Vizio's
move to cut prices on select HDTV models in advance of Black Friday looks like it was a pretty shrewd maneuver, with the company showing 162,000 units sold in North America over last weekend. To put that in perspective, that's a sale almost every 1.5 seconds, 24-hours a day, from Friday to Sunday. The lion's share of those register checkouts were for 32-inch displays, and adding in
32 37-inch and 42-inch offerings accounts for almost all of the units; so this isn't a flood of 19-inch TVs that are finding their way into guest rooms and kitchens. Who knows if it's the new
high-quality marketing message or the value-brand perception, but Vizio seems to be doing pretty well for itself,
indeed.
UPDATE: Wouldn't you know it, Vizio's Black Friday sales figures were actually even higher than those reported above. The 162,000 units moved were from Amtran, only one of Vizio's suppliers, and Amtran does not even provide 19, 22 or 26-inch TVs that were sold.
[Via
tgdaily]
posted Dec 4th 2008 at 6:33PM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick @ Dec 4th 2008 7:45PM
The weird thing about Vizio is that they are nowhere near the "value" brand that they used to be. 42" Vizio plasmas go for 697, which is roughly the price of a 42" Panasonic (if you shop around). 50" 1080p Vizio plasmas go for 1383.00 according to samsclub.com, whereas a 50" 1080p Panasonic can be found online at numerous websites for 1399 or less.
Vizio is basically the same price as Panasonic, and is a lower quality product. I'm amazed people still think it is a "value" brand.
While it may be a value brand for a smaller TV (32" and smaller) anything larger than 40", and Vizio really shouldn't be considered "value"
Pip @ Dec 5th 2008 9:44AM
It really depends. I'm not sure about the products you're comparing them to, but the 50" Vizio plasma that I got a few years back beat out pretty much anything features/quality wise at the time for a lower price.
I used to dismiss them as a poor quality budget brand until I looked around as comparable reviews. Maybe they've changed since then, but I'm still happy.
bizdady @ Dec 4th 2008 7:55PM
I got myself a 50PZ80U for under 1200, definately will take Panny over Vizio for Big displays. If it were a 32inch then I wouldnt mind it really.
Spiza @ Dec 4th 2008 9:03PM
If I knew someone buying one of these 32" LCDS, I would probably tell them to stick to upconverting DVDs instead of buying a blu-ray player.
kevin @ Dec 4th 2008 9:32PM
"The lion's share of those register checkouts were for 32-inch displays, and adding in 32-inch and 42-inch offerings accounts for almost all of the units"
Adding 32" units to the 32" units? Huh?
Steven Kim @ Dec 4th 2008 10:01PM
Sorry, that's with the 37-inch and 42-inch displays, no double counting of the 32-inch models necessary.
Ubertrout @ Dec 5th 2008 1:52PM
I'm currently running a 1080p 40" set (albeit not a Vizio - it's a Sony XBR). The difference betweeen a good 1080p encode and 720p broadcast is significant at 6 feet or so.
At the same time, a friend brought a 32" set, and advised them not to bother with Blu.
Dead_Rebel @ Dec 4th 2008 11:06PM
You people that dog Vizio are lame. I have a 42" 1080p that absolutely blows away every other HDTV I've seen in the wild. I'm talking properly hooked up to. HD satellite feeds/Blu-Ray players/HDMI cables. No single difference between my $900 tv and my bud's $1300 Sony with the exact same gear hooked up with the exact same cables.
Piss off.
Nick @ Dec 4th 2008 11:40PM
A typical person who feels the need to stick up for their cheap crap.
Go buy a Pioneer and you wont think your Vizio "Blows away everything else"
And BTW, how do you like having 1080p on a 42" TV? You must sit pretty damn close to the TV to see a difference.
Carlos_E @ Dec 5th 2008 12:00AM
Nick don't be a jerk. There is nothing wrong with a 42" TV.
Let me guess, you're watching a 100" LCD at home?
Nick @ Dec 5th 2008 1:23AM
Never meant to be a jerk about the screen size. What I mean was that at 42" with 1080p, you really have to be like 4 feet from the screen to tell the difference between that and a 720p TV. I used to have a 42" 720p Panasonic, but I upgraded to a 50" 1080p Samsung. Still a little small to see the TRUE benefit of 1080p, but it was all I could afford at the time.
My main point about my post was that people will go out and say "ohhh I have a 32" 1080p, your 50" is only 720, so therefore mine must be better. People think that 1080p is the only thing that matters, when in fact, it is the least important part of what makes a good picture. Contrast, Color accuracy, Color Saturation, etc. Everything is more important than resolution.
I remember this one time I was just hanging out in the TV section at Worst Buy, and this 50 year old guy was talking to a salesman (the salesman actually knew what he was talking about for a change). Anyways, the customer was verrrrry particular about what he wanted. He wanted something that was 1080p, about 40" and cost no more than 1k. He said he DID NOT want name brand, cuz all you are getting is the name, and not quality.
This is basically the whole conversation
BB: OK, well I can help you with that. Before we start, do you mind if I ask what you will be using the TV for? What will you be hooking up to it?
Customer: Just my old VHS tapes, and basic cable
BB: Ummm, k... Are you planning on buying a blu-ray player in the future?
Customer: A blu-what? What the hell is that? How much does that cost?
BB: It is a hi-definition DVD player. They cost about 300 dollars (this was almost a year ago)
Customer: No I don't think I'll be buying one of those.
BB: Well, do you mind if I ask why you need 1080p then? The only 1080p source out there is a blu-ray player, and if you aren't planning on buying one, then you will never get to use 1080p on your new TV.
Customer: So what does that mean?
BB: Well to me, it sounds like you won't be watching any HD content at all, so you really don't have a need for 1080p.
Customer: Well then what the hell am I going to do when that damn TV switch thing comes around?
OK, sorry bout my long rant. My point is that people fall in love with the whole 1080p thing, and then they will take it home, hook up their cheap crap, with crap cables, and then think they are seeing HD, when in fact, they are seeing good ole 480i SD.
Dead_Rebel @ Dec 5th 2008 8:21AM
Wow, Nick, you COMPLETELY missed my point. Are you trying to prove your net-man-hood? Show how big you are because you can afford better than others? I'm in awe of your greatness.
Anyways, I know 1080p isn't everything, and yes I sit close to the TV (small living room). So 42" is all I could ever want/need in a TV. So 1080p was very important to me in my purchase and YES you can tell a frigging MONSTROUS difference between 720p and 1080p.
So STFU with your quasi-intellectual arguments about color saturation, contrast, etc. because all you're doing is regurgitating words you've read on the net trying to sound smart. Nobody bought it. :)
coreylucas @ Dec 5th 2008 3:35PM
now, there's nothing wrong with a vizio, IMHO. but, c'mon- they don't "blow" anything away. plus thanks to the combination of stagnant inventory and low foot traffic through spring and summer, you can easily find competitively priced panasonics, sonys, and samsungs (which blow vizios away!).
Greg @ Dec 5th 2008 8:36AM
Vizio currently has a large marketing campaign with ESPN.
Dave @ Dec 5th 2008 1:14PM
I have the Vizio SV420XVT and I do in fact sit really close - my Mom still yells at me! - and I feel like I can see a difference. Maybe it's psychological but it's worth it to me and hopefully I'll be getting a blu-ray to really make use of the 1080p. What I KNOW I can see the difference in is the 120hz refresh rate. It looks great!
Vizio's tech is right up there with the big names, but thankfully the prices are still in a reasonable realm!