Tour & Design
The front of the VF551XVT has fairly classic Vizio styling, with a shiny black bezel surrounding the screen. But the big change on previous models is the red sound bar under the screen, which holds the speakers. Vizio said that they haven't decided if this will be the final color or not, but it's certainly striking. The glowing Vizio logo is below the screen, but previous models have allowed you to turn this off if it is distracting.
The Vizio VF551XVT is perfect for your bat-cave
Because of the way that the demo unit we looked at was placed, we weren't able to get a good look at the back. However, the major feature on it is the slightly recessed panel that holds most of the ports, plus a series of screws that allow for a standard VESA wall mount to be used. There are also a number of grills that allow air to circulate from the components inside so they don't get too toasty.
The ports panel is the main feature on the back of the VF551XVT
The main action on the sides of the VF551XVT is on the left side, which holds both the secondary ports panel and the control buttons.
The left side (at the left) is the location of the second ports panel and the controls
The stand of the VF551XVT is a pretty standard affair; a simple plastic stand that does not allow for rotation or tilting the screen. But we've found that the stand on previous Vizio models were tough enough to stand up to everyday use, and we see no reason to expect that this one won't be the same.
The stand does not rotate
The VF551XVT has a pretty simple, straightforward design that won't get in the way of the main business of showing video. Our main concern from an aesthetic point of view is the red sound bar; it could be somewhat distracting. However, Vizio did stress that this is not confirmed; they may change the color of the sound bar in the final model. The shiny bezel may also be a bit distracting if it catches reflections.
Performance Features
Display Size & Technology
The VF551XVT is built around a 55 inch LCD panel that has about 2 milllion pixels and a claimed response time of 5 milliseconds. That's pretty standard, but the innovation is behind this, where Vizio has replaced the standard CCFL backlights with an array of about 2000 LED lights.
The VF5551XVT is built around a 55-inch panel
Format & Resolution
This 55-inch panel has a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, for a total of just over 2 million pixels. This means that it can display every pixel of a 1080p signal without having to downscale or reprocess the image.
Brightness, Blacks & Contrast Ratio
Vizio's decision to go with an array of LED backlights on this model means that they can do some fancy stuff, such as local dimming, where the backlight can be dimmed in portions of the screen that are showing a dark image. There are about 2000 individual LED backlights, and these are grouped into zones of 20, which means there are about 100 individual zones that the display can dim as required. This increases the theoretical contrast ratio of the display, and Vizio gives a ratio of 1,000,000:1 in their specifications. We'll have to wait to get the display into our test lab before we can test the veracity of their claims, but the demos that they were running at the show certainly seemed to indicate that the technique improved the depth of the black in some movies; the blacks in a scene from Batman: The Dark Knight that they were showing were significantly darker than a similar model that used conventional CCFL backlights. Vizio quotes the peak brightness at 500 cd/m2, which is pretty bright.
Refresh Rate & Motion
Vizio went with the 240Hz motion processing that seems to be de rigeur on high-end models this year, and claim to have upgraded their motion processing for smoother motion (they refer to this as Smooth Motion II), Again, the demos of this model looked impressive, but we'll reserve judgement until we get a unit in for a closer look in our labs.
Viewing Angle
Vizio claims a viewing angle of 178 degrees, which means that you can be up to 89 degrees away from straight on, and still get a good picture. This is an ambitious claim, but we saw a decent viewing angle from the VF551XVT; colors started to fade a little at about 40 degrees away from straight on,but the contrast ratio was still good at this angle. Vizio has also upgraded the anti-glare coating on the screen, and this seems to have made a distinct improvement; we noticed that refelctions were much less noticeable than on previous models.
Color
Colors in the demo unit that we looked at at the CES show looked good; we saw bright,sharp color with decent levels of detail in the highlights and shadow details. Vizio has typically eschewed using the extended color gamuts that other manufacturers have been adding, and the VF551XVT is no exception to this; it does not support any wider color gamuts.
Connectivity & Media
Audio & Video Ports
There are two sets of ports on the VF551XVT; one on the side of the case, and one on the back in a recessed panel. The first set of ports is designed for devices such as camcorders or digital cameras that need to be connected and disconnected on a regualr basis, while the back panel is for devices that are constantly connected. On the side panel there are right and left analog audio inputs, analog video input, component HD analog video inputs an HDMI port and a service port that is designed for custom installers and serious users to allow them to configure the display.
The side panels of the VF551XVT has a number of inputs
*On the back panel are most of the inputs and outputs
*The back ports are more numerous than the side ones; from the left we have 4 HDMI ports, a VGA port and analog audio input for connecting a PC, an S-Video input, composite and analog audio inputs, component video inputs and an antenna port. There are also two audio outputs; a set of stereo analog outputs and an optical digital audio out.
Media & Other Connectivity
One omission from the list of pots is any USB ports for connecting digital cameras or hard drives to play media from; the VF551XVT does not include this sort of functionality. This is somewhat surprising since the VF551XVT comes with a USB jump drive. This will change: Vizio has recently announced a new sytem called Connected HDTV, where compatiable models will be able to access Internet content and run Widgets over a built-in wireless connection. But this is not available on this model, and models that include it won't be released until the fall.
Placement
The side ports are conveniently located for plugging in and removing devices, while the back ports are more awkward to reach. However, having both types of ports is the best compromise here, providing easy access and keeping the more permanent cables out of the way.
Audio
Two speakers are located under the red sound bar panel. We weren't able to test the quality of these speakers.
Controls, Menu & Remote
Remote
The remote that will come with the VF551XVT is the standard Vizio remote that we've seen with previous models, such as the SV40XVT. We found that this is a little uncomfortable in the hand, but it can be programmed to control a cable box or other media device as well.
The remote for the VF551XVT is the standard Vizio model for the XVT range
Controls
The control buttons for the VF551XVT are located on the left side of the screen in a slightly recessed panel. This means that you will either need to learn their location by touch, or look around to figure out which is which. Fortunately, the buttons that you will use most often (such as power and volume) are well differentiated, and shouldn't be difficult to learn by touch.
The controls are on the left side of the display, in a slightly recessed panel*
Menu
We were only able to get a brief glimpse of the menu system of the VF551XVT, but it again looked to be very similar to the existing models, with a simple tabbed interface.
Conclusion
Vizio has a reputation for producing good value televisions, and the VF551XVT looks like it will probably continue the trend. We'll have to reserve judgment until we get the display into our labs for testing, but it looks like this display has the chops to produce good quality images with the LED backlight and the local dimming. And the price is definitely right: $1999.99 is a great price for a premium 55-inch LCD model.
Note: Later this year we discovered that in addition to the VF551XVT with LED backlights and local dimming Vizio will also be releasing aVF552XVT that includes internet connectivity via ethernet or built-in Wi-Fi. This includes access to Yahoo widgets, Amazon on-demand and Netflix services.
Meet the tester
Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.
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