HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was excellent. It did an excellent job displaying the finest detail of HD content. 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 are excellent, with help from Vizio's full-array "Active LED Zones" feature, delivering very deep blacks that enhance contrast in dark scenes (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides, and undesirable illumination effects from local-dimming become more apparent). 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. Film mode operation for HD film-based content was excellent, with no visible jaggies along the edges of objects during motion scenes. Deinterlacing on the other hand was only good, with some jaggies visible when converting 1080i video content, such as from cable, to the display's native resolution.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Vizio has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we viewed the TV from the sides image quality degraded significantly. The picture showed a strong loss of color, so flesh tones looked very washed out, along with a slight color shift. Black levels visibly brightened, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle was good. The picture showed some change in color, contrast, and black level.
ULTRA HD PERFORMANCE. Overall UHD performance was decent and HD-to-UHD upconversion fell short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, was presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Via casting, this TV can access 4K programs from Netflix and YouTube. Images were clean and finely detailed.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. Though this model is HDR compatible, its HDR performance was ineffective and lacked the enhancements in image quality expected from this capability. The display's lack of brightness (by HDR standards) did not enhance the realism of our 4K test videos mastered for high dynamic range, while revealing minimal contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene. This TV's HDR processing was not effective, with visible banding on subtle shades with some noted loss of near-white shadow detail in the brightest areas. Bright, colored objects lacked correct saturation, and any extended range of color capability was not apparent from our test patterns.
MOTION BLUR. This Vizio monitor has only fair motion performance, with significant blurring on our motion tests. Though this model includes Vizio's "Clear Action", a feature designed to reduce motion blur; we found it introduced excessive dimming to the image so we turned the feature off. 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 good sound quality; about average among the models we've tested. When watching a movie blockbuster, a concert, or TV show, it delivers decent performance but falls short of the better performers. Bass was lacking, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit closed in. The speakers produced a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments, but quality does degrade at the highest settings. 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. Most people would find this 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 includes a simplified remote with limited capability which allows you to switch between HDMI inputs, choose a picture mode and aspect ratio, and control volume and mute. This is adequate if you only plan to connect a cable box or other play back device to the TV via an HDMI cable, and use that device’s control. Although this TV is internet enabled it requires the use of a tablet device (not included with this TV) to give it access to online services such as streaming, web browsing, or even access to the TV’s own picture settings menu. These programs are displayed on the screen by casting from the mobile device to the TV via your home network. To access these services viewers must provide their own mobile device to download the Vizio app necessary to control the TV. All interactions with the TV including surfing Netflix selections, or browsing the web, are done via your mobile device, not on the big screen.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not have internet capability built-in, and requires a tablet, or mobile device in order to access the Internet. The mobile device you own will determine which apps and services can be used with the TV, though most popular streaming services such Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Go and HBO Now, are widely available.
CONNECTIONS. This model has four HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one component input, no composite input. It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network; Screen mirroring, where the image on your smartphone or other compatible device can also appear on the TV. This model lacks an antenna/cable RF input -- so it can't tune-in off-air channels -- but not a problem if you stream content, or use a cable box, satellite box, or external tuner. 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. 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.
