VIZIO Full Array TruLED XVT553SV followup

[MacJeepster]

Thanks to all who passed along advice on the VIZIO Full Array TruLED XVT553SV. I took your wise counsel and Santa brought me a 55-incher as an early Christmas gift.

I've had it about a week now and the picture's astounding. The local LED dimming greatly enhances the picture and it's amazing how viewable it is from the sides.

I think the picture's at least as good as a plasma, while using a third of the electricity and no glare.

Thank you forum readers (and Consumer Reports).

- MacJeepster

[Speedy]

Way cool! (From a Vizio fan.)

[Grateful11]

I knew you'd like it. Haven't anyone over at our house yet that's not commented on how ours looks.
I'm still blown away by it myself. Surprisingly the Std. Def. channels are also quite good, better than
I thought they could be. We find yourselves watching movies again, especially when we find them in
HD, that we thought we'd never watch again. Have you connected the WiFi yet, there's at least one
Firmware update available.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

How many watts does it use?

[MacJeepster]

Muffman: I've heard two figures: 125 watts and 127 watts. Either way. far less than a plasma, which typically uses well over 400 watts, I'm told.

Grateful11: Hooking it up to the wi-fi was simple, NetFlix seems to work fine, (though out of habit I usually use the TiVo).

-mj

[Filliam H. Muffman]

MacJeepster wrote:
Muffman: I've heard two figures: 125 watts and 127 watts. Either way. far less than a plasma, which typically uses well over 400 watts, I'm told.

I was just wondering if you had joined the ranks of us dorks with a Kill-A-Watt and had measured it after precise adjustment. You might have been misled about plasma if it was a recent conversation. It was true a few years ago but plasmas use less today. Crutchfield tests quite a few of the sets they sell.
50" Samsung PN50C550 - 147 Watts.

[Bill in NC]

My 2 year old 42" plasma is rated at 160 watts.

5+ year old plasmas are the "space heater" models.

MacJeepster wrote:
Muffman: I've heard two figures: 125 watts and 127 watts. Either way. far less than a plasma, which typically uses well over 400 watts, I'm told.

Grateful11: Hooking it up to the wi-fi was simple, NetFlix seems to work fine, (though out of habit I usually use the TiVo).

-mj

[MacJeepster]

It seems I stand corrected on the energy usage of modern plasmas. While 127 watts for a 55-inch is better than 160 watts for a 42-inch or 147 watts for a 50-inch, the difference isn't as great as I portrayed it.

I do know when I was shopping and comparing, I did encounter models, perhaps lower-priced ones, that did have higher usage than you've experienced.

From Consumer Reports:
"LCD sets with LED backlighting tend to use power more sparingly than LCDs with fluorescent backlighting and plasmas. So choose an LED model if you want to cut your bills and be kinder to the environment. A regular LCD with fluorescent backlights won't save you much, if anything, over a plasma set of comparable size. Thanks to new panel designs, today's plasmas typically use about the same amount of power as a conventional LCD."

-mj

[Bill in NC]

Power consumption should get much better for all sets when the new California rules are fully phased in.

Toshiba currently makes one 46" set that meets the new California rules, with power consumption as low as 75 watts.