TV Reviews

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 36,030:1 Pre-calibration measurements were made in the Calibrated Dark preset at the default settings. Post-calibration measurements were made in the same preset. With the M601d-A3R’s Smart Dimming mode switched on, black level measured 0.003 ft-L and peak white 36.03 for a contrast ratio of 36,030:1. With Smart Dimming off, black level measured 0.008 ft-L and peak white 38.79 for a contrast ratio of 4,848:1. Peak brightness was attained in Vivid mode with the backlight cranked to maximum: 93.96 ft-L.

BEFORE Calibration

AFTER Calibration
The Delta E of the Vizio’s pre-cal gray scale averaged out to 6.36; calibration resulted in a much-improved 2.2 average, with a high of 5.6 at 20% brightness. (Delta E is a figure of merit that indicates how closely a display adheres to the Rec. 709 HD color standard. Experts generally agree that levels below 3 are visibly indistinguishable from perfect color tracking.)

The Delta E of the Vizio’s color points in Calibrated Dark mode default settings averaged 0.8—an impressive result. Only red was slightly off, measuring slightly red/orange. Vizio doesn’t provide color-management system controls on the M601d-A3R to make color adjustments.

With Smart Dimming turned on, gamma in the Calibrated Dark mode measured 1.9, with a low of 1.6 at 80% and a high of 2.2 at 100%. The M601d-A3R doesn’t have variable gamma presets or provide controls to make adjustments.

I saw no screen uniformity issues on the M601d-A3R with its Smart Dimming mode switched on, though corner spotlights and screen clouding were both visible on dark images and test patterns with Smart Dimming off.

The Vizio passed all of our standard- and high-def video processing tests.—AG