Our Verdict
The Vizio E is a good TV for most usages. Picture quality is good in a dark room and motion is great. It's picture quality degrades rapidly at an angle though, and it can't get bright enough for some situations.
- Blacks are very deep and almost perfectly uniform
- Motion handling is great, and the TV can flicker to improve it even more
- Image quality degrades quickly at an angle
- It doesn't get very bright
- No TV Tuner
Good TV for watching movies in a dark room. Blacks don't appear gray, and no uniformity issues are to be seen. The local dimming feature leaves a lot to be desired though.
The Vizio E series 2017 offers a subpar TV shows watching experience. Brightness levels are low, so daytime watching can be an issue. 720p sources, which are most common for broadcast, also appear slightly soft.
The Vizio E's sports broadcast performance is below average. While motion is great, the screen's uniformity with colors and grays isn't very good. Fields and hockey rinks can appear slightly uneven and dirty. It also doesn't get very bright, so weekend afternoon games don't look great.
The Vizio E series 2017 does great as a gaming TV. There's very little trail behind moving objects, and input lag is low enough for casual gamers.
The TV's HDR reproduction could be better. It is capable of displaying skies without banding, but it cannot reproduce a wide gamut of colors and cannot brighten highlights by much.
The Vizio E does well with HDR games. The performance doesn't suffer while displaying HDR which is good. Unfortunately, though, the actual HDR capabilities are quite limited.
Decent PC monitor. It supports the most important resolution required to display text without blurriness, but the viewing angle is low, so picture quality will greatly degrade on the sides while viewing at an angle. Input lag is also a bit high for use with a mouse
Changelog
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Jan 23, 2018: Retested input lag with the latest firmware (3.4.8.15). Input lag is ~9 ms higher across the board; this is also the case with the M Series 2017 and HDMI port 1 on the P Series 2017.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Apr 21, 2017: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Vizio E Series 2017 4k TV that we bought is the 65" with SKU E65-E1. Different sizes have different panel provenances, so it is possible our review doesn't represent exactly all sizes. If someone's Vizio E Series 2017 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | Effective Refresh Rate | Real Refresh Rate | Local Dimming Zones | Panel Type | HDMI 2.0 Ports |
| 50" | E50-E3 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 0 | 1 (port 1) | |
| 55" | E55-E2 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 12 | 1 (port 1) | |
| 55" | E55-E1 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 12 | IPS | 1 (port 1) |
| 60" | E60-E3 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 10 | 1 (port 1) | |
| 65" | E65-E1 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 12 | VA | 1 (port 1) |
| 65" | E65-E0 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 12 | 1(port 1) | |
| 70" | E70-E3 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 12 | 1 (port 1) | |
| 75" | E75-E3 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 14 | 4 | |
| 80" | E80-E3 | 120 Hz | 60 Hz | 16 | 4 |
Update 10/04/2017: The E55-E1 which is the 55" variant found at most retailers features an IPS panel which has different characteristics than the model we've reviewed. We are unaware if the E55-E2 found at BestBuy is any different.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Vizio E Series 2016 is good, but the biggest advantage compared to the competition is its great value for size. You can find a 65" version for well under $1000, which is very rare. It is one of the few TVs available in an 80 inch size (see our recommendations for the best 80 inch TVs).
The Samsung MU6300 is a bit better than the Vizio E Series 2017. The MU6300 is brighter than the Vizio E and has much better input lag for gamers. The Samsung also has an optional motion interpolation feature that the Vizio E lacks. The Vizio E has better reflection handling and is better at removing judder from 24p sources. The 55" Vizio E Series has an IPS panel and will be better for a wider viewing area.
The Vizio E Series 2017 4k TV is a bit better than the LG UJ6300 for most people, unless you have a wide viewing area. The E Series (except for the 55") has a VA type panel, which has a much better native contrast ratio and black uniformity, which make for a better dark room viewing experience than the IPS type panel of the UJ7700. The LG UJ7700 has a wider viewing angle than the E Series and has lower input lag, making it a bit better for gamers.
The Vizio M Series XLED 2017 is a bit better than the Vizio E Series 2017. The M Series has a better local dimming feature than the E Series, making it a better choice for movies and HDR content in a dark room. It is also brighter than the E Series with SDR content. The 55" Vizio E Series uses an IPS panel, making it a slightly better choice than the M Series if you watch TV in a wide, bright room.
The TCL S Series/S405 4k 2018 is slightly better than the Vizio E Series 2017. The S405 has much better low input lag, making it a better choice for gamers. The TCL S405 doesn't have a local dimming feature, but the local dimming on the Vizio E Series isn't very effective. The Vizio E Series 2017 has a much better black frame insertion feature than the TCL S405, so motion will look a little more fluid, but it sacrifices some brightness.
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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