Vizio E550VL
Inexpensive for a 120Hz LCD; excellent color in bright areas; video processing handles 1080p/24 correctly; matte screen works well in bright lighting; solid picture adjustment options.Among the least expensive 120Hz LCDs available, the Vizio E0VL series delivers a decent picture but falls a bit short of ompetitors.Reproduces relatively bright black levels; dark areas tinged blue; subpar off-angle viewing; benefits of 120Hz difficult to discern; fewer picture controls than some competitors; scarce analog inputs; ho-hum styling.
- Vizio E550VL Design
An angled bezel helps the E0VL stand out, but it won’t win any design awards. The non-removable “120Hz” badge doesn’t help.
the design of the E0VL blends in well enough to most decors, but is not up to the standards of LG, Samsung, or Sony.
The E0VL’s menus have the same look as those of Vizio’s step-up models, like the XVT3 series, and get the job done well. The menus easy to navigate and their explanations are better than usual.
- Vizio E550VL Features
Some competing models offer video and music playback via USB, whereas others like the Samsung LNC630 also include DLNA network streaming.
The E0VL’s main step-up feature is a 120Hz refresh rate, which enables both smooth dejudder processing and 1080p/24 playback (see Performance for details). The lone other notable extra is JPEG photo file playback via attached USB thumb (but not hard) drives.
Vizio’s offering in this department is standard at this price level, aside from the extra picture modes, many named after sports.
On the flipside none of the modes are independent per input, and a few other makers, namely LG and Samsung, offer more-extensive arrays of advanced controls.
While Vizio’s higher-end HDTVs have an abundance of inputs, the E0VL models do not. The complement of HDMI is adequate at three total, but some buyers might chafe at just one component and one composite-video input. The side panel also lacks the traditional analog input.
Two HDMI and one component-video comprise the E0VL’s entire back panel HD input selection.
The Vizio’s side panel merits just a third HDMI along with a USB port for photos.
- Vizio E550VL Performance
Color in bright areas was a strong suit, however, and there were no major issues with video processing or uniformity; the latter proved better than typical edge-lit LCDs, in fact.
- Vizio E550VL Video processing:
The E0VL series performed fairly well in this category. Vizio equips the TV with a pair of controls related to dejudder, which it calls Smooth Motion Effect–with Low, Medium, and High settings–and Real Cinema Mode, with settings entitled Precision and Smooth.
The E0VL handled 1080p/24 material well. Disabling dejudder processing caused it to implement proper film cadence during the helicopter flyover from “I Am Legend,” with no smoothing and regular motion free of the slight hitch seen on some TVs.
- Vizio E550VL Color accuracy:
Speaking of blacks, the E0VL showed the bluish tinge in dark areas we’ve come to expect from LCDs, and it was significantly more obvious than on the Samsung C630 and Sony EX500, but not as bad as on the EX700.
To its advantage, skin tones, like the face of Leigh Anne as she fluffs Michael’s pillow in the living room, looked the closest to our reference, with a degree of warmth that was missing to some extent on the Sony EX500 and Samsung C630.
- Vizio E550VL Bright lighting:
The E0VL has a matte screen, which serves it well in bright rooms where lights, windows, and bright objects cause reflections. Overall it turned in the same very good performance as the similarly matte EX700, Samsung LNC650 and Sony EX500 in this category.
- Vizio E550VL Uniformity:
Overall the Vizio was a bit better than the edge-lit LED models at maintaining a consistent image across the screen, but it fell short of the non-LED LCDs from Sony and Samsung. There were no obvious bright corners or other spotting on our review sample.
- Vizio E550VL Black level:
Aside from the brighter blacks, which made shadowy areas less impactful in general, shadows were relatively well-detailed on the Vizio. It didn’t obscure areas like the edge of the roof or the shaded bush as much as the Samsung C630, nor did details look overly bright, as they did on the Panasonic S2 and the EX700.
- Vizio E550VL PC:
It delivered every line of 1020×1080-pixel resolution via both VGA and HDMI, with sharp text and minimal edge enhancement.
- Vizio E550VL Standard-definition:
Jaggies on moving diagonal lines were more prevalent than on either the Sony or Samsung LCDs, and while a bit less obvious than on the Panasonic plasma, they still plagued the shot of a waving American flag, for example. Noise reduction did function well to clean up the low-quality shots of skies and sunsets, however, the set engaged film mode, detecting 2:3 pull-down, properly.
The set did somewhat below average on our standard-def tests, delivering the full resolution of DVD but looking a tad soft on the detail shot of the grass and stone bridge.