Thanks to all who asked questions and commented on Vizio (see below). The profile of the company is in today’s Marketplace section. (Read Part 1 and Part 2 of Gadgetress reviews on the Vizio and Maxent 50-inch plasmas).

Vizio, in Costa Mesa, is a fast-growing company, going from $50 million in its first year to this year’s anticipated $700 million. Next year, Jeff Schindler, Vizio’s vice president of marketing and business operations, wants to double revenues.

I stopped by its Costa Mesa headquarters a few weeks ago with a staff videographer Lenin Aviles. Vizio opened up a TV for us to peak inside. Jeff explained what makes Vizio tick and how a company can price big TVs, like the 50-inch plasma, for less than $2,000.

A strip on the side of the Vizio story has tips for buying an HDTV. But not everything fit so I’ll try to post them…

Below!

Three important things to know about HDTV:
1. An HDTV does not work alone. It needs to receive a high-definition broadcast, either from your cable or satellite TV company or an antenna.
2. Even if you get the HD channels, the picture could still look awful. The sitcoms, cartoons, games and commercials must also be filmed in high-definition.
3. There is limited content for the best, most expensive TVs, with 1080p resolution. No TV channel uses such a high definition, but the new Blu-Ray and HD DVD players do.

How to get HDTV
HD is hardware, software and the signal. All three must be HD or you won’t get this glorious video everyone is talking about.

The HD hardware:
The TV needs an HD tuner inside, usually referred to as “HDTV ready” or an ATSC tuner. If it’s an HDTV, that means it must be capable of 720p and 1080i broadcasts.

The HD signal: Three options

1. Buy an antenna in order to receive uncompressed HD signals over the air, like this outdoor one on the right from Terk, a major brand in HDTV indoor and outdoor antennas.

2. Order service from the local cable TV provider.

• Time Warner Cable: Rent HD box for $5, the same cost as a non-HD box, and get nine basic HD channels. Four premium-HD channels, such as HBO HD, are free to premium subscribers. An HD-plus tier for $5 more gets seven more channels, including ESPN and video on demand. Available to all Time Warner customers by the end of the year.
• Cox: Rent HD box for $9.95, or $6 more than the non-HD box, to get 10 basic channels. Two premium-HD channels — HBO and ShowTime — are free to premium subscribers. For $4.99 more, subscribe to Discovery HD and ESPN HD.

3. Order service from satellite TV providers

• DirectTV: For $9.99 a month, you get 12 HD channels plus a movie-on-demand channel. Two premium-HD channels — HBO and ShowTime — are free to premium subscribers. Several game channels are also available at various prices.
• DishNetwork: Packages are priced from $50 to $105 and include up to 25 HD channels.

The best HDTV for …

Alfred Poor, the “HDTV Professor,” is author of “Professor Poor’s Guide to buying HDTV.” Here are his recommendations:

• The apartment dweller: LCD TV because it comes in small sizes.
• On a budget: Rear-projection TV.
• Family room: LCD does well in rooms with windows.
• Dedicated movie room: plasma.
• The videophile: LCOS, a high-end rear projection TV.

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