500i-A1 50-inch Slim LED Smart HDTV
500i-A1 50-inch Slim LED Smart HDTV
By S. P. Linke
Size Name:60-Inch
PROS
- Big and bright; nice color; matte screen for bright rooms
- 4 HDMI inputs
- Thin and very attractive minimalist glossy black frame (less than 1" wide)
- Built-in WiFi and DLNA; most of the popular subscription-based smart apps
- Great value
CONS
- High LCD panel failure rate (On 2/8/2013, Vizio publicly acknowledged this and is addressing the problem. See below for details.)
- Severe audio-video sync problems (In mid-January 2013, Vizio released a firmware update to fix this issue. See below for details.)
- Still some glare in bright room
- Takes about 18 seconds to "boot up" from power on
- Only one shared composite/component input for older devices
- Slightly gray blacks and somewhat uneven back-lighting, although this likely varies between individual units
- DLNA and smart-app implementations are very crude (you are probably better off getting a dedicated device to do these, like a Roku or Apple TV)
- Ports hard to access on back, which is particularly a problem for the USB port, if you want to plug and unplug (somewhat inherent in thin flat-panel TVs)
LCD PANEL FAILURE ISSUE
Many owners, including me, were reporting a problem where the image would disappear but the backlight and sound would remain on. This required full replacement of the TV. On 2/8/2013, Vizio acknowledged this problem in a "special bulletin" revealing that a bad batch of chips were installed in units with serial numbers ranging from LFTRNWAN3800001 to LFTRNWAN4805300. It also affects a range of the 70" E701i-A3 models. Vizio extended the warranty from one to two years for that specific problem. Read more ›
- Big and bright; nice color; matte screen for bright rooms
- 4 HDMI inputs
- Thin and very attractive minimalist glossy black frame (less than 1" wide)
- Built-in WiFi and DLNA; most of the popular subscription-based smart apps
- Great value
CONS
- High LCD panel failure rate (On 2/8/2013, Vizio publicly acknowledged this and is addressing the problem. See below for details.)
- Severe audio-video sync problems (In mid-January 2013, Vizio released a firmware update to fix this issue. See below for details.)
- Still some glare in bright room
- Takes about 18 seconds to "boot up" from power on
- Only one shared composite/component input for older devices
- Slightly gray blacks and somewhat uneven back-lighting, although this likely varies between individual units
- DLNA and smart-app implementations are very crude (you are probably better off getting a dedicated device to do these, like a Roku or Apple TV)
- Ports hard to access on back, which is particularly a problem for the USB port, if you want to plug and unplug (somewhat inherent in thin flat-panel TVs)
LCD PANEL FAILURE ISSUE
Many owners, including me, were reporting a problem where the image would disappear but the backlight and sound would remain on. This required full replacement of the TV. On 2/8/2013, Vizio acknowledged this problem in a "special bulletin" revealing that a bad batch of chips were installed in units with serial numbers ranging from LFTRNWAN3800001 to LFTRNWAN4805300. It also affects a range of the 70" E701i-A3 models. Vizio extended the warranty from one to two years for that specific problem. Read more ›
500i-A1 50-inch Slim LED Smart HDTV
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