VIZIO M55-C2 55-Inch Class Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV

As is usually the case in my reviews I plan to keep things as simple and clear as possible. I did a lot of research on LG, Sony and Samsung 60 inch televisions in the 1000.00 to 2000.00 dollar range. I also actually looked at the various and sundry sets at too many big box stores to effectively maintain my sanity with the mostly useless drivel, that spewed forth from far too many salespersons' mouths. Here on Amazon a whole lot of people have been far more technical than I like to be and there are some very astute and descent reviews on this product. My set was delivered on May the 24th and I am writing this review on the 15th of June after spending time getting to know and calibrate this beautiful television. It is totally worth the money I paid and I could not be happier with my purchase. The company that delivered the set, Pilot, was pretty worthless, which I in no way hold against Amazon. I had two tens and two fives to tip these guys 15 bucks apiece and when they said they knew nothing about helping me out with opening and then placing the t.v. I just smiled at them and kept my tip dough in my pocket. I have helped friends and family (ad nauseaum) to set up surround sound systems and televisions for too many years and it took no time to set the set up, around 20 minutes or less from opening to putting on the feet to placing it on the stand, it only weighs about 60 lbs. If you like myself are sick of the assanine corporate whores who mainly, due to copy protection issues can't give us simplicity buy this set! If you want just a scooch more future proofing look to the 2016 P and M series Vizio's, as they will do the HDR and Dolby Vision color update. I wanted a tuner for over the air stations as I cut the cable cord years ago and those televisions have to have an outboard tuner to receive over the air stations. My point is, Beta Max or VHS? Blu-ray or Red- ray? HDMI 1.0? 1.2? 2.0? 2.2? I think you see where I am going with this. I would buy this set and wail until at least 2018 to buy another set. If you have the money, 6000,00 to 12000.00 dollars, you can afford either LG or Panasonics OLED's which have the most beautiful pictures and features available as of this writing. If like me, you are a pauper, buy this television instead, or the 65 or 70 inch version of it. You will not need an upconverting blu-ray player, the 4k feed from Amazon and Netflix look absolutely amazing as does the upconverted 1080p signal from my blu-ray player. 480i looks like crap for the most part but any station showing 720p or1080i looks amazing on the over the air tuner which picked up more stations (77) after the channel scan. Another wonderful feature are the various picture settings you can dail in and store or adjust on fly. Considering the uneven standards of picture and aspect ratio options on terrestrial channels the fact that you can adjust as you're looking at the picture will make me forgo calibation by an ISF tech. If you're a gamer, buy this set, if you mourn the loss of plasma, buy this set, if you know the difference between an eyesight blasting display at the store and what pleases your eye asthetically,buy this set! As of this writing there are 2 4k blu-ray players and around 18 4k movies that you can purchase, another reason why I will wait until 2018 to possibly upgrade to OLED. I used the calibration settings from C-Net's David Katzemeyer (I think I misspelled his last name) and AVS Forum with minor adjustments here and there. Subjectivity is the norm in music and visual likes but you can dial in one hell of a picture with this set! It's big and beautiful, the speakers really surprised me with their clarity but lets face it, a soundbar or in my case a surround sound system really make for a true "home theater" experience. I may purchase a roku 4 as I love my roku 3, which is now in the bedroom if and when more things begin to be streamed in 4k, I will buy a 4k blu-ray player when they come down to $ 250 or less. For now this set is all you will need to watch the sparse offerings in 4k that are currently available, and they look damn good! When the corporate whores make up their minds and offer us one standard that works without having to constantly upgrade I will buy another set that does HDR-10 and Dolby Vision and whatever the hell else it is they come up with. When there are at least 500 movies in 4k not upconverted 2k to 4k I will upgrade. Until then this television and the Audioquest Dragonfly DAC are the 2 best electronic devices I have ever personally selected. I found them both on Amazon and I am an Amazonian forever. By the by Panasonic just began selling 8k cameras to the major studios, I hope this set will last at least 4 years cause I smell even more "format wars" b.s. in the years ahead. 8k or 4k? You get my drift.....

This review is for the 75 Inch model of this T.V (M75- C1). One thing I do not like is the cross reviews of each Vizio TV (different sizes/models etc, It is confusing. Not all models sizes have the same features and hardware, so be careful when reading reviews that do not relate to the model you wish to purchase. The first thing I want to address is the difference between an LED and a Plasma T.V. Plasma's were great and I just purchased this T.V to replace the Pioneer Plasma 50 Inch set we have had for eight years (which still works great). The viewing angle on these (L.E.D) are not the same as Plasma T.Vs, for best view its better to be straight on, if you are viewing from an acute angle, you are going to be disappointed, as the picture will not be view able to your liking. Before you buy such a major purchase you should always go to a local store (If Possible) and view them before purchase. (we checked out Costco). Also make sure you check out the viewing angles as well.I have brought several T.Vs through Amazon because of the price, free shipping (Prime) and Amazons return policy, but each time checked it at the store before my purchase. Ok now price, for the bang for your buck, you cannot go wrong with Vizio, compare this model with the name brands (Samsung, Sony Etc), and you will see it is hundreds even thousands less than these other models of the same size. Next the wireless and apps. Do you really buy a TV for streaming Netflix or Hulu etc? I certainly do not even consider this when buying a T.V. We have an HTPC (This is a Home Theater Personal Computer) hooked to ours and we stream everything we want through this. (More about Computer through this T.V later). I can tell you I have a Samsung Blu Ray player that is supposed to stream, it does not work very well either. Picture: OK, straight out of the box, you will not get the picture you were hoping for, you need to adjust the colors and back light etc. There are quite a few reviews in here that give you some settings to try or you can purchase a calibration disc. After playing with it for some time, I have got the picture I am happy with, but I also have different setting for Sports, Movies etc. Remember not all TV (satellite or Cable) broadcasts everything in HD including commercials, so sometimes it will not look great. Blu Ray: We put in Disney's Lion King as a sampler (after calibrating T.V) OMG just amazing, Blu Ray really is the only way to get the ultimate from your T.V, the picture is incredibly good and you will love it. Note here to novices, hooking up your new T. V with anything other than an HDMI Cable is a crime. You will not get a great picture without it. If you are using equipment that does not have HDMI (cable box, satellite receiver, DVD/ BD Player) then you need to upgrade them as well. Note about HDMI Cables, do not believe the hype about spending $50 on a cable will make the picture better. amazons basic will work just as well. Sound: Thin T.Vs right? Lots of Screen right? then the speakers (if the model your buying has them) are going to be tiny and you will not get the sound you want. Get yourself an amp and speakers, or a home theater set up, or if you don't want all that, research sound bars or consider one of the Bose surround sound boxes. Personal Computer: Running our Home Theater Personal Computer through this TV is incredible. Just imagine a 75 inch Monitor, crystal clear. We like to download 1080P Music videos and even they look amazing on the screen (again using HDMI). We have all our music on here too and we play back through our amp. Like all things electronic, you need to know what you are doing. If your not savvy with these products, then consult one of the tech services available, to get the most out of computer through your new TV. We run Windows 10 (has Apps and is stable) and I said earlier we use this rather than the apps and wireless that is available through the T.V. To sum up my purchase, for the price, you cannot beat the Vizio 75 Inch 4K. You can spend more, but you will get no better warranty with the other guys. This is my first Vizio product and so my review is subject to change, but after receiving it and watching for 2 days, we love our new TV. The reviews here are very variable and is it possible to get a lemon? Yes of course, other brands have them too. If you are worried about such a big purchase, then spend the extra on the warranty for peace of mind. My opinion is if it does not go out in a year, it will probably not and for that reason I seldom purchase extended warranties. I hope my review helps some of you with your decision. A lot of folks write very poor reviews or they are too technical and people do not always understand the terms. Remember these are peoples opinions not necessarily cold hard facts. We buy big ticket items from Amazon often, we do not own a truck and so buying at Costco etc is not really a cheap alternative, even if it is a 100 dollars cheaper their. I will add more to my review if we experience any issues, but for now we are happy to own this 75 inch TV. Oh the other plus here at Amazon, we got 12 months no interest with our Amazon card.

This is a great TV for its price. The unit is easy to setup and the apps are useful although mostly designed for the US. If you have a VPN setup, though, you can access services like Ultraflix and Amazon video. The image quality is amazing. The upscaling from DVD at 1080 resolution is superb. The broadcast from OTA HD signal is really good too. Netflix looks awesome at regular HD quality. I'm not sure if I'll upgrade to 4K in Netflix, as I'm concerned about the data usage going above my quota for Internet. But I'm happy that I'm ready for 4K content as it becomes more ubiquitous. The sound is pretty good for the size. It helps if you customise the settings to improve it. Same with the picture quality. It pays off to spend time to adjust the settings for every input and to match your tv location and lighting. Update 09/2021: So just wanted to update this review for the record; the TV screen died a few days ago after over 5 1/2 years of consistent use. The sound still works but it does not appear to have any image, even when a flashlight is shined upon it in the dark. I'm debating if it's worth taking it to a technician or not. Hate to be wasteful and chucking things that still can be useful. No complaints, though. I guess about 6 years of use is what you get nowadays for a piece of electronics.

EDITED FOR M43-C1 - 3 bad units in a row. all had panels filled with clusters of dead pixels. One unit (the third and last) came with a used controller. literally used. with worn keys and finger juice: My M70-C3 is fantastic, but these 3 bad M43-C1 mean I cannot recommend this series of TVs at all. I must have lucked out with my M70 because this many faulty units in a row is a joke. --- I have since purchased and tested the M43-C1. I am currently on the first replacement device and am awaiting the second replacement. So far, both TVs I have received have had literally dozens of dead pixels and diffusion layer artefacts and manufacturing defects. My M70-C3 is utterly perfect as noted below, whereas this M43-C1 so far has been an incredible disappointment in terms of build quality/quality control. I am lowering my rating to 3/5 stars for now, and will edit this review once more when my second replacement M43-C1 arrives. I am willing to beleive these two bad M43-C1 models were bad luck. But if the third arrives defective as well, I can no longer recommend this entire series of TV's from Vizio. My superb M70-C3 notwithstanding, 2 out of 3 TVs being defective can be bad luck, but if the third is bad, that will mean 3 out of 4 M series TV's I have received will have been defective (I will no longer exchange the M43-C1 after that point and will return it. ---- Now, onto my original M70-C3 review: ---- This TV is basically perfect. (M70-C3) I have a long history of home theatre product experience. I am extremely picky with my equipment, especially when it comes to black levels on my TVs The full array dimming present on the M and P series TVs from Vizio create black levels that are only surpassed by OLED TVs. The M70-C3 produces literally perfect black. absent of any light. In a pitch black viewing environment, titles float in a total void of black, letterboxes are utterly black. Without good black levels, a TV cannot produce high quality colours or dynamic range whatsoever. Not only is this TV capable of utterly inky, perfect blacks, but also sublime, rich, accurate colour and bright, clean whites. Additionally, the OS on the TV is robust, responsive, intelligently laid out and fast, allowing calibrated settings to be saved and named, inputs to be labelled, and changes quickly accessed afterwards. The interpolation feature on this TV is also extremely impressive. Motion interpolation is only useful for very specific cases (it is great when used on CGI (Pixar etc) or traditionally animated (Disney/Studio Ghibli) films. Motion interpolation features are generally poorly implemented on most TVs. dropping frames,inconsistently performing... This is generally because the image processors in these other sets are not powerful enough to actually perform this function. This is not the case on the Vizio M series. The fact that the motion interpolation feature works so perfectly means you'll be happy to use it in the rare case it is beneficial (as noted above) Calibration features are deep and robust, additional image quality features are sublime, such as backlight strobing (Clear action) for a more film accurate look, True 23.976 frame rate works perfectly, Game mode is fantastic, and even with game mode off, the input delay is very low. With game mode on, it is close to that of a monitor. For those who use built in speakers, the included speakers are fine (although one should basically never use built in speakers) Importantly, 4K up-scaling of 1080p content is absolutely remarkable. It breathes entirely new life into all your content and you may even not need to consider getting a 4K receiver or any 4K content for a long time once you see how well it up-scales 1080p content. It is literally that good. I have performed thorough testing of identical movies in both 4K and 1080P, allowing the TV to upscale the 1080P content, and watching the native 4K content, and the TV does such a good up-scaling job it is basically not worth going further than that. The remote is great, with a qwerty keyboard on the rear, and fast, smartly laid out controls on the face for access to quick functions (Saved calibrations being the main use, switching to my Film Dark, Film Bright, Animation, and Gaming settings is a snap) CEC works reliably although that feature in general is unreliable, so I wouldn't worry about it too much Literally the ONLY Con of this set is the feet. The set features sturdy, aluminium feet which attach to the set at the far corners, giving the TV a very wide footprint. I had to purchase an entirely new TV table for my home theater to accommodate these feet. It is a pain, but not the end of the world. Just make sure you carefully pre-measure the TV footprint and your theater before ordering. I absolutely recommend this set to everyone. The value is almost irrelevant. it is basically a perfect television with image quality that is unmatched by anything other than OLED sets. Pros: Absolutely pure black levels Totally accurate colours, dynamic range and clean, bright whites Amazingly high quality 4K upscaling Perfect motion interpolation performance Perfect, robust and efficient operating system and settings Fast, high quality Game Mode setting Great remote control Cons: Very wide footprint, necessitating very wide furniture

Excellent value for the price. This TV has to be manually tuned to your liking, because the manufacturer's (out of the box) settings are poor and doesn't allow the full dynamics of the 4K UHD TV picture to take effect. Took me about 45 minutes to fine tune it. Write down the settings, because unfortunately you have to re-set the settings for each signal input: TV, Internet, DVD/BluRay, VCR, etc. and do some minor adjustments. Once set-up the picture is excellent. As mentioned in the other reviews, the aps are set-up for American users and some might not work. Can't register the TV using the on-screen program (asks for zip code and wont accept postal code). Haven't tried them all, but the main ones (Netflix, YouTube) work fine. Update: Jul 2019 - reduced rating to 2 star because screen went black (burnt backlights) after only 3 years of normal use. Too expensive to repair, item is now only good for re-cycling! Had to order a new TV.

Works great right out of the box and setup was a snap. Beautiful clear picture and great response time for gaming. On the product page, it is noted that it comes with an enhanced delivery that includes the speciality shipper representative unpacking the box in a room of your choice, inspecting for damage (optionally powering it on), and then taking the packaging material away. Instead of any of this, the representative did nothing but drop the package off in the doorway saying he "wasn't allowed to do anything else".

Really met my expectations. For the price the quality of this flat TV is awesome. Unfortunately there is not a lot of 4K content coming from my cable provider so there is not a big difference in quality image from my 4 year old HD TV. Blu ray movies look awesome and the smart functions are basic but I just use Netflix anyways, so that's fine for me. The quality of sound may be one of the weakest elements in this TV. I haven't been able to find a decent configuration for volume as the level/quality changes by source (Netflix sound is really good though). Overall, I highly recommend this TV, in special for people that look decent quality without being too obsessed by smart functions that most of the times are useless.