Epic View 550

January 2009. TreadmillDoctor.com and Consumer Reports both rate the Epic View 550 objectively on several measures. Reviews at Treadmill-Ratings-Reviews and TreadmillTalk.com don't include any test results, but they do provide good descriptions of the Epic View 550's major features. We found a handful of owner-written reviews at Epinions.com; their quality ranges from helpful to useless.

Two top review organizations call the Epic View 550 a good value. Although the most credible reviewers usually steer consumers away from treadmills with built-in TVs, critics say the Epic View 550 has managed to include a 7-inch TV without jacking up its price. We found little feedback from reviewers about the TV's picture quality, although some reviews recommend the Smooth 9.45TV (*est. $2,900) instead; Smooth posts its larger 15-inch TV on a separate frame at eye level, which reviews say keeps the TV from jiggling as much as a console TV like the Epic's. Owners do find the Epic's speakers surprisingly good. Testers say the Epic performs well as a treadmill, but some downgrade its warranty (lifetime frame, 12 years motor, one year parts and labor). The similarly priced Sole F80 (*est. $1,500) gets far more positive reviews. Although the F80 doesn't include a TV, it features a much longer warranty than the Epic (including five years' labor and two years' in-home service).