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Vizio E701i-A3 Owners Thread - Page 26

post #751 of 1184
2/14/13 at 10:56am
Thanks. I don't trust cable and/or sat. I have see so many times lip sync issue out of my cable even with my other sets at the same time.
The best way to be sure is using an outboard box such as bluray that has been previously tested.
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post #752 of 1184
2/14/13 at 12:58pm
Folks, I am new to Vizio and I am trying to understand the pattern here of what 701 serial numbers are free from severe clouding and flashlights?
So far I went through 3 TVs,one from Sams and two from Costco and they all have severe flashlights and clouding in the normal evening viewing. I understand this is a budget TV and one should be happy that it throws the picture and greyscale on this set it excellent but flashlights and clouds are too distracting. I am reading that folks were able to get quality sets with no flashlights but how do you find one?

Serials that I tried are:
LFTRNXAP0204
LFTRNXAP0500
LFTRNXAP0500

is there a better build week or better place to buy them than Costco and Sam's?
Thank you.
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post #753 of 1184
2/14/13 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvzzz View Post

Folks, I am new to Vizio and I am trying to understand the pattern here of what 701 serial numbers are free from severe clouding and flashlights?
So far I went through 3 TVs,one from Sams and two from Costco and they all have severe flashlights and clouding in the normal evening viewing. I understand this is a budget TV and one should be happy that it throws the picture and greyscale on this set it excellent but flashlights and clouds are too distracting. I am reading that folks were able to get quality sets with no flashlights but how do you find one?

Serials that I tried are:
LFTRNXAP0204
LFTRNXAP0500
LFTRNXAP0500

is there a better build week or better place to buy them than Costco and Sam's?
Thank you.

Best Buy for Business.
I have # LFTRNXAP0101...My set is perfect. No clouding, no flashlighting and nice even panel.

Purchased 5 year warranty on Vizio Website. 150.00.

Thrilled with the TV.
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post #754 of 1184
2/14/13 at 9:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by falconman515 View Post

Not At all ... gotta say that doesn't sound good (or smell good in your case).

Definitely NOT normal that I have seen ... this would have been found someone if that was common.

If this continues you may look into replacing your current set.
Thanks for the reply falconman515.
It's slight, and It seems to be getting less every day, I've had the TV for a week now and I will give it a little more time. It's normal for electronic components to get warm and maybe it's just that new car smell in my tv rolleyes.gif. It's got a good picture and there's been no problem whatsoever with it. I would hate to get another & wind up with some of the issues I've seen here. I might be better off getting the extended warranty for ease of mind.

I mentioned a few posts back about this, have you looked at the "System info" in the Help section of the onscreen menu. Mine lists Vertical Freq as 60 hz, shouldn't it be 120 hz??
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post #755 of 1184
2/14/13 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by indept View Post


I mentioned a few posts back about this, have you looked at the "System info" in the Help section of the onscreen menu. Mine lists Vertical Freq as 60 hz, shouldn't it be 120 hz??

Go back to where you posted this ... I believe it was answered somewhere already if I recall right.

Don't worry you have 120hz TV
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post #756 of 1184
2/15/13 at 5:20am
Chad B coming on the 25th to do a professional calibration. Will post impression and pre and post pics
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post #757 of 1184
2/15/13 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzook View Post

Chad B coming on the 25th to do a professional calibration. Will post impression and pre and post pics
Please note if he uses the service menu to calibrate and if so how to get to it. Also any comments he makes about the TVs ability to calibrate.
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post #758 of 1184
2/15/13 at 7:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjthenovice View Post

Please note if he uses the service menu to calibrate and if so how to get to it. Also any comments he makes about the TVs ability to calibrate.

I will let you know if he is able to reach the service menu.
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post #759 of 1184
2/15/13 at 8:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvzzz View Post

Folks, I am new to Vizio and I am trying to understand the pattern here of what 701 serial numbers are free from severe clouding and flashlights?
So far I went through 3 TVs,one from Sams and two from Costco and they all have severe flashlights and clouding in the normal evening viewing. is there a better build week or better place to buy them than Costco and Sam's?
Thank you.

I too have gone thru 3 of these TV's, on my 4th one now. There's been an issue with all of them (see my signature below) but so far this 4th one is pretty good. However, I was watching some hockey the other night and noticed the dreaded "black lines" or "stains" on the back of my new panel, when the camera pans from side to side it's noticable on a light or white background. uugghhhh. So I gave the TV the terry cloth rub down last night and seems to have helped ALOT, lines are now barely noticable if at all (my GF couldn't see them anymore, thought I was crazy - maybe I am lol). As others have stated, I think it takes a while for these TV's to warm up and we gotta break 'em in first.
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post #760 of 1184
2/15/13 at 11:22am
Pretty sure this is off-topic, and I apologize for that, but I'm also pretty sure it's a topic of interest to many lurkers of this thread (like me) who aren't yet owners but who plan to be in the near future.
I notice that the price of this unit seems to fluctuate at seemingly random times (up and down a hundred or two hundred dollars). I know it's a good value even at list price, but who doesn't like to save a few (hundred) bucks?
Is there any way to predict (based on events, the calendar, etc.) when the price will move?

Thanks.
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post #761 of 1184
2/15/13 at 12:12pm
I received my e701i-A3 from Samsclub.com on Tuesday which has a S/N within the range of units identified to potentially have the chip failure issue. It has a dead green pixel near the center of the screen, but a beautiful picture otherwise. I contacted Samsclub.com about picking up my M650VSE (terrible banding) for which this 70" is replacing. I explained that the 70" has had a special bulletin issued for the potential failure and she immediately offered to exchange it, which is great! I just hope that the replacement set has as good of a picture without any stuck/dead/bright pixels.

I could have lived with a single dead green pixel as you can't even see it from 4 feet away, but it would have eventually anyway and had to come down for repair/replacement due to the faulty chip issue.

My guess is TigerDirect will have a bunch of large refurbished Vizio TV's in stock in the coming months.
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post #762 of 1184
2/15/13 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by msfeinstein View Post

Pretty sure this is off-topic, and I apologize for that, but I'm also pretty sure it's a topic of interest to many lurkers of this thread (like me) who aren't yet owners but who plan to be in the near future.
I notice that the price of this unit seems to fluctuate at seemingly random times (up and down a hundred or two hundred dollars). I know it's a good value even at list price, but who doesn't like to save a few (hundred) bucks?
Is there any way to predict (based on events, the calendar, etc.) when the price will move?

Thanks.
Usually I would expect the next sale price drop around a major sporting like the Super Bowl. This happened two weeks before the past Super Bowl and everybody had it for $1599 and Costco had it for $1579-$1559. Look for this to happen possibly around NCAA Tourney time or possibly for the Masters but probably not till NCAA. Vizio is coming out shortly with the 2013 line which includes a 3D version of the 701 so that may prompt some discounts also.
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post #763 of 1184
2/15/13 at 5:33pm
OK, so I went to Costco and bought the 64" Samsung (Plasma)
I am very pleased with the PQ...
So I will try to do a real side by side comparison tomorrow (I have a HDMI switch and I will use it to switch from 1 set to the other)
Even though the Samsung is 6" smaller, price difference is substantial....(~$550)
So it will be a tough call..........!!!
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post #764 of 1184
2/16/13 at 9:57am
A friend of mine bought the Panasonic 65GT50 and we were both bouncing back and forth between the E701 and the Panny. We're both quite happy but I would love to compare the two but we live too far apart. A side by side in the same viewing environment would be ideal. The Panny cost more but I guess bang for the buck depends on whose buck you're talking about. The difference in PQ compared to the difference in size divided by the difference in cost .To most of us that would be the determining factor. Easier said than done in the real world.
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post #765 of 1184
2/16/13 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by falconman515 View Post

Go back to where you posted this ... I believe it was answered somewhere already if I recall right.

Don't worry you have 120hz TV

falconman515
I'm pretty sure that Vertical Freq & Refesh rate are the same thing, it's the frequency the screen is updated. Now I'm not doubting it's 120 hz but even the tech rep at Vizio was surprised to hear that it said 60hz, bottom line, it has a great picture. I also recently purchased a Vizio M420SL 42" 1080 120hz. It also said 60hz vertical freq but listed resolution as 1280 x 720. It recently updated the firmware & now lists correctly as 1920 x 1080, probably some engineer forgetting to update things when they reuse firmware from 1 tv to another.
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post #766 of 1184
2/16/13 at 11:30am
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention:

I found my trusty "Kilowatt" wattmeter so I plugged the 701 into it last night (still had firmware version 1.1.4 at that time). At turn on the wattage went to 190w then once up & running it backed down to 90 to 100w (online Vizio & sam sclub listed this TV at 103.22 w but the manual accessible in the TV help menu along with the downloaded manual from Vizio both said 210w avg). The big factor is backlight level which I have set at 75%. I found the following backlight levels gave these wattages: 25%= 47w 50% = 62w, 75% = 95w, 100 % = 122w. So as far as power usage I am pleased.
NOW today I turn it on & (finally) it said it updated to firmware 1.1.5, here's the funny (or not so funny) thing, power usage is now around 40% higher.
At turn on it still went to 190w, then backed down to 140w at my 75% backlight setting. I rechecked at each level and here are the new power levels: 25% = 65w, 50% = 96w, 75% = 140w, 100% = 190w.

so the BIG question is, what does firmware 1.1.5 do (besides increasing the profit of the electric company:D)?
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post #767 of 1184
2/16/13 at 11:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by french_guy View Post

OK, so I went to Costco and bought the 64" Samsung (Plasma)
I am very pleased with the PQ...
So I will try to do a real side by side comparison tomorrow (I have a HDMI switch and I will use it to switch from 1 set to the other)
Even though the Samsung is 6" smaller, price difference is substantial....(~$550)
So it will be a tough call..........!!!
So i ran some tests...side by side
Avatar Bluray looks nice on both set
But I have another bluray (America HD) were some dark scenes where very grainy / greyish on the Vizio, and much better on the Samsung
The only problem with the Samsung is that it is very reflective.....The Vizio is much better in this area
Will try to put the TV in another wall, to see if I can get less reflection
IF my layout allows to get rid of that, I will keep the Samsung...
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post #768 of 1184
2/16/13 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by indept View Post

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention:

I found my trusty "Kilowatt" wattmeter so I plugged the 701 into it last night (still had firmware version 1.1.4 at that time). At turn on the wattage went to 190w then once up & running it backed down to 90 to 100w (online Vizio & sam sclub listed this TV at 103.22 w but the manual accessible in the TV help menu along with the downloaded manual from Vizio both said 210w avg). The big factor is backlight level which I have set at 75%. I found the following backlight levels gave these wattages: 25%= 47w 50% = 62w, 75% = 95w, 100 % = 122w. So as far as power usage I am pleased.
NOW today I turn it on & (finally) it said it updated to firmware 1.1.5, here's the funny (or not so funny) thing, power usage is now around 40% higher.
At turn on it still went to 190w, then backed down to 140w at my 75% backlight setting. I rechecked at each level and here are the new power levels: 25% = 65w, 50% = 96w, 75% = 140w, 100% = 190w.

so the BIG question is, what does firmware 1.1.5 do (besides increasing the profit of the electric company:D)?

Best to get the readings with all white pattern displayed.
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post #769 of 1184
2/16/13 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaspianM View Post

Best to get the readings with all white pattern displayed.

The viewed picture doesn't make a difference as it does with a plasma TV. An edgelit TV keeps a constant backlight level (& therefore constant power give or take a few watts) and the brightness is varied by making LCD pixels more or less transparent. I would suspect that on a "full panel" backlit TV that uses zone dimming, the power level will probably vary more with full white to darker picture. My set was about the same power usage while viewing a full white or a dark image. My 50" Philips plasma varied greatly between bright & dark (150 - 350 watts)

I did call vizio a few minutes ago & they said the firmware update fixed lipsync & picture shudder issues.
I also asked about extended warranties & she said additional 2 years for $89, 3 years for $118, & 4 years $149. prices good thru February.
Edited by indept - 2/16/13 at 1:03pm
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post #770 of 1184
2/16/13 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by falconman515 View Post

Go back to where you posted this ... I believe it was answered somewhere already if I recall right.

Don't worry you have 120hz TV

falconman515
I'm pretty sure that Vertical Freq & Refesh rate are the same thing, it's the frequency the screen is updated. Now I'm not doubting it's 120 hz but even the tech rep at Vizio was surprised to hear that it said 60hz, bottom line, it has a great picture. I also recently purchased a Vizio M420SL 42" 1080 120hz. It also said 60hz vertical freq but listed resolution as 1280 x 720. It recently updated the firmware & now lists correctly as 1920 x 1080, probably some engineer forgetting to update things when they reuse firmware from 1 tv to another.

I'm pretty sure it's this.... when you are in the system info, the vertical frequency is reading the signal that is being received on the selected input.
So for example when I have my htpc hooked up to hdmi it will show 1920x1080p at 60hz.
When using antenna input it shows 1920x 1080i 29.97hz (depends on ota signal as some show as 1280x720p 59.94 )You can see it changing as you switch tv channels.
Internally the tv has effective refresh rate of 120hz.
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post #771 of 1184
2/16/13 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHRBRO View Post

I'm pretty sure it's this.... when you are in the system info, the vertical frequency is reading the signal that is being received on the selected input.
So for example when I have my htpc hooked up to hdmi it will show 1920x1080p at 60hz.
When using antenna input it shows 1920x 1080i 29.97hz (depends on ota signal as some show as 1280x720p 59.94 )You can see it changing as you switch tv channels.
Internally the tv has effective refresh rate of 120hz.
OH, that explains it, I thought that was a "fixed" display. Thanks for the clarification.
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post #772 of 1184
2/16/13 at 2:55pm
OK everyone. Need your help quick. I'm taking back my unit to Costco that I had bought on black Friday. It had the serial number starting with 46 so that was one of the first weeks of production last year. I've had a multitude of problems and my 90 day return ends in a couple days. I'm not ready to give up on this set yet so I plan on getting another. There are 11 of these sets in stock. What serial number should I be looking for? Thanks!
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post #773 of 1184
2/16/13 at 3:00pm
My serial 50 has been good
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post #774 of 1184
2/16/13 at 5:11pm
How long it should take to get the latest firmware?
Is there anything in particular to do (and yes, I have configured my wifi connection)
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post #775 of 1184
2/16/13 at 7:11pm
Update on power usage, It's back to about 100 w, seems the difference was daylight in the room (even though it was cloudy today) causing the ambient light sensor to increase the backlighting. Verified this by turning on a bright ceiling light, the power goes from 100 - 140w as the screen adjusts, so this confirms that Vizio doesn't have electric company stock:D
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post #776 of 1184
2/16/13 at 7:13pm
I just got the Vizio sound bar MODEL - SB4020M-A0 for my E701i-A3
I have DirecTV and I was hoping that someone could help me with the remote code for the sound bar so I can control everything from the DirecTV remote.

Thank you-
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post #777 of 1184
2/16/13 at 7:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pchain View Post

What serial number should I be looking for? Thanks!
I think anything above 49 is ok if I recall right. Keep in mind to anything starting with 01/02/03 is ok since those are first, second, third week of 2013.

Just stay away from anything below 50 probably to be safe.
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post #778 of 1184
2/16/13 at 8:31pm
Just an update: I took my SN# 46 that I've had since black friday back and got an 02...all the others in stock at Costco were 49 or earlier. This set seems better already. First without even turning it on I didn't see the screen coating inconsistencies or splotches like I did on the first set. When turning it on the feathering is 99% gone on this new set too although on dark screens I can see a little splotchiness or lighter areas but not as bad as the other set. I was able to fix a large part of this on my last set by very gently rubbing the areas on the screen with a micro fiber cloth. Will probably do the same on this one. The overall picture image is definetely brighter. My back light and brightness settings are a full 10 steps less on this new set. This set came with FW 1.1.4. I'm sure I'll get the update eventually. Anyway, everything looks good so far...
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post #779 of 1184
2/16/13 at 9:00pm
Another update.. the new set still has that horrendous issue with the Hulu app making it pretty much unusable.
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post #780 of 1184
2/16/13 at 9:04pm
What's the point in having a "smart TV" If you have to go out and buy a Roku player just to stream Hulu?
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