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The Vizio GV52LF HDTV, a 52-inch LCD model, earned high scores on many of our TV tests. Its scores were particularly high on our standard-definition tests. The set's desirable features include picture-in-picture and four HDMI ports, and it carries an extremely affordable price ($2200).
Both high-definition and standard-def TV looked sharp and natural on the screen, and no other set earned an overall score of Very Good for screen brightness. In a segment of The George Lopez Show, it produced true-to-life skin tones and few digital artifacts in the background. High-def movies looked crisp and vivid.
The Vizio GV52LF's four HDMI ports enable high-def aficionados to connect several devices, such as an HD player, a cable box, and an HD DVR. The TV's built-in speakers have plenty of volume but sounded flat. The Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD, for example, sounded much better. A glossy black bezel surrounds the set, which sits on top of silver speakers and a silver stand, producing an eye-catching contrast. The Vizio does look a little heavier at the bottom than other sets, however.
The backlit, sensibly organized remote has numbered buttons on the top, a navigational wheel in the middle, and a few direct-input buttons near the bottom. It's mostly black with a small block of brushed silver at the bottom, neatly matching the TV. A detailed user manual, printed in color on glossy paper, accompanies the set and comprehensively explains the TV and remote functions.
Though the blue on-screen display menu looks less sophisticated than the ones we saw on the Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR4 and the Samsung LN-T5281F and FP-T5084, it offers clear and easy-to-navigate picture op tions. The Color Temperature menu provides extra-fine controls for red, green, and blue color channels. You can activate picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture by going through the menu--a feature that not all TVs offer--but I wish that Vizio had included a dedicated button for turning it on.
For its price, the Vizio GV52LF delivers competitive performance and enough attractive options to deserve the attention of budget-conscious HDTV shoppers.
