The internet has penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives, so it’s only fitting that televisions start featuring internet connectivity. Vizio got its start offering the latest HDTV features at a much more appealing price than its competitors, while still delivering a quality product. It’s no surprise that with Samsung introducing the Internet@TV models and Sony now shipping the first Google TV products, Vizio has been quick to create its VIA brand, standing for Vizio Internet Applications. Still, we have to wonder, does the VIA platform hold up against the competition?

Picture and Sound Quality

Before getting into the real showdown between the competing internet platforms, let’s talk briefly about the picture and sound quality of the Vizio VIA line. For starters, the sound is about what you’d expect from your average HDTV, essentially comparable to Sony and Samsung TVs. It certainly won’t hold up to the standards of a die-hard audiophile, but anyone caring about sound quality that much should have a standalone sound system.

Picture quality is a bit of a different story since it actually varies considerably amongst the VIA line. At the lower end of the spectrum are the standard LCD models. Despite suffering from some slightly lower contrast ratios, the overall image quality is quite good, and their affordable price make them the cheapest internet capable HDTVs by far. The next step up is the Edge-Lit LED models.

They offer nearly identical picture quality to Sony’s NSX Google TV models at a much cheaper price. A 42-inch Edge-Lit VIA can be found for less than $800, compared to the $999 price tag of a 40-inch Sony NSX, though the addition of Google TV may be worth the additional $200 (but more on that later). At the top of the VIA totem pole (not counting the 3D TVs) are the TruLED models, which have a full LED backlight for excellent contrast ratios, resulting in vibrant colors and deep blacks. Vizio’s TruLED TVs offer nearly unrivaled picture quality, but they also step out of Vizio’s usual price range, with prices starting around $1200 for a 42-inch screen.

Internet Apps: Which Platform Holds Supreme

There are a handful of major players when it comes to internet enabled TVs: Vizio’s VIA, Samsung’s Internet@TV, Sony’s Bravia Apps, and Google TV. Oddly enough, Samsung and Vizio’s app engines are almost identical, and because Sony offers TVs with Google TV built in, its Bravia Apps are basically redundant. This leaves the battle between VIA and Google TV.

Built on the Android operating system, Google TV is superior in just about every way. Unlike VIA, Google TV is truly integrated with the internet, allowing things like full web browsing and internet downloads. VIA only offers a handful of applications, like Netflix streaming, Facebook, TV Guides, Weather, and etc, while Google TV has access potentially to the entire Android Marketplace, which has over 200,000 apps. To top it off, Google TV has dedicated hardware for running the platform, making it significantly more responsive than VIA. The only point for VIA is its price, considerably cheaper than Google TV solutions.

It’s also worth noting that Google TV is available in standalone devices, like the Logitech Revue and Sony’s Internet TV Blu-Ray player, which allow you to add internet applications to any television you own; however, if purchasing a new TV, it will generally be more cost effective to go with Sony’s NSX line rather than a TV/Google TV combo.