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Vizio P Series 2016 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Latest change: Retest Aug 01, 2017 at 04:11 pm
Vizio P Series 2016 Picture
8.1
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.6
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.3
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.6
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.9
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.4
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.4
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.9
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
This TV was replaced by the Vizio P Series XLED 2017

The Vizio P Series 2016 has one of the best picture quality we have seen. It really shines in a dark room. It isn't OLED and it won't please everyone - especially because of its poor upscaling of low-quality content - but those looking for a TV for watching 4k movies will be more than satisfied.

Our Verdict

8.1 Mixed Usage

Great TV for a range of usages. Picture quality is excellent, and excels in a dark room. Great motion handling for sports or video games. Unfortunately the image deteriorates quickly when viewed from the side.

Pros
  • Great picture quality, especially for movies
  • Great gaming TV, with low input lag and little motion blur
  • Bright, even on full screens
Cons
  • Sub-par upscaling of lower resolutions
  • Loss of picture quality at an angle
8.6 Movies

Excellent for watching movies in a dark room. Blacks are very deep, and dark scenes appear detailed.

7.3 TV Shows

Above average for watching TV shows in a bright room. Picture quality is great when viewed from in front. Not the best TV at dealing with reflections on the screen, and doesn't get as bright as some others to combat glare. Upscaling of low quality content is average. No tuner.

7.6 Sports

Good for watching sports. Handles motion very well with a minimum of blur. Great picture quality. Uniformity is average which results in some dirty screen effect over playing fields.

8.9 Video Games

Excellent video game performance. Feels very responsive due to low input lag. Handles fast camera motion very well. Picture quality is great.

8.4 HDR Movies

Very good TV for HDR. Supports a wider color gamut and has above average peak brightness. Picture quality is great. Supports Dolby Vision and HDR10.

8.4 HDR Gaming

Great for HDR gaming. Feels responsive due to fast response time. Input lag is fine for casual gamers but may be an issue for those more serious. Local dimming works well and helps to provide great picture quality.

7.9 PC Monitor

Very good PC monitor. Displays a wide range of resolutions well. Feels very responsive and has a minimum of motion blur. Displays text clearly at a wide range of resolutions and refresh rates.

  • 8.1 Mixed Usage
  • 8.6 Movies
  • 7.3 TV Shows
  • 7.6 Sports
  • 8.9 Video Games
  • 8.4 HDR Movies
  • 8.4 HDR Gaming
  • 7.9 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Aug 01, 2017: The judder has been retested with the latest firmware update (3.2.13.3). There is a bug which causes it to fail the 24Hz over 60Hz test. The bug with motion interpolation is also fixed, so the reduce judder and reduce motion blur sliders work completely independently.
  2. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  3. Updated Apr 07, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  4. Updated Apr 07, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 65" (P65-C1). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for other sizes of the Vizio P Series 2016, with a few key differences:

  • 50" (Vizio P50-C1): This is a 60 hz TV, not a 120 hz model like the rest. This means the motion interpolation/soap opera effect won't be as strong, and the TV won't support 1080p @ 120Hz. Motion blur should be similar, though.
  • 55" (Vizio P55-C1): This size has an IPS panel instead of VA. It will have better color accuracy at an angle, but worse contrast and blacks from in front (in the 1000:1 ballpark).
Size Model LCD Type Effective Refresh Rate Real Refresh Rate Local Dimming Zones
50" P50-C1 VA 120 Hz 60 Hz 126
55" P55-C1 IPS 240 Hz 120 Hz 126
65" P65-C1 VA 240 Hz 120 Hz 128
75" P75-C1 VA 240 Hz 120 Hz 128

Compared To Other TVs

Comparison picture

Top row, from left: Samsung KS8000 (UN55KS8000), Vizio P Series 2016 (P65-C1), Sony X850C (XBR55X850C). Bottom: LG EF9500 (55EF9500), Vizio M Series 2015 (M60-C3), LG UH8500 (55UH8500). Unlike our other photographs, this picture wasn't taken under a controlled environment, so do not draw conclusions from it.

The Vizio P has a lot of bang for the buck so even when compared to high end models of other brands, it is a good buy because it is often way cheaper for a similar picture quality.

Video

Test Results

Design
8.0
Design
Style
Curved No

The design of the Vizio P Series 2016 feels higher-end than the previous P Series. It is still bulky, though, and doesn't look as premium as the high-end models from other brands, like the Sony X930D or the Samsung KS9500.

Design
Stand

The stand is very wide. We even had to extend our test table to be able to put the 65" model on top of it.
Footprint of the 65" TV stand: 50" x 11"

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 400x400

In most cases, you shouldn't have a problem accessing the connections at the back of the TV when it is mounted to the wall.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.63" (1.6 cm)

The borders have a metallic finish.

Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.60" (6.6 cm)

The Vizio P Series is thicker than most TVs.

Picture Quality
9.0
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
5,694 : 1

Excellent native contrast ratio. The blacks are very deep, even when local dimming is off.
The 55" size doesn't have great blacks, though, because it uses an IPS panel, and not the VA panel used by other sizes.

8.5
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Full-Array

The local dimming feature on the Vizio P Series 2016, called 'Active LED Zones,' works really well, thanks to the full-array backlight. In our video, the white dot is a bit dimmed, which is unfortunate, but at least there isn't any major blooming. You will see more blooming at an angle than you will from directly in front of the TV. When watching movies, a downside of this feature is that stars in the sky won't be bright, but at least the blacks will be great.

8.1
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
543 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
326 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
460 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
518 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
554 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
571 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
326 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
460 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
518 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
554 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
571 cd/m²

The peak brightness in SDR is almost the same as in HDR, which is a good thing since most of the content available right now is still mostly in SDR.

8.1
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
492 cd/m²
HDR Peak 2% Window
360 cd/m²
HDR Peak 10% Window
487 cd/m²
HDR Peak 25% Window
519 cd/m²
HDR Peak 50% Window
550 cd/m²
HDR Peak 100% Window
568 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 2% Window
360 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 10% Window
487 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 25% Window
519 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 50% Window
550 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 100% Window
568 cd/m²

This TV cannot get a small highlight as bright as other high end TVs like the Samsung KS9500 or the Sony X930D; but it can get very bright across the entire screen. Bright scenes should perform well compared to most other HDR TVs.

Update 08/05/2016: Retested with newest firmware update, sending a HDR10 signal over HDMI.

Update 10/14/2016: Retested with the newest 2.2.7.4 firmware update.

Update 01/24/2017: Retested with the newest 3.0.12.2 firmware update.

6.8
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
4.527%
50% DSE
0.188%
5% Std. Dev.
1.911%
5% DSE
0.124%

The gray uniformity is average. You can see a few vertical bands of colors across the screen, as well as darker corners. It is a bit worse at an angle.

4.3
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA (except 55")
Color Shift
18°
Brightness
32°
Black Level
22°

The colors shift when viewed from the side, as is expected from a VA panel. This isn't ideal if you watch TV from wide angles. The 55" model's (Vizio P55-C1) IPS panel will maintain better colors at an angle.

9.8
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.505%

The uniformity of the blacks is almost perfect, especially when you use the local dimming feature. More issues can be seen at an angle, but the P-series is still better than the majority of LED TVs.

9.0
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit

Gradients are relatively smooth. It is a 10 bit panel, but there are imperfections and banding along the gradients. Nothing major enough to ruin the experience, though.

9.0
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.34
Color dE
2.5044
Gamma
2.23

The white balance is quite good by default under the 'Calibrated Dark' preset. Colors are too saturated, though, especially the blue and the red.

9.4
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.26
Color dE
2.0181
Gamma
2.2

The 11 pt settings were easy to use and allowed us to fix the white balance. For the colors though, calibration was a bit of a mess. Fixing the oversaturated primaries resulted in an undersaturation of less-saturated colors.

7.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

Upscaled DVDs looks a bit soft and some small details on our test pattern, like the sail boat ropes looks choppy.

7.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

Not too much small details are lost in the upscaling compare to other Vizio TVs, but the image is still softer than other brand like Sony or Samsung.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Good quality 1080p content look good on the P series 2016.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

4k content look very good and sharp.

7.6
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
83.86%
DCI P3 uv
90.44%
Rec 2020 xy
61.1%
Rec 2020 uv
68.93%

It isn't as wide as the coverage of some competitors, but the colors do pop more than they do on a TV lacking the wide color gamut feature.
Update 08/05/2016: Retested with the newest firmware update, sending a HDR10 signal over HDMI.

6.5
Picture Quality
Color Volume
Normalized DCI P3 Coverage
74.319%
10,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage
44.59%
Normalized Rec 2020 Coverage
55.801%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage
33.585%
10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR after 0 min recovery
0%
IR after 2 min recovery
0%
IR after 4 min recovery
0%
IR after 6 min recovery
0%
IR after 8 min recovery
0%
IR after 10 min recovery
0%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
2%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

The reflections are average. The P-series' semi-gloss screen means the amount of ambient light reflected is greater than you see with other high-end TVs, but there are no major rainbows around direct reflections.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
2D to 3D
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
9.2
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 120 Hz (except 50")
Response Time
10.2 ms
Overshoot
0.7 ms

The average response time of the pixel transitions is really good. The only problem area is dark transitions, and particularly the 0% to 20%, which comes in at a pretty long 42.9ms. This TV uses PWM flickering to adjust the luminosity of the backlight.

6.8
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
120 Hz
BFI
Yes
BFI Frequency
60 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
Yes

The Vizio P Series 2016 has the option of enabling 'Clear Action' to reduce the backlight frequency to 60Hz. This helps to clear up motion due to eye tracking blur.

7.1
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

It is able to play a 24p signal without judder. It can also detect and perform 3:2 reverse pulldown without issue, even with a 60p signal. This is great for watching movies sent by an HTPC.

Update 09/05/2017: With the latest firmware update (3.3.18.1) the 'PurCinema' option is not able to completely remove judder from 60Hz sources. This is likely a bug and we will update the review if a firmware update fixes this.

10
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes

'Reduce Judder' is the setting that turns on motion interpolation for 30 fps (and lower) content. For 60 fps to be interpolated to 120, you will need to use the 'Reduce Motion Blur' slider.

Update 08/01/2017: Retested with the newest firmware (3.2.13.3) and a bug that required the 'Reduce Judder' setting to be set to at least 1 in order for 'Reduce Motion Blur' to work has been fixed. Content at 60 fps is now properly interpolated to 120 fps with 'Reduce Judder' at 0 and 'Reduce Motion Blur' at 1 or more.

Inputs
8.5
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
16.3 ms
1080p With Interpolation
86.8 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
91.3 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
16.3 ms
4k @ 60Hz
16.3 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
43.8 ms
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
43.8 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
43.8 ms

Input lag is great. For best results, use HDMI5 with 'Game Low Latency' on for both 1080p and 4k resolutions. Note that HDR is only possible for HDMI 1-4, and so the input lag is higher. It is still playable for casual gamers. Shown below are the results for combinations of HDMI ports, HDR vs SDR, with different signal formats.

FormatHDRHDMIInput lag
1080p@60HzSDR516.3ms
1080p With InterpolationSDR586.8ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game ModeSDR591.3ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4SDR516.3ms
4k @ 60HzSDR516.3ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4SDR5n/a
4k @ 60Hz + HDRHDR5n/a
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + HDRHDR5n/a
1080p@60HzSDR150.8ms
1080p With InterpolationSDR1114.7ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game ModeSDR1118.2ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4SDR150.8ms
4k @ 60HzSDR143.8ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4SDR143.8ms
4k @ 60Hz + HDRHDR143.8ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + HDRSDR143.8ms

Update 01/23/2017: Retested with the newest firmware (3.0.12.2) and now the Vizio P Series 2016 can now display the chroma subsampling correctly when set in 'Computer' picture mode. The input lag has also been reduced.

10
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes (except 50")
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes

Update 01/23/2017: Retested with the newest firmware (3.0.12.2) and now the Vizio P Series 2016 can now display the chroma subsampling correctly when set in the 'Computer' picture mode for HDMI port 1 to 4. On HDMI port 5, chroma subsampling is supported on any picture mode.

Note that the Vizio P can also correctly display chroma subsampling at 1080p @ 120Hz

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 5
USB 2
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 1
Component In 1
Composite In 0
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 0
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
Yes
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
Yes
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes
ARC Yes (HDMI 1)
USB 3 Yes (1)
HDCP 2.2 Yes
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
6.5
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
4.38 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.31 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
6.02 dB SPL
Max
89.2 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
127 Hz

Average frequency response. Low-end cutoff of 127 hz and maximum loudness of 89.2dB SPL are not great, even for a TV. There may also be a slight compression and pumping present at higher volumes.

2.4
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.393
Distortion @ 80
1.964
Distortion @ Max
2.51

Poor distortion results. The overall distortion is high, and it rises even more as the volume is increased. The peak in distortion at around 1.5KHz is quite noticeable.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps
7.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS SmartCast

The Vizio P Series 2016 uses SmartCast, which is based on Google Cast. This is a completely different approach than the one taken by other smart TVs. Instead of the smart features being directly on the TV, the TV only acts as a screen to which you cast videos from your apps on your tablet, smartphone, or PC.

This is a great idea in theory. Having smart features on the TV is arguably redundant, given all the different devices many people already own. However, the current implementation isn't flawless. The tablet often either loses connection with the TV or lags behind. It is a bit frustrating to not have the TV respond when you are trying to change the volume or a setting. Even turning on the TV is sometimes an issue.

Hopefully Vizio will be able to improve on the implementation and make this smart platform a more seamless experience. For now, LG's WebOS is still tops for usability.

This is one of the only TVs that doesn't have a tuner included. This means you cannot plug in your cable or over-the-air antenna directly. You will need to buy a separate tuner like this one.

See our full review of Smartcast here.

10
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
Yes
Opt-out
N/A
Smart Features
TV Controls

The controls directly on the TV are a bit hard to access if the unit is mounted to the wall.

Smart Features
Remote
Remote Tablet

It comes both with a tablet and a basic remote. You will pretty much have to use the tablet, though, because the remote is very basic and you cannot access a lot of features with it.

Smart Features
In The Box

- HDMI cable
- XR6P Tablet
- Manuals
- Power cable
- USB cable
- Basic remote
- Batteries

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 101 W
Power Consumption (Max) 307 W
Firmware 1.1.6.12