The new 55″ VF550XVT1A (catchy) LCD TV from Vizio looks like it’s got all the features that make buying a new TV worthwhile. With the Smooth Motion Video 120Hz refresh rate feature, this TV should look like the business if it’s anything like similar models I’ve seen. It also has SRS TruSurround HD, an incorporated sound processor, which I’m told actually sounds great. You could plug it into the speaker bar they’re selling if you don’t have a setup already — although at 55″ it’s big enough to use as a real home theater system so you might as well just hit up the full 7.1. At $2000 it’s a good deal for its size and features, although still far above my budget (cry).

They’re also announcing a couple smaller, low-power displays: 19″, 22″, and 26″ LCDs for $250-$450, the latter two of which are 1080p, though none have the 120Hz or SRS. Nothing is mentioned about the 19″, so we’re going to assume its old and busted. There’s also a new monitor, $450, 26″ at 1920×1200 and 3ms response time. I’d say the big TV is the catch from this announcement. They’re not on the main site yet, we’ll update with a link whenever they hit.

Funai has been in the news a lot lately with taking over Philips home theater biz and developing new LCD technology, but the companies recent lawsuit is extremely notable. Apparently the company just won its lawsuit that claims 14 companies are infringing on a Funai patent. The court has yet to decide wether these TVs all going to be banned from entering the U.S. of A. So it’s hard to say what’s going to happen to Vizio, Amtran, Proview, TPV, Top Victory Electronics, Envision, Syntax-Brillian, and Taiwan Kolin. Dare the courts ban the sales of these HDTVs during the important 4th quarter?

Silver TVs are out, black TVs are everywhere, and so Vizio is breaking the mold with its JAVA-colored Evolution line of LCD TVs. These two sets are based on the VO lineup and adds the different color bezel option along with slightly upgrading some specs. The 37-inch VOF370F ups the brightness to 500 cd/m2 and the contrast ratio to 1300:1 from the previous generations 450 cd/m2 and 1100:1; the 32-inch VOJ320F sports similar upgrades with 480 cd/m2 and 1300:1 tech specs. The 37- and 32-inch models should drop sometime this month in the standard Vizio distribution channel for $849.99 and 649.99, respectively. 

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For years, Vizio has branded themselves as low-cost HDTVs. The sets were, and still are, bulked-out at Costco and making their way into a lot bargain hunters homes. In fact, I think of VIZIO as the Costco house brand and that’s image the company is trying to shed. ONE/x, Vizio’s marketing agency, has begun showing off ads touting high quality and precision engineering, not the brand’s norm of rock bottom prices. Who knows if the campaign will change the mind of American consumers, but the firm’s upcoming wireless HDTVs might help.

Someone is buying VIZIO HDTVs. They might be mid-tier products. but their generally great prices probably helped rocket the flat-panel maker to the top of Inc. 5000 list. The company reached the peak by having the greatest revenue per employee, with a whopping $1.9 billion total in ‘07. VIZIO was also noted #4 for Gross Dollars of Growth and #9 for total revenue. 

While I would never claim VIZIO flat-panels are the top of the line, they generally are a nice set. If the company is racking in that much cash while keeping prices down, kind of makes you wonder why other manufacturers prices are so high.

via MarketWatch

If you’re like me, you’re extremely cheap. And that means you put off buying everything until it’s ridiculously low-priced or used. That means waiting a long time usually, but the payoff is that you get everything those other jokers got, plus more, for a quarter of the price. For instance: this Vizio 32-inch 720p plasma costs $600, exactly a quarter what my parents paid for a much poorer quality one a couple years ago. Plasma is no longer the leading technology, of course, but I’m not as much of a stickler about that.

The 42-inch model costs $800, which I think is a better deal. Both have similar stats and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. If LCD is more your style, they have some reasonably priced ones along that line as well. These have the 120Hz smoothing technology, which I’d want to see first as some companies’ versions are better than others. Still, 1080p with 120Hz for probably a little over a grand is a pretty decent deal.

Amtran, the Taiwan-based, majority shareholder of Vizio who happens to be the biggest manufacturer for the US-based brand is adamant that royalties for the compression technology had been paid for. In fact, the licensing fees had been paid to MPEG LA between Q4 of 2007 and Q1 of 2008, says Amtran.

I had no idea this had even happened. Anyone else?

Irvine, CA – June 5, 2008 – VIZIO, the fastest growing brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America, announced today that it is aware of a suit filed June 2, 2008 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by several electronics company competitors alleging that VIZIO failed to enter into a licensing agreement for MPEG-2 video compression technology.

VIZIO’s suppliers have licenses for the MPEG-2 patents, and VIZIO believes that these licenses extend to VIZIO’s products. VIZIO has notified its suppliers of the lawsuit and expects full support and cooperation by them in the defense of the lawsuit. Accordingly, VIZIO does not believe that the suit will have a material adverse impact on VIZIO’s business.

VIZIO is working to resolve this matter with the plaintiffs and its suppliers, and it intends to defend its legal rights with vigor.