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  • Tour & Design

  • Performance Features

  • Connectivity & Media

  • Controls, Menu & Remote

  • Conclusion

  • Tour & Design
  • Performance Features
  • Connectivity & Media
  • Controls, Menu & Remote
  • Conclusion

Tour & Design

The front of the VA190E-W is dominated by the LCD panel itself. The small oblong patch on the right side is the remote receiver, and the line at the bottom is where the speakers hide. 

The VA190E-W is 

**Back**

For some reason, Vizio didn't carry the white theme over to the back as well; the back panel is black. The recessed area on the right is where the side ports go, and the other ports are on the main area. To the left of this is the power plug. 

The back of the VA190E-W is black

**Sides**

On the left side of the display is the indentation that some of the ports call home. On the right side are the controls.

The left side is the home of the ports, while the controls are on the right

 

**Stand/Mount**

The stand for the VA190E-W has the same white look, but it can be removed if required, and there are four screw holes on the back that allow the use of a wall mount. 

**Aesthetics**

The white case of the VA190E-W is certainly stylish, and as we mentioned it certainly deserves the term 'cute'.

Performance Features

Display Size & Technology

The heart of the VA190E-W is a 19-inch LCD screen with a CCFL backlight. The panel itself has a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels for a total of just over 1 million pixels. 

The VA190E-W has a lower resolution than larger HDTVs

Format & Resolution

The VA190E-W has a native format of 720p, but it is capable of downscaling 1080i content. It can't display the 1080p ones, but for a screen of this size, that's not a big surprise. 1080p signals are really only needed if you are watching blu-ray discs, and this display is more likely to be used as a second TV. The VA190E is also part of Vizio's EcoHD range, which means that it uses less electricity; Vizio claims that this display uses less electricity than a 60-watt light bulb. 

Brightness, Blacks & Contrast Ratio

Vizio's claims for the specs of this screen are pretty modest: they claim a contrast ratio of 2400:1 and a brightness of 500 cd/m2. Neither of these are particularly good, but smaller screens like this tend to have more modest specifications. We found that the screen had decent blacks and strong whites; easily good enough for casual use. 

Refresh Rate & Motion

The refresh rate is a standard 60Hz; there is none of the faster motion processing that we've seen on bigger, more expensive TVs.

Viewing Angle

The viewing angle that Vizio gives for this display is 160 degrees, and it definitely seems to be more limited than other bigger TVs from our experience at the show. But again, smaller displays usually have smaller viewing angles, so there is no surprise here. 

Color

The colors we saw on the pre-production VA190E-W were nothing to write home about; they were a little flat and lacked punch. But they definitely, from our limited tests, seemed to be good enough for general use.

Connectivity & Media

Audio & Video Ports

There are two sets of ports on the VA190E-W: one set on the side of the case and the more comprehensive set on the back. The ports on the side are, from the top, a headphone port, analog audio inputs, a composite video input and an S-Video port. Missing from here are any HDMI ports or any component video inputs, so you can't connect any devices with digital outputs here. That might be a bit of a pain; if you  want to plug in a device such as a high-end DVD player or game console that has a component or HDMI output, you have to do it on the back panel.

*The ports on the side of the VA190E-W don't include any digital inputs

*On the back of the display are a wider selection of ports. From the left, there are two HDMI ports, a set of analog audio inputs, a VGA port, component video inputs (with accompanying audio inputs), a PC audio input and an SPDIF optical audio output. Next to this are two service ports that is used by custom installers and high-end users to access some of the hidden features of the display. Next to this is the antenna input, which allows for the connection of either an OTA TV antenna or a cable TV connection.

The ports on the back of the VA190E-W are located in a slightly recessed panel

Media & Other Connectivity

There are no USB ports or media card readers on this display, so you can't connect a digital camera, hard drive or memory card and watch the media on this TV, unless the device in question has a video output. 

Placement

The side ports are easy to reach; you would easily be able to connect a device to them without having to rotate the camera around. The back ports are a bit harder to reach, but they are more designed for devices that are permanently connected.

Audio

Stereo speakers are located under the front of the display, but Vizio didn't supply the figures for the wattage of the speakers. We weren't able to test the speakers, either.

Controls, Menu & Remote

Remote

The remote that will be shipped with the VA190E-W was not available for us to look at with the pre-production unit that we looked at at the CES show.

Controls

The controls for the VA190E-W are located on the right side of the case. The buttons are large and well differentiated from the case itself, so they should be easy to find. However, we generally prefer to see buttons such as the channel up and down and volume together, as this makes them a little easier to find by touch alone. 

Caption

Menu

The quick glimpse of the menus that we got on the pre-production unit indicated that Vizio are using the same tabbed approach as their other displays, such as the VO47L. We've found this to be generally easy to use, allowing navigation through the menu structure with a minimum of button mashing.

The menu system looks like typical Vizio fare

Conclusion

Feature wise, the VA190E-W is nothing to write home about; it's a pretty straightforward 19-inch HDTV with a standard set of connections and controls. The interesting stuff starts with the price; a list price of $249.99 is very attractive for a 19-inch HDTV. We also like the white finish, which at the very least makes it different than the sea of black HDTVs in the world. We'll have to wait and see how well the performance holds up when we get it into test, but it looks like it might be a good pick for a second HDTV for the bedroom or home office.

Meet the tester

Richard Baguley

Richard Baguley

Contributor

@@rbaguley

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.

See all of Richard Baguley's reviews

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