Vizio VO32LF review

Performance
The VO32LF delivered a very good picture overall. Its depth of black was fine for a smaller display, and its color accuracy after calibration among the best we've seen in its class. Screen uniformity and off-angle performance leave something to be desired, but they don't spoil an otherwise solid picture.

Before doing our standard calibration we observed that the Vizio's Normal and Warm color temperature presets were both pretty far deviated from the standard. While Warm actually measured the closest of the two, we ended up using Normal because Warm was just too green. Using the Custom color temperature settings we were able to improve quite a bit on both of those presets. Gamma measured a respectable 2.02 after calibration, an improvement from the 1.83 Movie preset, which was also extremely bright. Check out the bottom of this blog post for our full picture settings.

For our comparison we lined the Vizio up next to a few competing 32-inch LCDs, including the Sony KDL-32M4000, the Panasonic TC-32LX85, and Vizio's own VO32L. For reference (not to represent comparable models) we enlisted the Samsung LN52A650 LCD and the Pioneer PRO-111FD plasma. To perform the majority of image quality tests we checked out Razzie Worst Picture nominee In the Name of the King on Blu-ray played via the Sony PlayStation3.

Black level: Compared with the other 32-inch LCDs, the Vizio VO32LF's black level was just a bit brighter than that of the Sony, and about the same as the Panasonic and the VO32L--although the differences were relatively minor. As the Farmer family sits around the picnic table in the dead of night, for example, the shadows in the background and under the table, along with the letterbox bars, all appeared dark enough to satisfy, if oh-so-much lighter than the Sony. On the flipside, details in shadows, such as the dark areas under Ron Perlman's eyes, looked a bit more natural on the VO32LF than the Sony and the Panasonic.

Color accuracy: After calibration the VO32LF did very well in this area, beating the other three displays overall by coming closer to the color seen on our reference set. The VO32LF's grayscale stayed more neutral than the others, as evinced by the consistency of Solana's skin tone whether seen in the dim light of Farmer's house at night or the bright sky outside. The greenish tinge in dark areas we complained about in the VO32L review was not in evidence on the VO32LF. Primary color accuracy was solid, so the green of the trees behind Muriella and the blue of the water near the market, for example, looked quite close to the reference.

Very dark and black areas looked relatively neutral on the VO32LF, a bit better than the bluish VO32L and much better than the very blue Panasonic, but on the other hand they were somewhat green compared with the more neutral Sony.

Video processing: The VO32LF successfully resolved every line of a 1,920x1,080 test pattern, correctly deinterlaced video as well as film-based sources and scored between 300 and 400 lines on our motion resolution tests. As usual, none of these resolution characteristics was distinguishable in program material; the 1,366x768 resolution Sony, for example, looked just as sharp as the 1080p Vizio with high-def video sources.

Uniformity: Here's where our review sample of the VO32LF didn't fare as well as the other sets in our comparison. The far left side of the screen evinced a slightly brighter area that was visible in very dark scenes, such as the nighttime picnic and when the black screen of the credits came up. The corners also appeared a bit brighter than the middle in the letterbox bars, and we could see some uneven backlight structure in scenes that included flat fields, such as a pan over a patch of sky. Although they earn the Vizio below-average marks in this category, none of these issues was particularly distracting during normal viewing.

Off-angle performance was relatively poor, and about the same as what we saw on the VO32L. When seen from off-angle, the VO32LF washed out more noticeably than either the Panasonic or the Sony, and became discolored (redder), an issue the other two didn't suffer.

Bright lighting: We saw the usual stellar performance expected from a matte LCD screen under high ambient conditions with afternoon sun coming in through the windows. The screen attenuated reflections as well as the other matte LCDs in the lineup and better than the glass-screen plasma or the shiny-screened Samsung A650, although the latter maintained black levels better in bright lighting.

Standard-definition: Standard-def picture quality was solid on the Vizio VO32LF. The set resolved every line of the DVD format while details in the stone bridge and grass looked sharp enough. We did appreciate its ability to remove jaggies from spinning diagonal lines and the stripes of a waving American flag. The noise reduction circuit was hit-or-miss, cleaning up some shots of skies and sunsets well but leaving many with more snowy motes than the other displays in our comparison. The Vizio's film mode processing kicked in quickly and effectively to remove moire from the grandstands behind the race car.

PC: As we'd expect from a 1080p LCD, the Vizio VO32LF resolved every detail of a 1,920x1,080 source via both VGA and HDMI, with no overscan or edge enhancement. At this size and resolution, it would make a very good computer monitor.

Juice box
Vizio VO32LF	Picture settings
	Default	Calibrated	Power Save
Picture on (watts)	121.58	69	N/A
Picture on (watts/sq. in)	0.28	0.16	N/A
Standby (watts)	0	0	N/A
Cost per year	$26.29	$14.92	N/A
Score (considering size)	Fair
Score (overall)	Good