The Vizio D3 Series 2021 is an entry-level TV available in a range of sizes and resolutions, from 24 inch to 43 inch. It's the most basic model in Vizio's 2022 lineup, released in 2021. It has sub-par viewing angles and disappointing peak brightness, but it has superb contrast and good gray uniformity. It runs Vizio's SmartCast interface, which has a great selection of streaming apps, but there's no way to add more. Sadly, the interface is significantly slower to load than the other Vizio TVs we've tested. It has fantastic low input lag, and it supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. Sadly, it has just a decent response time, so there's more noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, and like most VA panels, there's more black smear behind dark objects.
Our Verdict
The Vizio D40f-J09 is a mediocre TV overall. Visibility is an issue in a bright room, so it's a bit limited for watching sports or TV shows during the day. It's a passable TV for watching movies, with superb contrast, but it doesn't support HDR. It's an okay gaming TV with low input lag and support for FreeSync, but it has just a decent response time, so there's more noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects.
- Superb contrast.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Low native resolution.
- Doesn't support HDR.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
The Vizio D40f-J09 is a passable TV for watching movies in a dark room. It has superb contrast, resulting in deep blacks in a dark room and decent black uniformity, but no local dimming feature. The 1080p native resolution is fantastic for watching Blu-rays, but it can't display 4k content. It has a great selection of streaming apps, but sadly, no way to add new ones.
- Superb contrast.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Great selection of streaming apps.
- Low native resolution.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
The Vizio D Series is an okay TV for watching TV shows during the day. It has good reflection handling to help it overcome glare in a bright room, but unfortunately, it's not very bright, so visibility is still an issue in bright rooms. It has a great selection of built-in streaming apps, but unfortunately, there's no way to add more. The image degrades at an angle, so it's a poor choice for a wide seating arrangement or if you like to move around with the TV on.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Great selection of streaming apps.
- Low native resolution.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
The Vizio D40f-J09 is an alright TV for watching sports. It has good reflection handling to help it to overcome glare in a bright room, but sadly, it can't get very bright. The image degrades at an angle, so it's not the best choice for a wide seating arrangement. Unfortunately, it has just a decent response time, so there's more noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, making it difficult to make out the players in fast-paced sports.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Great selection of streaming apps.
- Low native resolution.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
The Vizio D Series is an okay TV for playing video games. It has low input lag, and it supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology (VRR). Unfortunately, its response time is just decent, so there's more noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects than higher-end models. It can't get very bright, so it's not the best choice for a bright room, but it has superb contrast if you enjoy playing at night in a dark room.
- Superb contrast.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Low input lag.
- FreeSync support.
- Low native resolution.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
The Vizio D40f-J09 doesn't support HDR.
This TV doesn't support HDR.
The Vizio D Series TV is an unremarkable TV for use as a PC monitor. It has low input lag and a relatively low response time, but the image degrades at an angle, so the sides of the screen can appear non-uniform if you're sitting close to the screen. Unfortunately, it can't display chroma 4:4:4 properly, so text isn't displayed properly.
- Good gray uniformity.
- Low input lag.
- FreeSync support.
- Low native resolution.
- Can't display chroma 4:4:4 properly.
- Low peak brightness.
- No local dimming.
- Permanent backlight flicker causes duplications in motion.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 40 inch Vizio D3 Series 2021, and for the most part, we expect most of our results to be valid for the other sizes with a 1080p resolution as well. The D24h-J09 and D32h-J09 have a lower native resolution, and there's also the D4 series of Vizio TVs, which appears to perform the same but has a more premium design.
| Size | US Model | Series | Design | Native Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24" | D24f-J09 | D3 | Standard | 1920 x 1080 |
| 24" | D24h-J09 | D3 | Standard | 1366 x 768 |
| 24" | D24f4-J01 | D4 | Thin bezel | 1920 x 1080 |
| 32" | D32h-J09 | D3 | Standard | 1366 x 768 |
| 32" | D32f-J04 | D3 | Standard | 1920 x 1080 |
| 32" | D32f4-J01 | D4 | Thin bezel | 1920 x 1080 |
| 40" | D40f-J09 | D3 | Standard | 1920 x 1080 |
| 43" | D43f-J04 | D3 | Standard | 1920 x 1080 |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Vizio D Series doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between units.
You can see the label for our unit here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Vizio D Series TV is a very basic, entry-level TV with a relatively low-resolution screen and few additional features. With most TVs on the market sporting 4k resolutions at a minimum, and more and more TVs supporting advanced features like HDMI 2.1, it seems a bit out of place with its 1080p native resolution and HDMI 1.4 ports.
If you're looking for something a bit better, check out our picks for the best 40-42-43 inch TVs, the best budget TVs, and the best Vizio TVs.
The Vizio V Series 2022 is better than the Vizio D3 Series 2021. This is mostly due to the V Series being a 4k TV versus 1080p on the D3 Series. Due to its higher resolution and ability to do HDR, the V Series displays a sharper image that can take advantage of 4k content. The V Series is also brighter in SDR, so it can overcome more glare, but it's still too dim to be used in a bright room.
The Vizio D3 Series 2021 is much better than the TCL 1 Series/D100. The Vizio has better contrast, and it can remove judder from 24p sources, including the native apps. Finally, the Vizio has much better accuracy out of the box, whereas the TCL has poor accuracy and can't be calibrated.
The Vizio D3 Series 2021 is much better overall than the TCL S335. The 40-inch Vizio we tested has a native 1080p resolution, better contrast, better black uniformity, and much better accuracy out of the box. The Vizio also has slightly higher peak brightness, and it's better for gaming, with lower input lag and FreeSync support.
The Hisense A6G and the Vizio D3 Series 2021 use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses. The Hisense is a better choice for a brighter room with a wide seating arrangement, as it's a bit brighter and has better viewing angles. The Vizio is a better choice for watching movies in a dark room, as it has much better contrast and better black uniformity. On the other hand, the Vizio is limited to a 1080p resolution in most sizes, and it doesn't support HDR, so the Hisense is a better choice if you want to enjoy the latest formats.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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