The Vizio E470vl offers an impressive feature set at an amazingly reasonable price, including its 120Hz processing, built-in 10-watt speakers and digital ambient light sensor. Unfortunately, its lighter black levels and less impressive off-angle performance might give some cause for concern compared to similar LED TV models with this same set of features.
Full 1080p High Definition Resolution offers over 2 million pixels that provide you with an immersive picture, while its 100,000:1 contrast ratio provides vivid and lifelike imagery. Our 120Hz refresh rate combined with Smooth Motion Video technology reduces judder for smooth and fluid image movement. In addition, the VIZIO E470VL includes three HDMI ports as well as SRS TruVolume and TruSurround HD audio for immersive virtual surround sound as well as an ambient light sensor to adjust screen brightness automatically based on lighting conditions.
The E0VL stands out in bright rooms thanks to its matte screen's ability to minimize reflections from windows, lighting fixtures and other objects that cause image artifacts. Our comparison tests found it among the best at minimizing these artifacts, outperforming glossy UNC6500s, Samsung C630s and Sony EX700s in this regard.
However, the E0VL did not perform as well in dark room tests, where its backlighting struggled to maintain black-level fidelity compared to more-advanced plasma TVs such as Samsung S2 plasma or Panasonic C630 which boast more sophisticated phosphor backlights.
The E0VL stands out from competing models by providing JPEG photo file playback using an attached USB thumb (but not hard) drive. Although this feature may seem unique to this TV model, most competitors do also support it and some even support DLNA connectivity to open up even more content options. Furthermore, this TV lacks the popular Eco section in its menu while some buyers may be put off by its limited number of HDMI and composite video inputs.
