Official Vizio XVT3SV Series NO PRICE or Coupon talk - Page 157

Are you asking about the 553? This model is a year and a half old.

My 553 updated oh, 1 to 1.5 months back and since has had jittery video and this green horizontal line that pops up and disappears quickly always in the same location about 1/3 of the way down from the top. Only happens in Neflix...and seems to happen a LOT more with 4:3 aspect ratio films. If I pause and rewind to play the same section over again it doesn't repeat. I've tried searching and searching Google to see if this could be a Neflix issue...with no success. I'm glad (ok, not glad we're all having problems with otherwise perfectly good TVs) that I found these comments and I'm not going crazy.

Does anyone else get the magically appearing and disappearing green horizontal line along with the stuttering video?

Haven't gotten the green line, but found out yesterday it's forcing the smooth motion not only on my PAL DVDs but also on some cartoon shows on Netflix and Vudu. Check out the opening of any episode of Archie's Funhouse, Ghostbusters, or Fat Albert. Doesn't do it on all 4x3 standard-def material, so don't know what the deal is here. Funny since I tried playing with the smooth motion on some online video a while ago and couldn't get it to look like video then.

Glad I found this thread. Add me to the stuttering issue list.... I knew I wasn't crazy! I found ESPN, or any channel with scrolling text at the bottom, to be the most obvious way to see this issue. Its definitely on all sources, so I will be joining the crowd by contacting Vizio.

I wonder if it has anything to do with people's picture settings because my set has been flawless. In fact, the halo effect on dark scenes is almost non exists with the latest firmware.

They've also improved the CEC functionality.My Onkyo AVR now powers on with the tv and the volume level of the receiver is displayed on screen.

I don't use smart-dimming because it completely cuts the backlight whenever the picture goes to black or close to it- it looks the same as the TV being powered off, there should always be SOME sort of light on the screen whenever there's a picture on it! (As I mentioned before, when I complained to Vizio about this they didn't seem to understand, and they ended up unnecessarily replacing the whole TV!) The haloing effect was annoying too but not as much as this.

I made sure I got a receiver that did NOT display the volume level onscreen whenever turning it up or down, that would annoy the hell out of me too.

The whole point of the smart-dimming feature is to increase the contrast and produce fantastic black levels. This is a big selling point for LCD/LED fully backlit TV's with local dimming.

The Vizio Logo in the front is white when the TV is on and Orange when it's off. That should be clear enough. Without smart dimming the blacks would look gray.

Not on mine- I put black tape over it so it won't annoy me!

What this thing does with "smart dimming" is the equivalent of turning the sound completely off during any silent portions.

THIS is why the current way it works is wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FooNiB2coc

When there's credits on the screen, the background has a bit of grey. It HAS to, that's the nature of how the picture is! When the credits fade out, the background goes completely out, only to pop back on again when the next credit fades up. Also look what it does at the 2:36 mark as the scene pans over a black wall. It's just silly.

Is yours a local dimming set? The video is weird and your explanation of there always needing to be grey on the screen is also weird. My TV would only turn on a few local dimming zones to light up the text. The rest of the screen would remain off and completely black. In that manner the effect is not as strange as shown in your video. Your video shows the entire screen lighting up when only a few zones in the center are needed to light up the text.

I checked my settings after reading this to see if the update had somehow overridden my settings. Nope, everything is the same as I've been using for the last 1.5 years (CNET settings with all smoothing features turned off). Started after the update and only does it in Netflix. Luckily I have 6 months of my Costco warranty left to see where this goes.

I think my 553 did an update this evening.....

The version of firmware says VIZIO_C7.0.1.S

Although that looks like what others have, as I got an update last month, but did not check the version. So maybe it just rebooted.

That's the same firmware mine has. You'll know when the firmware updates because when you turn the TV on, the screen will go black except for a display on the left saying something like "Please wait while we install a firmware update." The Widget Gallery can update too but that doesn't affect the firmware and doesn't make as prominent a display when it does that; if the TV reboots while it's on it's likely just run into a glitch or something.

I turned the brightness up in that video so the effect would show on camera, but it does that when set darker also. If you have it set so low that there's zero background on black credits then it's really too dark, even a projected film will have some film grain or what-not in that area.

During startup (during the Vizio apps screen), I have a patch of pink dots in the upper third of the screen, so I guess this TV is going back for exchange.

Same model though since I REALLY like it, and the dots aren't visible during TV viewing or anything else.

I haven't hooked it up to the internet yet either since I saw some people were having issues with the latest firmware. Should I try updating firmware first to see if it solves the pink dots issue? Should I not update to this firmware at all, and just wait to update until a new firmware comes out?

Update: Vizio customer support (which was really helpful) suggested trying the firmware update (since at least one of the firmware updates has changed the splash screen on startup) to rule out that it's a problem with the startup screen image. Worth a shot to save the hassle of reboxing it up and exchanging it.

My XVT553SV also has firmware C7.0.1.0S, but it did that update on December 28, 2011 (about 5-6 weeks ago). After that, our problem with video freezing and spontaneous reboots started for the first time (never before that, and we've been using the TV for over a year). So I think this firmware made the problem worse, not better.

Ever since soon after we got the TV, we've had the HDMI handshake problem during warm up. For the first five minutes or so on 1080i or 1080p sources the screen is heavily pixelated. After the warm up period it stabilizes and is fine after that. It also does it on 720p sources, but the effect is much less noticable (more like "swigglies" in high contrast edges).

Both the HDMI handshake problem and the freeze/reboot problem are related to cold startup. The reboots occur very frequently (maybe 1 out of 3 times we turn on the TV), but always during the first minute or two of use. It seems to occur most frequently on 1080i/p sources during the handshake pixelation period, making me think that the two issues are somewhat related.

I'm still hoping for another firmware update that addresses these issues.

The wide viewing angle and matte-finish low glare display are key priorities for where we use this TV, so we'd really like to keep this thing working. But right now, I'd have a hard time buying another Vizio.

You may be among a small minority that finds this to be problematic. If so, smart dimming just isn't for you, just like some are irked by smooth motion. Turn it off, and it won't bug you.

"Turning the entire screen off" when there is nothing in the video seems perfectly natural to me. The reason that the higher absolute black level of CFL LCDs is annoying compared to local dimming LEDs or plasmas is exactly because they display a level of grey when there is no video. That is not something you see in nature, so it takes you out of the concept of suspending disbelief that what you are seeing is real and not just lighted pixels, while having a proper absolute black level (which local dimming simulates pretty well) is not as annoying, because it doesn't.

For instance if I see a wide shot of a full moon, local dimming might put a bit of a halo around the moon, but at least the dark area of the picture does not look artificially bright. To me, that is preferable, and probably to many others, which is why local dimming exists; to improve the viewing experience.

And anyone who ever owned an old Trinitron-tube Sony (or basically any good TV properly adjusted from the 70's to the 2000's) knows that it is natural for the screen to go completely black when black is what is being broadcast. My 7-year old niece complained that our kitchen TV kept "going on and off", but that was because she had never seen a TV that didn't keep some grey on the screen when there was a dip to black between commercials. That was some time ago; she's 36 now. And the reason why was a combination of a dark piece of glass over the tube along with great DC restoration, and these were aspects introduced by Sony that every single other TV manufacturer soon mimicked, so dipping to full black is much more ubiquitous than it is weird.

You will see that gating artifact when the screen goes completely black, and maybe they should learn to ramp that gate to make it more natural, but most of us really have no complaints. After owning this set I wouldn't think of buying one without local dimming. I think its a great feature and that Vizio's implementation if it is pretty spectacular.

Is there anyway to configure the router to block the Vizio from downloading new FW and still be able to use the apps. Right now I'm still with the previous FW and have my TV disconnected from the Internet.

While I agree with "weird", I think that more than just a few zones light up if there is video only in one place. Those of us with DirecTV DVRs can easily demonstrate this by simply pausing video long enough for the screen saver to come on.

The new HD screen saver does have a halo around it, but that is actually part of the graphic and should be there, local dimming or not. But this screen saver is a logo that traverses the entire screen like a Pong or BrickBreaker object, and it is clear that even when it is on the far side of the screen, that the near side of the screen is partly lit by the local dimming effect. The level of black ramps down smoothly in all directions from wherever the logo happens to be, and ramps back up as the logo approaches that area.

I assume that this is on purpose and if they did it more severely it would begin to annoy most of us, and would REALLY annoy 8trax.

Bottom line, it's a workaround, not a full fix of the higher absolute black level for LCDs. It works beautifully in most situations, such as when you are watching a scene with real video in it. It can be a little artifacty for credits and dips to black between scenes, but to me that's a small price to pay for the benefits it brings most of the time.

Its immature, fairly new technology. It will only get better. And of course more dimming zones will allow for a better affect. I have heard that Viz sets have from 80 to 128 zones, but I recently heard they only have 32 zones (that may be for edge-lit). Fewer zones means the ramp must be less steep meaning it will be less effective than it would with more zones, for the rare instances that seem to be irking some of us.

What if your eyes automatically closed whenever you were in a dark place?

I worked for many years as a theater film projectionist, so another effect I would compare this to would be shutting the "dowser" on the projector every time there was a black picture. If the smart-dimming didn't do that I'd be happy with it, since it does improve the black levels but that effect is just to annoying to tolerate. They should have at least put in an option to have it always leave some backlight partially on. It was certainly not very smart of Vizio to replace an entire TV when I complained about this; they should have known this was how all their TVs were programmed to work.

Meanwhile still waiting to get my frame rate fixed, warranty people still have a new board on order though I think a flash-drive with the old firmware on it would probably work and be a lot less trouble for everyone involved. Wonder what they'll do if they replace the board then the current firmware forces itself on it and the problem comes back?

Whats the difference, black is black. Would you rather see gray? Oh wait, someday you will, have you heard of Cataracts?

I like the way it works, when watching SD programs I would rather see black bars instead of gray bars and great blacks with videos.

I have the 553 and 554 and think they both very good sets.

While I don't see that (no pun) as even close to a comparative analogy, if it were dark enough, it really wouldn't matter if your eyes were open or closed. The whole climactic scene from Wait Until Dark is based on that very concept. And how do you screw up Hellen Keller's day? (move her furniture)


I did this for a couple of summers for my brother-in-law (never long enough to become the expert you probably became). But this is probably a clue why this bothers you so much. You are not the typical viewer due to your preconditioning.

I know the Viz gates rather than ramps to black when black is broadcast. I notice it, but it doesn't bother me in the least. I think they should ramp it to make it less abrupt, which would be very simple and ergonomically sound, but once again, the designers did not consult with me beforehand. If this is the largest problem in your day, consider yourself lucky, and deal with it.

OK, I registered solely to reply to this very shortsighted reply. Do you have any idea what percent of vizio owners might happen to be on this forum?? I am quite confident that it is a tiny fraction that is FAR less than 1%. So to say that his problem is rare is ridiculous. I am having stuttering and random reboots constantly since the new update. It was a rare problem before but now it happens daily.

Searching the web turns up millions of hits with similar problems, so I HIGHLY doubt that his set is just a lemon. I would be more willing to admit that there is a significant design problem with these sets that has produced a very large number of problems. From my very informal discussions with several vizio owners has uncovered that there are a large number of people with these problems. Just because they don't happen to belong to your forum and post doesn't mean that they are not out there.

I am pretty upset that I spent this much on a TV only to have these kind of problems. Having someone say that they are rare is just as irritating as when tech support echoes that stupid comment ... "Gee, this is the first time I have heard of this problem" We all know that is a lie.

It's strange that some people are reporting problems and others state they don't. My brothers set updated and he said he has not experienced these problems. I have mine disconnected from the internet so it won't update.

It would be interesting to find out if it's releated to sets that would have the same part but from a different supplier. That would be impossible for a user to determine. But it would also be interesting to see if the sets that are having problems were built in the same location China or Mexico.

If people who report problems or not state where their set was built. Perhaps this would make a good poll. Are you having problems or not and where was your set manufactured. If the problem sets seem to all come from one location maybe it would help to get Vizio to acknowledge and investigate the problem.

If you could let me know your settings I would be more than willing to give them a try to see if it helps. as it is this problem is a complete distraction while watching anything.

EDIT: I am currently on hold with Vizio Chat regarding this problem I'll report back to the forum what they have to say.

Vizio is sending a repairman to look at the TV. I told them that I didn't think it was a hardware issue but I'm not gonna argue with anything that can get this problem fixed.

You have every right to be upset, but do you really have a right to take that out on those who are trying to help you?

Call my post whatever you like, but "short-sighted" is a bit ironic coming from you. That would be the narrow view and emotional response I would expect, from my five-year-old nephew. But he's five.

Here is what I said, in an abridged/paraphrased version:

a) It might be that your particular set has problems that others with that model do not have, which may point to a problem with your individual set, and possibly that might extend to a few others, maybe more.

b) You can probably rule out other issues such as reception (with reasons given why).

c) It is unlikely that it is a case regarding CPU overload (with reasons given why) which is why I suggest a forced download of the latest firmware in case you got a corrupted one (as an Engineer in the industry, I have the credentials to make that educated guess and suggest it to you with every good intention of it possibly being of help to you).

d) And then I graciously wished you good luck, and

pretended that any of the rest of us actually care by inviting you to continue to post more whining regarding your suffering. A, B, and C were genuinely good-hearted positive attempts to help you wrap your mind around the problem and gently steer you away from being concerned about how widespread it is, which is very far away from and beside the actual point. D, was just a foolish mistake on my part; believe me, it won't happen again.

It seems that a much closer definition of "short-sighted" would be to ignore the post and nearly every thing it said and queue in on the minor aspect of how wide-spread the problem is.

Here's how widespread it is at your house: 100%. That is all that really matters regarding you and your problem. Accept that, and move towards something more constructive. Or don't. I don't care anymore.

And here is a little secret: It doesn't matter how widespread it is, unless it is so very widespread that you may be able to mount some sort of grass roots campaign using some esoteric forum that can actually get the company to help you (and we all know how very successful that always is [not!]). It just does not matter.

And I can't see how believing that the problem is widespread when it probably isn't, or maybe even is, can really give you much control of or power over the matter, or even much comfort, other than the old base emotional instinct of misery loving company, which is also far from a constructive approach.

Further, no one is going to believe the hyperbolic statement "millions of hits" regarding this, so you are only undermining your own credibility by stating it. You and none of the rest of us really have any idea how widespread this is, and Vizio may not have any idea either. And they aren't talking.

Again, none of that matters. Your problem is your problem with Vizio, regardless of the "millions" of alleged hits, and while I would like to think that Vizio is responsive to such matters, whether you get relief or not all of a sudden means very little to me. After being treated the way you treat people who are trying to help you I could not care if you are forced to wallow in this problem with no resolution for the rest of your miserable life.

So, most sincerely, Good Luck With That.

Sorry to interrupt the troubleshooting, but I was looking to pick up an xvt323sv on the post-season close-outs, but I seem to have waited too long and now they look like they are totally discontinued at Sam's, Costco, even Amazon. There also seems to be no current replacement model on the market from Vizio in the 32" class, but maybe I missed it.

Does anyone here know what Vizio is doing in this space as to timing and product. I see an xvt3d325kp was announced, but not on market yet. Is there going to be a non-3d offering?

Also, Sam's still has the 32" E series, but I'm reluctant to go for it with the lower refresh rate. Anyone here have an opinion of whether the xvt is that much of an improvement over the E series?

Thanks

My XVT553SV was built in China. Had it now for 1.5yrs. I think the age of the set may also tell us something about this issue.

Who knows, maybe it is all coincidence that our sets are displaying these problems after the firmware update. For all we know this is just the first signs of a common component dying in some percentage of the TVs.

Hey "drunkmunk" can you let us know the result after the repairman checks your TV? I had the main board in mine replaced yesterday and it did NOT fix the frame rate problem. They're going to send someone else out later to do what they call "diagnosing".

I really hate when I have to reset this TV since it not only loses all my channels and picture settings, but I have to re-register all the online video stuff too. At least I got another free $5.99 Vudu credit, will have to find a new release to watch before the TV has anything else done to it.