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Vizio E Series 2015 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Vizio E Series 2015 Picture
6.7
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.4
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.5
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
7.6
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.2
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.8
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.1
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
This TV was replaced by the Vizio E Series 4k 2016

It looks nicer than the 2014 version, but on the inside there's not much different about 2015 Vizio E-series TVs. It has good picture quality for the price, but like most LED TVs, it loses picture quality when viewed from the side.

Our Verdict

6.7 Mixed Usage

Like the 2014 version, the 2015 Vizio E is a pretty good TV, and especially good for the price. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles you get from some competing brands, but the picture quality is good. It's a great option both for those looking for a general use TV and those who want a good budget gaming TV.

Pros
  • Good picture quality, for the price.
  • Great gaming TV. The input lag and motion blur are both minimal.
Cons
  • Poor gray uniformity, with several issues present onscreen.
  • Poor viewing angle.
  • The local dimming feature is ineffective. At best, it doesn't make a difference, and at worst it makes the whole picture look worse.
  • The stand is wide-set, and is not adjustable. You'll need very wide surfaces for bigger E-series TVs.
  • 6.7 Mixed Usage
  • 6.4 Movies
  • 6.5 TV Shows
  • 7.0 Sports
  • 7.6 Video Games
  • 5.2 HDR Movies
  • 4.8 HDR Gaming
  • 5.1 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated Mar 26, 2015: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  3. Updated Mar 25, 2015: Our testers have started testing this product.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

Test Results

Design
6.0
Design
Style
Curved No

The design of the Vizio E is quite nice. It’s not the thinnest TV in the world, but its bezel is quite slim, and the feet for the stand are pretty good-looking.

The feet are not adjustable, and they are set far apart. For larger TVs, this will necessitate a big surface on which to set the TV. It’s a stabler solution than the old Vizio E mount, but could be inconvenient.

Design
Stand

Dimensions for 60" TV stand: 46.75" x 11"

Design
Borders
Borders 0.47" (1.2 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.4" (6.1 cm)
Picture Quality
8.5
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
4,404 : 1

The contrast is great, on the better end of even VA TVs.

3.0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Full-Array

The local dimming feature on this TV is ineffective. The entire screen gets darkened, bright spots included. With small objects like the circle in our test, there is no backlight blooming, but something a bit bigger will introduce a large amount of blooming. See here for more details.

The number of E-series TVs' dimming zones varies by size. 40-43" TVs have 5 dimming zones, 48" TVs have 6, 50-60" TVs have 12, and the 65" & 70" TVs have 16. Since the feature doesn't work well, the number of zones doesn't matter.

6.0
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Peak 2% Window
276 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
275 cd/m²
6.7
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.765%
50% DSE
0.212%

It's an improvement over last year's E-series gray uniformity, but you can still see each of the TV’s LEDs in the gray uniformity test, which makes it look like there is an ugly grid on the TV. The right and left sides of the screen, and especially the corners, are darker than the rest of the image, and there is noticeable dirty screen effect, too.

4.3
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
21°

You get a bit more leeway with the Vizio E than with the more expensive Vizio P (the P loses picture quality at 19 degrees), but the viewing angle on this TV is still not ideal for off-axis viewing.

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.

8.1
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
1.452%

Our set has some clouding, but nothing horrible. It's only noticeable with fully black images.

9.5
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit
8.8
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.84
Color dE
2.4813
Gamma
2.24
9.6
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.31
Color dE
1.1079
Gamma
2.2
7.5
Picture Quality
480p Input

Upscaling of standard TV channels is below average for the E series. Setting 'Reduce Block Noise' to 'High' helps a little for removing h.264 artifacts.

7.5
Picture Quality
720p Input

720p upscaling is a bit better than 480p, but the result is sill soft and not as good as other TVs.

10
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Blu-rays content looks good and sharp like it is supposed to be, without any image quality problems.

0
Picture Quality
4k Input
6.1
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
68.99%
DCI P3 uv
72.41%
Rec 2020 xy
49.5%
Rec 2020 uv
52.76%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
1.8%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

There isn’t too much reflection off of this TV, so it will be fine for watching with a couple of lights on.
Its maximum brightness is about average. Unless your room is very, very bright, this TV should work fine.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
8.4
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 60 Hz (except 65" and above)
Response Time
14.6 ms
Overshoot
0 ms

By default, the motion blur on this TV is very good. You can also make use of the 'Clear Action' feature to clarify the image even more. Enabling 'Clear Action' will dim the screen and add a bit of flickering to the picture, but it does have a noticeable effect on the blur. See here for an image of the 'Clear Action' setting's effect on blur.

9.2
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
480 Hz
BFI
Yes
BFI Frequency
60 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
Yes
7.1
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

There is no judder when watching a movie via 24p (on a Blu-ray player for example). However, it couldn't consistently do the reverse 3:2 pulldown when the signal is sent over 60p or 60i (this only matters for movies, not sports or gaming). Also, there is no motion interpolation (soap opera effect) on models 60" and lower. The 65" and 70" have that feature.

0
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
No
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
No
Inputs
8.5
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
29.5 ms
1080p With Interpolation
N/A
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
29.5 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

By default, the input lag for this TV is low, and that's constant across picture modes and inputs. Enabling 'Game Low Latency' did not affect our input lag, but using the Clear Action feature did increase input lag to 34.7 ms – a negligible difference.

Other reviewers have noted that the input lag time is higher for different sizes of this model. The 65" and 70" models are said to have particularly high lag times. Gamers looking at the largest sizes of the E-series may want to consider going with another TV.

0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 1080p
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
No
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No

Update: From further testing we have concluded that all current Vizio TVs that we have reviewed do not display 4:4:4, but 4:2:2. This is due to the TV inputs accepting 4:4:4 but actually displaying 4:2:2. 4:2:2 is better than 4:2:0, but slightly blurrier for text than 4:4:4.

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 3
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

The number of side HDMI-in ports changes by size. 32-40" TVs have 0, 43-60" TVs have 3, and 65-70" TVs have 4.

Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
No
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 No
HDCP 2.2 No
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
6.6
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
4.28 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.11 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
6.09 dB SPL
Max
91.3 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
134 Hz

The frequency response is good at lower volumes, but it gets bad at higher volumes. There will also be noticeable pumping and compression artifacts present when pushed hard. The bass extension is not great for a TV, but it does get relatively loud.

3.9
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.083
Distortion @ 80
0.532
Distortion @ Max
0.575

Low distortion at very low volumes, however, there will be a significant rise in distortion at moderate volumes. There may also be some aliasing present in high frequencies.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

Major Apps Available

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

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

  • 6.0
    Smart Features
    Interface
    Smart OS Basic

    The remote is decent, and there are just enough HDMI ports for most people to get by.

    The smart features are so-so. There aren't that many apps available, but you'll have access to most of the main services (Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, etc). If you don't need a huge and varied software library on your TV and just need something for the occasional streaming movie, this is a fine choice.

    10
    Smart Features
    Ads
    Ad-free
    Yes
    Opt-out
    N/A
    Smart Features
    Remote
    Remote Basic

    You don’t get the QWERTY remote on the back of this like you do with the Vizio M and P-series, but the slimness and feel of this remote almost makes up for that. The glossy finish might be a nuisance for some – our remote picked up smudges and fingerprints very quickly. Note: The remote for the Vizio M and P will also work with this TV, and vice versa.

    Smart Features
    Misc
    Power Consumption 56 W
    Power Consumption (Max) 122 W
    Firmware 1.60.30.0180