Customer Reviews

Vizio 50" Plasma HDTV - VP50

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought a Vizio vp50 about six months ago and was very happy with it. The main problem I had was that it suffered from what I can best explain as 'short duration burn in'. If there was a bright image on the screen for any length of time and the image became much darker a ghost of the brighter image would remain for quite some time (several minutes unless another bright image took it's place).

I had never read about this problem in any reviews for plasma TVs and this was my first, so I don't know if the problem is common or not. While annoying I accepted it as it was a cheap (for size) set. But after about 4 or 5 months I noticed a new problem. At all times I am getting bright blue/green pixels lighting up around bright areas of the screen. This is quite bad looking and not something I can blow off.

As cheap as it was for the size, it was still a very expensive investment for me and I'm not looking forward to the hassle of trying to get a replacement. This much decay after 6 months is not good. Had this not happened though I would consider it an excellent tv.

For the price, this television can not be beat. The picture is clear and crisp. The contrast ratio and picture brightness rivals that of the higher priced brands without the extra money. I have been researching LCD and Plasma tvs for awhile now and after extensive product reviews and comparing many televisions side by side, this is easily the best you can get for the money. Easy to set up and fine tune to the viewers liking. The only downfall I have found is the audio from the tv, but you can not really expect alot from speakers that have to be put into such a small space. The sound is very similar to the other brands I have researched, so I guess it is about all you can expect from the thickness limitations of the tv, you can onl cram so much speaker into a small space. It is not a big concern for me as I run all audio through my A/V receiver. The other plus is that this tv has digital audio outputs that work great with my A/V system. Overall I would give this tv a 4.5 out of 5

We purchased our VIZIO VP50 less than a year ago. The television has shown 6" wide vertical lines on each side which we have determined is from the midportion of the screen being "burnt-in" from watching programs not broadcast in HD/full screen. We contacted Vizio and were basically put-off. So, now we're out a thousand bucks and stuck with lines on each side of our image--even with our Blu-ray player. I would not recommend this brand--not only because of the quality but also because of the poor customer service from VIZIO.

I got this tv in April, so I've had it for 7 months now. This is being used in my basement and mostly has Noggin on all the time. I do get the chance to watch a movie on it every now and again. So far it has been a great tv. I'm not getting the burn in that others are referring to. What I did get was a distortion that showed up on the sides of the screen. I called the technical support from the store I bought this from and they walked me through resetting all the settings. That distortion went away and all looks great again!
I would definitely recommend this tv. I shopped around for quite awhile wanting to get the most bang for my buck. I didn't need fancy gadgets on it...I just wanted to be able to watch dvds and see them on a really large screen. So I didn't want to pay for bells and whistles I wasn't going to use. I am extremely happy with this tv.
The volume is good too....I've noticed on previous tvs I've purchased I had to hook them up to external speakers to hear them....especially if I'm watching a dvd, because the tv didn't allow me to turn it up any louder. This one is pretty loud...so no problems there either.

I have owned this television for about 3 weeks. First impressions - the sound is mediocre at best. The unit gets hotter than most models I have seen or demoed - which makes the entire unit "crackle" as it heats up and cools down. The a/v in port does not appear to work at all, I have tried plugging in an old vhs player, an old dvd player, and my digital camera, the television does nothing but flash "no signal". It will not allow dual HDMI picture-in-picture source, this is either because I am using the full 1080P setting, or that the processor just will not allow it at all ( Thus I would wait to purchase the VP505 model with the better processor - of course, that model may not allow this functionality either, but it will have a much clearer sharper overall display ).

Overall impression - wait for the VP505. Should you spend the extra $1000's for a better brand / better model? Yes if you plan on keeping the unit for years to come. No if you plan on upgrading frequently to take advantage of the newer, bigger, better, brighter, longer lasting features of the new models that come out every 6 months.

Unbelievable. I Bought this lcd from one of the major warehouse chains for our guest room and it already has burn-in. Didn't really use it all that much. Luckily, they have a generous return policy, so this will be going back.

I have this TV a Vizio 50" Plasma VP504 FHDTV10A since June 2008 and have a few things to add plus a big warning. I understand plasma burns more energy and that translates to more heat. I have experienced other plasma and they are a little warmer. So I didn't check this one and of course it has to be literally the hottest one on the market.

Picture quality is good. It can keep up with action video. Sound is reasonable but have degraded since new. Mind you I use this in a moderate size office den of about 12x30'. Big for a room but small compared to a living room. In a bigger room you will likely need to add a hi-fi.

Aside from the 6 inch vertical burn-in bars other have mentioned, the big disappointment is that it runs very hot. The metal rear case instead of a plastic one is a clue. One cannot place a hand on the rear case for more than a few seconds. One will get burnt.

It got so hot that in the winter it saves me in heating cost of the room but in the summer I had to turn it off as much as possible - so what's the point. I purchased a much cooler running Sharp AQOUS 52" LCD to replace it. This will go into the living room to replace the last tube TV in the house. An old but faithful 32" Sony.