The Vizio E320VL is an entry-level 32-inch LCD television. Retailing at approximately $358, you shouldn't expect much, because that's exactly what you get. A whole lot of "not much."

Vizio clearly does not consider exterior design an important part of the production process. It's an ugly TV, all hard angles and cheap looking black plastic. The neck is short and squat, and does not allow the TV panel to rotate. Even it's high-end TVs look homely compared to competing Samsung and Sony models, so at least you know Vizio isn't cheaping out on this model, in particular.

The Vizio E320VL is rather limited in its ports, as you might expect, making it a less than stellar choice for a home theater hub. You'll find two HDMI ports, rather than the standard 3-4, along with one composite AV input and one component AV input. Don't expect a LAN port for streaming content or a USB port for local media, either. There is, however, an analog and digital audio output.

The TV's resolution is limited to 720p, which should be expected in this price range. It can handle 1080i and 1080p content, but the video will be rescaled to fit onto the lower resolution screen. It has a handful of video processing features like dynamic contrast ratio and noise reduction, but these are largely ineffective. We recommend you leave them disabled.

Performance (Read the full lab performance results at Televisioninfo.com)

The Vizio E320VL failed to deliver a decent black level, compared to similar TVs. Although the peak brightness was sufficient, the overall contrast ratio was a rather weak 1130:1. We also noted that the TV had a hard time maintaining a consistent black level. This means that shadows in a bright scene will contain far less detail and depth than than shadows in a dark scene.

The color performance was even worse. Past a certain brightness, the TV fails to produce any detail in highlighted areas. It's a drastically bad performance compared to similarly priced TVs we've reviewed this year. The motion performance was equally bad, but the viewing angle was at least decent.

Comparisons (Read more in-depth comparisons at Televisioninfo.com)

To put the Vizio E320VL in context, we compared it to three similar TVs. The LG 32LD350 costs about $50 less and performed better in almost every test – a compelling reason to ignore the Vizio. The Sony KDL-32EX700 costs about $500 more, but is a great example of what that money can buy: vastly better performance, better design, access to streaming content and DLNA support, and more ports. Finally, the Samsung LN32C350 costs about $150. It also performed better in almost every test. 

Overall, the Vizio E320VL is a weak TV that can be bested by several competing models for a little more money, and sometimes even a little less.