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We have collected 2 reviews of the Vizio VF551XVT. Experts rate Vizio VF551XVT 7/10. Reviewsor.com helps you find reviews, best prices, user reviews of the Vizio VF551XVT and Vizio LCD TV.
During our review of the Vizio VF551XVT we clearly find the styling “challenged.” Yet this isn’t a statue in MOMA but a big-screen television--and the display is what counts.All of the top-line 2010 buzz in television land may be about 3D, but until those sets arrive later this year, LED backlit flat panels remain the technology to watch, since these models deliver mouth-watering picture quality. As long-time plasma fans—the tech still remains our benchmark—we’ve marveled at the way backlit LED LCD HDTVs have closed the quality gap with plasma over the past 18 months. Finally, we’re seeing LCD HDTVs with deep blacks and excellent contrast. Our main squawk with LED is cost, however, since typically these sets are far more expensive than similarly-sized plasma flat panels. Happily, now Vizio has entered the scene to shrink the dollar gap. Vizio came out of nowhere to be the number-two TV seller in the U.S. by offering decent sets at good prices. And following on this success, the manufacturer is moving from low-priced 37-inchers to loaded displays that compete with the best from Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony. Let’s see if these upstarts can match up with the big boys.
We're willing to bet that when Vizio announced the VF551XVT back in January, plenty of savvy HDTV bargain hunters marked down "June" as the time they'd buy this 55-inch LED-based LCD. Then the company pushed its release back to September. Then it announced that the "Via" VF552XVT--basically the same as this model with one of the most compelling feature packages we've ever seen, including a Bluetooth remote and Wi-Fi connectivity to complement a robust suite of interactive services--would be shipping in November for the same price. Suddenly the much-anticipated VF551XVT seemed a bit less impressive. For the sub-$2,000 price, however, this Vizio still delivers impressive picture quality to big-screen shoppers who can't wait for its successor or don't care about interactive doodads (and no, there's no way to upgrade a 551 to get Via functionality). Its black levels are among the deepest we've tested this year, and while the fluctuating backlight may give videophiles pause, it's not a deal-breaker. The VF551XVT also succeeds on most other performance fronts, although we can't say the same about its styling.