I've had an M47 since last August and love it so I am a Vizio fan so when looking for a bigger tv I chose the 2013 version of Vizio's 70 in TV, the M701D-a3R. I have the 2013 M701d-A3R ordered through Dell. It is supposed to arrive next Friday. When researching this I looked for these qualities in order of preference; sharpness related to better able to show the hairs on an actor's head, then able to view from large angles without losing color, details or depth so the entire family can see a great picture sitting around this TV, then realistic color, smooth action, 3D and then design and finally and dead last the black levels. I know black levels mean I can see more going on in dark visuals but it is dead last compared to the other attributes, for me.
Some of you might know Vizio has a new version of the 70 inch M model this year with back panel led lighting as opposed to edge lighting on the 2013 model. At first blush I was going to let that decide for me but after researching edge vs. back lighting I found there are tradeoffs with both. The edge lighting will enhance the panel's ability to show more details and depth than back lite panels while suffering from edge light "leakage" at times depending on the scene. The back light panels soften the image losing some detail in not-dark scenes while increasing black levels...the trade off is light leakage for sharper images with edge lighting vs. no leakage and more dark contrast but softer images with back lighting and so what you buy depends always on your priorities since neither edge lit or back lit LCDs will be perfect in all situations, each has strengths and weaknesses.
There is a killer problem with the new model for my purchase, the new model lacks 3D which is a show stopper for me, to me. For those like me who value bright scene details over better black levels and want to enjoy 3D at home with a 3D library of great movies ( bought Avatar 3D just now!) you might want to snap up these "D" versions before they run out.
Word to the wise.
