- Razor LED backlight technology delivers brilliant colors, rich detail, and deep contrast all in a razor thin design
- Elegant, touch sensitive HDTV controls light up when your hand draws near
- SRS TruVolumeTM eliminates volume inconsistencies between shows
- SRS TruSurround HDTM produces immersive virtual HD surround sound
- 1080p Full HD renders razor sharp clarity, crisp and clear images and an absolutely amazing viewing experience
VIZIO VM230XVT XVT-Series 23-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTVAmazon.com Product Description
With a profile that tapers down to less than an inch, the 23-inch VIZIO VM230XVT Razor LED LCD HDTV offers full 1080p High Definition resolution for crystal clear images, brilliant color, rich detail and deep contrast, all in a sleek, razor-thin design. This HDTV is a pleasure to look at on or off, with a full edge-to-edge cover glass and invisible proximity touch controls t… More >>
Although I am not a videophile or audiophile I’d like to comment on this product.
To be honest, I purchased at the Cost** Warehouse store because of a $50 savings over Amazon, a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy and an extra year of manufacturer warranty included in the price. Since this is a new technology in this size set and sales usually come up on TV’s around the Superbowl, it made sense to me to have the option of return if the price drops and to be protected by an additional year of warranty.
So far, I’m glad I have a 90 day return option because I just might have to take advantage of it regardless of any price movement. Unless there is something wrong with the set or we can’t figure out what we are doing, the poor quality of the sound might necessitate it’s return.
Having prior experience with a 19″ Sony and a couple of 26″ Samsung LCD sets I can report that the sound on this set is extremely poor compared to the others. So far, no matter what we do to adjust the sound it just does not perform. Using the SRS surround setting is just horrible. This set replaced an older Sony 720p LCD that had a simulated surround setting and it sounded fine. The other options you have include several pre-sets that do not allow for equalization adjustments if you choose them or the setting called ‘flat’ which does allow for setting the bass and treble. So as of this writing the best sound we can get from this set is to use the ‘flat’ setting and then turn the bass up to 100% and the treble at 60%. Using this setting the TV still sounds very ‘tinny’, like you are listening to a 2″ speaker! If you turn down the treble any more it begins to sound muddy, and if you compensate by reducing the bass you get more tinny.
Aside from the sound (which may prove to be a deal breaker), the picture looks very good, on a par with my other Samsung sets. I think the size is very nice, the old Sony was 19″ and this makes a nice difference giving you more screen area than the 20 or 22 inch alternatives. The form factor is very sleek, the remote is poor (but we use a combo cable remote anyway). We do not connect directly to cable so I can’t comment on ‘channel lag’ as has been reported but can tell you it takes an annoyingly long time to start up, making you watch a ‘vizio’ splash screen, then a blue screen, then finally your picture.
If you have a very bright room, be aware that there is the potential for a lot of glare from the reflective glass surface of this set and that may be a deal breaker for you because there is a lot of reflection from some angles. If you can train yourself to look through it you might be fine.
So in summary, we are happy with the picture and performance of the set overall, but if we can’t find a solution to the sound problem the set just may go back. I will update this review if there is any news to report.
Rating: 3 / 5
I bought this TV because my 20″ LG that I use in my home office was going out. I figured that if I was going to buy a new TV I might as well get the latest technology. I picked this one because of Vizio’s reputation. When I hooked it up I was truly amazed at the picture quality. I own 4 HDTVs and have replace all of them at least once, so I have owned at different times 1 projection LCD, 1 Plasma, and 6 CCFL backlight LCD TVs. The picture on this TV is truly great. The standard definition channels look almost as good as the HD channels did on any other HD TV I have owned and the high definition looks so real one would think they were looking out a window. I remember how impressed I was with my first HD TV, well this TV made an equal impression on me over my prior HD TVs.
The only annoyance is the fact that the volume bar does not go away when the sound is muted. I remains until you un-mute the TV. This annoys me, but is livable considering everything else.
The biggest advantages to LED LCD over CCFL LCD are the power consumption, the expected life of the backlight, and the picture quality. This TV is advertised as only drawing 30W but my UPS tells me it only draws 26W. The weakest link to a CCFL LCD TV is the backlight. It is what goes first most of the time, but LEDs last virtually forever so I will have to see what the next weakest link will be that will cause me to have to replace this TV. I expect this TV to last for at least five years before needing replacement, but time will only tell.
Rating: 5 / 5
I purchased this TV through one of Amazon’s vendor (Target), since Amazon would not ship to an APO address. The package arrived quickly and contained in another box. There were zero damages to the either of the boxes.
After assembling the stand and adjusting the settings, I connected the PS3 and played Assassins Creed 2…WOW! The picture is amazing, which makes gameplay much more enjoyable. I have read that many people complain about the lack of sound. I have a small room to myself, and I keep this about 30% volume, which provides plenty of sound. Maybe those that complain about the lack of sound are trying to make a 23″ TV their main living room TV, which is not recommended. My room is about 10′ x 20′ and I sit about 4′ away.
This TV also accommodates dual volts, 110v & 220v, which is needed in foreign countries.
The only downsize to this TV is that it does not have a dual TV format. The US uses NTSC cable format while the rest of the world uses PAL. This TV is set up for NTSC, thus I cannot watch cable TV in Kuwait. But I knew this prior to my purchase.
Yes the remote is small, but I don’t care. It works and allows me to access all functions for the TV.
As stated above, for a bedroom, this TV will be nice in the US, providing excellent picture quality and plenty of sound.
Rating: 5 / 5
The dirty little secret when buying consumer electronics is to not buy them when they first come out, because there are bound to be bugs and defects among the first units manufactured. The manufacture is bound to discover these problems, make the necessary correction(s), and the subsequent lots should not have the same issues. This Vizio model is no exception.
I too have had the audio problem, where the audio distorts after a set amount of time. When I went to exchange it, I made sure the replacement was from a different lot than the first, that way I am bound to get a unit that shouldn’t have the same problems as what I had before. My new unit works perfectly. For reference my first unit was made on 11/09 and my new unit was made 02/10.
Vizio has also made several firmware updates between the two sets I tried out. The first TV had version 2.06 and the second 2.13. I have no idea what improvements were made, but it could relate to the audio problem. Even though this TV has a USB port, it doesn’t seem to be designed to perform firmware updates (at least by the consumer).
What I like about this TV is that since it has a glass panel, the image resembles what a HD CRT would produce. It really smooths out the picture and gives a better image quality that a matte finished LCD panel can’t deliver. A typical LCD TV can produce a sharp picture, but at the same time it looks a little hazy to me. You certainly can’t get a glossy panel for a TV of that size anywhere that I know of. If you like the look that a CRT TV or a plasma gives you will probably like this TV. I am also surprised that Vizio was able to deliver a LED TV at this price point.
I also really like the styling of this TV. It has the appearance of a high-end TV, something like what Bang & Olafson would produce. An the fancy touch panel controls are a nice touch. I would like to purchase a 27″ or 32″ of this same style of set, but unfortunately Vizio only makes this style in in 19″ & 23″.
The sound, if you get a properly working unit, is quite good. It looks to me Vizio put a smaller version of their HD sound bar into this set, because the SRS Surround technology really expands the sound coming from the TV. I didn’t find the sound to be “tinny” at all. As others had reported the sound quickly goes from silent to loud.
The remote control only has one IR emitter on it, so if you are fairly close to the TV you need to point it toward the IR receiver to work properly. If you stand back a few feet, then you should have less problems. You best bet is to use a universal remote control (like the one provided by your satellite of cable provider), because many of them have at least 2 IR emitters giving you a wider range for transmission.
This TV also features a light sensor that can automatically adjust the picture in relation to the light in the room. Be aware you can’t use this feature at the same time as the 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio feature. For me the dynamic contrast ratio feature works better for me.
For some reason Vizio doesn’t advertise the fact that you have the ability to pause live TV (like a DVR), if you plug in a flash drive on the back of the TV. This TV also can play a play a slide-show of pictures on a flash drive.
For those that already own this TV and are unhappy with it, I would encourage you to exchange it at the store of purchase or have Vizio replace it. No one should have to live with the defect(s) if Vizio corrected it in later runs.
Rating: 4 / 5
I purchased this TV because my previous monitor went to monitor heaven after 2 years of abuse. But this TV is absolutely AMAZING! It’s amazingly thin, it has GREAT picture quality, the glare is a bit of an issue but I’ve noticed that you have to enable the “auto brightness adjusting” feature and it will automatically comensate for the extra lighting by increasing the brightness, another flaw that I’ve noticed is that, sence I’m using this as my computer monitor, that whenever I get close to the bottom left corner the menu pops up, so everytime I try to press esc on my keyboard the menu pops up and I have to wait till it goes away to see my start menu. The SRS HD Surround is on by default, if you’re only doing stereo it sounds like crap untill you disable it, also the SRS TruVolume is DISABLED by default, this should be enabled because it does make it sound alot better, and it removes that “tinny” sound. The remote does have a very narrow window and has to be pointed almost directly at the sensor for it to pick up. And I have not experienced the “long” start up times with the Vizio splash screen. Overall I would rate this TV very highly, it’s a great buy great for small rooms and the edge to edge glass is a very nice asthetic feature, this TV is BEAUTIFUL and the display is BEAUTIFUL as well… I hope this encourages you to buy this! You won’t regret it!
Rating: 5 / 5