Vizio VF550M Review – 55-inch LCD HDTV
Originally Reviewed on July 27th, 2009Vizio VF550M Review: 55” LCD HDTV
Up for Review: Vizio VF550M LCD TV. This HDTV requires a huge room for its display; otherwise the images might seem to overpower you. The screen size is quite big and the effects will also be scintillating. With 1080p resolution, the Vizio VF550M is all set to stun you. The visual effects are bound to be great. And to add to it, Vizio has integrated the 120Hz SmoothMotion technology which takes care of the flickering and blurring. There is no judder in the images. The pictures flow along in a smooth manner.
A review of the Vizio VF550M suggests that the audio is outstanding. With SRS TruSurround HD technology, the audio fills the entire room and you can hear the voices and music distinctly. But you need not worry about the blaring sound of the advertisements. Vizio has taken care of that with SRS TruVolume technology. There will be a consistent sound both during programs and during commercials. Also there will be no change in sound level if you change one channel for another.
Vizio VF550M Features and Specifications Review:
- 55” display
- 16:9 aspect ratio
- Integrated ATSC/Clear QAM tuner
- 1920 x 1080 resolution
- 5 ms response time
- 1.06 billion colors
- 50,000:1 contrast ratio
- 178 degrees viewing angle
- SRS TruSurround HD™
- SRS TruVolume™
- 4 HDMI
- Warranty 1 year parts and labor
The Vizio VF550M sports a contrast ratio of 50,000:1. The brightness and contrast will of course be good but the best thing about the set is good black levels. Both the blacks and white levels are exemplary. This has a great effect on the picture quality. The images appear to be completely natural and life-like. However, the added contrast and brightness levels do not have any effect on the energy consumption. The Vizio VF550M consumes a lot less energy than the required Energy Star 3.0 standards.
The Vizio VF550M has an integrated tuner which means that it can relay all the free-to-air signals. No set-top box is required for this. It has 4 HDMI connections which is quite a lot in comparison to other competitive models. You can use them for gaming, watching movies and viewing photos. This HDTV also has a 3D comb filter which will filter all the noise and give you a crystal clear image. Most of the features on this HDTV are very useful and exciting. It will not be wrong to invest in it.
HDTVUniverse.com gives Vizio VF550M 8/10 stars!
Doug's reviewAugust 25, 2009
When turning the Vizio on, does the T.V. initially start black and white or take a few seconds before it adjusts it’s picture and color? I’ve had this happen with mine and just wondered if it was normal.
Neva Adans's reviewSeptember 10, 2009
We just purchased a Vizio VF550M. We cannot get the color to adjust. People’s lips look brown and items that are suppose to be red show a brown color. We can seen to adjust all other colors, but items that are suppose to be red are brown.
Dray's reviewSeptember 10, 2009
The uint has delivered as expected, Ran everything through my PIoneer Elite 81TXs via HDMI output . HD TV is eye popping and My Pioneer DV 45A DVD player has new life. SD channels are lacking, but I didn’t buy this to watch SD programming. The remote is very disapointing, Non-learning unlike previous models.
Joe's reviewOctober 19, 2009
I bought mine a day ago, set it up everything works fine. there is away to adjust the color but mine was fine out of the box. My only complaint is the very poor sound… But for the money, you can’t get every thing. Now i need a real sound system and this will be a great entertainment peice.
r4 dsi's reviewOctober 27, 2009
I’ve read mixed reviews about Vizio in general. I really want them to succeed (esp since a Costco brand), but for LCD I would only buy Sony and for plasma I would only buy Panasonic. (I’ve owned and returned two Samsungs and one Westinghouse.) I’ve bought (for family) two Sony LCDs and one Panasonic plasma. I currently own a Panasonic plasma.
KD's reviewNovember 28, 2009
We bought the 42″ Vizio from Costco in 2005. It has worked perfectly this entire time. We saw the floor model today and Costco is having a terrific sale on this item ($300 off the already competitive price). We will be picking this up from them tomorrow (while the sales price is still valid). An early Christmas present for us. Most reviewers find that Vizio has very good quality for the money. We certainly have found that to be the case with our 42″ model. Good luck, everyone.
1bad ws6's reviewDecember 01, 2009
this tv is awsome, picture is was better than expected. uprgraded from vizio 47 inch HD lcd 1080p to this, the picture is super smoothe!!
Ron Muir's reviewDecember 11, 2009
My Wife and I purchased this 55 inch LCD just a week ago.. one of the selling points ( to the Wife ) was it has Volume control for those ( Pesky ) blaring Commercials… WELL IT does not WORK….. I am not sure why but our Commercials still BLARE.. I end up grabbing the controller and turning down the commercials ONCE AGAIN…….
other than that our 55 LCD has been very nice.
If I knew who I could E-mail that gave a ( !$#!$ ) I would like to tell them about my problem with this T.V.
Lisa Turner's reviewDecember 17, 2009
we bought ours a week ago. picture is great. Sound STINKS. Volume gets loud during commercials and then changes when show comes back on. We called tech support about it and they said there is no fix for it and that we would just have to adjust the volume every time. That’s pretty crappy customer service/support. You would think that if you paid $1600 of your hard earned money, you wouldn’t have to have the remote glued to your hand to control the volume. I was going to buy the sound bar accessory, but then thought why would i spend another $150 to make the TV do what it should already be dong for the initial $1600 we paid. I’m ready to put it back in the box and return it.
Titus Reed's reviewDecember 21, 2009
We bought ours at costco for a great price but the sound sucks. It gets louder during the commercials. also the volume changes during the show and different levels of sound when the channels are changed. With HDMI cable going from my cable box to the HDTV the sound changes levels, but with the coax cable from the wall straight to the HDTV (bypassing the cable box) the sound is good or if I just watch shows that are not HD the sound is good. I even tried changing cable boxes and HDMI ports in the back of the set but same problem with sound when watching shows in HD. Some will say since the sound is good with the coax cable going straight to the HDTV that the problem is not the HDTV but the cable box. While I have a 42 inch Samsug hooked up to the same HD cable box and I don’t have any sound problems. Maybe thats why it was on sale.
marjorie g's reviewMarch 10, 2010
I bought the 55″ 3 Feb at Costco for $1299. Great price and beautiful picture but the sound is making me crazy! It gets so loud during commercials it will send you diving for the remote. When I pause live programming (DVR) and return to play mode the volume is lower and slowly catches up. Plus during shows, either live or DVR’d, the volume seems to change. I find I’m constantly lowering or upping the volume. I have 90 days to return it to Costco and I hate to do it because I love everything else about this set, but screaming commercials, diving for the remote, and needing to constantly adjust the volume is definitely a problem.
Dan Ellis's reviewMarch 13, 2010
My wife and I decided to upgrade to something HD capable and decided to go with the Vizio VF550M due to the agreeable price and stellar reviews here and elsewhere. Though we’ve only had ours for a week now, it is everything we were looking for in a television and more. It was actually challenging to find this unit locally as they appear to be flying off the shelves as soon as they arrive from the warehouse.
Blu-Ray (PS3) in 1080p on this 55″ screen will take some time to get used to since we’re not used to such a clear and sharp image. It’s a night a day difference from standard definition (we opted for Direct HD TV as well). I suspect we’ll be spoiled in no time.
Angela's reviewJuly 04, 2010
Tip – If your having sound problems (i.e. sound gets really quiet, then blaring loud) try turning off the SRS TruVolume on the Audio Menu. This is supposed to regulate the sound when a program goes to commercial, but mine (I have the Vizio VF550M 55″) wasn’t working properly. Anyway, after I turned off the SRS TruVolume, it’s been working great.
Gloria's reviewJanuary 30, 2011
My TV is a little over a year old. I have a thin horizontal line about halfways on the screen. Any way to adjust this problem other than sending it to the repair shop?