Vizio XVT CinemaWide TV goes on sale, 21:9 movie purists celebrate the end of black bars

It's been a long, long wait for Vizio's ultrawidescreen LCD TV to show its face: the company was promising such sets starting around that ultimately missed the October and subsequent March targets. Vizio is one to eventually make good on a promise, though, and has just started shipping the first XVT series CinemaWide set. The lone 58-inch model's focus remains on that 2560 x 1080p screen, whose stretchy 21:9 aspect ratio fits what you often see at the movie theater without having to crop or adjust like you would with a typical 16:9 set. Whether or not you have a chronic aversion to black bars, the CinemaWide is still a respectable set in its own right, with edge-based LED backlighting, a 120Hz refresh rate, a Bluetooth remote and the common host of Vizio internet apps. The TV maker must be doing a form of penance for taking its time on the 21:9 display: the $2,800 regular price is a lot lower than the originally quoted $3,500, and you can pick up the CinemaWide TV for $2,500 if you act quickly.

Gallery: Vizio CinemaWide Ultrawidescreen HDTVs

Vizio XVT CinemaWide TV goes on sale, 21:9 movie purists celebrate the end of black bars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.