In appearance, the XVT3D650SV adheres to the general aesthetic for large sets, with a shiny black bezel. Vizio's logo underneath the screen lights up white (but not too annoyingly so) when the set is on, and orange when it's in standby mode. (You can't, alas, turn it off completely while watching.) The port configuration is a bit skimpy in some respects--the TV has no composite or S-video support, and only one set of component inputs--but you do get five HDMI ports (most sets stop at four) and an RGB port for PC hookups. There's also a standard 1/8-inch mini-stereo input (for PC audio) as well as analog stereo and optical audio outputs.

The HDMI ports, the audio outputs, and the aforementioned three USB ports are sideways-facing and slightly recessed on the left back side of the set; the rest of the ports, including the ethernet and coax ports, face downwards. In general, the position of the ports isn't ideal: Because the side-facing HDMI inputs are recessed, you have to wiggle the cable a bit to line it up properly, and the downward-facing ports are tough to see, but this is a problem only during setup.

Although the ethernet hookup is optimal for streaming media apps, Vizio generously outfits the XVT3D650SV with both Wi-Fi support--a real plus (although I had some difficulty setting up PCWorld's test network--the set repeatedly refused to recognize the password). Many sets support only 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, but 5GHz Wi-Fi, if your network router supports it, typically provides better multimedia support since it has more channels and is therefore less subject to interference than the narrower 2.4GHz band (which also competes with Bluetooth, microwave ovens, some cordless phones, and the many neighboring 2.4GHz networks you typically find in cities these days).

I wish Vizio would stop shipping its TVs without multimedia playback support (it shouldn't be that hard, right?), but overall, the XVT3D650SV delivers the company's usual solid bundle of good image quality and current technology extras at a competitive price. If you're in the market for a supersized with future-proofing in the form of 3D support, this set is definitely worth considering.

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