HD PICTURE QUALITY HD picture quality was Very Good, overall. Reproduction of fine HD image detail was Excellent, except that the image detail was very exaggerated and made images appear less natural, despite our attempts to minimize this with the sharpness control. Very Good contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—gave images convincing depth and dimension. Black levels were Very Good, and delivered fairly deep blacks that helped the contrast in darker scenes—Vizio's full-array local-dimming feature helped. Black levels were fairly deep, just shy of the very best models, which gave dark scenes better depth. Image brightness was Very Good (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture was well suited for a brighter room—a lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. Its reproduction of smooth edges on image content with minimal "jaggies" (jagged edges) for "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images was Very Good. Deinterlacing of 1080i video, and film mode detection of 1080i film-based content, were both Excellent. Color accuracy, while acceptable, was below that of most models. And the quality appeared worse as we viewed from the sides—see our Viewing Angle results, below. There was slight display non-uniformity in our test sample—it appeared as brighter cloudy areas which were most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie)—the severity can vary from model to model.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY Overall 4K UHD picture quality was Very Good, overall. In our UHD testing, we played native-4K movies and test videos (non HDR) thru the TV's HDMI input, and found their image detail was all there. For color, contrast and black level, the TV performed similarly to its HD picture quality.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE HDR performance was ineffective In our tests, the display did not have the peak brightness capability necessary (by HDR standards) to reproduce the extended contrast on our HDR content. It could not reveal much contrast between the moderately bright and very bright highlights, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, were preserved. It did a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail, from black to white, with no obvious banding within the gradually shaded areas, but we noted some loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brightly colored objects remained nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE This Vizio model has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. We examined the image quality at various viewing angles—its image quality notably decreased as we moved away from the center position. In our tests, the picture did show moderate dimming from the sides. When we viewed the TV from the sides image quality degraded significantly. The picture showed a moderate loss of color, so flesh tones looked a bit washed out. Black levels visibly brightened, and reduced the contrast especially on dark scenes. Halo effects around objects in darker scenes (a side effect of the local dimming feature) also become more prominent at off angles. Lastly, we viewed the image from above and below center screen, and noticed Good vertical viewing angle performance, with only slight changes in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR In our motion tests, this Vizio TV had Good motion performance, with some blurring. Although this TV also includes settings that we found were effective at reducing motion blur, they limited the brightness of the image added some flicker to the picture and so we left those features switched off.
SOUND QUALITY We got Very Good sound quality, better than most models we've tested. Whether you're watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it can to deliver a satisfying listening experience. In our listening evaluations, we found the bass (low frequencies) was moderately deep and provided some sense of fullness, but lacked definition, and had a slight amount of rattle or buzzing during our bass-heavy sound clip. Treble (high frequencies) was satisfactory. The overall sound was closed in. This TV should be OK if the room isn't too noisy—we found the speakers could produce a Good volume level and without obvious distortion. Unlike most of our tested models its sound should satisfy the more discerning listeners, so give this a listen before opting for an external sound bar.
EASE OF USE Consider the TV's stand is 22 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on. On first power up, an on-screen guide appeared—which you could choose to follow when setting up the TV. The remote controls the TV via an RF signal and doesn't need to be pointed at the TV. It has a simplified design with a reduced set of buttons. It includes many of the typical buttons: power, volume control, mute, source input, menu and exit buttons. But annoyingly it lacks channel-up/down buttons. The remote and the TV both have microphones for accessing a external voice assistant feature. The remote also has dedicated buttons for streaming Peacock, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Crackle and Tubi.
INTERNET FEATURES This TV provides certain access to the internet with access to limited library of applications from the Google Play Store/App Store. Its movie streaming services include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney, Apple TV and HBO Max—and these can be streamed in HD or in 4K UHD. Claimed support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri HomeKit.
CONNECTIONS This model has four HDMI inputs (one supports eARC, enhanced audio return channel). It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking, and AirPlay—for sharing videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to the TV.
WHAT'S INCLUDED You get with this TV: a quick start guide, an electronic user guide via the TV's menu, a remote control with batteries, and a detachable power cord. No printed manual is included.
ABOUT UHD TESTING Ultra-high definition "UHD" can refer to both the TV and program content. While the UHD industry standard includes 4K and 8K, most UHD TVs and UHD content at this time are 4K. A 4K UHD image is presented as 3840 x 2160 pixels—four times the pixel-count of HD. We test UHD TV picture quality using 4K UHD movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We examine the TV's ability to reproduce 4K UHD image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR)—for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a UHD movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, and from files stored on USB flash drive. We also check 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.
