Vizio E701i-A3 Owners Thread

Going to be $1700 at Vizio.com starting tonight 1130 PST and all day tomorrow. Nt clear if/how limited quantities are.

Btw Katzmeier at CNet has updated his review of the 60" to say that Vizio has told him that the 70" will NOT have the same performance as the 60" so he's removed the 60" review info from their 70" listing. However, he doesn't say whether Vizio told him whether the 70" was better or worse than the 60". He says he is getting a 70" in for evaluation.

I was willing to buy the 70" for $1700 site unseen assuming performance on par with the 60" which has been well reviewed for the price. But this latest news gives me pause. If it's worse than the 60" especially wrt black level, I may have to pass.

Andrew Robinson reviewed both models (the 70" in just the last couple of days) here. http://hometheaterreview.com/

He seemed to think the 70" performance was on par with the 60".

thanks
rick

I hear you. I was really hoping to score a 60 for $688 but the online avenues proved impossible for me and there's no way in hell I'm waiting in those crazy lines at Walmart et al.

I may sit tight until reviews come in on the 70". It's also possible that both prices ($688 for the 60" and $1700 or less for the 70") will repeat as Christmas gets nearer.

Wow I hadn't seen that. Thanks!

Interesting that Vizio IS sending 70"ers for review to folks who reviewed the 60". I guess they are pretty confident in its performance which that link you shared bears out. It certainly makes me feel better. The Katzmeier comment was so non committal...

Costco.com has it for $1499.99 + $99 for shipping. Way better deal than Vizio.com

Well if you have to then join Costco as I would it adds another 50 or 100 right? So nearly the same price though obviously Costco has an amazing return policy.

That said, as of this morning Costco would not let me add it to my cart.

However, Amazn is offering it for $1700 now as well. Free shipping. Also great return policy.

Bought one with a 4 year square trade warranty as well...

WHats up guys. I usually come in and out of here when I have big A/V purchases coming up. Just bought a new house last year, and am finally getting ready to set up the mancave.

Well I have had my eye on this set for a few weeks. All the reviews on the net were for the 60 and were positive. I wanted the 70" but figured for $700 (the 60" today if I could find it) would be the better bet. But last night I read the hometheatrereview review of the 70" and I was like eff it, Im getting the 70".

I logged onto costco.com to see if they had it in my store, saw that it was on sale for 1499!!!!! Jumped in the truck and picked one up. The place was a mad house. But people were generally buying sub $1K Tvs. My local costco in Jersey had maybe 10+ 70's.

I wont be able to hook it up until next weekend. But I will be monitoring this thread for calibrations and optimization. Looking forward to sharing experiences.

Took the plunge after the Home Theater Review.com review by Robinson.

Costco for $1499.

Hope it's as good as the review states!

Picture settings menu---
Picture Mode: Movie
Backlight: 53
Brightness: 50
Contrast: 75
Color: 51
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 0

---Size & Position submenu---
[no change]
some settings for the 60 which should apply to the 70
---Color Temperature submenu---
Colour temperature: Normal
Red Gain: 104
Green Gain: 115
Blue gain: 130
Red offset: 129
Green offset: 130
Blue offset: 132

--Advanced Picture submenu---
Smooth motion effect: Off
Real Cinema Mode: Smooth [grayed out]
Noise Reduction: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Color Enhancement: Off
Adaptive Luma: Off
Film Mode: Auto
Backlight Control: Off
Ambient Light sensor: Off

1616 including tax pickup up locally at costco, and 3 yrs worth of warranty if you put it on costco amex. Buy at costco and they extend warranty 1 yr over manufacturer, then use amex card for the purchase there, and as long as you register it with amex, you get another year warranty on top of the first two.

I Hope it looks as nice as the previous 55 vizio led local dim it's replacing.

How to register the TV with AMEX? I used my AMEX costco card - want to make sure I take advantage of this.

Thank you!

Walked in to Costco to pickup the VIZIO 65" Razor LED 1080p 120Hz Smart HDTV (M650VSE) for $1298 b/c I my order from Sam's club got cancelled (will be canceling my membership there!). Instead, I saw this TV for $1499!!!! WOWSERS! Picked one up ASAP. Waiting for a friend to help me bring it home tonight but I'll post up some initial impressions. Haven't been excited about a TV in a long time! Just sold my 73" Mitsubishi 73738 DLP 2 days ago and needed a quick replacement (planned obsoleteness) since I never cared for the 3D functionality. Used it like 3x and really wasn't that impressed.

Thanks for the links to the reviews on top. Glad they're good since I pretty much bought this TV without much research (not typically something I'd do).

Hey mods maybe merge this with the other 70" Vizio thread? They're more or less dupes.

Maybe re-title is "Official Owners...thread"

Just picked mine up and reprogramming my Harmony One!

The TV is BIG but very light compared to the 73" Mitsu DLP it replaced. It has a much CLEANER profile b/c the bezel is so thin. It looks like almost all screen!

I have also been considering the M650VSE.
What are the design differences between the M650VSE and the E701i-A3?
They seem to be two different series of TVs, yet the specs at the Vizio site seem almost identical (except for the 5 inch size difference).
Thanks

Vizio shares a lot of parts across their offerings, for example the I/O ports will be idenitical on these 2 units.

The panels are different. The 65" is using a AU Optronic MVA3 panel which is a lot like the latest generation Samsung S-PVA panel. The 60" E601i-A3 is using a non-Quatron non-UV2a Sharp X Gen ASV panel. Ive havent eye-balled the 70" so cant speak to what it is using.

The aesthetics are different.

The 60" E601i-A3 has a slimmer bezel design.

The M650VSE has a weird design anomally where there is a 1/4" gap with no image on the screen till the bezel on the top only. Ive seen similar on the M550VSE. So it seems to be something peculiar to the model by design, not by manufacturing miscue. Very odd.

The Smart functions and Menu systems and functions will be idenitical.

The level of Anti-Reflective diffusion filtering on the M650VSE and E601i-A3 are similar. More glossy than heavy matte. Dont know about the 70" Vizio.

Hope that helps.

Ironically, I got an email from Sam's this evening stating I will be able to get the M650VSE at the BF price of $998 since they cancelled my order...hahaha. I guess I'll get it too! Might not keep it, but I'm sure I make a quick deal of it to family or friends.

Thanks for the help.
The picture is the bottom line. Has anyone been able to see them both?
It looks as if Costco has both models. Anyone out there seen them or knows which has the most accurate color and/or best contrast? What about motion processing or viewing angle?
They are similar in price. Strangely the 70 inch weighs less than the 65 inch???

Video processing will likewise share components and so will be similar. The difference is in the panels with regards to any black level, viewing angle, motion blurring.

There has been reported banding on the M650VSE, and both have reports of backlight uniformity issues with regards to brighter edges and clouding. Im speaking of the E601i-A3. No reported bandin gon the E601i-A3, but I dont think many are clued in on that score yet, I havent brought it up in the thread, and dont know if I wish to freak people out who have bought it with having them search for it with smoke or fog scenes. There are 2 dark areas like negative/reverse flashlighting being reported on the E601, fairly common.

Sound is poor on both.

I bought an E701i yesterday for $1500 at Costco (replaces a 58 inch rear projection 10-yr old Pioneer Elite HDTV). Plus about $100 tax plus $30 rental for truck. Not bad. Saved about $120 compared w Amazon Prime. Before wall mounting I wanted to test out picture quality and all connections. What I would love to get advice on are the connections to my devices. I have some 10-12 yr old stereo equipment that is very good quality but does not have HDMI so here is how I was planning to connect my devices:

1. Verizon FIos TV---Video via HDMI to Vizio; Audio via digital optical to receiver (Integra DTR7.2). I have Totem speakers plus Totem surround sound
2. Rotel RDV-1080 CD player (plan to use only for music): RCA Red/white to Integra. Will forget about using Rotel for video as I have a Blu Ray (below)
3. Sony Blu-ray DVD player. Audio via digital optical to Receiver. Video via HDMI to Vizio
4. Apple Tv; video via HDMI to Vizio; audio via digital optical to Receiver
5. Hearing Aid Streamer connected to RCA Red/White output jack at receiver (I gave my age away!)
6 iPod connected via RCA Red/White to Receiver

While a little messy (3 HDMI connections to Vizio vs 1 if I get a new receiver) it saves the cost of replacing receiver and or CD player (each about $2000 for a new Integra or Rotel of comparable quality)--as you can tell I dont plan to have any sound come out of the Vizio. Will have to spend some money getting an electrician to wall mount and hide all wires between studs (maybe more than a little money)---also thinking of hiding some component video cables to Vizio just in case I need them later.

Welcome thoughts.
Edited by nazird - 11/24/12 at 7:59am

Wow Amazon is now showing 1-2 months for delivery again. I guess they ran through the initial batch they got from Vizio. Glad I ordered yesterday! Got the email saying it had shipped, and another saying that I would get a oall from the shipping company on Monday to arrange delivery.

Glad i got my order at Amazon in as well! Will be here Wednesday and I cannot wait! Been stuck with a 32" for a long time and have been researching tvs for over a year but never bought until now. I would have liked a 3D tv but oh well, for this price, size, and possible performance i'm more than happy!

I see that a few people have bought one of these 70 inches and have them in their home, but not one word yet on picture quality, black levels, motion handling, etc.

Come on guys and girls, give us your initials impressions.