Vizio M3D550KD - Page 6

Take it back if you're not happy and get a different set from another mfr. There's a reason why the price point on Vizio sets are so good.

The issues I brought up in the preceding post were not really to point out the flaws. I have pretty much realized my biggest points of interest are (1) Overall screen size, & (2)Bang for the buck.. The vizio has just impressed me with the punch the are packin. While I dont think that this TV is an optimal example of what 240hz can be, they are sellin a lot for the $$ and I respect that...!n Plus Im not about to shell out 2K for a slight impovement...

Keep in mind. Mid-grade will ALWAYS be mid-grade, and high-grade will always be high-grade. THE MARKET will always keep price points RELATIVE so you have to jump on certain conditions if you want to do well on these principles. If you pay 2k for a laptop today, while to same laptop may be 400 in two years - it still takes 2k to get the same BUZZ on the next one... But there are brief periods on time what we can gain by periods between technologies. For example, the plasmas today going for less than 1k for 60 inches and all because of LED tech swing, and 3D comming in. Thats just a rediculous point in time to get the same TV that was over 3k a few years ago, but with a bonus value in the market perception factor... This Vizio kinda qualifies here cause its the first of the new lines comming in and there moving it along.

This TV isn't actually 240Hz. It's 120Hz w/ simulated 240Hz. Short answer...It's 120Hz! As far as PQ, $2K for a "high-end" TV is only a slight improvement. Design, better panel, better refresh-rate(240Hz), better apps, better local-dimming, and better black levels (HX850), $2K is a steal! $1098 for a M3D550KD is a better steal though.

Anyone see the M3D550KDE? It's new from Vizio. From what I read on Vizio's Website it doesn't have smart dimming, no smooth motion, and is 120Hz SPS. It looks identical to the M3D550KD except the remote is different. It's also $100 more.

I'm about to pull the trigger once again on the Vizio M3D550KD. I've done some checking on other Vizio's and can conclude that "none" of their tvs have a "free-floating panel."-Vizio Customer Service
They were connected properly to the bezel. I haven't yet checked the M3D550KD as my Mother-In-Law has the membership to Sam's. Should be going down today or tomorrow to purchase. There hasn't been any posts here lately so I'll assume everyone's enjoying their set.

We're still enjoying ours. Had it since the london olympics. Could have louder speakers, but thats what a soundsystem is for or maybe a quieter house

i do notice the light banding usually only like when i've got a hulu loading icon up (think hourglass) so you have lots of black with just the little spinning loading icon. I've not noticed it at all during any films/shows/games regardless of dark scenes.

3d is really fun with this set, i've been going crazy buying 3d flicks. and have download a ton of 3d youtube trailers.

Is it the best tv in the world? of course not, but for a Passive 3dtv with the quality it has and the price, particularly at a Sam's Costco, ... if you're wanting bang for buck, its a pretty good buy. I got the extended warranty just in case as sales reps often talk about vizio tv's being disposable.

For me, i really wanted a passive 3dtv. alot of ppl seem anti-3d, well i wanted the ability and i didnt want the @$@ expensive shutter glasses, particularly for my kids. passive 3d was a must for me, and pretty much that limited it to LG and Vizio, though some of the other big guys are coming around maybe. LG was much pricier (was looking at the 9600).


again great value, particularly if you want the ability for passive 3d. And it does it very well IMO, i just cant imagine Active 3d being better, but can't compare cuz i've never seen active 3d in action; since all of my geek pals with active 3dtvs haven't spent the money for the glasses; and i went to a high-end home theater shop specifically to see active 3d in action, and they couldnt get it going even after waiting there 1.5 hrs, just had technical difficulties or couldnt get the batteries charged etc. Which exactly reinforced my thinking for passive 3d (no batteries, cheap lightweight glasses, reusing those movie theater glasses too)

Banding is considered Dirty Screen Effect (DSE), not backlight-bleed. Banding is usually only seen when the "camera" pans in a certain direction. It shows up as vertical, discolored, bars on the picture.
The backlight-bleed I mentioned in pervious posts was always in localized spot. A hot-spot in the middle right along the right-edge of the bezel. Does your issue sound like DSE or Backlight-Bleed?

Sorry. I would say what i see is blacklight bleed then, but I only see it during the times mentioned, and it appears horizontally. Hope that helps.

Where exactly on the TV is your Backlight-Bleed?

from either side of the tv, and only during very brief moments usually during a loading screen for hulu or amazon vod in which you have a white loading hourglass against a dark gray screen. If i bring up the PS3 xmb menu which is light icons against a dark background (unless its filled with a color), i dont see or notice the bleed.

so to reiterate, I hardly ever see it, nor have had a show, movie etc be affected by it.

Yea that sounds like my previous set. I only noticed it when I turned the TV on and the Vizio Logo would be on but sometimes I would see it more often when there would be a standard def commercial with the vertical letterboxing. Do you have any pics?

Starting to get involved and pay attention to this set now and concerned because when I put on the harry potter on the comcast on demand HD the other day - IT WAS NOTHING BUT ONE BIG DISTORTED BLURR.. And I am talking in the motion scene "quddich or whatever" lol, the screen freaks out and you can see the whole thing flash and gargle trying to digest what it is doing.

Given I tried turning on some features since I got it and just walked away, so now I am wondering what I did, and how I need to set it up again. Anyone with the link the the optimum settings here??

I have a suspicion that the computer in this set may have a mind of its own though, and possibly be MILDLY RETARDED.. LOL Any one else having these concerns?

I have had this set about a month, and use it for BluRay movies and over the air broadcasts. I think that what happened to you is bad content. The set can only display as good a signal as you're receiving from your cable or satellite company. Have you tried connecting an antenna and watching some OTA broadcasts?

Here are two different sets of settings I have found and used with great results on this TV. I think both were obtained using calibration discs, but I could be mistaken. Settings make a HUGE difference on this TV. I thought the factory settings were awful, but these are pretty decent, IMO.

Good luck!

CNET SETTINGS

---Picture settings menu---
Picture Mode: Movie
Backlight: 43
Brightness: 43
Contrast: 50
Color: 55
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 6

---Size & Position submenu---
[no change]

---Color Temperature submenu---
Colour temperature: Custom
Red Gain: 45
Green Gain: 48
Blue gain: 50
Red offset: 49
Green offset: 48
Blue offset: 50

--Advanced Picture submenu---
Smooth motion effect: Off
Real Cinema Mode: Smooth
Noise Reduction: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Color Enhancement: Off
Adaptive Luma: Off

---Picture settings menu---
Picture Mode: Movie
Backlight: 43
Brightness: 43
Contrast: 50
Color: 55
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 6

---Size & Position submenu---
[no change]

---Color Temperature submenu---
Colour temperature: Custom
Red Gain: 45
Green Gain: 48
Blue gain: 50
Red offset: 49
Green offset: 48
Blue offset: 50

--Advanced Picture submenu---
Smooth motion effect: Off
Real Cinema Mode: Smooth
Noise Reduction: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Color Enhancement: Off
Adaptive Luma: Off
Film Mode: Auto
Smart Dimming: On
Ambient Light sensor: Off



AMAZON SETTINGS (found in an online review)

User Menu Settings:

* Picture Modes

o Picture Mode : Custom
o Color Temperature : Normal
o Aspect Ratio : Normal/Wide

* Picture Settings

o Backlight : 55
o Contrast : 50
o Brightness : 42
o Color : 55
o Tint : -1
o Sharpness : 8

* Advanced Video

o Smooth Effect : Off
o Real Cinema Mode : Smooth
o Noise Reduction : Off
o Color Enhancement : Off
o Adaptive Lumina : Off
o Film Mode : Auto
o Smart Dimming : Off
o Ambient Sensor : Off
Film Mode: Auto
Smart Dimming: On
Ambient Light sensor: Off

And regarding the backlight bleed, I can definitely see some unevenness in certain spots, usually when there is a totally black background, or especially when there is a small area of white surrounded by black, like when the TV is warming up and you see the Vizio logo or when the screen saver runs. It's worst along the edges, but there also some spots in the middle of the screen that are a little uneven.

However, this unevenness has never been an issue in any movie I have ever watched. I just don't see it as that big of a deal. Heck, I had a Sony CRT that had perfect black coverage, but I still like the picture on this set 50 times better. In everyday viewing, for me at least, uniform black levels simply are not that noticeable. Every scene in a movie has varying brightness levels in different scenes. This is due to shadows, and places where the sunlight is bright in some spots and dimmer in others.

I do think the claimed 10,000,000 to 1 contrast ratio and 240hz refresh rates are BS, but still, it's not a bad picture for a $1,100 set. I see Samsungs selling for twice that price that look comparable.

At wit's end, I'm a happy customer.

Do keep in mind that sharing settings doesn't always work because of the inherent spec differences from set to set, even within the same model line. The viewing environment is also a major factor in making picture adjustments either with a disk alone or a true calibration which requires meters in addition to software. So, if your set doesn't look good with the posted settings it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with your set. You'll just have to get a disk and adjust it yourself. And yes, contrast ratio numbers are pretty much useless because the method of measuring them is not standardized within the industry. The 240Hz rate is also just 120Hz multiplied by 2.

Cnet sucks and I can't really gauge their reviews anymore. Cnet said that screen-uniformity was almost perfect on the M3Dxx0KD review. Then they mentioned the M3Dxx0KD in the Sony EX640 Review having a gorgeous black screen and once again perfect screen uniformity. What gives? The screen is nowhere near perfect. My bedroom 32" Dynex 720p from 5 yrs ago is soooooooooooo much better than the Vizio M3dxx0KD in black level and uniformity. Cnet must have done this review outside in the middle of the day.
I just took my eh6000 back to BB yesterday and was really thinking about getting M3Dxx0KD again in the hopes my 1st one was defective but now I'm starting to think I should hold off.

My understanding is that Vizio uses LG panels. Yet if you look at a comparable set built by LG, it will cost you many hundreds of dollars more than a Vizio. How can Vizio do this? My guess is that they must be using LG's panels that were rejected during quality control testing. I can't confirm this, but it's what I strongly suspect.

Regarding the unevenness of the black levels, I can deal with this if it means saving $700 or so. Because as I said, it doesn't interfere the slightest bit with my own personal viewing experience, but everyone's standards are different. I suppose if you're using the TV to do high-end graphics work on your computer, or using the set as a studio monitor, the uneven black levels could pose a problem, but for me watching a movie or a football game, not so much.

My understanding is that Vizio uses LG panels. Yet if you look at a comparable set built by LG, it will cost you many hundreds of dollars more than a Vizio. How can Vizio do this? My guess is that they must be using LG's panels that were rejected during quality control testing. I can't confirm this, but it's what I strongly suspect.

Regarding the unevenness of the black levels, I can deal with this if it means saving $700 or so. Because as I said, it doesn't interfere the slightest bit with my own personal viewing experience, but everyone's standards are different. I suppose if you're using the TV to do high-end graphics work on your computer, or using the set as a studio monitor, the uneven black levels could pose a problem, but for me watching a movie or a football game, not so much.

Your theory sounds spot on. I really like the PQ on the M3Dxx0KD but can't stand the name on the front of the tv nor their customer service. Probably going to wait a few more months before buying a tv.

One of my favorite features on M3D550KD is the ability to turn off the lighted Vizio logo. That was one of the first things I did.

I know it can be turned off, I was referring to the "brand" VIZIO. They're cheap and customer service is the worst I've ever experienced. PQ is good but it's not worth it to me. I'll save for the HX950.

Oh, I'm sure that TV has a great picture for $3500 or whatever it sells for. But imagine how upset you'd be if you discovered some defect in a TV that expensive. No TV is perfect.

I was looking for the best value I could find for my money, and I think I found it. And I got the five year warranty through Costco just in case. I can overlook a few flaws, but YMMV.

I don't know about Vizio using LG panels but the idea of them using other mfrs "qc rejects" has been floated around for quite some time. They are basically a marketing company that has been putting together tv's but don't actually have R&D like LG, Sony, Panasonic, etc. Parts for repairs can be difficult to get especially if your set is over a year old because they don't, or can't, warehouse parts like the other mfrs can. That's why they are considered "throw-away tvs". If they break and Vizio can't fix it quickly (quality parts availability) then they'd rather just give you a new one (or refurbed one). However, there are exceptions and there are Vizio sets out there that have been working great for quite awhile. Vizio is a big roll of the dice.

I'm not doubting this tv has great value (Similar PQ between M3Dxx0KD and HX850 at a $1300 difference) but if the HX850/950 has a flaw I bet Sony would "fix" it or replace it and the replacement would not have a flaw. I can't say that with Vizio. They gave me vague answers and made **** up on the fly as to why the M3Dxx0KD panel was loose and told me backlight-bleed was normal on this set. Even if backlight-bleed is "normal" on any set what company tells the customer that it is normal? Vizio sucks regardless of the great value this set has.
I had this tv for about a month and I loved the PQ but the TV felt and looked very cheap to me.

My laptop has an LED lit LCD screen, and it has some slight bleeding on the edges of the screen that I can sometimes see when it goes through the POST screens as it boots up. It's very slight though, but it's only 17.3 inches, as opposed to 55 inches. And like the TV, when I'm using the computer to watch a video or surf the net, I would never in a million years notice it.

So yeah, I think some bleeding is normal on LED lit screens these days, depending on how serious it is.

I respectfully disagree.
My laptop, which cost a grand total of $299, is also LED lit and has "NO" backlight-bleed. Whether backlight-bleed is more prevalent now than it was 2 yrs ago doesn't make it "NORMAL." There are TVs, including Edge-Lit, that don't exhibit any light-leakage but obviously they're a bit more expensive. My issue with Vizio, was that this TV was reviewed by reputable sites clearly stating there was great screen-uniformity, the main reason I bought it. To me that would suggest that apart from minor "DSE", which is very "NORMAL" on an LED lit LCD, that there are no discernable uniformity defects on the screen. I know Vizio didn't review the tv but the site(s) surely didn't have a better set than that of the retail version. Vizio is cheap, my opinion, and I'm sure most people wouldn't care or like you said even notice the light-leakage but you're on AVS on most of us have OCD about our stuff, especially TVs. Vizio lost me as a customer when they tried to tell me that my loose panel and backlight-bleed were normal. Also, the grey-plastic speaker mesh was warped and not attached very well. I'm sorry but even for a $1098.00 television that shouldn't be normal.

The bezel alignment on mine is fine, and the speaker mesh looks perfect. The black levels are a little uneven on a pure black screen, but I can live with that, since most movies and TV shows I watch don't consist of pure black screens for more than a second or two.

I can eliminate a lot of the uneven black levels by turning on "Smart Dimming" but I think the picture looks a lot better with it turned off.

Look on the front-top of the mesh where it meets the bottom of the panel and tell me it looks perfect. If it does you got lucky because I've looked at the display models at Costco and Sam's and they were all warped. I think this set would be a better buy if it were $850-$900 for the 55". On a side note, I did notice the 47" was completly sold out at Sam's including the display. There was only one left in stock of the 55". Are they done making this set already or is Sam's usually slow on refilling?
If you look on Vizio's Website they have a newer model that looks just like the M3Dxx0KD. Don't know of any major differences in technology other than the remote. Model # M3Dxx0KDE if anyone's interested.

Thanks for the replys to my issues.

To the first response I think you are right on the content. Other channels dont look like this one. Comcast has it listed as "Harry Potter 1 HD", but plain and simply its a crudy feed...

On the bleed issue - I have it too. I see a little around the perimeter.when the screen is black only. I dont agree that they are getting poor screens. LG has a high tech screen manufacturing division I think - So they are selling a product to Vizio, and Vizio will expect a good product. Vizio does not need a bunch of calls. The difference is in all the other hardware that is working to drive the screen, and moreso the technology/firmware the companys design. The screen is generic and nothing more than a glorified LCD like a laptop

Really, I just cant get past the awsome 3D and I think it just has my mind set from then on that how could the set possibly have any issues. The reality is that I dont watch 3d and there is no programming. And for a TV with all that horsepower, I just dont understand why the delay in channel switching. But overall, I'm still on board with it.

My 90 day clock has just about ticked out soon. Its just that I know the industry is in some crazy tech jump point and it makes me nervous to get caught out buying at a bad time technology wise, as I am sure they will dump somethin on the market that makes me ill to have this one. For eample the new 233:1 aspects...

Still, I am going to a sams where they stock it and buy another and then return the one I have for the hundred bucks.. That still bugs me... I guess I could just keep turning them every 90 days LOL...

And again - THANKS FOR THE SETTINGS... I will apply them tonight...
Edited by bbc3 - 9/23/12 at 5:43pm

So how did you like the settings? For me, finding these settings was like finding buried gold. It's sad that the picture looks better when most of the "oh wow" features (like noise reduction, ambient light sensor, etc.) are turned off, but it's a darn good picture so I won't gripe. And when I used those settings, pretty much everything looks good, from really poor substandard 480i stuff, to the sharpest clearest 1080p Blu Ray disc.

I was able to watch 3D on the set for the first time when I bought a Blu Ray player that has simulated 3D and used the 3D glasses that came with the set. The effect was interesting, and somewhat impressive (the edges of the screen looked like I was peering through a window outside the house) but I think I will be watching mainly stuff in 2D for now. The picture is so good on this set that a lot of programming looks 3D already, with tons of depth that I have never seen before in an LCD screen.