You have just described the “Soap Opera” effect of the new LED LCD TVs. There are some brands with a setting to reduce the Soap Opera effect, but it is a problem of the Display tech, not the resolution. I have a 1080p Panasonic Plasma and it suffers none of the issues you ranted about because Plasma is a superior display technology. It’s only drawback is that LEDs are “sexier” and use less electricity. That’s it. Some people claim plasmas are difficult to see in bright light, but I have not noticed that with mine.
This is my first time purchasing electronics from Woot. Is it smart to get the Smart Trade protection plan for a refurb tv?
I’d like to add the extended warranty, but no where in the checkout process is the option shown. Is square deal something I need to add seperately and if so, where do I find it?
I was looking at the 39". I see it is a 1080p, but only 60hz. Is there that much difference between a 60hz and 120hz to make buying it a difference? Seems like a good price, but should I wait to find a 120hz? I have a 70" Panasonic Plasma that I love. This one will replace my old tube tv in the bedroom.
I bought a 32" refurbed Vizeo previously and was extremely disappointed with it. picture was washed out compared to other sets I have. spent an hr trying to adjust and couldn’t get it to look reasonable. looked like what you’d expect from an old set with many 100s of hrs on it. plus couldn’t get my optical cord to fit and stay–cord works in other devices. Woot was very good about refunding my $$$ (they didn’t have another one to send as a replacement).
According to the Amazon site “Wall mountable
VESA standard 400mm x 400mm”
I bought the 50 inch Vizio from Woot nearly two months ago. It was delivered promptly with no issues. I still got a Square Trade Warranty - 3 yrs for about $42.
I have three issues with the TV:
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I thought the picture quality was not good even compared to my older 60 hz LCD Philips. It took some fiddling with the many video options and going online to get a better picture.
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The TV speakers were not good IMO and again you need to fiddle with the settings. Normally, I would not care about the speakers as I use headphones, but, surprise, no headphone jack. I had to purchase wireless headphones and a separate SPDIF cable. I thought buying Vizio wireless headphones would be a good match with the TV, but I was wrong. I still get sound only out of the right earpiece after trying everything. Which brings me to my third complaint.
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Vizio’s tech support is impossible to reach. I have sent numerous emails (I like to have a record of communication) - they either bounce back or are returned. Calls have sent me through a loop of confusion and I have not been able to talk with a human. I’ve given up on the tech support of Vizio.
All in all, the TV is good value for the price. The apps/wireless connection is good, but I had Roku previously and I was OK with that.
Still, with the three problems listed above with the TV and wireless headphones, I won’t be making any more Vizio purchases.
Would have gotten the small one if it had internet too. I want it for the kitchen but would also like to connect to recipes on my computer. I want it all.
I purchased the 50" the last time woot had it available. Maybe two months ago. I ended up returning it due to a 1" blurry band that would come and go while watchi g satellite and Netflix app.
The TV was not true 120hz, which was fine by us but I am saying it so you know what your expecting. The sound comes out the back, which sounded bad for us because of our entertainment center. This would be much better if we wall mounted or had a sit on top entertainment center.
It took a lot longer than I expected to turn on (10-15 seconds) but it did t have a stupid chime like my samsungs, so I could turn it on without waking up the house.
Over all I was very happy with my purchase but sad that my specific TV had faulty problems.
Woot made it VERY easy to return at no cost to me, and my squaretrade warranty had a 30 day money back so the whole exchange cost me nothing.
If your on the fence, buy the 50", its an amazing price! -oh shoot sold out already…
(Sorry about typos and such, posting from cell phone)
There is a graphic for SquareTrade on the sale page. That will take you to their site where you can complete the purchase of the extended warranty.
I guess I’m just concerned as to why so many of their sets need to be refurbed in the first place. Seems like there would need to be a lot of failures or returns
@phpeters87, great that you’ve had good experiences with “refurbs”.
But to be fair, I don’t believe woot is claiming for these these TV’s “the factory goes thru them”.
For that to be the case woot would list them as “factory reconditioned” and they’d have factory warranties rather than woot warranties.
In this case presumably a third party “refurbed” them. Also presumably, woot has some confidence in that third party.
Former Best Buy employee here… the vast majority of returned televisions have nothing wrong with them, just perceived issues due to poor customer education (“My VHS doesn’t look good on this 1080p flatscreen, I demand a refund!”).
We can no longer sell them as new, and many manufacturers won’t allow open box sales of their products, so they go back to the manufacturer for testing and refurbishing.
@kwkilcoyne, this is a common concern. But we really don’t have enough info to accurately access the percentage that fail or are returned.
It could be that a lot more of these models were sold than other models.
It could also be that different manufacturers deal with returns differently - for example by trashing them, dumping them in another market (we’ve seen other country models here on woot), selling them in store fronts (Sony used to do this), or selling them directly via their own websites.
It could be that some Brands simply handle their customers better and repair for the original customer rather than returning and running.
It should not be surprising that some Brands would want to do everything to avoid exactly the perception you mention.
As with the real warranty costs for cars, actual failure rates are closely held info by their brands. Third party surveys are approximations when available.
@spookybathtub, 1080p 24 inch vs. 720p 29/32 inch monitors is very common.
Manufacturers select the least expensive panel part for a given price range TV.
24 inch panel parts are also used in computer monitors. That increases the volume, reduces cost, and increases sales channel flexibility for the panel part manufacturer.
Computer monitors (respectable ones) are 1080p resolution, so when used in TV’s the TV benefits from the higher resolution.
29/32 inch panel parts are rarely used in computer monitors so they do not need to be produced at resolutions of more than 720p.
I believe the 32 inch size TV is the highest volume TV size sold so manufacturers are encouraged to shave costs to hit the lowest price point.
Concerned about the sound sync issues discussed at other sites. Hesitant to buy…
The TV probably has smoothing turned on. 120hz and higher produces the soap opera effect. Most 720p sets don’t have this feature. Turn it off and the problem will be gone.
Dumb question, but gotta ask.
Is there any issue with using one of these (39") as a monitor for my computer? Would I need a special video card or should it simply work withe what I currently have?
does woot have a return policy?
FWIW, I have the 24" Smart version of the E-Series and the picture is incredibly good. Probably the best 24" I’ve seen. The new E-Series sets I’ve seen in friends homes at larger sizes have been equally impressive.