Vizio has announced a new addition to its home theater sound line. The new audio product is called the Vizio 54-inch 3.0 Home Theater Sound Bar and it is designed specifically to work with larger screen HDTVs. The sound bar is designed to pair with TVs using screens 55-inches or larger. Vizio says that the […]
Vizio’s new monstrous (in the best way) new sound bar packs some smart new features including center channel vocal boost and different levels of surround virtualization, but the best thing about it? It’s super cheap.
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Vizio already has soundbars designed for smaller TVs (and medium-sized ones too), and now it’s back with a flagship model built for bigger screens. This new 54-inch model, available today, brings 103-decibel sound, complete with three channels and a 4-inch deep bass module. Like the smaller models, it also features Bluetooth streaming, and uses DTS audio processing to level out the volume so that you’re not jolted off the couch when shows cut to a loud commercial break. It’s available today for $300 on Vizio’s website, though if you wait a few weeks, you should see it popping up in retail stores, likely with some lower prices in tow.
Additionally, the company is teasing a 55-inch entry-level E-series TV with full-array LED backlighting and local dimming technology, which should allow for both deeper blacks as well as easier viewing in darkened rooms. As it happens, this technology isn’t new and in fact, Vizio already sells some entry-level models with full-array backlighting and local dimming. In this case, though, Vizio is touting more dimming zones, as well as newer, more effective version of the dimming technology. Unfortunately, though, the company isn’t doing demos right now, so we can’t really speak to the difference in quality. What’s more, Vizio also hasn’t mentioned pricing or availability. So, we’ll have to leave this as a tease for now, but we’ll follow up when we eventually learn more.%Gallery-slideshow123186%
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
When Vizio announced that it was making laptops, people flooded our inbox demanding we review the Vizio Thin + Light (14-inch, 2012). After all, the company’s reputation for undercutting rivals with quality hardware meant that its debut entry had to be taken seriously. Out of the gate, it won points for us for its cracking build quality and amazing display, but lost marks for a bad trackpad, keyboard and short battery life. In the end, we couldn’t recommend this device, but we bet plenty of you went for it anyway. In which case, you’ll be expertly placed to tell us, after a few months of use on this thing, what would you change about it?
Filed under: Laptops
Vizio has become one of the most popular TV manufacturers in America thanks in large part to its nice technology at reasonable prices. Vizio has announced a new streaming media player called the Co-Star LT Stream Player that promises to bring the companies connected smart TV experience to any HDTV. The stream player is able […]
$9,000 for a TV?
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I recently had the opportunity to swap out the 5.1 audio system in my living room with the Vizio S3821 2.1 soundbar and subwoofer. This slimline sound system is a great way to add high quality sound to your flat-screen TV without having to run a bunch of wires, and without breaking the bank.
The speaker bar itself measures 38″ (w) x 3.6″ (h) x 2.9″ (D) and fits nicely beneath or in front of most flat screen TVs 40″ diagonal and up. It also comes with mounting hardware should you choose to wall mount it instead. In addition to the soundbar, the system includes a small powered subwoofer (13.5″ (w) x 11″ (h) x 6″ (d)) that you can set anywhere you have a power outlet, thanks to a wireless connection to the main speaker.
Connecting the Vizio soundbar is simple. The easiest way to go is to connect its optical or coax digital input to the corresponding output on your TV set. Most modern sets can do the switching between multiple video inputs, then output audio using one of these methods. This way, you avoid the need for switching inputs on the soundbar. That said, it does offer a total of six inputs, including one each of digital optical, digital coax, RCA analog stereo, 3.5mm mini and USB. The fifth input is a wireless connection for Bluetooth devices. Vizio is kind enough to include optical, coax and RCA cables in the box. Inputs can be switched from the remote control, and are displayed on the face of the soundbar using a set of small white LEDs. In my case, I only connected a single optical cable to my TV and paired my mobile devices.
Speaking of Bluetooth devices, this thing was a dream when paired with my iPhone and HTC One. Music quality was exceptional, providing room-filling sound in my 400+ sq. ft. living room, and a wide soundstage that bested the dedicated 5.1 speakers I currently have. Its included remote control can also be used to operate your Bluetooth device, including play, pause and track controls.
But the music capabilities of the Vizio 2.1 soundbar are really a bonus. The main use case for this system is for watching movies and television programs, and playing video games, and I’m happy to say it handled all of these with aplomb. I found the sound quality of the soundbar to be quite satisfying, with good dynamic range, and imperceptible distortion even when pushed to the highest volume level it could push out.
The 6″ powered subwoofer isn’t going to make your walls shake the way they do in a theater, but it does offer enough punch to get the point across. Oddly enough, Vizio doesn’t provide wattage specs for the speakers – they only say that frequency response ranges from 50Hz to 19KHz, and that the system can push out 100dB of sound at 1 meter with less than 1% THD.
Top volume for the system isn’t going to make your eardrums bleed, but it is plentiful – more than enough to wake the neighbors and fill a large living space, and its really nice that there’s no crackling or unexpected vibration at peak volume levels. When using the system, I did find that turning on DTS TruSurround offered the best overall experience, as it created an extremely large and open soundstage, and did an admirable job providing a sense of surround when watching movies and playing games. That said, you won’t be able to pinpoint sound locations like you could with dedicated speakers for each surround channel. The system also supports DTS TruVolume for keeping volume levels consistent. Personally, I’m not a fan of messing with dynamic range in that way, so I left that off.
Overall, I was more than pleased with the quality of the Vizio S3821 soundbar. It’s more than sufficient for anyone looking to add high quality sound to their living room without breaking the bank, and works well for a wide variety of content. It’s priced at just $179.99(USD) and can be purchased direct from Vizio, though you can find it over at Amazon for about $20 less.
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Vizio’s 42-inch soundbar is all fine and dandy, but not everyone has the TV or budget to justify that kind of audio — college students, anyone? The company is clearly aware of this problem, as it just announced three soundbars built for smaller screens like those in the M-Series. The 29-inch S2920w ($80) and 38-inch S3820w ($120) cater to simple setups with 2.0-channel sound, while the 38-inch S3821w ($180) adds a wireless subwoofer for some extra oomph. All three support Bluetooth streaming from nearby devices, and they use DTS audio processing to both fill out the frequency range and hush noisy commercials. The soundbars will ship between late August and September, or just in time for the annual dorm room invasion.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Vizio
Sound bars are a tough thing to buy these days, mostly because you have to find the right one with the best sound quality and the perfect size to fit your home theater setup. However, VIZIO thinks they can help. The company just outed three new sound bars that consist of different sizes and features […]
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