Charles is looking for an HDR capable Samsung TV. Scott says that the KS series are definitely Ultra HD Premium. What is 'HDR compatible' mean? Scott says HDR Compatible means it can take the HDR signal, but it may not display it in HDR. HDR Capable can do that, however. So he has to be cautious of marketing speak.
Fran is looking to get a new TV. Leo says the first thing she should do is upgrade her cable coverage to HD. If she wants a smaller TV, like a 32", they are really affordable. Leo recommends that Fran go as large as she can afford -- at least 42".
Jose is in the market for his first flat screen. He wants to get a Samsung 60" TV, with a budget of $1000. He's seen one for under $800. Leo says that's a great price. But Jose should also look at Vizio TVs. They will give him a lot more bang for his buck and Leo believes that the software in them is much better. If he can afford the P Series, they're really nice TVs. The thing to pay close attention to are the blacks. Make sure they are deep black, and that whites are true white.
Scott has big news that Vizio has changed the name of the game in big screen TVs. On Tuesday, Vizio announced the P-Series, which has much of the R-Series features for 1/3 of the price. It comes with HDR with Dolby Vision, and it will get a firmware update in 90 days that will give users HDR10 as well. This is huge because it should drastically drop the price of HDR 4K TVs fairly quickly.
Paul can't decide between the Vizio and Samsung 32" HDTVs. Leo says he owns both and he thinks that Vizio has the better 'smart' software, and Scott agrees. As for audio quality, Scott says it's not that good on either TV. Leo agrees and says that none of the TV manufacturers put much thought into the speakers since they expect users to already have home theater systems.
Gary wants to buy a new 70" HDTV and his budget is around $1200. Leo says that if there's a 70" for that price, it's probably a Vizio. The M-Series are good TVs. The E-Series is great as well. Leo bought one. Vizio corners the market for decent TVs for the price. This Vizio E-Series 70" TV is $1200 and Leo thinks it's a good choice.
Steve is looking to get a new HDTV and wants to know if he should get a smart TV or rely on a set top box like Roku. Leo says that most HDTVs are smart TVs, but the apps are awful. He ends up using the Roku or the Apple TV to run all those apps. Steve can get an HDTV that isn't "smart," but they are usually low end options. Leo also says that UltraHD Premium sets are now all the rage and the prices have gone down on 4K TVs. But at the end of the day, it's best to just go with the TV he likes and a Roku.
A caller can't seem to find the Vizio Reference series TV. He's looked everywhere. Scott says that the Vizio Reference series is their top of the line, using quantum dots to get a higher dynamic range and color gamut, and also supporting Dolby Vision. Leo says that Vizio has traditionally been a second tier value brand, but the Reference series shows that they can play with the 1st tier boys. The 65" is about $6,000. But where can you buy it? Scott says to go to Vizio.com and sign up for a special order.
Dick just got a 43" 4K M Series TV from Vizio, and he connected it to his Bose Soundlink Mini. But the remote does not control the volume of the sound going to the Bose Mini. His old Olivia TV had variable audio out, but the Vizio doesn't. When he went on Google, a lot of TVs no longer do that. Scott is using the RCA jacks to hook it up, so its an analog connection. Scott recommends looking in the TV's audio menu to specify whether he wants the volume to be fixed or variable.
Richard has looked at the Vizio Reference Series and the LG 65" OLED. How do they compare? For absolute picture quality, Scott says that the OLED wins, but both produce a gorgeous picture. The Vizio Reference series used LED backlighting with Quantum dots that has an amazingly wide color gamut and it's the first to use Dolby Vision dynamic range. OLEDs have a benefit though that over time the image won't degrade. Can the LG mount a sound bar with it? Scott doesn't know, but the Vizio comes with a sound bar built in.
