Vizio 55 inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV review

Is it worth to buy Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV? One of the smallest amount expensive TVs with local dimming and variable refresh rate, Vizio’s M-Series is a superb value.

When you buy a replacement TV an important decision is what proportion you’re willing to buy improved image quality. almost any cheap TV lately delivers a “good enough” picture but if you would like to understand the advantages of the best-quality sources — specifically 4K video with high dynamic range and gaming-friendly extras — you will need to spend more. The Vizio M-Series Quantum offers step-up features that permit it outshine cheaper models, but it remains eminently affordable. Find more in Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV Review.

Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV Review

In my side-by-side tests, the M7 couldn’t match the image quality of my favorite TV for the cash , TCL’s 6-Series, but it also costs tons less. It’s bright enough to bring out highlights in HDR and still put out relatively deep black levels, leading to a picture with many punch and contrast for the worth . And it is the cheapest TV on the market with Variable Refresh Rate, a gaming feature found on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S (and some video cards) designed to scale back tearing and other artifacts. The M-Series also comes during a wallet-friendly 50-inch size, while most good-performing TVs start at 55 inches. Add it all up and you’ve got an appealing package for anyone who doesn’t want to spend up for the TCL.

Design

Externally there’s not much to differentiate the M-Series from other TVs on the market. Its color is all matte black, with a slim plastic approach the highest and a thicker, metallic bottom edge above spindly stand legs. the design is decidedly middlebrow.

Vizio’s basic remote got a facelift this year, with more rounded keys and a prominent “WatchFree” button to hitch more recognizable streaming service shortcuts like Netflix, Hulu and, uh, Redbox at the highest . Otherwise it’s pedestrian-looking with too many buttons, and that i prefer the simpler, more focused clickers of Roku or Samsung.

The company has made more changes to its SmartCast system but again it falls in need of Roku or Android TV, or maybe LG or Samsung’s proprietary systems. the most home page is full of television program , movie and channel suggestions you almost certainly don’t care about, and therefore the stuff you’ll likely use most — the streaming apps themselves — are denigrated to one row.

Although the platform now has 64 apps, including most major names, it’s still missing heavy hitters like HBO and HBO Max, Sling TV and ESPN. And finding new apps may be a pain: rather than an easy channel or app store that allows you to look for , add and delete apps, you’ve got to scroll the row through to seek out what you would like . you’ll arrange app tiles to taste but i used to be also annoyed that none of them are often deleted.

The search function within the upper left of the house page only finds TV shows, movies and videos, not apps themselves — I searched “HBO,” for instance , and therefore the most relevant results were YouTube videos. In its favor, search results do span different apps including Apple TV, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime, but they do not include Netflix. Roku’s search is far better generally .

To watch any of the many apps that are not a part of Vizio’s on-screen system you’ll use the cast function on your phone to attach to the TV. The TV supports both Google’s Chromecast function and Apple’s AirPlay. The M-Series doesn’t have any voice capability built into its remote but the TV will work with Amazon Alexa and Google Home speakers.

Key TV features – Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV

• Display technology LED LCD
• LED backlight Full-array with local dimming
• Resolution 4K
• HDR compatible HDR10 and Dolby Vision
• Smart TV SmartCast
• Remote Standard

The M-Series Quantum is one among the most cost effective TVs with full-array local dimming — my favorite addition for LCD picture quality because it improves all-important contrast and black levels — but different models within the M-Series have different specs. In short, the M7 I reviewed is a smaller amount impressive on paper than the M8.

The number of dimmable zones is a crucial specification because it controls how precise the dimming are often . More zones doesn’t necessarily mean better picture quality, but it always helps. The M8 is additionally brighter than the M7, at 800 and 600 nits respectively. I didn’t review the M8 but supported these specs I’m guessing it performs a touch better than the M7, but not nearly as good as something just like the TCL 6-Series.

The rest of the M-Series specifications are an equivalent on all models. Quantum dots allow the TV to realize better HDR color, which was borne call at my measurements.

The M-Series features a 60Hz refresh rate panel — Vizio’s “120 Dynamic Motion Rate” is bunk. It lacks a setting to interact motion estimation and motion compensation (also referred to as MEMC or the serial Effect) as found on the costlier Vizio P- and PX-Series, also as TCL’s 6 series. Vizio supports both major sorts of HDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, within the M-Series. So does every other major TV maker except Samsung, which lacks Dolby Vision support.

Here are the M-Series’ other specs:

4 HDMI inputs
1 analog composite video input
1 USB port
RF antenna tuner input
Ethernet port
Optical digital audio output
Stereo analog audio output

New for 2020, the M-Series supports eARC (on HDMI 3) also as new gaming-centric features, namely Auto Game Mode/ALLM and Variable Refresh Rate. this is often one the smallest amount expensive TVs we all know that can handle VRR, a graphics feature found on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S (and some video cards) and designed to scale back tearing and other artifacts. It won’t be as effective as TVs with true 120Hz input capability like Vizio’s P series (the M-Series maxes out at 60Hz input), but it’d be better than not having VRR. We’ll know more once we have the prospect to check this TV with the new consoles.

Picture quality comparisons – Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV Review

While never at an equivalent level because the TCL 6-Series or Sony X900H, both of which scored an 8 in my tests, the Vizio M-Series’ image quality earned a solid 7. that is the same score I gave the Hisense R8 Roku TV, which is within the same price ballpark because the M7, but if I had to settle on I’d take the Vizio’s superior contrast, processing and black levels over the R8’s brighter picture.

I spent most of my side-by-side time comparing it to the TCL and therefore the Hisense H9G, both of which are costlier . The Vizio fell in need of the contrast and brightness of these two sets but in its favor showed an even-keeled, balanced image with good shadow detail and color accuracy.

Click the image at the proper to ascertain the image settings utilized in the review and to read more about how this TV’s picture controls worked during calibration.

COMPARISON MODELS: TCL 65R635 – Hisense 65H9G

Dim lighting: In late October The Invisible Man looks like an appropriate comparison movie, so I fired up the Blu-ray in my dark basement and tried to be brave. In dark scenes the Vizio was good but it couldn’t match the inky blackness, or overall contrast, of the more-expensive Hisense and TCL. Throughout Chapter 1, as Cecilia Kass (played by Elizabeth Moss) pads around and ultimately flees her darkened house, the shadows, letterbox bars and night sky appeared markedly lighter on the Vizio than the opposite two, resulting in a less realistic picture.

Details in shadows were excellent on the Vizio, however, matching the TCL — I could figure out more of the art and furniture in her bedroom (4:35) on both sets than on the Hisense. Blooming and stray illumination, for instance within the pause icon and progress bar from my Blu-ray player, also because the white-on-black “Two Weeks Later” lettering at the top of the chapter, was also minimal.

Bright lighting: The M-Series was an honest if not spectacular performer during a bright room. With LCD TVs light output is one among the main belongings you pay extra for, so it isn’t surprising that the affordable M-Series is dimmer than many of the more-expensive TVs I’ve tested. It’s still brighter than budget models like Vizio’s V-Series, but a minimum of one like-priced TV I reviewed, the Hisense R8, is brighter than the M-Series.

Light output in nits

Vizio’s Calibrated picture mode delivered the most-accurate bright-room picture, which is well well worth the loss of nits compared to Vivid in my opinion. The M’s semi-matte screen finish reduced reflections better than the TCL albeit not also because the Hisense, and was worse than either one at preserving black-level fidelity.

Color accuracy: In its best picture modes, namely Calibrated and Calibrated Dark, the Vizio was exceedingly accurate consistent with my measurements even before calibration. within the The Invisible Man its image did appear just a touch duller and fewer saturated than the TCL, however, a problem that would flow from more to a black level disparity than anything. As Cecelia sits at the dining table for instance (16:55), her skin tone looked a touch paler than the TCL, and therefore the wood and plants of the kitchen looked less rich. Again the Hisense trailed a touch in color accuracy. within the end all three were quite accurate with SDR and it might be tough to means differences outside a side-by-side comparison.

Video processing: The Vizio M-Series behaved like I’d expect from a 60Hz TV in my motion tests, meaning it didn’t reduce blur also as higher-end sets with a 120Hz refresh rate. I’m not particularly sensitive to motion blur, but if you’re , a real 120Hz TV just like the TCL 6-Series or Vizio’s P-Series could be worth a glance .

The M registered proper 1080p/24 cadence but exhibited motion resolution of just 300 lines. Vizio does offer a transparent Action control that improves that number to a good 900, but as was common it introduced flicker and dimmed the image, so most viewers will want to avoid it (note that if you’ve got VRR turned on, Clear Action cannot be activated). Unlike some 60Hz TVs there is no choice to activate smoothing, aka the serial Effect.

Input lag for gaming was good in both 1080p and 4K HDR, with a results of about 27ms within the Game picture mode — that’s a touch worse than the TCL 6-Series at 19ms but still perfectly acceptable. as was common with Vizio I appreciated having the ability to scale back lag in other picture modes too, like Calibrated Dark, by turning on the separate Gaming Low Latency toggle. That yielded an equivalent 27ms result, an enormous improvement over the 52ms (in 1080p) and 68ms (in 4K HDR) of lag I measured without GLL engaged.

Uniformity: The M-Series had no major issues during this category, with a nicely uniform image across the screen and tiny or no variation at different light levels with full-field test patterns. In mid-bright full-field test patterns it showed a touch more variation than the opposite two, but in program material differences were tough to discern. From off-angle — seats to either side of the sweet spot ahead of the screen — the Vizio didn’t maintain black level fidelity quite also because the other two, although it had been roughly good at maintaining color.

HDR and 4K video: as was common the most important differences between displays emerged once I fed them the highest-quality HDR video, first from the Spears and Munsil HDR Benchmark Blu-ray. The Vizio looked excellent with the montage of footage but the TCL and Hisense performed better. Both displays beat the Vizio for contrast — with deeper, truer black areas and brighter whites. within the snowclad mountains, for instance , the fields of white and cloudy skies were brighter on both, resulting in better impact and pop, while within the night cityscapes and funfair the TCL and Hisense delivered blacker shadows compared to the grayer Vizio.

In its favor the M-Series kept blooming in restraint , with minimal stray illumination in dark areas round the honey dripper for instance (2:48). Color was also good, with saturation and vividness a tick above then TCL especially in reds just like the flower (3:30) and significantly more accurate overall than the Hisense, which appeared too garish and unrealistic as compared .

Turning back to The Invisible Man, this point on 4K Blu-ray, the Vizio again lagged the opposite two although as was common the differences weren’t as drastic with a typical movie as they were with test material. Dark areas in Chapter 1, for instance the depths of the walk-in closet and therefore the go-bag cozy, were again inkier on the TCL and Hisense, resulting in better realism. The Vizio did preserve shadow details best but the others were still solid and more impressive overall.

The biggest difference, however, was within the brilliance of highlights, for instance the light and fluorescents within the tech lab (5:37) — compared to the opposite two, the Vizio looked much duller, without that characteristic HDR pop. in additional balanced scenes, just like the kitchen in Chapter 7 (25:38), the Vizio again seemed slightly duller than the others, with more muted highlights and washed-out dark areas just like the cabinetry and shelving.

Vizio 55 Inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV customer Review

This is an excellent tv for the price I paid.

I bought this tv for $479.99, which is a bargain given all the features it has. The main two factors when buying a tv for me are black levels and local dimming zones, which are directly connected to each other. The more local dimming zones a tv has the less blooming and hallo effect a tv shows when displaying bright images against dark backgrounds. I short more local dimming zones equal darker black and cleaner brights.

In addition it has pretty decent HDR, a 60hz refresh rate which is standard for tv this size, it has clear action which simulates a higher refresh rate. It has pretty acceptable smart interface, which includes airplay. It’s very slim specially compared to other tvs at this price point.

Some negatives are the speakers which are really not good, get a sound bar. Also it’s lacking component inputs which in my eyes is definitely disappointing, and for most people this isn’t a negative but I’d wished it had a higher native refresh rate.

In conclusion This is a great tv, it has no business looking as good as it does for the money you pay, if you’re on a budget and can find this tv for the price I noted at the beginning getting it is a no-brainer. 8 out of 10 or 4 stars out of 5.

Side note there’s a better version of this tv called the P series quantum x which is a major improvement in pretty much every aspect. But it cost significantly more since it’s really a high end TV competing with likes of Samsung, LG, and Sony high end tvs.

By Thegamer at Best Buy

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