Many of the "Black Friday TV Deals" are on lesser known brands with questionable performance, but there are some top performers out there as well, if you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. One of our top recommendations for 4K Ultra HD TVs this year has been VIZIO's M Series. It's available in sizes from 43 inches all the way up to 80 inches. But this year, we think one of the most popular models, and the sweet spot for size and pricing, is the 65-inch M65-C1. Amazon has it on Black Friday for $1298 which is $400 below list. This price includes free enhanced delivery.
NOTE: If you click through and the price is not $1298 with free shipping then it is likely that it is no longer in stock with Amazon as the seller and a marketplace seller has it on Amazon for a higher price. You can check other sizes on this same page to see if those are still available at the lower pricing.
Here's the Link (Click to view current pricing/availability):
What makes the M65-C1 special? The big advantage that the VIZIO M series has over most of the comparably priced (or even more expensive) competition is its full array LED backlighting with advanced local dimming. Many LED/LCD TVs use LED lights around one or more sides ot the TV to create the backlight that is necessary to light up an LED/LCD TV. This allows the TV to be very thin, and it saves money on manufacturing as LED bulbs can get a bit expensive. But the superior way to light up an LED/LCD TV is with a discrete array or matrix of individual LED light sources in the back of the TV. This is called "full array backlighting." When you have full array backlighting, combined with a technique called "local dimming" you can actually light up specific parts of the image very brightly while other areas of the screen are dark or even completely black. This gives you a very dynamic picture with excellent black level performance. And it's that black level performance that gives the image its "pop" or three dimensional look. VIZIO's M series has up to 32 distinct zones of local dimming for precise control of the picture brightness.
Of course, the M series has other goodies: full Ultra HD 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) with 4K upconversion of standard definition and HD sources as well as an extended color gamut compared to regular 1080p HDTVs. It's a "Smart TV" and includes a great selection of audio and video streaming apps. It can even stream native 4K content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and UltraFlix. It sports 5 HDMI inputs with on that supports HDCP 2.2 for DRM-protected Ultra HD content. It even comes with a cool remote with a small QWERTY keyboard on the back for easy text entry while setting
Our friend David Katzmaier at CNET rates the VIZIO M series as one of the top TVs of 2015 with an 8.3 score overall and 9 out of 10 for value. Read his complete review here. About the only thing David didn't like was the bland styling and un-sexy silver-colored legs. But hey, you can always spray paint those black (seriously! they're detachable!). Also, if you mount it on the wall, you won't use the legs at all.
If 65 inches is too large (or too small), you'll find links for other sizes from 43 up to 80 inches here on Amazon at similar Black Friday discounts:
And don't forget Amazon's 30-day price protection and free enhanced delivery service, two things you won't find at most competitive stores.
