Introduction
Tour & Design
The front of the Vizio M320NV is surrounded by a glossy black bezel. The outside left and right edges are semi-translucent. Under the screen, in the center, is a Vizio logo that lights up when the TV turns on.
The back of the TV is covered in glossy black plastic. There's a cluster of ports in the bottom right corner, some of which are facing down.
For information about the ports on the back of the Vizio M320NV see our Connectivity section.
The left side of the TV has a handful of ports and a dial-button, the TV's main control method.
For information about the ports on the sides of the Vizio M320NV see our Connectivity section.
The Vizio's stand is an oval shaped piece of glossy black plastic. It doesn't swivel.
The Vizio M320NV only has one control, which is both a dial and a button, if you can even believe that. You rotate the dial to scroll through various controls and push it to use them. Just pushing the button will power the TV on or off.
The Vizio's remote is fairly basic, but covers all the essential functionality.
In the box you'll find the TV, remote, batteries, and manuals. Nothing special or extra here. The TV also doesn't require any setup: the stand comes attached. Just extract your M320NV from its packaging, plug it in, and enjoy.
The high-end HDTVs of today are well-designed, metal and glass, bezelless, and look more like sculpture than electronics. The Vizio M320NV has some minor aesthetic flares, but that's just not enough to cut it any more. The glossy black plastic might allow for a less expensive price tag, but attractive it isn't. We think the M320NV is better looking than average, but it's not gorgeous.
Blacks & Whites
We measured the Vizio M320NV's black level at 0.33 candelas per square meter (cd/m2). This is really bright for a low black level. A good black level would fall around 0.1 cd/m2—the M320NV's black level is three times brighter than this.
The reason the TV's black level was so high is because most modern Vizio LCDs use an auto-dim feature, called Smart Dimming. If you want a deep black, you'll have to turn this feature on. Unlike most HDTVs, it won't necessarily negatively impact picture quality in other areas, but the processing isn't perfect: if you're watching something that frequently switches between dark and bright scenes, the change in backlighting can become distracting. Additionally, this feature doesn't actually increase the picture's contrast ratio: it's dimming all the bright details around the black area. (More on how we test Black Level.)
The M320NV had a pretty good peak brightness: 328.98 cd/m2. Typically you need 200 cd/m2 for optimal viewing, a threshold the M320NV clears by a healthy margin. Having a low peak brightness means bright areas could have poor detailing, and that external light will wash out the image onscreen. The M320NV's high brightness ensures good detail in bright scenes and no loss of performance due to ambient light. (More on how we test Peak Brightness.)
We measured the Vizio M320NV's contrast ratio at 970:1, which is a pretty average contrast ratio. For most viewers, this performance will be fine. If you want to chance the Smart Dimming feature, you might be able to squeeze some deeper blacks out of the TV, but as we mentioned above, it doesn't actually increase the contrast ratio of the image. (More on how we test Contrast.)
The TV didn't have much trouble maintaining a black level (unless the Smart Dimming feature is enabled). The small bumps in the graph below are very minor, and won't be apparent to the naked eye. (More on how we test Tunnel Contrast.)
The TV's peak brightness didn't waver, regardless of how much white was onscreen. (More on how we test White Falloff.)
We saw a few uniformity issues with the screen, but they weren't horrible. On a dark screen, we saw some minor cloudiness and some minor flashlighting in the corners. An all white screen had some very, very minor dimming around the edges. These issues are mainly for cinephiles to worry about: the average Joe won't likely notice it. (More on how we test Uniformity.)
Greyscale gamma measures how the TV handles all the grays between the deepest black and brightest white. When you plot all the gray shades, they should have an even, uniform slope of about 2.1.
We measured the M320NV's greyscale gamma at 2.68, which is a bit aggressive. If you look at the graph below, you'll notice the curve is flatter towards the dark end of the spectrum. That means there's very little differentiation between dark colors: this means dark areas won't have much detail, and will look flat. This lack of detail in the darker shades means the rest of the curve progresses a bit too quickly. This means shades won't flow evenly into each other. You could see this effect in a smooth gradient: instead of an even, seamless transition, there would be noticeable borders between shades. (More on how we test Greyscale Gamma.)
Color Accuracy
The Vizio M320NV had a pretty even color temperature. It leaned towards the cool side, but not by an amount that was particularly perceptible. You shouldn't have any problems here. (More on how we test Color Temperature.)
The M320NV had a decent RGB response, but the colors all peak before they should. In the graph below, you'll see three smooth curves up until the right side of the graph, at which point they level out. This means the TV displays the same shade of red, green, and blue despite being instructed to show increasingly brighter shades. The result is a loss of detail in bright areas. This being said, the peaking isn't too bad: it occurs very close to the highest intensity, meaning only a small amount of detail will be lost.
Aside from the peaking, the M320NV put up a great performance here. (More on how we test RGB Curves.)
Below you'll find the red, green, and blue responses from the above chart plotted as gradient bars. We've also including the RGB responses of several competing models. Look for how aggressively the gradient blacks out, or for any vertical stripes. You want a nice, even progression that retains as much of the spectrum as possible; vertical stripes indicate a loss of detail.
A TV's color gamut is dictated by an international standard, called rec. 709. All TVs have to follow this guideline, but some come closer than others.
The Vizio M320NV came pretty close to hitting the different points on the gamut. The green point was just about exact, which we don't usually see. The red and blue points were both undersaturated, but not by much. Overall, not a bad performance. (More on how we test Color Gamut.)
We've listed our measurements for the color gamut above in the chart below.
Motion
We didn't see much motion blurring on the Vizio M320NV. We saw some very fine details getting smudged, such as eyes, or fine patterns, but otherwise the picture remained crisp. The TV also has some motion processing, which helps reduce the minimal amount of blur, but will make your movies look overprocessed. (More on how we test Motion.)
We didn't see much in the way of motion artifacting either. There was some slight shudder as static images moved around the screen, which gets slightly worse if the image being displayed is a fine pattern. Otherwise, however, the TV didn't have any issues here. We did notice turning the motion processing up created slightly more artifacting issues, such as ghost images or, in some cases, created a minor flashing effect.
We also ran the motion tests with Smart Dimming enabled. It can create some problems, especially with the the rigorous test patterns we run. The issue with this and all local dimming features is that there are simply too few zones (the areas of the screen that have their own dimming). If a bright object crosses a black background, the objects takes on a wide, diffused halo because the blacks that occupy that same zone are getting brighter, as well. It presents a real problem with movies set in outer space, or during credit sequences, or in any scenes of high contrast.
Just set Film Mode to Auto and you won't see any issues with the M320NV's 3:2 pulldown or 24fps playback. (More on how we test 3:2 Pulldown and 24fps.)
The Vizio M320NV has a native 1080p resolution, but unless you're exclusively watching Blu-ray discs, your TV will have to display nonnative content. The TV has no problem with 480p and 720p content, but it definitely had a problem with 1080i. Many fine patterns appeared green or yellow in 1080i. Some flashed for a few seconds when they came on screen. What's interesting is we saw these same issues with native content too. Typically these sorts of errors are due to problems with the processing used to upscale or downscale content—it's rare to see a 1080p HDTV have trouble with 1080p content.
The TV also had issues with its native resolution. We saw all se issues were also present in the TV's native 1080p resolution. (More on how we test Resolution Scaling.)
480p
There was a small percentage of forced overscan on 480p content, but no issues otherwise. Images looked sharp and we didn't see any artifacts caused by the scaling.
720p
The TV did a great job with 720p overall. We saw some brief, faint flashing and some very minor discoloration in fine patterns, but that was it. Images were otherwise sharp and there wasn't any overscanning.
1080i
The TV fell off a cliff here. Fine patterns showed some pretty significant discoloration, acquiring either a green or yellow hue.
Viewing Effects
The Vizio M320NV is a 1080p HDTV, although it had some issues displaying native content.
The M320NV had a decent viewing angle for an LCD, but its performance still pales in comparison to the average plasma. Once you get about 38° away from front and center, you'll only see about half of the TV's maximum contrast ratio. As you can see in the graph below, the M320NV had a better viewing angle than many competing LCDs. (More on how we test Viewing Angle.)
External light will create a large diffuse glow on the M320NV's screen, assuming the light is shining directly at the screen. If the light is shining at the screen from an angle, it'll catch the bezel but otherwise won't bother you. (More on how we test Reflectance.)
The Vizio M320NV has a whole list of processing features, most of which actually work as described. The main feature here is the Smart Dimming feature, which is Vizio's brand of local dimming. Local dimming means the screen is basically separated into different zones that can dim independently. While this allows for some deep blacks, there's a few downsides as well. Since there are only a handful of zones, when one lights up to illuminate a bright object, it also brightens the blacks in that area. For example, as a rocket flies through empty space, the black around the rocket will be noticeably brighter than the surrounding space.
None of the other functions are as exciting as the Smart Dimming feature and all have minor or detrimental affects. Also note that we've faithfully copied the function descriptions directly from the tooltips on your TV: the inconsistent capitalization, punctuation, and grammar are all courtesy of Vizio.
Calibration
[
](http://www.displaymate.com/)An HDTV will rarely come out of the box perfectly calibrated. Since we want the TVs at their best before we test them, we first fiddle with the settings. Our calibration rig consists of a CS-200 ChromaMeter and DisplayMate.
The Vizio M320NV has quite a few video modes: Standard, Movie, Game, Vivid, Football, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, and Custom.
Remote Control
Ergonomics & Durability*(4.00)*
The remote that comes with the Vizio M320NV is small, plasticky, and has a giant, angular d-pad. The sides are curved, which lets the remote sit comfortably in hand. It doesn't come off as very durable, however, like part of it will break or shatter if you drop it onto your hardwood floor.
The M320NV has a pretty simple remote. The only non-standard button is the Media button, which lets you shortcut to the namesake menu. Otherwise the buttons are pretty straight forward, both in layout and in functionality. The remote lacks a backlight, however, so if you're watching TV in the dark you'll have to depend on touch navigation.
Programming & Flexibility*(0.0)*
The M320NV isn't a universal remote, but a handful of its buttons did work on an LG we had in house. Unfortunately, we do not award points for the "some buttons also work with at least one LG TV" feature.
Connectivity
The Vizio E320VL doesn't have very many ports. It has two HDMI ports split between its back and side, and one of the rest of the basic ports, with an analog audio input to go with each. This isn't a great TV for hooking up a lot of devices. If you have more than one device with component inputs, for example, you'll have to get a switcher.
The E320VL has two output ports: an analog and a digital audio out.
The E320VL doesn't have any other connections.
The E320VL does have a USB port, which it can use to playback photos from a USB memory device.
The Vizio E320VL has a small gathering of ports off to the right side of the back of the TV, indented a bit from the edge. This is where all the ports are located. The ports are labeled well overall, but they're also labeled according to the video quality you should expect from each: the composite video inputs and accompanying analog audio ins are labeled "good," Different groups of ports are outlined by different colors, which are labeled "good," "better," and "best." This seems sort of like a ploy to convince people who don't know any better that they need an HDMI cable, but who knows, it might be helpful to some people.
Audio & Menus
The Vizio M320NV has decent audio performance for a TV in its size and price range. There are few options in the menu to change the sound quality. It's mostly limited to turning the surround sound emulator on or off (we liked it 'on') and an automatic volume limiter.
For best sound quality, we always recommend an independent audio system.
The menu on the Vizio M320NV has been completely redesigned from the 2009 Vizios we reviewed, with significant improvements. Response times are faster, the look is cleaner, and the organization is more effective. Combined with the excellent remote control, we were impressed with the whole menu interface.
The main menu is broken up into a grid pattern with icons. The choices here are fairy straightforward. Once you select an option from here, you're taken to a vertically-aligned menu with all the options spelled out. For better or for worse, the menus will not disappear from the screen unless you explicitly exit the menu.
The instruction manual is a big, magazine-sized, color document. Some of the pictures inside and cheap and cheesy, but we liked that all the information was spelled out. There's a table of contents and an alphabetical index to help guide you. You can find the Vizio M320NV's manual online here.
Multimedia & Internet
The Vizio M320NV doesn't have any online features.
Although the TV has a USB port, it can't be used for media. The TV does include adaptors, however, that turn these ports into another set of A/V inputs.
The TV doesn't have additional music or video playback functionality.
The TV doesn't have any other media capabilities.
Power Consumption
The Vizio M320NV doesn't require that much power to run. Assuming average use, the M320NV will only cost about $21.87 at its highest backlight setting. That's about on par with other LCDs in this size range: It's under a dollar more per month over the average. (More on how we test Power Consumption.)
Below we've listed a few competing TVs' yearly costs, drawn from their performance at 200cd/m2. The numbers are all roughly the same.
Vs Vizio E320VL
Value Comparison Summary
This match-up is a budget battle. With the M320NV you'll get slightly better picture quality and a higher native resolution. If you're willing to spend the money, the M320NV is the better TV. If you don't care much about a bit of an upgrade, just get the E320VL.
Blacks & Whites
Neither Vizio has a particularly low black level, but the E320VL is slightly brighter. Although the M320NV has a lower black level by a small margin, it wasn't as bright, and it has a lower contrast ratio.
Color Accuracy
Neither TV had significant issues with color temperature, but the M320NV had a much more accurate RGB response.
Motion
The M320NV had far better motion performance than the E320VL.
Viewing Effects
The E320VL has a slightly wider viewing angle than the M320NV.
Connectivity
The M320NV has an extra HDMI port but it has one less analog audio input.
Vs Sony KDL-32EX700
Value Comparison Summary
The Sony has better picture quality than the Vizio and also allows you to connect to a significant amount of online content. Of course, you'll have to pay a significant amount for the privilege.
Blacks & Whites
The Sony has a much deeper black level than the Vizio and is also brighter. The Vizio has a much lower contrast ratio overall.
Color Accuracy
The Vizio has a more consistent color temperature than the Sony, but the Sony has better RGB representation.
Motion
Both TVs had roughly equivalent motion performances.
Viewing Effects
The Vizio had a slightly larger viewing angle than the Sony.
Connectivity
The big difference between these two TVs is the Sony can hook up to a huge online library of content. The Vizio features no online connectivity.
Vs LG 32LD350
Value Comparison Summary
The Vizio doesn't have better overall picture quality and it also costs less than the LG.
Blacks & Whites
The Vizio has a very poor black level and is dimmer than the LG. As a result, the LG has a significantly higher contrast ratio.
Color Accuracy
The Vizio wanders a bit cool, but not by much. Both TVs have good color representation.
Motion
The Vizio has slightly better motion performance than the LG.
Viewing Effects
The LG's viewing angle is more narrow than the Vizio's.
Connectivity
The Vizio has one more HDMI input, but the LG has an additional composite video input. Otherwise the TVs have the same connectivity options.
Conclusion
Ratings & Specs
Mxx0NV Series
This series doesn't have very many bells and whistles. The series comes equipped with USB ports for media playback, but that's about it.
Meet the tester
Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.
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