Vizio TVs win CNET's Editors' Choice

Vizio XVT3SV series: It's Vizio's best TV ever, with the most extensive 3D-free feature set on the market including a QWERTY Bluetooth remote, built-in Wi-Fi and our favorite implementation of Apps-on-TV so far. But picture quality is what earned the XVT3SV our award. Highlights include color fidelity, the ability to handle bright rooms well, and black levels deep enough to stand among the best. Its LED local dimming technology didn't suffer the kind of uniformity issues we saw on edge-lit models like the Samsung UNC8000, and also avoided some of the problems we saw on its closest full-array competitors, including the LG LX9500 and runner upLE8500, along with Sony's XBR-HX909. The Vizio scored an "8" in Performance, the same as many 2010 plasma TVs and LG's best LCD models, and manages to do so for less than any of its flagship competition. That said, if money were no object and I had to choose an LCD TV for myself, it would be the Vizio XVT3SV series.

Vizio's XVT553SV is CNET's choice among LCD TVs.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
I've always considered an EC award as the answer to the question "What would you buy?" in a given product category. Plasma-based HDTVs generally offer a few picture quality advantages over LCD/LED in my experience as a reviewer, which often manifest in higher scores. I understand many readers would prefer to buy an LCD, however, so this year I decided to give out two EC awards, one each for plasma and LCD.
As with any technology category, HDTV is packed with numerous excellent products, many of which are less-expensive than these flagship models, and a few of which I haven't yet reviewed. If any of them appeal to my buying bug stronger than either of the above models this year, I'll swap out the award and update this post.
Now I'll shut up so you can comment. Agree? Disagree? Why? Let's hear it.


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