PCWorld
By Alex Cocilova
September 5, 2012

Vizio is no stranger to our lab, but its first desktop PC entry—the Vizio CA27-A1 all-in-one—shines bright.

Priced at $1250 (as of August 24, 2012), the Vizio CA27-A1 comes stocked with an Intel Core i5-3210M processor that runs at a standard 2.5GHz but ramps up to 3.1GHz when using Intel’s Turbo Frequency technology. This is coupled with 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM to support a speedy, responsive machine.

The screen is a beautiful 27-inch display with a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. It has a slight tilt to get a better viewing angle and to alleviate any glare that might catch the reflective screen. But it's not a touchscreen, which feels like a bit of an oversight with Windows 8 so close to release. While a touchscreen isn’t necessary, it could be useful with Microsoft's forthcoming operating system.

PCWorld
By Loyd Case
August 9, 2012

If Walter Gropius could see the new Vizio C14-A2 Ultrabook, he’d probably approve. It sports a sleek, metallic elegance, like many of the quintessential Bauhaus designs. And as the Bauhaus school would do, Vizio stripped out seemingly essential features, but the end result is a compact, lightweight, usable laptop that performs well and looks good. It also sells for a very reasonable $1199.

Lean and Stripped Down
At first blush, the C14-A2 seems mostly distinguished by its lack of features. Just two USB 3.0 ports are included, one on each side. A lone HDMI port is on the right side, providing the only video output port. The system lacks a wired ethernet jack, and doesn’t include a USB-to-ethernet adapter, as similarly thin Asus Zenbook UX31E. Perhaps the one absent feature that people might really miss, though, is a flash card reader.

PC World
By Lincoln Spector
July 30, 2012

Priced at around $900 (estimated street price as of July 18, 2012), the 47-inch, 240Hz Vizio M3D470KD edge-lit LED HDTV set displays remarkably strong images, with vivid colors and accurate skin tones. Its keyboard-equipped remote control makes entering a Wi-Fi password or a Netflix search a breeze. The set has some notable drawbacks—its built-in speakers are subpar, and if you want to enjoy your own media files, you'll find the M3D470KD limited—but those shortcomings are forgivable for the price.

Lab Tests: Picture, Sound, and Energy Consumption

Vizio M3D470KD 47-inch HDTVThe five judges in the PCWorld Labs’ image-quality tests awarded the M3D470KD high marks in almost every test involving 2D and 3D images, and we gave it slightly better grades for 3D.

CNET
By David Katzmaier
June 27, 2012

The good: The Vizio M3D470KD produces some of the deepest black levels and most accurate color of any LED TV this year, and does it for a bargain price. Its passive TV was brighter than many active sets and virtually crosstalk-free. The Smart TV suite has plenty of content and the remote has plenty of capabilities. Vizio includes four pairs of 3D glasses.

The bad: Variable black levels, blooming, and lackluster video processing hurt the Vizio's picture quality to some extent. Its passive 3D showed occasional artifacts and moving lines. The TV's design is ho-hum and the bricklike remote annoying to use.

The bottom line: Very good picture quality and an extremely aggressive price make the Vizio M3D0KD one of the best LED TV values on the market.

HDTV Solutions
By Dick De Jong
May 25, 2012

I've said it before and regretfully, I can continue to state the ugly truth, the sound quality output by most HDTVs simply does not match the picture quality - often, it's not even close.

Occasionally, a TV like the JVC JLC47BC3000 is the exception to the sorry sound situation. But with TVs becoming sleeker and their integrated speakers shrinking accordingly, the prospects of improving the audio fidelity seem slim to none.

If you actually want to understand that English accent on Downton Abbey or appreciate the soundtrack of the Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray, you need a dedicated speaker system.

CNET
By Matthew Moskovciak
May 16, 2012

The good: The Vizio VHT215 is the company's sleekest sound bar yet, with a wireless sub and a truly excellent remote. There are plenty of connectivity options, including two HDMI inputs and optical, coaxial, and minijack audio inputs. And its sound quality is also excellent for a budget sound bar, with lots of flexibility to make adjustments.

PCMag.com
By Will Greenwald
May 14, 2012

Vizio strikes again with a low-priced, well-equipped edge-lit LED HDTV. Last year, we tested the 65-inch Vizio XVT3D650SV ($3,699.99, 4 stars) and were pleased by its Web features, passive 3D, and picture quality. Now, the M3D550KD follows suit, with just as many useful features and a much, much lower $1,429.99 (direct) price tag. Its 3D isn't quite as crisp as with some active 3D HDTVs, but considering everything you get for the price, the M3D550KD (Best Deal: $1,198.00 at Amazon) earns our Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs.

Design
Plain and unassuming, the M3D550KD has a slightly glossy and rounded black bezel with a backlit Vizio logo on the bottom and no other design flourishes. A row of controls sit behind the right edge of the screen, offering Power, Menu, Input, Channel Up/Down, and Volume Up/Down buttons. The inputs face left and downward in a recessed part of the back panel of the HDTV, with four HDMI ports and two USB ports accessible from the left side. Oddly, the analog and optical audio inputs are above the HDMI and USB ports, making cable management slightly inconvenient if you use a soundbar under the HDTV.

Irvine, CA — June 26, 2012 — VIZIO, America’s #1 LCD HDTV Company*, announced today the launch of the highly anticipated VIZIO Co-Star™ Stream Player. Using the latest version of Google TV™, the VIZIO Co-Star makes it easy to transform any HDTV into the ultimate smart TV, merging live and streaming entertainment into one intuitive and easy experience. With VIZIO’s new stream player, users get instant access to thousands of apps, full-screen web browsing capabilities—via Google Chrome™ with Adobe® Flash® Player and HTML 5 support—and the best in streaming entertainment.

Unique to the stream player market, the VIZIO Co-Star offers the distinct advantage of connecting to a cable or satellite box. This allows viewers to enjoy live TV along with the web, apps, OnLive cloud gaming, and other streaming entertainment without interrupting what they’re already watching. This integrated experience along with the universal touchpad remote with keyboard eliminates the need to switch TV inputs or remotes to access alternative content and provides viewers with a truly smart TV experience.

Irvine, CA – June 21, 2012 –VIZIO announced that Curtis International Ltd., which sells digital televisions in the United States and Canada under the Curtis brand, has become a licensee under VIZIO’s QAM patent portfolio. VIZIO, a leader in the American LCD HDTV market, owns a substantial worldwide patent portfolio directed to digital television technology. The parties have not disclosed financial terms of the agreement under which Curtis has agreed to make royalty payments to VIZIO for sales of licensed products.

“We are pleased with the result of our patent licensing efforts. It further demonstrates the technical strength and value of VIZIO’s patent portfolio,” said Rob Brinkman, VIZIO Chief Administrative Officer.

VIZIO Tops U.S. LCD HDTV Shipments for Q1 2012

- VIZIO ranks #1 in U.S. LCD HDTV shipments* with an 18.5% market share, leading the way in the nation’s most popular 32” and 40/42” size classes

- Winning beyond the TV, VIZIO is #1 in sound bar shipments**, with a 27.5% market share and a lineup that includes the best-selling sound bar in the U.S.