Vizio E601I-A3B

Solid picture quality, style and features make the massive Vizio E701i-A3 a great big-screen buy.

Which is better: a mammoth TV with a mediocre picture, or a smaller TV with a great picture? If you're in the camp that believes size trumps all, Vizio has just the LCD.

Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving, and the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s a day when hordes of Americans head out to the local mall or Walmart, ready to fill their carts and, if necessary, take you out should you stand in the way between them and a good deal. TV maker Vizio has traditionally released a new model or two just in time for Black Friday — often at prices well below the norm for sets in their category/screen size. The E601i-A3, a 60-inch edge-lit LED LCD, was one such special, having reportedly sold for $699 on that day — a price that is, well, insane. But now that the E601i has bobbed back to a more real-world, though still very affordable, $999, it’s time to check out how it stacks up against the competition.

Performance Features Ergonomics

Vizio has made a monster of a display with the 60-inch LED E601i-A3 HDTV. The television is large and affordable objectively. Andrew Robinson investigates the question of how it performs.