49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Television for a Very Reasonable Price, July 21, 2009
This review is from: VIZIO VA220E 22-Inch ECO 720p LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I purchased this televion once my old standard definition CRT television died right in time for the digital transition. After doing some comparison shopping I happened upon this TV and chose it to replace my old 19" CRT. The first thing you'll notice about this television is its relative weightlessness, while common for flat screens is a nice change from cumbersome CRT's. Also setup is very easy and once hooked up to an HD digital cable box through one of the two HDMI ports the picture quality difference is immediate.
Initially the television was connected to my HD cable box via the coaxial port on the back of the TV. Surmised from many a HDTV review I expected standard definition shows to look worse once connected via HDMI but I guess going from coaxial (the bottom of the barrel) to HDMI (top of the line) provides an increase rather then decline, even in the visual integrity of standard definition shows and HD shows are on whole new level. Vibrant colors, nice crisp images and great line quality are the qualities sorely lacking from standard definition programing and televisions. Also I had no problems with the viewing angle what so ever. If I had to down this television for anything, it would be that the audio quality is lacking (an apparent hallmark of smaller flat screens) but i'd recomend an external speaker setup to remedy this. Besides that small nitpick this set has my stamp of approval.
If you're searching for an HD-TV television that provides great value without sacrificing quality i'd fully recomend this set.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And so my TV hunt ends, January 12, 2010
This review is from: VIZIO VA220E 22-Inch ECO 720p LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I have been looking for a small TV to put in my bedroom and to double as a computer monitor. I put this in my Amazon cart when it was only $200, but it went up to $250, so I kept looking. Then I missed the Gold Box Deal of a Panasonic Viera 26" for only $250. (VERY disappointed) Later at Wal-Mart I stumbled upon this one again for $248 and decided to buy it and finally end my hunt. I'm a pretty generous rater on Amazon, but if I wasn't I'd probably give it a 3-star.
What I like:
- Works great as a computer monitor and automatically adjusts to the differing aspect ratio of my computer games
- Two HDMI ports is nice for a small TV (I don't use them yet but I'm sure I will in the future)
- Buttons are located on the side of the front panel within easy reach--you don't have to wrap your hand around.
- Inputs and outputs located in the side are pretty deep--enough that the cords are easily concealed
What I dislike:
- The VIZIO logo glows white when on and can't be turned off (though it's pretty dim, not distracting), worse yet it glows orange when the TV's off. IT'S A TV, NOT A MICROWAVE. That can't be turned off either.
- There is no letterbox zoom. So if you're wantching a widescreen program on a standard definition connection, the picture is stretched horizontally AND has horizontal bars.
- Speakers are horrible. I don't care much because I have been plugging speakers in to the headphone jack.
- No RCA audio out. You have to use the headphone and get a 3.5mm to RCA if you have a stereo or something similar. There is however an optical out for a home theater.
- Remote is kind of cheap looking and is not universal (but this isn't expected on a small set).
- Only one composite video--I know it's outdated, but it's still pretty common.
- The only reason it's called an ECO TV is because it exceeds Energy Star guidelines by 15%. Woohoo. Big deal. For all I know, all LCD TVs do. I thought maybe it was made from recycled material or maybe NOT IN CHINA. (But that won't happen until pigs fly).
List of inputs and outputs for those who are curious (It's so impossible to find online)
HDMI in X2
HDMI RCA audio in
VGA in (RGB PC)
PC audio in (3.5mm)
Component + audio in
Coaxial in
Composite video/S-Video + RCA audio (all on side)
Optical/SPDIF out
Headphone out (on side)
There is also a 3-prong (looks like DC power kinda) connection that says SERVICE as well as one that is USB.
Overall--great buy for the price.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good value for the price., December 13, 2009
This review is from: VIZIO VA220E 22-Inch ECO 720p LCD HDTV (Electronics)
We were looking for a relatively inexpensive HD television to replace a small 13" RCA CRT in the bedroom. Since we already own other Vizio equipment that we are quite happy with, we decided on this model. It has a good assortment of inputs: 2 HDMI, VGA, Component, Composite, SVideo, and coax. We've found the picture quality from both our HD cable box and our Blu-Ray player to be very nice via HDMI. We haven't experienced any viewing angle issues. SD signals are generally good as well. There is some fuzziness, but that's normal when viewing SD content on an HD set. Most of the time it's barely noticable. The sound, however, is not as good. It sounds a bit hollow and tinny, no matter how we adjust the bass and treble. I think our old RCA actually had better sound, and that's the only thing that stops me from being able to give the Vizio 5 stars.
In short, if you can get around the slightly dissappointing sound, the VA220E is a very good choice if you're looking for a smaller HD set with a lower price tag and an excellent picture.
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