If you purchased a Vizio TV in California after April 30, 2014, Vizio may owe you some money. The company agreed to pay $3 million after a 2018 class-action lawsuit alleged that its marketing of “effective” 120Hz and 240Hz refresh rates was “false and misleading.” Vizio denies doing anything wrong. according to the agreement. The deadline to file claims is March 30 of next year, and some type of evidence of ownership is required to qualify, including proof of purchase or serial number.
In addition to paying for verified claims, Vizio would “stop advertising practices” and “provide enhanced services and a one-year limited warranty to all settlement class members.” according to website details created to file claims. the long form notification It says the claims will cover any television from April 30, 2014 until final approval of the deal, which is scheduled for a hearing on June 20, 2024.
TV manufacturers often use marketing terms like “effective refresh rate” to refer to motion smoothing features, often called the “soap opera effect,” that aim to reduce motion blur on modern TVs. Motion smoothing is controversial enough on its own, but companies like Vizio can be frustratingly casual with refresh rate terminology in their marketing. To the casual buyer, its wording can often imply that a TV offers more than its native refresh rate, which in reality is usually just 60 Hz. To make matters worse, each TV manufacturer uses its own brand name to soften the movement and it's often so difficult to turn it off that we wrote a complete guide on how to do it for many popular brands.
