Pros & Cons
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- Good all-around performance.
- Solid 3D.
- Generous feature set.
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- 3D shows crosstalk when viewed too close or off-axis.
- Dark scenes can look slightly muddy.
Vizio M501D-A2R Specs
| Black Level | 221.492 |
| Contrast Ratio | 7145:1 |
| HDMI Ports | 4 |
| Panel Type | HDTV & Home Theater Accessories |
| Panel Type | HDTVs |
| Panel Type | LED |
| Refresh Rate | 240 |
| Resolution | 1920 by 1080 |
| Screen Brightness | 0.031 |
| Screen Size | 50 |
| Streaming Services | 1 |
| Video Inputs | Component |
| Video Inputs | HDMI |
| Video Inputs | USB |
Vizio has once again produced a very good big-screen HDTV for a reasonable price. While the Vizio E601I-A3 proved that you can get a solid 60-inch screen for under a grand, the M551D-A2R proves that you can get a very good 55-inch, 3D-capable screen for just over a grand. The 55-inch, LED-lit M551D-A2R is available for $1,099.99 (list) and comes packed with useful features and surprisingly solid performance, making it our new Editors' Choice midrange HDTV. If you don't want to spring four digits for 55 inches, the 50-inch M501D-A2R is effectively the same HDTV for $799.99 (list).
Editors' Note: This review is based on tests performed on the Vizio M551D-A2R, the 55-inch version of the series. Besides the screen-size difference, the 50-inch $799.99 (list) M501D-A2R is otherwise identical in features, and while we didn't perform lab tests on this specific model, we expect similar performance.
Design
For its relatively low price, the M551Dlooks very stylish. A super-thin, quarter-inch black plastic bezel frames the 1.8-inch-thick screen, giving it a nearly bezel-free look except for a small protrusion in the lower-right hand corner holding the Vizio logo. A silver band wraps around the edges of the screen, matching the simple, skeletal rectangular base. On the back of the HDTV, an HDMI port, two USB ports, and a component video input face left, while three additional HDMI ports, optical and RCA stereo audio outputs, an antenna connector, and an Ethernet port face down. A tiny button on the back of the screen near the lower left corner acts as both a Power and Input button. If you need to do anything other than turn the HDTV on or cycle through inputs, you'll need to use the remote. This minimalist approach makes sense, because on-panel controls tend to be just for power and selecting the input, and doing anything else without the remote is difficult and awkward for all HDTVs.
View All The M551D features built-in Wi-Fi and Vizio's Vizio Internet Apps Plus (VIA Plus) service, which offers access to numerous streaming media services and online apps. You can access Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and M-Go streaming media services through dedicated buttons on the remote, and the VIA Plus button loads a toolbar on the bottom of the screen that lists various services like Hulu Plus and Yahoo! Widgets in addition to the services with dedicated buttons.
The 7-inch remote has a flat, glossy black face framed by a silver band around it. It features a large square navigation pad with playback and dedicated online service buttons above it and Volume/Channel Up/Down and VIA Plus buttons below it. The buttons aren't backlit, but they feel distinct enough to easily identify them without looking. The non-navigation pad and volume/channel buttons are a bit small, though, which can be a problem if you have big thumbs.
Performance
We test HDTVs with the Klein K10-A colorimeter, SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 diagnostic software, and DisplayMate test patterns. After basic dark room calibration, the M551D showed a peak brightness of 221.492 cd/m2, and a solid black level of 0.031 cd/m2 for a contrast ratio of 7,145:1, all very good for an HDTV in this price range. To do better, you'd have to spend a fair bit more for a screen like the Editors' Choice Panasonic Panasonic TC-L55ET60, which boasts nearly double the contrast ratio.