Here is my purchase story regarding this TV:
Saw that the TV was going to be $998 at Sams on BF. Searched Walmart.com for stock that was at a store near me. Found one that said in stock. Went to the store, there was no display at all, I had to ask them to check the back room for the specific model number. Well, they found it and I put it on layaway 1 week before BF. I knew from all the online/news articles saying that Walmart would price match ANY printed ad on BF that I would be able to get the tv for $998. I even double checked with customer service at the store I was getting it from. So come BF I went to pick it up and I told the clerk I wanted to price match it. He said “Well, you cant price match Sams, they are our sister store.” I told him it was all over the news, online, everywhere you guys will match a printed ad and I even called ahead, I also had Walmart’s policy on price matching on hand (my wife who coupons taught me well..). He continued to fight with me and said “Well, even if we do the price match you would have to cancel your layaway and rebuy it to allow us to enter in the manual price.” I said ok, then he told me “And by the way since we are cancelling the layaway we have to put the item on the floor, then you have to physically ask someone to get the item for you.” I was completely floored at what the clerk was saying. That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard in my life! All I said was Really? Get me a manager! As soon as I said the word “manager” all was well and he did what I originally asked him to do. How stupid, then he proceeded to say how sorry he was for the confusion in the beginning. There was no confusion, I stated what the policy was, what I wanted and he argued then fixed the issue himself. I will be calling Walmart Corporate Monday morning.
TV first impressions:
This TV is replacing a Sony KDS-60A3000 (nice TV, but had to replace the bulb about every 9 months and have done it 4 times so far at the price of $80 a bulb + my kids kept touching the screen). The jump from 60” to 65” isn’t really noticeable, the Sony was on a stand at a height of about 2ft, the Vizio is mounted on the wall at a height about 4ft. So going from a stand that stood out from the wall about 18in to a slim wall mount makes the screen seem similar in size.
Unboxing was fairly simple, the TV is actually packed very nicely. I was surprised that this version over the 60” version weighs so much more! I believe this one is 82 lbs and the 60” was like 54lbs? Being so awkard I had to have someone help me lift it on to the wall mount.
The instruction manual is pretty lacking..even my old Sony TV had specific descriptions for each picture setting, how to do different things, etc.
The time to power on the TV/Change Inputs is annoying but bearable. The Sony took about 45 seconds to power on and about 3 seconds for input change, the Vizio is 20 seconds to turn on and about 7 seconds to change inputs. Like I said it is bearable but I expect better being newer tech…
The Smart Apps/Menu Navigation is very clunky and slow, almost enough to frustrate you to not use them. I tried each one and found it significantly slower than just using the xbox or ps3 to watch videos from streaming services..at least my wife won’t have to worry about turning on my game system now..Hopefully a firmware update is coming. (Anyone know where to get one? Nothing on Vizio’s site….)
I have read a lot about people complaining that the TV’s speakers are too quiet, crap quality, etc…I have 3 kids that are constantly making noise in the background and these speakers get plenty loud, they are clear and are just as they are supposed to be, TV SPEAKERS. I hear these speakers are on the back? Mine are on the bottom as they are on my Samsung LCD in the bedroom.. It’s not a surround sound system built in…
Now, to the picture quality. For the price/size of this TV I am satisfied with the picture quality, is it the best out there? No. Is it the worst? No. It’s exactly what you pay for. Out of the box HD channels looked fine, regular tv channels looked like crap, game systems (wii u, ps3, xbox) look great. I haven’t had any issues with ghosting or streaking or blurring, etc. There wasn’t any input lag that I noticed on games either. I do notice the lighter spots on a black background (edge lit technology I’m assuming). I have noticed some pixelization and banding but it seems to vary depending on if I am using component inputs or hdmi as well as the device. Definitely the worst on my hd cable box through HDMI on regular TV channels. Around lettering and certain outlines of objects it seems to be a little pixely and jagged. This even happens occasionally on HD channels and my game system hooked up through component. I haven’t had a real chance to get it calibrated well and was looking to this forum for some help so I thought I would contribute my experiences.
Basically you get what you pay for, but to me getting this for $1000 (+ $89 3 year service plan) was/is worth it if you can live with a few inconsistencies. $300 off is huge to me. If you are constantly thinking/talking about whether or not you want to return this TV or if the picture quality isn’t good enough then just return it and spend $2000 on a nice Sony or Samsung if you have the cash. If anyone can recommend a calibration disc they used to set up this TV I would appreciate it. I will post pics of my set up tomorrow afternoon!
