So you know where I'm coming from, I'm replacing a 50" Samsung plasma. I have a number of various sized flat panels around the house and a home theater in the basement. I just had my 720p Mitsy projector replaced with a Sony (STR-DA3600ES) and Avatar on Blu-Ray blew me away (108" screen). I consider myself an enthusiast, but in no way an expert. Anyway, onward...
Out of the box experience - Fantastic. The box is gorgeous, the instructions on the top tell you how to easily (for such a big TV) undo the clips and sleeve-off the box.
Set up - Couldn't be simpler. Quick start guide is accurate. Instructions manual is in English only, not 7 languages, and is plainly written, not some computer converted Chinese. I couldn't get the Vizio remote to control the DirecTV box though. Will have to look for a code I suppose. Not a biggie. Will get it. (Edit: Thanks to AVS Forum, someone pointed out I must have my receiver set to RF mode in Remote Control set up. I changed it to IR, and voilà, all set. I had to "Try The Next Code" to get up to Code 4. All set). Luckily, my 2-year old receiver is 3D ready - HR21-700. DirecTV said just "plug it in, the receiver will walk you through the set up once it recognizes the 3D TV". Not quite right, for me anyway, but a restart of the receiver and I was up and running.
2D-HD - I started with Kill Bill 2 on TNTHD and it looked great. Some HD looks better than others, not surprisingly. For example, 30 Rock must use some type of softening lens.
AppleTV (720p) - YouTube looks a little better than I thought it would. From Apple's movie catalog, previews of 300 and The Bucket List looked sharp. Netflix streaming looked as good as it did on my 50" Sammy, and that's a good thing. Photos from Mobile Me via my iPhone looked great.
3D on DirecTV - Started with n3D, which I now realize is very analogous to Mark Cuban's HDNET back in the early days of HD. It's where you should go for the fun initial impression. A lot of scenic/nature content. It impresses right away.
Family take - 11-year old boy loves it. Despicable Me in 3D is wow-ing him. 15-year old daughter too. I prefer the premium glasses, but the kids like the basic ones. Daughter's friend was tickled the basic (flat) glasses fit over her eye glasses. Wife's first reaction was good, then made a comment about it making her cross-eyed, then backed up and liked it. She is also most impressed with Despicable Me and says it feels less gimmicky than past 3D experiences (where something just jumps out at you now and then).
3D sports - I downloaded the National Championship game (Auburn vs Oregon) via DirecTV and although I like it better than the active shutter, I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer a plain crisp HD for sports. I watch a ton of sports, and my initial reaction to sports in 3D with both passive 3D (this set) and active 3D (the other available 3D technology) is mixed at this point in time.
Vizio 3D Blu-Ray player - Started with Dinosaurs, IMAX Under The Sea, Alice in Wonderland, and Polar Express. The player is quick and intuitive with the Internet app screen as the main screen. Disney's Alice in Wonderland is fabulous and I'm most surprised by how pleasing the image depths are. IMAX Under The Sea has the cool IMAX 3D number countdown at the beginning - fun. The sea images give "whoa" reactions from the family. This is THE 3D Blu-Ray to throw in first - Jim Carrey narrated and beautiful. The tech of the whole thing falls away after a few minutes and the experience is immersive from then on. The player is snappy.
3D thoughts, as this set is passive 3D (vs active 3D)
Passive 3D gets everything right it claims, IMO. The glasses are light and easy. It's nice they are inexpensive (I bought10 pairs of RealD glasses from Amazon for $25 10 - Pairs - Brand New Sealed - 3D Circular Polarized 3D Glasses same as RealD for Disney Digital -Legend of the Guardians (10 Pairs) -they work great). Also easy to sit and glance down at my lap top now and then. I surely don't wish I was worried about the active 3D syncing, battery life, and if someone is going to sit on them. My brother-in-law walked in and I tossed a pair of glasses across the room. He slapped them on and said "Wow, that's awesome". He also has 3 kids under 6 years old. No way he ever buys $100 glasses (which is what the active version of 3D requires) for that bunch. ;)
The knocks on passive 3D are a little over stated for me. You'll find these concerns if you surf around the internet researching 3D TV options.
- Claim: "Black lines" - They are (barely) there, however, they only are appreciable if you get within 3-4 feet of the screen. I liken it to the screen door effect. If the TV is big enough and you get close enough, you'll see them. This concern ended up as a no-big-deal item.
- Claim: "Turning head sideways ruins the 3D" - nope. Not an issue.
- Claim: "The 3D-ness severely degrades with off-angle viewing" - Not for me. It does lessen a little though. Otherwise, walking around the room gives a yoyo-ing 3D image which follows you. Cool.
- Claim: "Half resolution" thing - Didn't even occur to me when watching it. No comments from family about less of anything as far as picture quality goes.
- Claim: "Cross talk" - Not seeing it. Maybe if some one pointed it out to me?
More thoughts...
It is high gloss and I can see where a heavily windowed room could be an issue. Fine for me with flanking windows and a (non-windowed) wall facing the TV.
Make sure your space can handle a 65-incher. I'd recommend being a minimum of 8 ft away, with 10+ ft being better. This thing is big.
I think I'm officially spoiled by HD and now 3D as standard def is getting harder to watch. Not sure if this is the TV or just me.
Final thoughts...
My ordered list of priorities when I bought this TV were size, price point, and then 3D. Well, the size is significantly (not just a little bit) bigger than my 50-incher - check. The price was right at 3G's - check. The 3D has definitely exceeded my expectations - check. The 2D has met my hopes in that I'm very happy with the black levels (although they are not as deep as a plasma). For me, this is a great gen-1 Vizio 3D TV. I'm sure future years will bring 4K2K and improved tech, but at a price. For today, this hit the spot and was an incremental improvement over my 2-yr old Samsung plasma.
Update (7/5/11) - After 5 months, I had to come back and bump my rating from 4 to 5 stars. Long gone are the days of over-analyzing this TV. The longer I own it, the more I enjoy it. No regrets. (Tip: Get Tron Legacy 3D. O-M-G). VIZIO XVT3D650SV 65-Inch Theater 3D Edge Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps, Black - Vizio 3d 65-inch Tv - Led - 120hz - Lcd'
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