Vizio GV42LF review

While it lacks front-panel connections, the back panel of the GV42LF supplies ample jacks. It has two HDMI inputs, two component-video inputs, one AV input with composite video, another with S-Video, an RGB-style PC input (handling the full 1,920x1,080 resolution) and an RF input for the cable and/or antenna, including broadcasts to the ATSC tuner. There's also an optical digital output for surround soundtracks from said tuner, and a standard stereo audio output.

Performance
The Vizio GV42LF offers commendable picture quality for the price. Sure, we had some complaints, including less-than-ideal shadow detail and color accuracy, but we did appreciate its solid black level performance and uniformity--two areas where many LCD, especially budget models, fall short.

During setup we reduced the GV42LF's light output to a comfortable 40 ftl for our darkened home theater, which required reducing the backlight control all the way. One benefit, as usual, was darker black levels. We also adjusted the color temperature controls--even the best preset setting, Standard, was too red (warm), especially in dark areas--but the results weren't as accurate as we'd like to see, with brighter parts of the image skewing too blue (cool). We turned off all of the Advanced control options, none of which seemed to improve the picture, and cranked down the color control significantly to achieve the right balance. To see our full user menu adjustments, click here or check out the Tips & Tricks section above.

For our comparison we set the Vizio up next to the Westinghouse TX-47F430S, a competing budget 47-inch LCD, and the Pioneer PRO-FHD1, our reference plasma. We chose to watch the great-looking Constantine HD DVD played over the Toshiba HD-XA2 at 1080i resolution.

One of the first things we noticed was the Vizio's solid black-level performance, which caused black areas like the letterbox bars and Keanu Reeves' overcoat to appear relatively dark--darker than the Westinghouse, although not quite as dark as the Pioneer. Our measurements confirmed that the Vizio's black levels were around the same as the company's L42HDTV, a lower-resolution 42-inch LCD, and darker than the GV47LF, the larger cousin of this set. Details in shadows, such as the pipe in the drain of a bathroom sink or the lapels on Keanu's jacket, appeared less distinct than on the Pioneer, but the Westinghouse was again less impressive than the Vizio in this department.

Color accuracy was about average on the GV42LF. Bright areas, as we mentioned, appeared a bit bluer than we'd like to see after calibration, although skin tones in dimmer areas, such as Reeves' pale face in the back of a cab or a close-up of Rachel Weisz in her darkened apartment, appeared more realistic. Unfortunately we had to reduce the color control to maintain accurate skin tones, which made the rare, colorful areas in this relatively drab film, such as the lush red carpet and drapes in the library, seem less rich and saturated than on the Pioneer. Primary colors, with the exception of a somewhat yellowish green, were fine.

Uniformity across the Vizio's screen was fairly good for an LCD. We detected slightly brighter areas in the upper-right and lower-left corners of a black screen, which were visible in the film's letterbox bars, among other places, but they were relatively subtle. Uniformity in brighter areas and scenes was good enough to not be noticeable during normal program material. Off-angle viewing was about average; the dark areas got significantly brighter when seen from extreme angles, but viewers to either side of the couch probably won't see much drop-off compared to someone sitting in the middle. There was also minimal false contouring visible on the Vizio, even with difficult transitions from dark to shadow, such as when Keanu Reeves travels to hell from an apartment, and the lights dim and grow brighter.

In terms of resolution, the Vizio GV42LF delivered every line of detail from our Sencore HDTV signal generator's 1080i test pattern. According to the HQV disc on HD DVD, the Vizio was able to properly de-interlace video-based sources, but failed to do so with film-based sources. That's common among most HDTVs we've tested, and the effects of improper de-interlacing are usually difficult to spot. We did see some moiré and interference in the grandstands of the stadium of the HQV disc, for example, and the grille of the RV at the end of Chapter 6 of Ghost Rider showed similar artifacts, but generally the image from 1080i sources looked clean. Nonetheless, as usual with 1080p HDTVs, we recommend selecting the 1080p output option on your source if it's available. It's also worth noting that the Vizio accepted both 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 sources, although for some reason it didn't pass every line of resolution on the latter, so you should avoid using 1080p/24 with this set.

You may be wondering whether the native resolution of 1080p made much of a practical difference in our viewing tests. The short answer is "not really." To be able to discern between the tiny one-pixel-wide lines of the Sencore's pattern, we had to sit about four feet away from the screen. Any point further back and they blended together, losing the benefits of 1080p.

When we popped in our favorite test for standard-definition performance, the HQV disc on DVD, we noted a few problem areas among the Vizio's generally fine performance. The set passed every line of resolution from the DVD format, and detail was good on the disc's stone bridge and grass scene. On the other hand, the Vizio did only a mediocre job of smoothing out the jagged edges from diagonal lines on the waving U.S. flag, among other places. The noise reduction control didn't clean up the worst scenes of skies and sunsets very well, leaving lots of moving motes even in the highest setting. The Vizio did a fine job implementing 2:3 pull-down detection, however.

With PC sources connected via the HDMI input from a computer's DVI output, the Vizio did an excellent job. It resolved every line of a 1,920x1,080 source with no overscan, and text looked crisp. The manual outlines the procedures needed for connecting at 1,920x1,080 via analog RGB, but we couldn't get it to work at resolutions higher than 1,366x768--which still looked pretty good. We expect that knowledgeable users intent on employing the VGA input can find a way to get full resolution to work, but it's not as plug-and-play as we'd like to see.