this TV. From the moment of unboxing through many hours of use, the TV has consistently surpassed my expectations. The manual was a paragon of clarity; the inputs are plentiful and well-located; the TV design is attractive; and the unit is configured very well out of the box. I tweaked the color and brightness settings a little, and turned off the smooth motion, and now the TV is performing like one twice its price. Even the remote control, which some people have complained about, seems fine to me. After reading some reviews, I was expecting some crummy, cheap feeling thing with 4 buttons. In fact, the remote feels sturdy and well built, and I think it looks attractive, if simple. I'm going to get a universal remote at some point just so I can control all of my components, but for now the included remote is perfectly fine.

Chief1-1 Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
A super value!, 2010-12-14
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
I was looking to upgrade, but didn't want to spend a fortune. Cyber Monday, the 47" Vizio, was marked down to $[...]. I liked the advertised features, so I bought it.[...]Set up was a breeze, maybe 10 minutes. Picture quality is really good. I will admit, the remote could use a few more features and quick menu navigation to some of the features would be nice. Sound for a factory speaker system is actually pretty good. It's not home theater, but is distortion free, with good response. On my HD receiver the picture is top notch. Clear, crisp, and with blu-ray, it is even better. Black levels are pretty good. Colors very vibrant. Anyone wanting to upgrade to what I would call a great tv at a good price, I highly recommend.

Penmouse Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Crisp picture, excellent sound, good value for the dollar, 2010-11-24
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
We watched Thanksgiving football games. We've watched movies and television programs. We've used the TV to play video games. All have been seen with a flawless, crisp and true-to-color detail. The sound is pretty good too. Of course it helps to be using hubby's custom built transmission line stereo speakers to be listening to the TV broadcast (Did I mention he's an audiophile that builds speakers for a hobby?). This TV is an excellent value for the dollar.We also used the OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD, DVD-Audio, and VRS Technology Spears & Munsil Hi Def Benchmark Blu-ray Edition (We purchased the Oppo Blu Ray player at Amazon and would recommend it highly for anyone who cares about audio and video fidelity) to test the benchmarks for the Vizio TV. While watching benchmark test disc we could see ripples in the water, the picture was very crisp with clear definition. The fountain scene was almost lifelike and there was no pixelation. The color black was awesome! Probably the best we've ever seen on an LCD TV."It ain't 3D but it almost appears 3D," said my husband who is an audiophile and television hobbyist.When tested the color bars seemed true to spec and very clear.Set up was relatively easy and the TV was up and running within minutes.Highly recommend based on a good value for the money.

Nick Say: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
Excellent value-priced LCD, 2010-12-21
This review is for: VIZIO SV470M 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with 120 Hz Smooth Motion
We have been looking to replace our 10+ year old rear-projection HDTV, but it was hard to justify paying close to $1000 to replace a TV that just wouldn't die. When I received the cyber-Monday email advertising this TV for $599, I figured the time had come. However, I started reading the reviews, starting with the negatives, and read a string of them complaining that all the positive reviews came from the vine program and were thus biased. I saw some logic in this argument, but ultimately gave in to the price and desire to re-claim some floorspace in the living room. I am here to say that not only were 'vine program' reviews accurate (this is a great TV deal even for the normal price), but also to offset the negative reviews that weren't really reviews at all.The picture quality is fantastic and on par with much more expensive units. That of course is my non-technical opinion, but I have been researching this purchase for more than a year. During that time I have probably stared at 1000+ different screens and this one looks as good as many of the sony, samsung and lg models that cost $500+ more.All the connections are easy to get to and switching between inputs is painless compared to some other models I have played with. The stand raises it up high enough that my soundbar doesn't interfere with the remote. I like the 'hidden' side buttons. They are easy to access from the front or side, but not visible at all from the front.My only comment would be that I wish it would automatically go to sleep when it loses signal (like when the dvr goes into standby) as some other models do. I also find it annoying that while it is muted there is a rather large icon in the lower right hand side of the screen. Since I use this with an external soundbar I like to mute the TV's sound otherwise you get a re-verb effect. The mute icon means that I just have to turn the volume all the way down, so it's not that big of a deal.To give a product a bad 'review' just because you don't agree with a promotional process (the vine program), not only hurts your credibility as a reviewer, but it also undermines the value in a consumer-based rating system that many of us rely on to make decisions on products that we can't see and touch ourselves.