Thomas J. Norton

Quantum Media showed its full RGB 4K laser projector. The booth was too dark to get a good shot of it, but it’s large (and loud) enough to deserve a small projection booth of its own. In its 4K guise it will cost you between $150,000 and $200,000...

I had a dream last night. I was wandering around lower Manhattan (New York). I think I was trying to find my way, but as dreams go I’m not exactly sure where to. I was apparently using a map on my tablet, but the tablet was an old CRT the size of the integrated CRT monitor/computer on the first iMac. I wandered into a bookstore, apparently in search of a more usable map, but all I recall seeing was a copy of Widescreen Review and a children’s version of the New York Times, the latter’s cover filled with full color comics (definitively proving, I suppose, that we do dream in color, though the hues were so odd that they must have been captured in two-strip Technicolor). I had left my “tablet” outside (perhaps the bookstore was a tablet-free zone) and when I went back outside it was still there but the screen had been smashed. In a New York minute. Then I woke up.

This was all likely inspired by my recent trip to New York to attend the Vizio launch of its new Reference series Ultra HDTVs...

Moving, either across town or across country is up there with life's highest stress producers, just below a death in the family, divorce, being fired, or taxes. And as I've alluded to in previous blogs, when an audiophile or home theater enthusiast is involved (and many of us are both), all bets are off as to which of these events is the worst! I’ve written a bit about my recent move before, but there’s always more to say...

PRICE $1,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent 4K upconversion
Good blacks
Solid value
Minus
Odd gamma
Clips above white and below black
No enhanced-color or HDR future-proofing

THE VERDICT
As with most current 4K sets, the Vizio M65-C1 delivers only the 4K portion of the full Ultra HD toy box. It also has a few nagging technical issues. But for the most part, these fade into the background of the set’s compelling viewing experience.

Vizio is the value leader in a tough HDTV market. While the safest route for them to maintain their commanding share would have been to change their 1080p E series and M series models just enough for a “new for 2015” promotional campaign, Vizio chose the long view: The E series remains the company’s 1080p budget line, but the M series is now 4K, while still priced well below most of the competition.