Today I finally bit the bullet and entered the world of HDTV. I bought a Vizio SV370XVT at Costco. I did my research and decided on Vizio as it had features I wanted and got some decent reviews (some reviews have been mixed). This TV replaces my 7 year old Sony 32″. Last week we were at Costco and I had settled on getting the VL370M as that’s what they had in 37″. This week, they had the newer XVT model which was $120 more, but had TruVolume and a we other features.
Like my father, you might ask why 37″? That question is quite easy to answer. 37″ is the largest TV that will fit in our entertainment center! It has doors that close over the TV which is important for us to signify the end of watching TV for the day for our son and doesn’t make the TV the focal point of the room.
The first thing I noticed about the TV was how light (in weight) it was; I was able to easily put it in our entertainment cabinet. This was after my dad, wife and I barely managed to get our old TV on the floor (first onto a table and then onto the floor); the old TV weighed about 170 pounds vs. the < 35 pounts of the new one.
I plugged the TV in, hooked up the right cables (it does help to plug it in), went through the initial setup to scan for channels and presto, it worked. I started flipping through the channels and had already read that the -1 channels were HD channels, so I was excited to see what we got. My wife and parents were in the room as well and when I hit CBS or ABC HD showing golf, everyone at once ooed at the clarity of the picture.Pros
- A plethora of inputs
- An HDMI input that also has stereo audio; this is necessary for my Mac media center as I have a DVI to HDMI cable for video and RCA left/right for audio.
- Simple setup
- Very light in weight
- Remote lets me easily switch inputs (my Sony required me to cycle inputs; the Vizio cycles through HDMI, but quickly goto component and TV inputs
- Very sharp picture; granted I haven’t had another HDTV in my house, so I don’t have a comparison.
- It’s very thin; the box says 2.2″. Wow, I had to make the hole in the back of the cabinet larger to fit the back of our old TV through it.
Cons
- I wish there was a second component input. I have a TiVo with component outputs and have cables for my Wii that output component. This may be a moot point soon when I move to a Mac based media center.
While I’ve only played with my new TV a few hours, so far I’m quite pleased with it. Once I put together my Mac based media center, I’ll be able to give it a more thorough test drive.
I know that some people will say that the Vizio is the bottom of the barrel HDTV, so I’ll just have to see how much I like it in 6 months. For the longest time, I said I didn’t care about HD, so maybe my standards are quite low.
How wide???
My cabinet is about 38 inches wide (where the TV won’t hit the doors). So anything larger just won’t fit.
Thanks for this review, Scott! I was at Sam’s Club in Harrisburg PA last weekend and saw this 37″ Vizio…it had THE BEST picture of all of the TVs on display of any make….for $687, which is the lowest I’ve seen for a TV this good.
It’s my first flat screen (I’m still using the 22″ analog I bought when I moved to CA in 2000) because it has a built-in VHS player….but think I’m ready to cut the analog cord and make the leap.
I’ll be back in January to see if you still like it! 🙂
btw….what’s a Mac Media Center? I bought my first last December and LOVE it, but haven’t ventured much beyond making movies using Photobooth…..Will you blog your adventure w/ Media Center here?
Thanks again for writing this review ~
Ms. Cellaneous
Hi Barbara,
A Mac media center is basically taking a left over Mac (in my case a Mac Mini that I used for development awhile ago) and making it into a DVR, DVD player, photo viewer, music player, etc. I have an AppleTV I was using for photo viewing and music playing and I’m hoping to turn the Mac Mini into the jack of all trades. I will definitely be blogging periodically about my adventures. So far, I’m not seeing it as a novice project, but my hope is that once I figure out all the pieces, it will be quite usable.
Cheers.
Scott,
Hello, I have the same restrictions as you do with my teak cabinet which has doors as well. I know it’s only been about 3 weeks but how has the Vizio been performing ? My local Costco just got it in stock so I might wait for it to go on sale. They have it at $699.99. Thanks for the review !
Regards.. Bob in Lawrenceville, GA
I am quite pleased with it. Having HD content is really what makes it shine. I have HD content via the local HD channels, so I don’t have much, but when I see it, I like it!
Scott,
In also have been looking at that tv, at costco. Could you please tell me if it has a headphone connection point on it?
Thanks, Ceryl
You can find the manuals at http://www.vizio.com/sv370xvt.html#support I haven’t had a chance to look.
I have the same issues with my current entertainment center. I have about 36.5 inches and this will fit. Do I need to purchase any cables or does the Vizio come with everything I will need? Currently, I have a DVR that can be hooked up to an HDTV so I’m set there.
Thanks for the review.
The Vizio came with no cables. I already had component cables for my TiVo and I bought a few HDMI cables and connectors from Monoprice.com.
Thanks Scott. I’ll make sure I have them here for when the TV arrives!
Hey Scott –
Another question for you. I just received the TV and hooked it up. I’m impressed with the sound, that’s for sure. Anyway, when viewing in NORMAL mode there is a green bar going down the right hand side of the screen. If I switch to ZOOM 1, it goes away but I feel that there is a slight difference in picture quality using this mode. Did you experience this? Any suggestions?
Thanks again for your help!
Hi Paul,
I haven’t seen this issue. You may want to see if this happens with all the inputs. I use the tuner, Component and HDMI3 and haven’t seen this. I definitely see a difference in quality between the component signal and HDMI; also if you set the picture to panoramic, you’ll get some distortion.
When I hit the “wide” button on the remote, I don’t have a panoramic option – I have full, zoom 1, zoom 2 and stretch. I’ll try another input.
Again – thanks!
I’m not sure which inputs this works for, but I suspect it doesn’t for HDMI. I’ve used it for analog channels on the tuner and for component input.
Well, after about 20 minutes on the phone with Comcast, the green line disappeared when the HD box was reset. The settings on the box were off too – so once we got it right the picture is much better than before – and I didn’t think it was bad to begin with.
So, all is well and I like this TV a lot.
Thanks again so much for all of your help.
Thanks for a great review. Picked one up at Sam’s this weekend and love it. Two questions that maybe you can help me with. While watching a football game on Fox HD (through Dish) my t.v. states that it is only playing in 480p SD. Should this not be in 1080i? Also, when I click wide I do not get the “full” option. It goes from normal, zoom 1, zoom 2, panoramic. I am hoping you can shed some light on me who is a little confused at this point
How is your Dish hooked up? It may have to be hooked up via HDMI to show 1080i/1080p. The “full” option may be the same thing. I primarily use my Mac Mini connected via HDMI to watch it and haven’t touched the settings in awhile.
Thanks for this review, it is helpful. I think I’ll get this TV this weekend.
One pointer – for $15 you can buy component cable for the Wii – it will free up the composite slot, and it should also give you a better picture on the Wii. Just be sure to set your Wii to use 480p.
I actually have component cables for the Wii. However, until this week my TiVo was connected via component cables (I turned off my TiVo this week).
I just re-read your review and I have to apologize for my earlier post – I misread your post and got confused between composite and component. you can delete my posts, sorry.
Thanks for the review, though. Any updates on the TV? Still good?
No need to apologize; we all make mistakes.
I watch the TV everyday and am still pleased with it. I’m mostly watching HD content (recorded on my EyeTV), so the picture is quite sharp. I should have upgraded sooner!
Scott, Glad to hear you are enjoying you new TV
What other TV’s did you look at, or consider?
The prices have been falling, so it’s hard to go by that alone these days.
The technology has been improving as well.
Do you think this unit is up to “snuf” in that regard?
Thanks Rich
Hi Rich,
I looked online at some Sharp and LG units. At the time, my biggest requirement was a TV that had an HDMI input with analog audio on that port. In order to hook up a Mac mini (at the time), I needed this. There were very few TVs that met this requirement. This was before I found an adapter that combines the audio from the Mac with the video and outputs HDMI http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2
I really wanted an LED TV, but they don’t make them in 37″ (see size requirement) and the cost is far too much.
So far, I’m really, really pleased with this TV. As I’ve said before, without HD content, getting this TV wouldn’t have been as enjoyable.
Scott,
The costco price diff between your Vizio and the Vizio VL 370 M is about $200, through the end of November. Just wondering about some of the principal differences and deciding whether they’re worth $200 (40% more)…this Frame speed thing, 120 HZ on yours vs. 60 on the other, seems to be important in terms of motion, but I’m not clear on that. And the PIP, I’m not sure that’s important for me. Your thoughts?
Hi Steve,
I don’t know if PIP is worth it, but the 120 Hz may be enough of a difference to justify the cost depending on how often you go through TVs. I had my last TV for 7 or 8 years which may be a long time these days in TV technology, so I figure I’ll keep this TV for a number of years. Given that, having newer technology is what I’d do if I had to do it over again. Other than the 120 Hz, there are small differences in number of HDMI inputs and type of sound output; will you notice much of a difference? Probably not.
I will probably keep this TV (bedroom) as long as it is working, so I hear you when you say go for the latest technology, in a couple of years probably even 120 HZ will seem like an anachronism. However, there have been some articles in Consumer Reports (latest issue) and in various internet postings that with watching movies, there is a so called ‘soap opera’ gloss effect with the 120 HZ on any HDTV set, and there are some occasions/ shows when adjusting the set back to a 60 HZ and living with motion blur is a better option. Have you heard of such a thing, and had occasion to want to switch back to 60 HZ? (since when has buying and watching HDTV become so complicated….)
I haven’t seen any problems with the 120 Hz. The funny thing about all the research I’ve done on this TV is that my last TV cost over $1200 with a Sony employee discount and I didn’t spend as much time researching this Vizio! I’m as happy with the Vizio as I was with my Sony when I first got it. Will I like it in 5-9 years? Who knows.
What is your experience with the new SRS TruVolume feature on this model? I hate the volume changes between normal programming and commercials, and the DVD special effects volume on my Sony surround sound DVD player. I’d be happy to pay the upcharge to solve this problem.
Hi Jim,
I haven’t really noticed the volume changes, but that’s likely because I don’t watch commercials. With my EyeTV DVR, I’m using ETVComskip so I skip almost all commercials.
just purchased the vizio sv370xvt. pic looks great and setup was quick and easy. had my heart set on a 40 sony kdl40v5100 but it was $200 more and the vizio has the better overall pic as i saw both of these side by side.
I wish the remote was somewhat easier to see and read.
the other negative is I can’t program my comcast remote control using the setup codes so i can control tv power on/off. every code i tried does not work…
all in all it’s a great tv
Hi Scott,
I am looking at the this model of LCD Tv. Can you tell me if a DTS or DD signal received from an HDMI port from something like a BluRay player or PS3 is reproduced in DTS or DD from the Optical Audio out port. Nobody at costco knows and so far Vizio has not responded to my email, which makes me suspect it does not.
Thanks,
Zack
Hi Zack,
I don’t have anything connected to the optical audio out, so I can’t tell you. If you find something out, please let me know. Thanks!
Folks. I have been reading this for a while and decided to jump in. I just bought this tv in a package deal at Target just outside St Louis, MO. I am here for business from VA and once I saw their deal I decided to not wait till I got home. I got this tv, a Vizio VBR110 and a 2-pack of 6ft HDMI cables for $699.99 plus tax. I decided to jump when I saw that. Not sure it it’s available at all Targets or not. Supposedly the deal runs till Jan, no rainchecks and limited to in stock according to the sign in the store. Good hunting!!
I couldn’t pass up $549.99 for the SV370XVT, especially since that included two 6′ Vizio HDMI cables that they sell separately for $60.00. Does anyone have a comment about the SRS TruVolume feature? You can toggle it on/off with the onscreen display, but I honestly don’t notice any difference either way. I’m calling Vizio this next week, because this feature was the main selling point for me, so I wouldn’t have to have the remote in my hand all the time.
Jim,
Where did you buy the VIZIO SV370XVT for $550.??
Thanks
I just bought this tv from target (also got the package deal with vizio bluray player and 2 hdmi cables).
Has anyone used the USB port yet? i just tried plugging in a flash drive with a couple files with .avi format. The media player says that the video codec is not supported. Does anyone have any clue why?
Thanks
I just bought one of these. I went to Target but they were out of Blu-Ray players, so they knocked the price down to $498. Anyway, I didn’t set this up, the Dish Network guys did. I can’t figure out how to get it out of Wide mode. I hate this mode. It cuts off part of the picture, even if the broadcast is in 16:9 ratio. It is driving me nuts. I want to return this because of this issue. How do I get it out of Wide mode? I don’t like any of the settings on Wide mode. Full is the most tolerable, but it still cuts off part of the picture. I don’t care if I see black bars on the sides, I want to see the whole picture. Somebody please help!
I bought my Vizio SV370XVT for $549.99 at Target. It was supposed to have a Vizio Blu-Ray Player included, but they were out of stock so they took off $150.00 from the advertised price of $699.99. Which was great for me because I had just purchased a Sony Blu-Ray Player on Black Friday from Walmart. Nobody has any comments about the so called SRS TruVolume feature on this model?
For Ken, On my remote if I keep toggling the wide button it will take you through 3 or 4 different screen formats.
Comcast remote for vizio
Press TV
Press hold setup, tv button blinks 2x
enter 0178
Should now work.
BTW, I own 4 vizio’s 37lcd 720p, 37lcd 1080p, 50plasma 1080p, 40lcd 1080p
No problems from any of them
cd
Nice to read inputs from other users as well as the original review. I bought one a week ago and like what I see so far. Hooked directly to the cable feed from Comcast, no box or anything. Channel numbers are weird, like RF28-2, etc for some of the channels. I note that I get the original channels and their HD versions. I had to program to skip the ‘old’ channels since they look bad in comparison.
What bugs me is that I cannot program a name for each channel. Unless there is a broadcast icon in the corner, I am left o memorize the channel number and what it is. If a caption can be added to anything other than the inputs, I sure would like to know.
For $630, its a keeper so far.
Scott,
Glad I found your review. I saw this TV in Sam’s a couple of weeks ago, and I really liked it. I’m so skiddish about getting an LCD. About a year ago, I bought a 32″ LG 1080p w/60hz. I got it home and hooked it up to my standard cable, and was disappointed in the picture. I like the fact that this Vizio has 120hz, but I was wondering, do you have the HD channels other than the “Over the Air” programming or do you have the regular standard def channels. Can you tell a big difference? Does it make standard def more easily watchable? I don’t want to upgrade to the HD channels on cable yet, b/c it’s another $20 a month, but hopefully in the future. Thanks for your blogging!
Hi Billy,
You’ll definitely be disappointed if all you have is standard definition content. However, the only HD channels I have are over the air channels and really like the picture. So I don’t pay any more per month for cable and have a much better picture (cable is required to give you those over the air channels).
Just picked one up myself, same deal, got it at Sams. Our cabinet is 35 5/8 wide and this fits with less than 1/16 on either side. Consider yourself lucky…our 32 Sony is 12 yrs old (wedding gift) and weighs about the same as yours, and I had to get that monster down by myself. I’m also completely with you, I wish the Vizio had one more component input. Anyway, nice blog. Hope you’re still happy with your purchase.
So how do you like it six months later? I’m looking at getting one of these.
I’m still enjoying the TV. It works well, the picture is great and it was a good investment. the price dropped about 4 months after I bought it, so at the new price, I don’t think you can go wrong.
HI there. Just got a Vizio SV370XVT today. Everything seems to work remarkably well. Picture is great,sounds really good,fits nicely on the dresser at the end of the bed. But ….I am having 1 problem. For some reason i cant seem to be able to get the PIP option to work in HDMI. When applied i get a small blue screen. I have the PS3 and Cablebox connected with HDMI cables to the tv.
The PIP really isnt all that important to me but being that it is an option i have on the tv i would like to be able to use it. On alot of other tvs seems you can only use pip with the HDMI. Why not this one?
Am i going to have to go with the lesser quality and switch back to the “other” cables in order for this option to work? Can someone help me get this right? Thanx
bouth the 37 inch vizio having a white and black blinkling line at the top of some channels
also when on hd channel you can still see a little bit of black on both sides of screen, channels do not cover full screen which is odd, i have 3 samsumg lcds with no issues. any suggestions to solve problem, vizio is telling me it is a cabel box issue
Has anyone had problems with the volume slowly going up and down on its own?
Yes, sometimes volume does not respond for a moment. the processor plays catch-up and shoots the volume up a second latter.
I will tolerate it, not a show stopper. wonder if it might be software fixable.