Many of the cons apply to Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba as well. Those “premium” brands also make sub-26” televisions with 16:10 aspect ratio, cropped widescreen content, odd-ball resolutions, and poorer contrast, exactly like described.

Most of the information is valid, but I don’t get why Vizio and Olevia have to be called out?!  Vizio and Olevia both have good warranty programs.  The aspect ratio and resolution both have nothing to do with the brands but rather what all companies think they can get away with in the smaller size TV’s.  Do you really need 1280x720 in a 15” kitchen LCD?

Although it makes sense, since Consumer Reports is scared of anything that doesn’t have Sony on the front of it.

If you read many “consumer” reports, the “big” brands have a lot of LCD sets that are a subpar.

I own a 32’’ 720p/1080i Westinghouse. I am very satisfied with it. I have a PS3 and I have to say, games and Blu-Ray look great. I think it’s all about the calibration.

If you think Vizio and Olevia have good warranties than read the fine print. If they don’t “wash their hands” after the warranty period they certainly make it difficult to get service. In most cases you have to ship it to the manufacture and pay all associated costs.

Just be careful is all I am saying.

I agree with greg’s comments ~ smaller screens absolutely make compromises, but larger Vizio’s can stand against the majors for quality.

Vizio is putting out a fantastic line of larger LCDs at a very fair price.  I have their latest 47” and have no complaints.  Everyone who visits and sees the performance comes to the same conclusion:  best bang for the buck.  Watching this year’s NHL Stanley Cup was as good as being there live.  Fantastic.

Sure, Pano Plasma is the benchmark for videophiles, but for the rest of us, half the money buys you an outstanding video experience. 

Regarding warranties, Vizio is a US manufacturer (CA).

“All the top name brands have factory authorized warranty service for their TVs. Out of warranty service is not a problem either as all the major name brand TV companies have vast supplies of parts or a nationwide network of service centers.”

This is not true. I can’t recall the article, but it was about today’s extended warranties on TVs. Not long after the article was published, an owner of a service repair shop who’s been in the business for 30 years had this to say about today’s TV repairs (paraphrase):

“About 10(? can’t remember how long the letter mentioned) years ago, TV manufacturers switched how the service industry handles TV failures. Rather than having one circuit board that was documented carefully in a repair manual, TVs now come with a variety of removable circuit boards that perform various functions. The idea is to stock these circuit boards and rather than do a single-component repair on failure, simply replace the circuit board with the faulty component.”

“While the idea is simple, logical and well-intentioned, the reality results in a much more serious problem. The circuit boards previously mentioned are hardly available after a few years. Most manufacturers do not reuse circuit boards after a few generations have passed, nor do the factories that produce them even capable of producing them again. As such, most TVs that fail after 5 years are unrepairable and it is up to the owner to purchase a new TV. This problem exists across the board for every manufacturer, even well-regarded brands like Panasonic, that are rated top in the industry for warranty and service.”

So while Sony, Samsung, Panasonic TVs may have longer and better warranties than TVs from Vizio, Olevia, and similar, when a component in the TV fails in a few years years, the owner has little choice but to purchase a new TV. The repair technicians have no hope performing component-replacement repairs, due to the detailed service and troubleshooting manuals being replaced by circuit board replacement repairs.

The lifespan of many of these TVs, while rated at 60,000 hours, is in actuality, little more than 5 years or more, as the rating only refers to the lifetime of the diplay elements (phosphors, backlight, etc.). Circuit board (or rather, single-component) failures dominate the repair work required for newer TVs, due to issues such as heat, circuit board flex, solder flux nodules (since lead is a no-no), leaky electrolytic capacitors, and other design issues that they have been forced to use, driven by cost-reduction demands from consumers (across all brands, not just the cheap ones).

I agree that for Vizio, Olevia, and Westinghouse, most models have good to excellent picture quality and can sometimes rival or best the major manufacturers.  All 3 subcontract the majority of their warranty and support, so ymmv.  Insignia on the other hand, has received universally bad reviews for every model.

Where many of the off-brands save money, in addition to overhead like marketing, is in the quality of their power supplies.  Most major brands will experience less power related issues or failures, and their picture quality will tend to be less affected by dirty power.

for the most part i would agree, i wouldn’t be worried about losing a little resolution though.  i can hardly believe the compliments some of you are saying about these cheap sets.  i have one from the “top line” list and i also have one from the “cheap” list.  the difference is night and day no matter how much i tweak the settings.  and when you pay $377 for a westinghouse 32, there is no way im paying $20-$300 for isf calibration.  you pretty much have to spend a little more for good PQ.  dont kid yoursevles…

After the warranty period?!  If you really are concerned with product longevity purchase an extended warranty plan from the retailer.

I have never expected the manufacturer to give a crap about me once their 1 year warranty was up.

I wouldn’t even bother going to them if something broke.  I would search the internet to see if there is an easy fix and then trash it or give it away if there wasn’t.

Digital age folks.

extended warranties aren’t such a bad thing. I push them pretty hard at work. Guys, i can’t talk on your behalf in the US but I can say that often the extended warranty can be discounted too. LCD extended warranties are cheaper than those for plasma TVs by a fair margin too. With our extended warranties they are also transferable. This was handy for me because my old sony rear pro had a 1 year warranty which I extended to 5, sold the TV after 2.5 years (never even changed the globe) and i got 50% of the purchase price! nice…. helped pay for a bit of my Pioneer Plasma i got afterward.

Except for warranty, the author is addressing 26 in or below sets? What about the “cheap” 30 in plus?  The article title is deceiving?

Buy a better TV - keep it longer.

Nothing eats your wallet like the itch to upgrade.

I agree with the posters talking about Vizio, Olevia and Westinghouse.  I have a 42” Westinghouse and a Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD add-on (don’t laugh…it looks great!!)...Even with the fact that I have an older 360 (no HDMI port), I use the TV’s VGA port to get 1080p output on my HD movies and games.

Calibrated correctly, the TV is stunning…as I’m sure it is with Olevia and Vizio.  Yes, you can get better units, but I don’t think the quality is a HUGE jump….I bought the DVE Essentials disc and tweaked some settings, but that was more like icing on the cake.  HD programming looked great without it.

It’s kind of like the difference between 1080i and 1080p.  Not REALLY noticeable.

There is really no pros or cons of LCD tvs.  It’s really the customers preference. Many people who read or order Electronic House magazines and others like it are mostly focused on the newest product and how they can get close to having the best procduct.  But what does that really mean?  It varies.

I purchused a Polariod 32” LCD TV over a year ago and I’m enjoying it.  If you look at the customer reviews for this TV it’s horrible.  However, I have had the opposite feelings and experience with this TV. The picture and sound looks amazing!  I personally could not fathom spending over a thousand dollars on a tv when there are other things l can and need to spend regarding the family household. 
A cheap tv that has good wiring, the right room, lighting, cable or satelite with HD, reciever(HD), speakers, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround sounds. Can make a brand name tv look bad.

The reality is there are a lot of home owners and renters who have very expensive tvs and other electronic home theater equipment in their homes that don’t give a clear picture or sound because of the lighting, height and distance, etc. All these things can take away from the fact that your neighbor or friend or family member has a brand name TV that cost $2800 or more. It is how you set up your home media, family room, etc.  Not all TVs work in everyones home. I’m not saying cheap is better but the knowledge of setting up your home theater makes a big difference.

I get comments all the time.  It’s usually, “I can’t believe you have a Polaroid that shows so clear.” Or “I’ll never buy any electronics from Walmart.” I can admit that having a popular name brand may give you as a customer a slighter edge regarding customer service (maybe).  Such as turn around time and maybe warranty.

If I have to really focus on a tv to see a differecne between 1080i (cheaper/older version) versus 1080p (more expensive/newer), then I’m happy with what I have. This whole pros versus cons with LCDs is like pickinhg between a luxury BMW and a luxury Hyundai (maybe).  Most people will go with the BMW but both cars are nice cars that have many of the same features (especially new luxury cars made in 2008).  The bottom line is that it boils down to preference.  How the TV matches your home decor, the picture that displays on the screen, to how much you are willing to spend is sometimes what makes you buy the tv. Brand names are like Chevy versus Ford; some people just love Samsung while others love Sony.  Then; there are folks who just love that unknown LCD TV they saw at Target.

I personally, like the audio part of the home theater.  I love Sony but that’s my preference. I’ll end here.  This is just food for thought. Love to hear some responses. I really enjoy Electronic House magazine and it has been a huge part in creating my home theater in my family room. 
Thanks!

I work in a A/V retail store. We sell all the name brands and over the years have sold several brands of cheaper TVs such as Westinghouse, Olevia, Coby and Polaroid. None of them have ever met up to the standards of a name brand TV. The picture is never as good, they break more, they’re harder to use, they don’t integrate as well with other components and getting service can be horrible. We had a customer that had a Coby which was just out of warranty and he couldn’t find anywhere to get it fixed. I’d much rather have a name brand TV with no bells and whistles than a non name brand TV with 1080P, 120Hz etc.

I agree with some of the other posters.  Depending on what you want, the big brand may not be the correct decision to make. 

A careful examination of quality, price, and end use application should be the drivers.  When I was looking for a 32 in. HDTV for my living room, (I’ll tell you now I went with the Sony model), I compared a number of models, Samsung, (1st try and returned), RCA, (probably the most beautiful), and a Sony(what I ended up with because actually was the best price for the features). 

I paid the most for the Samsung model, but I was not satisfied with it, (ghosting image for moving bodies, not real sharp, and could never get the color right).  I took it back.  The RCA was comparable to the Sony model, and it was $200 less expensive before the Sony went on sale.  I’m happy with my Sony now, and it works great with my PS3, and Sony DVD/VHS player.  I bought a Magnavox for my Bedroom in 2005, and it was the prettiest girl on the street when I bought i tfrom Sears, and had the best price.  I was so happy with it I bough 2 other 15 in. Magnavox LCD TVs for my kitchen and bedroom.  People say Magnavox is an off brand, but it seems clear to me they know how to make 15 in. and 26 in. LCD TVs.  Excellent color, and sharpness with the correct adjustments, and I know I paid a good price.  I was very happy and I got what I wanted.

I’ll sum and say there is a coorilation between price and quality, but don’t be fooled.  You can get an excellent product without spending top dollar if you do your research, know what you are getting, and how you plan to use it.

Also, look at the practicality.  If you are not a videophile, and you only watch a few hours of television a week, why do you need to spend thousands of dollars on the very best brand out there, when you would be satisfied with the feature and offerings of a less expensive model?  (you don’t need picture in picture if you barly even turn the TV on anyway.  You don’t need the TV with the best sound, if you are going to hook it up to your audio reciever anyway.  You don’t need a 65 in. TV if your room is only 10 x 10!  And you don’t need to spend money you don’t have just because your brother did!

I have an Insignia 1080P 42” LCD. Two week ago the hdmi port fell off the main system board. So far Best Buy can even get a replacement board for it. Its an Insignia INC4218. Now its a piece of junk. If anyone can help me get a system board for it please advise.

-mw

I know it’s a bit off topic, but I have a 42” Insignia plasma TV that Cnet just raked across the coals, but before it was discontinued Best Buy had over 120 POSITIVE comments about the set.  I’m sure not that many people had the wool pulled over their eyes and I’m sure the same is true in the LCD world.  If I look really closely at my dad-in-law’s 42” Panasonic PX700U, I can tell the blacks are blacker, but his 1080p vs. my 720p…I actually think my picture is smoother and has more natural colors.

Stupid comments like ‘I wouldn’t buy electronics from Walmart’ are pretty ignorant.  If I can buy last year’s technology at a discount price with a no-name brand, you bet I’m going for it.  Nobody has ever looked down on someone for buying their previously owned Lexus or Infinity from CarMax, after all…