It’s been almost two years since I first saw Vizio’s incredibly impressive Reference Series displays. To be honest, when I saw the early prototypes, I thought they had the best picture I’ve ever seen on a display, ever. I waited patiently for news of their release as I really wanted to buy one for myself. But too much time passed, and I ended up going with one of their 70″ P-Series 4K displays. I’m really happy with my choice, but the Reference Series is just that much more impressive.
Sporting not only a razor sharp 4K screen with many more backlight zones than other full-array local dimming screens, Vizio’s Reference Series displays offer the ability to reproduce a much wider color gamut, with colors that are much more accurate than other displays. In addition, they can display the burgeoning new Dolby Vision HDR video format. It’s really hard to describe HDR video content, but it’s truly impressive, offering a much greater dynamic range between the blackest blacks and the brightest colors. Light sources jump off the screen to impressive effect. I saw some Dolby Vision displays in action at their new headquarters, playing an HDR-mastered copy of Pacific Rim, and was blown away.
Now, Vizio has finally released pricing on these displays, and they’re not exactly cheap. The 65″ display (model RS65-B2) has an MSRP of $5999.99(USD), which, while pricey, is within the realm of possibility for serious video junkies. On the other hand, the gargantuan 120″ display (model RS120-B3 shown above) is selling for the bank-busting price of $129,999.99. So in other words, unless you’re a multimillionaire, you’re not buying one of those. Both displays are available on a special order basis only.
In case you’re wondering about access to HDR content, Vizio’s new displays will ship with access to a selection of 4K Dolby Vision content, and additional titles will be released via VUDU and Netflix as the format begins to blossom.
