HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was very good. It did an excellent job displaying the fine detail of HD content though some added edge enhancement processing was noted, but not distracting. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural, though color temperature was slightly on the cool side, with images tending toward a bluish tone. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--was good, so images had depth and dimension, typical of most models we test. The brightness level was good, making it a suitable choice for most rooms. Black levels were generally good, though not as dark as better performers on the darkest scenes. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model did a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. There was slight display non-uniformity that created brighter cloudy areas most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie). We routinely see this issue with LCDs and severity can vary from model to model. The deinterlacing and film mode operations were excellent on HD content; there was little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Vizio has a wide viewing angle overall, better than that of most TVs. It will provide the same picture quality, with fewer problems than most TVs, for typical viewing conditions -- say, if your family is seated across a long sectional or in chairs off to the sides. The picture did show some dimming from the sides but not to any point we found distracting. With dark scenes this model didn't fare quite as well. When viewed from the sides, the depth of black levels varied depending on the vertical position of the viewer's head. As we moved closer to the screen this limitation became even more apparent, especially if seated on the floor looking upward where black levels brightened significantly.
MOTION BLUR. This Vizio TV has only fair motion performance, with significant blurring on our motion tests. This model does not include a blur reduction feature. The visibility of blurring on typical program content is often subtle and may not bother most people, but keen-eyed viewers may detect some loss of texture and detail on scenes with movement.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. Though not as mirror-like as on some models, this screen surface is glossy and therefore susceptible to reflections from a nearby lamp or window. It does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast in a brighter room environment.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has fair sound quality with below average performance. It's acceptable for typical programming, but shortcomings become obvious with movie soundtracks and music. Bass was lacking, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was overly bright, thin and closed in. The volume from its speakers was limited -- just adequate for a smaller, quiet listening environment, and quality does degrade at high volume levels along with audible cabinet resonance. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting, but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting on some audio content. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system -- but if this smaller-screen set is a secondary TV, you might find its sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. Vizio's basic remote offers a traditional button keypad that includes direct button access to Netflix, Xumo, and iHeartRadio streaming services.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV provides basic Internet functionality with a limited selection of applications with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services include Netflix, YouTube and Hulu.
CONNECTIONS. This model has two HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time). It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; DLNA, to access files within your home network; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network. The cable connections on the rear panel are recessed with side or bottom-facing ports, so wires don't protrude beyond the display's depth.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. An electronic manual in the TV's menu. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.
ABOUT ULTRA HD TESTING: We test UHD picture quality using 4K movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We check the TV's ability to reproduce 4K image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR) for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a 4K movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, as well as from files stored on flash drive plugged into the TV's USB port. We also check the quality of 4K streaming from Netflix or YouTube (if the service is supported by the TV), and how well the TV can upscale HD movies to the display's higher UHD resolution while keeping artifacts such as "jaggies" along the edges of image content to a minimum. The best UHD TVs, and HDTVs, present high fidelity images that reveal the full quality of the best source content without degradation.
