Vizio L37 37" HDTV LCD TV

(I am presuming the reader is already familiar with the specs of this unit. I will focus my writeup on this unit's weaknesses and my reasons for returning it.)

I owned a Vizio for about 7 months before returning it. It is not a bad choice given its low price. Most of my remarks will be made relative to the Sharp Aquos 37", which replaced the Vizio in my home.

Overall Design:
It's good. They placed the speakers on the bottom, so it will not take up any valuable width space (for entertainment center users). Basic controls are in front on the lower right. There is no A/V port on the front, but since the unit it light, it's no problem to pivot the unit for temporary A/V access to the back. I would expect front AV ports for heavier units however. The unit has a broad stand which is easy to install; however, the stand is not adjustable nor can it swivel.

Setup
The wizard-style setup makes it easy to establish channels. I think you have the option to delete channels you do not need. It does have an antenna signal strength indicator function, if you can find it. A typical scan for new channels takes less than 5 minutes.

Image Quality
Image quality is fair for an HD monitor. If you are watching non-dark scenes, you will probably be impressed with 720p and 1080i broadcasts. However, if you are watching dark scenes, you might be disappointed because of the poor contrast ratio (600:1). Colors are decently vibrant...color, tint, and sharpness are adjustable.
Like all LCDs, the specs state a 179 degree viewing angle; however, the best position to see the screen is within 90 degrees of the center. Beyond this point, the screen image begins to wash out. In other words, if you are watching the screen from the side, your image will appear less defined. This might be typical for all LCDs in this class and not necessarily an exclusive weakness for Vizio.

Image Processing
A good 8ms response time; however, I have noticed pixelation in fast moving scenes (please note that this may not be a weakness of the monitor, but the video source.) I have noticed less pixelation from an 6ms unit (Sharp Aquos) in similar setups/situations. My tests probably do not do Vizio justice, so take this comment lightly.
There are 3 basic viewing modes; however, there does not seem to be an autosize or autostretch mode. But once your mode is set for a channel, it seems to remember, so you won't need to keep setting the viewing mode.
Changing channels is definitely not as fast as an analog TV, but decent. Channel surfers might get impatient.
The screen has a tendency to 'freak out' in bright spike situations (see below).

Sound
Sound is what you can expect from a small set of speakers...fair. I usually do not use speakers that come with TVs, so I cannot give it a full critique. My first impression is that it is flat (lack of bass), but crisp enough to deliver dialogue well.

On-screen Menu:
On-screen menu is very user friendly with a good use of icons and graphics, it is fairly easy and intuitive to navigate; however, you might find yourself repeating several keystrokes over and over if you are not familiarized with the navigation flow. Adjusting levels (brightness, contrast, etc.) are straight-forward with hand numeric AND graphical indicators.

My two main reasons for returning the Vizio:

1) Poor rendition of dark tones. With a 600:1 contrast ratio, maybe this is to be expected. If you do not look at programming that involves dark scenes (e.g. Science Fiction, night scenes), this will probably not bother you. The Sharp Aquos has a 1200:1 contrast ratio, and I noticed a significant improvement in dark rendering. Plasma is probably even better for darks.

2) Screen 'freaks out' with bright scenes. I don't think this is a defect, but a limitation of the design...just my opinion because it was doing this from day one. Whenever the scene had a sudden bright situation (e.g., an explosion, or a white-out flashback that typically precedes a flashback), the screen would turn blue and take a couple of seconds to reset (audio would not be interrupted.) This is really annoying if you are a sci-fi fan or watch shows like 'Lost' which have many flashbacks.

Other Weaknesses (I would not have returned the unit on these weakness below):
- Monitor can get pretty hot
- Monitor has a noisy fan, but you don't notice it too much when watching TV. As the unit heats and cools, you can hear metallic parts expanding.
- Response time is good, but sometimes in fast scenes, you can notice the pixelation. This may not be the fault of the TV; but I have noticed less pixelation in similar situations with the Sharp Aquos.
- No AV inputs on the front...but neither does the Sharp Aquos.
- No automatic sensing or memory of screen ratios...you will need to manually select the ratio (normal, wide, zoom)as you change channels.

Misc Strengths:
- No speakers on the sides...a potential space saver.
- Dual tuners...for Picture in Picture (PIP) features. I found that I rarely used this feature.
- Price...very hard to beat this as a good value.

I echo the other reviewers who say that if buying from Costco, keep your receipt and don't lose ANY of the included pieces (cables, manuals, etc.)