4K TVs may have astounding pictures — 4X that of HDTVs — but what good are they if you can’t afford one to watch? Vizio gets that because their entire P-Series line — from 50” to 70” — breaks the price barrier. None of them is nowhere near what the major brands want for their like-sized models. So there’s got to be something wrong, something “off” with these Vizio 4K TVs, right? Wrong. Vizio gave us a tour that was like going to an art gallery, only instead of artwork on the walls, there were Vizio 4K TVs demonstrating just what they could do. Here’s what these Vizio’s have that makes their displays more than just pieces of hi-res glass.
Need for Speed
A moving picture needs to “move” — so having a refresh rate of 240 Hz working with the Clear Action Rate 960 keeps the blurring out of the picture. Watching Trolls and Elves beat the crap out of each other with CG going on showed that right quick. Even simple text scrolling across the screen proved the point of maintaining focus as words marched on.
Local Dimming is The Right Dimming
Hitting areas of a picture onscreen with light can’t be done haphazardly: so these 4Ks have Full-Array Backlighting. To the eye that means an evenly lit screen, but it also had better mean good control over contrast and blacks. That’s why the TVs use 72 Active LED Zones: think of it as a grid with lighting-fast response of an area onscreen when it needs to be hit by the backlighting specifically just so.
Up-Scaling
Who’s tossing out their Blu-ray disc libraries because they ain’t 4K? Nobody, is who, so Vizio got it that the up-scaling better work its butt off. So that’s why there’s a dedicated processor who’s got no other job but making sure 1080p makes its way onto the 4K display like a debutante and not the janitor.
Smart For 4K
All those “Smart TV” functions we’ve come to expect (apps, etc.) are there — but so is 4K streaming from Netflix, with Amazon Instant and Ultraflix later on. Because the HEVC H.265 codec for Ultra HD streaming has been built-in already. As is support for protected UHD content playback and presentation speeds of up to 60 fps (frames per second). Plus the HDMI inputs being 2.0 standard ready means no hardware updates. Read that as: “not having to buy a new 4K TV to enjoy features that came out after the TV was bought.” Same goes for having 802.11 ac WiFi (3 X faster than “N”) doing the wireless gig of transmitting content to the TV.
And Then There’s The Price
There’s different reasons for watching a TV: a gamer wants to get immersed so take the 50” 4K, at $999.99 retail. TV shows in the bedroom — set up the 55” by dropping $1,399.99 (just a short time back HDTVs cost that much or more for a big screen). Have a bigger bedroom? Go with the 60” for another $300 ($1,699.99). Movies in the living room – that means the 65” ($2,199.99) or the huge 70” for $2,499.99. And that’s retail. Are these prices crazy or what — those first 4K big screen jobs were in the tens of thousands of dollars. but these Vizio’s are priced to move. Like to our house.
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