Vizio SV470XVT LCD HDTV Review - Performance: Viewing Effects

The Vizio SV470XVT's viewing angle was about average for an LCD TV, but we did like that colors held up well across viewing angles. Reflectance wasn't a major issue with a matte display that diffused light reasonably well. The video processing features were, as is typical, unimpressive. Better to leave most of them off most of the time.

Viewing Angle (7.08)
In this test we look at the angle at which the contrast ratio of items on the screen falls below 50%. On the Vizio SV470XVT this angle was 38 degrees from center, for a total viewing angle of 76 degrees. This is about the same as what we saw from the Vizio VO47L and significantly better than the Sony 46W4100, with a total viewing angle of only 30 degrees. The Vizio SV470XVT's performance was quite reasonable for an LCD display, which tend to have worse viewing angles than Plasma displays like the Panasonic TH-46PZU, which posted a viewing angle of 156 degrees.

Beyond the range of 38 degrees from center you'll notice a drop-off in contrast with the Vizio SV470XVT, with colors fading slightlly. What we didn't see, however, is any evidence of colors inverting, aside from some fading colors on the Vizio SV470XVT held up well across the range of viewing angles.

Reflectance (7.25)
Reflectance can be a big issues from some televisions with glossy displays especially in poorly lit rooms with with lights that reflect right onto the screen. Thankfully the Vizio SV470XVT has a more matte display where even light shined directly onto the screen was somewhat diffused. The effect can still be annoying, especially when there's a lot of black on the display, but for the most part reflectance wont have a major impact on your viewing experience.

Video Processing (2.0)
As with most televisions the Vizio SV470XVT offers a variety of video processing features that claim to address or improve certain viewing features. As we have found in most cases the impact these features have on an actual picture are limited. If you have a particularly bad picture you may want to try turning some of these features on in a case-by-case basis, but most of the time we recommend leaving them off.