Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The 2D image here is extremely sharp, almost shockingly so. Remember when you first moved from SD to HD and all the TV shows suddenly seemed kind of... shabby? As if the sets just weren't up to HD scrutiny? The image here is so clear, the colors so deep and the contrast so high, that you can have that experience over again. Sometimes it even feels like the 2D images are 3D. Compared to my earlier sets, it's actually disorienting.
I've made some changes to the review to address questions and discoveries.
Calibration
As usual, the out of the box settings tend to favor a brightness that could give you a tan. However, the default "movie" mode tones things down a lot (and looks very much like what I got after spending hours on calibration, so you may want to spare the effort and just make that quick selection, assuming all these things emerge from the box equal). Technically, the out of the box modes all seem to run a little to the "warm" side, so you'll need to cool the image down a bit if you want the textbook values, but I find myself liking the warmer image a bit better. Somehow (even though I know better) it looks more lifelike.
Screen glossiness
The screen is glossy. Yup. I've found that it doesn't cause a problem during the day because the set's inherent brightness shrugs off evenly distributed lighting from reflected sources (I don't get direct sun on the set, but that would be inadvisable for most sets). And naturally, the set looks great in a dim room. However, if you're sitting down and have some lamps in front of it at night, they can be reflected. Some reflections even give a scattered, prismatic effect that can be distracting. It's not a big deal. It doesn't take on the mirror-like appearance of some screens. But it is noticeable and may require that you rearrange your set position or lighting.
Remote
The slide-out keyboard remote works fairly well, but it has a list of problems. First off, it's not backlit, and on a remote this complex that's a real problem if you expect to use it to replace your cable box or DVD remotes. You'll find lots of small buttons, many almost flush with the case, that you can't make out by touch. The slide-out alpha keyboard is fine for entering information needed to access Netflix or search for clips, but a Tweet is about the longest thing that can be typed comfortably. The handling of multiple devices is both clever and irritating. The remote associates a device with each input to the TV. So if you tell it that HDMI-1 is your satellite box and HDMI-2 is your blueray player it will (after correct setup) switch the remote function to the appropriate device when you switch input. However, getting it to control a different device -without- changing the input (if, for example, you have all your devices running through a receiver) is much less neatly handled.
3D
Initially, I was having trouble getting DirectTV to recognize this set as 3D and kept getting the "Your 3D TV does not support this resolution." This appears to have been resolved, and I can now watch soccer re-runs and old tennis games while waiting for more 3D content along with everyone else. The depth of the 3d is good -- equal to the apparent depth on the Samsung X500, which is the best I've seen. However, there is no apparent way to use the 3D effect on 2D images which, while a gimmick, is a handy gimmick when you don't feel like watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" for the 20th time just to see some 3D.
USB
I've been unable to view any video off USB ports. I have a downloaded 3D clip saved to a flash drive which was provided as a test of the Samsung. Though there are 3 USB ports, none of them seem to recognize the clip (or actually, to even respond to inserting the flash drive)
2D Image quality
I'm still very taken with the 2D image. Even neighbors who were unimpressed with previous Vizio sets are excited by this one. Very deep blacks, color saturation nice (initial setup is slightly on the warm side... but I find that I rather like it). Brightness and contrast have a wide range and will go right up to the "torch" level that many stores seem to like. If you think it looks good on the shelf at Megamart, it looks even better on the wall at home.
I've upped my rating a star after two weeks of owning the set. I still wish it came with an improved remote, but now that it's all calibrated and connected to my system, I have little else to complain about.
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