Vizio V655-J09 4K TV: Your Thoughts?

[Moviefan2k4]

About two years ago, I bought this TV at my local Wal-Mart, and for the most part all my Blu-Rays look and sound incredible on it. But with the rise of 4K discs I've been thinking of updating some of my collection...which presents an interesting conundrum.

After doing some research online and actually speaking with a Vizio rep over the phone, he confirmed to me that this TV was purposely designed with the 4K standard in mind. That said, he also admitted that his access to the technical specifications was fairly limited, and he couldn't offer much else of greater detail. I was able to find a PDF of the manual based on the model number, and it says the maximum resolution is 3840 x 2160, with a built-in backlit screen described as a Full Array LED. The picture refresh rate is listed as 60Hz, but its also labeled as a "Dynamic Motion Rate".

I'm not the most tech-minded person, but from what I understand this basically means that the TV "re-draws" a new image 60 times per second. Reviews I've been reading over the last hour or so have said that higher numbers are preferable, but that 60 is considered an acceptable standard for the industry as a whole. I've also read that this TV balances vivid colors and natural blacks very well, so that seems like a plus.

The biggest problem though is the brightness factor, and the full specs on that aren't represented in the manual. Some of the reviews I've read have said this model has levels around 230 cd/m2, compared to an expected higher total for TVs that cost thousands of bucks...which is way beyond my budget. I can't afford to replace the TV, and the general consensus seems to be that this model works better in a dark room versus a well-lit one. A website called RTings had this to say about the brightness issue, compared to other units...

The HDR brightness is poor. It doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out. The EOTF (data to brightness conversion) follows the target perfectly, but near blacks are raised a bit due to the lack of a local dimming feature. This means that most dim scenes and midtones are displayed at the brightness level the content creator intended. There's a very sharp cutoff at the TV's peak brightness, though, causing a loss of fine details in bright scenes.

The problem for me with this, is that I don't often watch a lot of very dark or extremely light films on a visual level. Most of them are somewhere in the middle, and if I end up buying any 4K discs at all, the last thing I want to deal with is a washed-out or uneven picture in general.

So I guess my biggest question for the more tech-savvy folks here is "Will I really notice a major difference on this unit, between Blu-Ray and 4K?" Thanks in advance for your feedback; I appreciate it.