Samsung 32 inch or Vizio 1080P

[zod96]

Walmart has the Vizio 32 incg 1080P LCD for $497. Frys and besbuy have the samsung A550 32 inch 1080 for $700. Is the samsung worth the extra $300? I plan to hook up just a blue ray dvd player and home theather.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog...do?product_id=10778775

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...&cp=1&id=1202648738906

 

[Tiamat]

While I cannot answer your question directly, I would say that personally, I would take customer/tech support availability into mind when looking at the costs.

I bought a westinghouse 37" 1080P a few years ago and while I haven't had problems with it, many people have not had the best experience with customer support and getting TV issues resolved through westinghouse in or out of warranty. On the flip side, samsung users have reported getting out of warranty replacement/repairs done without much hassle.

At the very least, I would recommend you check out AVS forums and browse through the LCDTV section to see if anyone has any serious negative comments about either TV and whether Vizio stands behind their customers as strongly as Samsung, LG, Pioneer, etc.

Different people value "peace of mind" differently depending on their planned use of the TV or even their personality.

As for is it worth the extra $300, do they have equal feature offerings, equal picture quality, equal cosmetic appeal, input/outputs, warranty length, ...?

 

[zod96]

The input/outputs are the same, feature wise they are pretty much identical. Its just that the samsung is about $300 more. I have seen both in person and the samsung looked slighty better nothing major just slighty

 

[sivart]

.

 

[sivart]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
While I cannot answer your question directly, I would say that personally, I would take customer/tech support availability into mind when looking at the costs.

I bought a westinghouse 37" 1080P a few years ago and while I haven't had problems with it, many people have not had the best experience with customer support and getting TV issues resolved through westinghouse in or out of warranty. On the flip side, samsung users have reported getting out of warranty replacement/repairs done without much hassle.

At the very least, I would recommend you check out AVS forums and browse through the LCDTV section to see if anyone has any serious negative comments about either TV and whether Vizio stands behind their customers as strongly as Samsung, LG, Pioneer, etc.

Different people value "peace of mind" differently depending on their planned use of the TV or even their personality.

As for is it worth the extra $300, do they have equal feature offerings, equal picture quality, equal cosmetic appeal, input/outputs, warranty length, ...?

When do the OP mention Westinghouse...true their TV's are crap, but that isn't what they asked. My personally experience with Vizio is that their customer support is great. Never had to wait more than 2 minutes on hold and the tech rep was very knowledgeable. Fortunately, my issue was right after I bought the TV, so they suggested an exchange which resolved the issue and haven't had a problem since. (24 months and counting)

Wal-Mart has a generous return policy try out the Vizio and see if you like it. If you are more than 5 feet away from the TV, you probably won't be able to tell a difference assuming you calibrate both TV's properly.

 

[krotchy]

For 200 dollars is 1080p and a better brand worth it? (700-497 = $203 not 300, or am I missing something)

Arguments for 1080p:
Using 720p as a computer monitor sucks, and 32" is a perfect size for a 1080p monitor/TV
If you sit close to the TV (under 4 ft) it will be noticable on blu-ray and other HD sources

Arguments for Samsung:
Significantly better scalar than the vizio (although scaling to 1080p is harder than 720p so they should look similar from 5+ feet)
Higher quality TV with a slightly better static contrast and a much better dynamic (if you like that)

Arguments for 720p/Vizio:
Vizio has become the best of the mid-range brands in the industry and has blurred the line a bit from the high end (not completely though)
For most viewing distances 720p vs 1080p is not detectable at 32"


Personally I take the Samsung since 1080p is crucial for computer use (and I cannot stress that enough). Also I love Samsung TV's although I am not against Vizio I just think Samsung got it right this year with their whole lineup. Still 200 bucks is 40% more than the 500 dollar Vizio.

 

[zod96]

The Vizio is 1080P also, that's why I was so shocked to see the price of $497 for a 1080P LCD. The samsung is about $700.

 

[Rio Rebel]

You do realize that the difference between $700 and $497 is $203, not 300, right?

If it were me (since I would not be using it as a computer monitor), The 1080p would not be a consideration at all for that size. And I would rather have a Samsung for several reasons, not the least of which is its ability to resolve standard def better than most brands.

HOWEVER, I wouldn't pay $300 more. I would consider paying $200 more, which is what your situation seems to be. Close call.

 

[krotchy]

Lol, shows my early morning reading comprehension.

For 1080p vs 1080p is Samsung worth it for 203 dollars? I would say yes the Samsung is definitely a better panel and the improved scalar in the Samsung may prove to be the deciding factor. For 40% more the answer is completely up to you. However Vizio is blurring the lines these days in quality/looks compared to just a couple of years ago where they couldn't compete very well, so it is a tougehr call.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Wow, I did the same thing (maybe because I just glanced at the thread, and saw your post.)

So both are 1080p, and the difference is $203 to get a Samsung instead of Vizio on a 32 inch tv.

If this were a larger and more expensive tv, I would lean to the Samsung. But when you factor in $203 as a percentage of the total cost, it's hard to justify the Samsung.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: sivart

Originally posted by: Tiamat
While I cannot answer your question directly, I would say that personally, I would take customer/tech support availability into mind when looking at the costs.

I bought a westinghouse 37" 1080P a few years ago and while I haven't had problems with it, many people have not had the best experience with customer support and getting TV issues resolved through westinghouse in or out of warranty. On the flip side, samsung users have reported getting out of warranty replacement/repairs done without much hassle.

At the very least, I would recommend you check out AVS forums and browse through the LCDTV section to see if anyone has any serious negative comments about either TV and whether Vizio stands behind their customers as strongly as Samsung, LG, Pioneer, etc.

Different people value "peace of mind" differently depending on their planned use of the TV or even their personality.

As for is it worth the extra $300, do they have equal feature offerings, equal picture quality, equal cosmetic appeal, input/outputs, warranty length, ...?

When do the OP mention Westinghouse...true their TV's are crap, but that isn't what they asked. My personally experience with Vizio is that their customer support is great. Never had to wait more than 2 minutes on hold and the tech rep was very knowledgeable. Fortunately, my issue was right after I bought the TV, so they suggested an exchange which resolved the issue and haven't had a problem since. (24 months and counting)

Wal-Mart has a generous return policy try out the Vizio and see if you like it. If you are more than 5 feet away from the TV, you probably won't be able to tell a difference assuming you calibrate both TV's properly.

He never did. Nor was Westinghouse the point of my post. Read the first sentence of my post. The point of my post was that the difference in cost could only be justified by the consumer's confidence in the company standing behind their product (as long as everything else technical was similar). If the consumer has a lot of confidence in the Vizio, the samsung just is not worth the price difference at all. However, if the consumer has had excellent experience with samsung products, s/he might be inclined to pay the difference rather than try another brand that is unknown to them.

I hope my point has been made more clear.

 

[Via]

I bought a Samsung A330 32 inch TV for my bedroom and at 720p the picture quality is tremendous. I spent an entire weekend comparing every brand available (including Vizio) and to my eyes there was a real difference in picture quality.

A330 is the entry level; I'm sure the 5 series is even better.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: Via
I bought a Samsung A330 32 inch TV for my bedroom and at 720p the picture quality is tremendous. I spent an entire weekend comparing every brand available (including Vizio) and to my eyes there was a real difference in picture quality.

A330 is the entry level; I'm sure the 5 series is even better.

I have the same TV, got it about 6 months ago for 600. Great little TV. I mostly play 360 on it and the occasional movie but for the cost and quality I think it was a good deal. Eventually I want a bigger set but for now it works great. And even my PC looks great via HDMI. I use a Lite-On DVD player on the PC and it looks fantastic on the A330 and for 70 bucks for the BR player I think its a great little HD system.

 

[IGBT]

..vizio's are terrible. poor color resolution/contrast. put a vizio side by side with any other brand and you'll see the diff. try to adjust it/both for similar picture performance and the vizio fails. Vizio competes at pricepoint not quality or performance.