Vizio’s M-Series Quantum is a kind of extra reasonably priced TVs with excellent coloration that I’ve been warning Samsung and Sony about. It delivers superb picture high quality, particularly for the worth (at press time, the 65-inch-class M658-G1 I reviewed was going for $748 at Amazon), although HDR isn’t fairly as spectacular as it’s on the competing Hisense H8F. Also, for some purpose, Vizio doesn’t supply movement compensation or Bluetooth.
Regardless, this is a wonderful TV for the cash, and it must be on each finances shopper’s quick listing.
Design and specs
The M-Series Quantum has a skinny bezel, although it’s not bezel-less as Vizio’s web site signifies. The decision is 4K UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels), and the mannequin I examined was a 65-inch class (64.5-inches measured diagonally). The unit is roughly 2.4 inches thick (simply shy of 11-inches deep with the toes hooked up) and weighs in at proper round 52 kilos. Wall-mounting is through an built-in 400mm x 200mm VESA attachment level.
Vizio talks a couple of 120Hz efficient refresh price, however the {hardware} refresh price is definitely 60Hz. There’s a layer of quantum dots which might be accountable for the excellent coloration, and the TV runs Vizio’s personal SmartSolid working system, which features a well-designed distant management app for Android and iOS, for those who don’t thoughts creating an account to make use of it. At one level, Vizio tried ditching remotes and did loads of good work on mentioned app.
All the most well-liked streaming channels—together with YouTube and Netflix—are onboard, so don’t let the proprietary OS throw you. Nearly all of the regular good TV perks can be found, together with a curated set of web TV channels (WatchFree), Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant assist, mirroring of gadgets, and so forth. Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast streaming are supported as nicely.
The M658-G1 has no built-in DLNA shopper; Samsung, LG, and others do. Plex is obtainable for streaming from NAS bins and the like. More on that in a bit.
The M658-G1 has all the same old ports. The HDMI is 2.0b and HDCP 2.2 is supported.
The ports residing on the again of the unit embody two HDMI 2.0b, optical digital audio output, analog RCA audio output, coaxia, and ethernet dealing with downward. A USB port, two HDMI ports, and composite inputs face to the facet. Smart of Vizio to make the least everlasting connections the simplest to get to. There’s an 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter onboard, however there’s no Bluetooth radio, so neglect wi-fi headphones and the like.
Interface and distant
Vizio apologized for his or her bundled standalone distant, however I wasn’t certain why. It’s betterr-looking than most, and suitably minimalist. True, it’s topped by promoting/streaming shortcuts, however that’s par for the course with even top-tier remotes lately. And for those who occur to make use of these companies, they’re very helpful.
VizioVizio’s distant is small, the structure is logical, and it does the trick. Transport controls can be welcome, although.
The onscreen SmartSolid interface is extra responsive than on previous fashions, however there’s nonetheless some lag in comparison with different TVs I’ve reviewed. It’s not aggravating, however then once more, I solely lived with the TV for per week. Otherwise, it’s simple to navigate and every little thing is laid out logically. The settings menu is separate and a bit extra facile. I notably like that you just don’t always have to drill down to vary settings.
I need to additionally praise Vizio on the velocity of the over the air (OTA) channel modifications. There was no lag in any respect in that division.
Performance
The M-Series coloration is top-notch, because of the aforementioned quantum dots and the general processing is drastically improved from what I noticed with the Vizio P-Series final 12 months.
The M-Series is marketed as HDR and certainly, it helps Dolby Vision in addition to HDR10 and HLG. But it doesn’t render HDR as vividly as, say, the Hisense H8F, or a QLED or OLED as a result of it doesn’t have a ton of peak brightness. Both our meters measured nits at round 530 max, which is round 150 to 200 nits greater than non-HDR TVs however a pair hundred shy of what I take into account appropriate, and nicely shy of the 1,000 nits that the trade recommends. Five hundred is sufficient to make the HDR impact noticeable, it’s simply not sufficient to essentially blow you away.
VizioHappily, the colour on this picture isn’t removed from being correct. A layer of quantum dots assures that.
Regardless, as a result of the M-Series does fairly nicely with the 90-zone array backlighting, all of it works. And the M-Series avoids a number of the pitfalls that typically accompany loads of peak brightness, corresponding to vivid moiré and shimmer in detailed pans. There is a few, however it’s not as apparent as with many brighter TVs, even top-tier fashions. And kudos to Vizio for lastly fixing the problem the place the sides of vivid anti-aliased titles overlaid on video danced annoyingly.
Now for my greatest image criticism: I’m typically at odds with Hollywood sorts who assume movement compensation is evil. I’ve fairly a little bit of 2160p materials that includes fast pans, and with out compensation, it’s ugly. I don’t know if Vizio bowed to see stress, or simply made one other or their odd advertising and marketing selections (like foregoing remotes), however there isn’t any movement compensation on the M-Series. There’s a Film mode, however turning it off did nothing.
I additionally bumped into some points enjoying again materials from a USB thumb drive. The app, which is quite primitive-looking and really sluggish enumerating recordsdata, really crashed after I tried to view 4K UHD pictures for coloration measurement. I needed to view them utilizing an Oppo exterior Ultra HD Blu-ray participant. The app was higher with films, however it’s apparent Vizio hasn’t spend a lot time on its media participant.
And, in fact, as I informed you earlier, it’s essential to set up Plex to stream media from a NAS field or the like. DLNA is straightforward. Plex requires an account, and has by no means carried out as reliably or universally as DLNA servers in my testing.
The M658-G1’s sound is loud and clear, however as with most TVs, there’s not loads of bass. It’ll do for informal listening, however you’ll positively wish to hook up one thing extra sonorous ultimately.
Picture apart, there may be one factor to know concerning the M658-G1 before you purchase it—in my testing, the TV wouldn’t activate reliably with out an web connection. All good TVs rely on the web for superior options, corresponding to channel guides, curated web channels, internet looking and the like. But they need to perform nicely with out one. SmartSolid must be smarter than that.
Buying recommendation
For most customers, the overwhelming majority of the time, the M658-G1 is a good TV for not some huge cash. You definitely gained’t discover higher coloration on this worth vary, and it actually doesn’t get significantly better within the high tier. Bottom line: I loved watching this TV beneath nearly all circumstances.
Just word the shortage of movement compensation, streaming through DLNA, and Bluetooth. If any of these are vital to you, look elsewhere. And as to the web connection challenge, hopefully that will likely be fastened quickly.