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I can’t imagine that too many of your LCD aficionado friends will be too impressed when they see your brand spanking new Vizio XVT553SV sitting in your living room while the set is turned off.  But, wait until you see the change of heart after you turn this budget friendly television on.

The picture quality produced by this relatively inexpensive LCD was pretty impressive.  The deep blacks provided a great contrast for the accurate and well saturated colors and, though I did notice some random blooming across the screen, the overall image was uniform across the screen, unless you were sitting way off center.
As you’ve probably come to expect, I always start my reviews with the Movie (or equivalent) preset, which was remarkably accurate in terms of grayscale though a little brighter than I would have liked to have seen for dark room viewing.  But, that was easily adjusted using the light output adjustment feature.  I was a little less than impressed by the number of advanced picture controls on this television, though I really didn’t seem to need them in order to bring the picture into line.
Black level: This Vizio model comes with local dimming.  This means that the television will automatically adjust the backlighting in accordance with the image being displayed on the screen.  This really enhanced the blacks on this TV.  As a matter of fact, it made such a difference that I felt as though it outperformed several of the more expensive models I’d reviewed previously.

The other big plus with the VIzio XVT553SV was the integrity of the shadow details that were available.  Details in darker movies like “The Dark Knight” and “Star Wars” often get lost in the background, but not with this TV.
Now, for the bad stuff.  I was a little disturbed by the stray illumination or blooming I found here.  It really only happened when you watch really scenes that require really bright objects to be displayed against really dark backgrounds, like during the credits or space scenes.  I didn’t notice this happening too much in darker scenes without bright objects or during brighter scenes.

I was impressed by the level of discernable detail available in the shadowy areas.  The details were not obscured much at all, which was a welcome surprise.
Color accuracy: The colors on this television are bright, accurate and robust, just like they ought to be.  Skin tones appeared natural and even, not pale and lifeless as they do on several of the competitors’ models.  The greens, blues, and reds were lush without appearing fake or gaudy.

Of course, this television did succumb to the typical bluing in darker, shadowy areas, but this particular artifact, while irritating, was not as noticeable here as it is on many other sets.

The typical blue tinge was obvious in the shadowy areas.  In fact, it was a bit more obvious than I had expected or had hoped.

Uniformity: In terms of image uniformity, this television kept overly bright spots to a minimum.  As a matter of fact, not only did this television outperform most of the LCD competition in this arena, it actually performed on par with many plasma, which excel in this particular category.

But moving even just a few inches from center really made a huge difference in terms of what you saw on the screen.  The blooming, which was minimal from head on, was significantly exaggerated the farther you move from center.  The colors remained accurate, but the impact from the deep blacks fell off significantly as well.
Bright lighting: Leave it to Vizio to remember to add a matte screen to reduce glare and reflection under bright lights.  Not only did I find that it was easier to view programming under brightly lit conditions, but the blacks were better preserved as well.
Standard-definition: If you’re like me, you still have a bunch of DVDs laying around.  Watching them can be somewhat painful on other LCD sets, but not this one.  The Vizio XVT553SV offered full resolution DVD viewing, and although the details appeared a bit softer than I had hoped, the overall experience was positive.

Audio Rating: 3/10

It’s a good thing that this television is relatively inexpensive since you will probably want to go ahead and throw a set of external speakers in the buggy as well.  But, although the internal speaker system leaves a lot to be desired with this television, I wouldn’t consider it a deal breaker as most flat panel televisions have pretty bad internal speaker systems.

Features Rating: 9/10

Vizio finally ditched the two tone look and bulky speaker bar in favor of the sleek black glossy chassis, which is definitely a step up, but nothing that the competition hasn’t already done.  Needless to say, the Vizio looks much better on than off.

The remote, on the other hand, is impressive.  Not only does this remote have every key you could ever want on a state of the art clicker, but it also has a slide out QWERTY keyboard, making Internet surfing a breeze.  The Bluetooth connectivity means that you don’t have to contort yourself to be in the line of sight in order for it to work and it just feels substantial in your hand.  Best of all, this remote comes with the TV completely free of charge.

Built in Wi-Fi in probably one of the most notable add ons for this television.  You can surf the Web without ever getting up.  And who can’t appreciate viewing YouTube on a 55” screen?  You can access NetFlix, YouTube, Facebook and any other website you wish without ever adding another piece of equipment, which is truly cost effective as well as aesthetically pleasing.

In addition to providing built in Wi-Fi, Vizio also built in Netflix, Vudu, Rhapsody, and Amazon VOD for plenty of audio and video streaming options.  You also have access to plenty of widgets designed to get you the info you need in a snap.

Value Rating: 8/10

At just under $2200, this television offers a great picture, built in Wi-Fi, widgets and other apps for a fraction of the price of its competitors.  As a matter of fact, I was so impressed by this television that it will be going on my wish list for this year’s Christmas gift.  While the Vizio XVT553SV isn’t perfect, the drawbacks are minimal and are definitely not deal breakers in my opinion.

Overall Rating: 7.8/10

Overall, I truly enjoyed every minute of testing this television.  And, while I loved the picture quality, I loved the price tag even more.  For consumers looking to break into the mid level LCD market, this is definitely a winner.