Vizio P-Collection 4K UHD TV assessment: Vizio has upped its image-processing recreation. Shade us impressed

Vizio’s P-Collection TVs have traditionally featured outstandingly correct shade and glorious peak brightness. Video processing? Not a lot. But, because the check course of for the corporate’s new-for-2021 mannequin P65Q9-J01 unfolded, it rapidly grew to become obvious that Vizio has lastly, fortunately, honed its processing chops. It’s not solely nearly as good as its costlier rival’s, in some circumstances it’s arguably higher. Good turnaround, Vizio.

Design and options

Vizio despatched me the $1,300, 65-inch model of the P-Collection, however this similar TV can be out there in a 75-inch measurement (mannequin P75Q9-J01) for $2,000. There’s additionally an 85-inch P-Collection; nonetheless, that’s the Quantum X, that includes almost 3 times the brightness and dimmable zones—it’s a unique beast.  

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s protection of the perfect good TVs, the place you’ll discover evaluations of the competitors’s choices, plus a purchaser’s information to the options it’s best to contemplate when searching for this sort of product.

The P65Q9-J01 reviewed right here makes use of a 3840 x 2160, 120Hz, 10-bit panel with a layer of quantum dots for correct shade, and it produces roughly 1,100 nits of peak brightness. It has 144 dimmable backlighting zones, whereas the 75-incher options 210. All of the TVs within the sequence help probably the most the frequent excessive dynamic vary content material: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, and Dolby Imaginative and prescient. 

Vizio

The port choice (proven above) is state-of-the-art, with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, one supporting eARC, and two supporting 120Hz 4K UHD. Yup, you’re good to go together with the newest gaming consoles.

There’s additionally ethernet, coaxial for cable and antennas, in addition to each optical and analog (3.5 millimeter) audio output. The Wi-Fi is 802.11n and the Bluetooth is 5.0 with BLE. Vizio didn’t skimp on this TV. It additionally helps Dolby Digital, DTS, and DTS Digital. 

You’ll be able to after all, management the TV with SmartCast’s personal voice instructions, or make use of Google Assistant and Alexa with the related good speaker. Apple’s HomeKit can be supported.  

Interface and distant

Vizio has invested a variety of time on its SmartCast person interface during the last couple of years—to good impact. It’s prime canine in terms of organizing content material, and the one interface I do know of that merges streaming and curated content material into the channel information. Most channel guides present solely OTA (over-the-air) and/or curated content material. Vizio, after all gives fairly a little bit of the latter. 

Vizio

The simple distant management is parsimonious with the buttons (forgetting the promoting shortcuts), however they synergize properly with SmartCast and are multi-purpose; e.g., the rocker/enter cursor controls double as transport controls throughout playback. Additionally, you hardly ever have to dive deep into menus for the setting you need. Together with Roku, I discover Vizio’s interface/distant tandem probably the most environment friendly. There’s additionally a microphone on board for the aforementioned voice-recognition services.

Vizio gives a companion SmartCast app for telephones. I’ve all the time discovered it gradual to reply, and like the devoted distant, but it surely’s a really good perquisite if you happen to lose the latter and want to observe one thing now! Cellphone-centric customers would possibly even favor the app. That’s what makes the world go round.

Efficiency

The P-Collection declare to fame has been correct shade and a boatload of brightness. Video processing, however, has all the time been weaker than the competitors’s: Anti-aliasing points with textual content, extreme shimmer and moiré, and troubles drawing tremendous diagonal traces are simply a few of the annoying points we’ve seen.

Gratefully, these points are virtually fully absent within the P65Q9-J01. (Huzzah!) Not solely that, this TV’s judder discount was excellent. The Spears & Munsil scrolling cherries and textual content have been dealt with higher than some other LCD 4K UHD I’ve seen. Most TVs show slightly apparent glitches with this check.

Vizio

The surprises continued with the backlighting, which exhibited a minimal of bleed and blossoming whereas sustaining a variety of brightness. I’ve seen a number of mini-LED TVs not too long ago, and the P65Q9-J01 was truly aggressive with them.

Display screen uniformity was superb, viewing angles glorious, and glare was not a problem. There’s a brand new Black Element perform that helps distinction in very brilliant environment as properly. Even the sound is respectable. After all a sound bar or some such would assist, however you gained’t have to rush into that auxiliary buy for informal viewing. 

In what I can solely describe as an odd feeling (given Vizio’s current file), I’m having a tough time remembering a 4k UHD LCD TV that’s gone by our testing with a greater general end result. Sony, Samsung, LG, TCL…. Nope, can’t consider a one. 

Caveat for USB media customers: Vizio’s playback app gained’t learn the almost storage units formatted as the ever-present exFAT, solely NTFS. In any other case, stated app is vastly improved from yesteryear. It enumerates recordsdata far sooner (this may be as a result of processor) and it doesn’t crash. Sony’s in any other case stellar A90J couldn’t lay declare to the latter. 

An enormous enchancment

The  P65Q9-J01 is a significantly better TV than its predecessors, greater than aggressive with its like-priced rivals, and lightweight years past the corporate’s V- and M-Collection. It options all the newest applied sciences, plus a wonderful image for the worth. Earlier than my hands-on, I had it penciled in for 4 stars. It reached 4.5 with ease. Good on ya, Vizio.