Over the past few years, 4K televisions have become more affordable, but Vizio’s newest line has changed that.
We all know and love Vizio. They make high quality TVs at very competitive prices. I have owned several Vizios and they are, by far, my favorite. Just last year, Vizio entered the 4K market with its M Series. This series offered incredible picture quality and, unlike most TVs that use edge-lit backlighting, uses what they call -inchfull-array LED backlighting.-inch The lights are behind the display in order to light the entire image instead of just the side. Its smallest model, a 43-inch screen is just $599. The series includes a 49-inch, 50-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch, 70-inch, 75-inch, and an 80-inch, running upwards of $3,999. These affordable prices matched with some of the best picture quality made Vizio the ideal option for 4K TVs.
This year, Vizio has released its new Reference Series, which is a far cry from the M Series. If the M Series is the Toyota of TVs the Reference Series is the Lamborghini. To develop this series, Vizio partnered with Dolby Vision to create a line of televisions featuring high dynamic range support. The result is the most incredible quality of color you’ve ever seen. Both the 65-inch and 120-inch (yes, I said 120-inch) have 384 active LED zones and an 800-nit full-array LED backlight. This means you get deeper blacks and no light leakage. The models also boast a V6 processor with quad-core GPU, a dual-core CPU, a spatial scaling engine, and a 802.11ac dual-band WiFi. All of this means the TV runs fast, smooth, and can transform HD content to 4K resolution.
As some added features, Warner Bros. is giving Reference Series owners immediate access to popular movies that have been mastered in 4K. Netflix is currently working on offering 4K titles as well. And while the 65-inch model includes a 5.1 theater sound bar system, the 120-inch does not. You’d think they could at least toss that in when the TV costs more than some people’s houses.
The Reference Series sounds like your perfect TV until you see the price. The 65-inch model is $5,999 and the 120-inch is $129,999. That’s right; the cheaper model still costs more than my first car and the second one is several years of income for most people. This is where the Reference Series stops sounding so wonderful. It is easily the most expensive 4K TV on the market. As much as I love a good quality viewing experience, I can’t imagine ever justifying this much money for a 4K TV. Not only are there comparable options for 10% of the price, but with technology advancing so rapidly, we’re bound to have a better option in just a few years.
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