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Vizio M Series 2015 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Vizio M Series 2015 Picture
7.4
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.1
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.1
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.5
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.6
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
This TV was replaced by the Vizio M Series 2016

The new Vizio M-Series for 2015 is a good budget 4k TV, and in some cases, even better than the P Series. As long as you don't expect a perfect TV, it is a good purchase.

Our Verdict

7.4 Mixed Usage

For the price, the new M Series for 2015 is a really good 4k TV. It upscales 1080p better than the P Series, however, its local dimming is not as good. The two main downsides to this TV are the long motion blur trail and the loss of saturation at an angle.

Pros
  • Great contrast ratio.
  • Very low input lag.
Cons
  • Poor viewing angle.
  • Long motion blur trail on certain transitions (not all).
  • 7.4 Mixed Usage
  • 8.1 Movies
  • 7.0 TV Shows
  • 7.0 Sports
  • 8.1 Video Games
  • 7.0 HDR Movies
  • 5.5 HDR Gaming
  • 5.6 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated Apr 02, 2015: Our testers have started testing this product.

Test Results

Design
7.0
Design
Style
Curved No

The 2015 Vizio M looks higher-end than last year's did. It even feels slightly more premium than the P Series.

This TV has a very wide stand with cast metal feet. It is very sturdy, but you will need a table as wide as the TV itself.

Design
Stand

Dimensions for 60" TV stand: 47" x 10"

Design
Borders
Borders 0.59" (1.5 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.6" (6.6 cm)
Picture Quality
8.5
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
4,233 : 1

This TV's contrast ratio is great. The local dimming feature did have an effect on the black level of our checkboard pattern, but it also affected the white boxes, which isn't good.

6.0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Full-Array

As with the E series, the local dimming dims the highlights. It darkens brighter objects on the screen considerably when they are alone on a dark background. In our test video, you can see that the white dot is darker than it should be. Of course, there is less blooming that way, but it's not good to have the object appear too dark. The P Series handled our test pattern better, and it has more zones, too.

6.2
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Peak 2% Window
310 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
310 cd/m²
7.0
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.743%
50% DSE
0.198%

With solid colors, you can see some dirty screen effect caused by the full array backlight. There's also a pretty significant amount of deviation to the uniformity.

4.2
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA (except 49")
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
19°

This TV loses saturation when you are off-axis.

Update 01/06/2017: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results from 2016 TVs.

9.6
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.633%

The black uniformity was great, even when local dimming was turned off.

9.5
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit
8.5
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.94
Color dE
3.4118
Gamma
2.25

The white balance calibration is really good by default under the 'Calibrated' picture mode. However, the colors are a bit off.

9.8
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.17
Color dE
0.642
Gamma
2.2

The red and blue colors couldn't be completely fixed, but the rest is great.

7.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

We had to increase sharpness to 25 for our 480p test, as otherwise it was really blurry. See here for more details. The P Series didn't have that issue. The noise reduction features work, but they are not very effective. Also, setting 'Reduce Block Noise' to 'High' resulted in a drastic loss of sharpness, so we used Medium instead.

7.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

Sharpness also had to be increase to 25 for 720p content to make it looks less blurry.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Upscaled 1080p content looks a lot better than on the P Series, under the exact same settings.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

4k content looks great on the M series 2015.

6.1
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
69.2%
DCI P3 uv
73.09%
Rec 2020 xy
49.65%
Rec 2020 uv
53.26%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
1.8%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

It reflects an average amount of light.
It can get bright enough that it should be able to handle almost any room.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
7.2
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 120 Hz (except 55" and smaller)
Response Time
15.1 ms
Overshoot
16.4 ms

Unfortunately, like the P Series, this TV has a very long trail following moving objects. In our picture, you can see that the brighter trail even continues outside the picture. This shouldn't be an issue with normal content, but it could be a problem for video games.

6.8
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
120 Hz
BFI Frequency
60 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
Yes
10
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60i
Yes
10
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes
Inputs
8.7
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
18.5 ms
1080p With Interpolation
43.9 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
103.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

The input lag is really low when using the HDMI 5 input and turning on 'Game Low Latency'.

4.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No

It doesn't support chroma 4:4:4 unfortunately at any resolution/refresh rate. This doesn't matter for movies or even video games, you will only see a difference for a PC monitor. 4:2:2 works though.
1080p @ 120fps works (although only for the 60" model and up), which is great for gaming on a PC.

Inputs
Side Inputs

HDMI port 5 behaves differently from the others. See our Additional Review Notes

Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 5
USB 1
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 1
Component In 1 (shared)
Composite In 1 (shared)
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth No
ARC Yes (HDMI 1)
USB 3 Yes (1)
HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,5)
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
6.6
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
4.53 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.64 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
6.02 dB SPL
Max
92.1 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
126 Hz

Relatively good frequency response and loudness. However, at higher volumes, the frequency response gets worse and pumping artifacts may be present. The bass extension is not the best.

6.0
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.021
Distortion @ 80
0.029
Distortion @ Max
0.17

Low distortion at lower volumes, but the distortion becomes significant when the TV is pushed hard.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

Major Apps Available

  • Netflix
  • YouTube
  • Vudu
  • Hulu Plus
  • Crackle
  • Amazon Video
  • Pandora
  • Spotify

    Check out our full review of Vizio's smart features.

  • 6.5
    Smart Features
    Interface
    Smart OS Basic

    Vizio's app selection is limited, as is its codec support. There is no web browser.

    The back of the remote is a QWERTY keyboard, which is handy for inputting text. A smart remote like you get with higher-end LG and Samsung TVs would be better, though.

    10
    Smart Features
    Ads
    Ad-free
    Yes
    Opt-out
    N/A
    Smart Features
    Remote
    Remote QWERTY
    Smart Features
    Misc
    Power Consumption 113 W
    Power Consumption (Max) 250 W
    Firmware 1.0.6