Vizio VO42L

Competing HDTVs don't often cost less than those from Vizio. Among 42-inch models, the Westinghouse TX-42F430S and the AOC Envision L42H761 are indeed cheaper than Vizio's entry, but the Vizio VO42L still provides the more well-rounded package.

Our judges thought the VO42L offered a natural-looking picture, and they gave it an image-quality mark just a hair below the LG 42LG60's winning score. But when you compare Vizio's $1100 estimated street price with LG's $2600 price tag (as of July 11, 2008), the slight quality difference hardly seems to matter.

Not that the image was perfect (we're a picky bunch). Some images looked fuzzy to our panelists. In one test clip, artifacts and pixelation appeared around the moving cars. I noted that flesh tones in a David Letterman clip looked a bit too saturated.

Good video deserves good audio, and Vizio provides it--within the limitations of any HDTV's built-in speakers. The sound was quite muddy at full volume, but full volume is way beyond the needs of even the most devoted heavy-metal fan. At a more reasonable 50 percent volume, the audio was still a bit muddy, but it was better than the sound of most TVs.

The VO42L disappoints in ease of use and extra features; but compared with past Vizio sets, it shows improvement in both respects. For instance, the company has finally placed a few easy-access inputs on the side of the TV. But those connectors are recessed, making them harder to reach than other TVs' easy-access inputs. And the rest of the inputs still face down, making for especially hard access.

The remote control looks as if Vizio were going for the Apple Computer Minimalist Design Award. It's smallish, with few buttons and a strange, pits-in-a-grid surface. But its attempt at coolness doesn't make it easy or intuitive to use. For instance, it has no Menu button; you access the menu by pressing the Enter button, which is labeled neither Enter nor Menu. It also lacks an Aspect Ratio or Picture Size button--to zoom in on a 4:3 program, you must go deep into the menus.

You can't expect perfection at this price, however. In a television, what you see is what you get, and the Vizio VO42L shows you plenty without demanding that you max out your credit card.