The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 is a lower mid-range, budget-friendly TV. It's available in a wide range of sizes, from 43 to 75 inches, so you can easily get the right size for your setup. It's part of Vizio's 2021 M Series lineup, sitting below the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021, which has a couple of more features like local dimming and a backlight strobing feature. This TV runs Vizio's SmartCast system, which is user-friendly and has a bunch of pre-installed apps, but you can't download any extra apps. Luckily, you can easily cast anything you want from your phone using Google Chromecast or Apple AirPlay 2. It has a few more gaming-oriented features than other budget models like FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support, but it's limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, so you can't use the PS5 or Xbox Series X to their full capabilities.
Our Verdict
The Vizio MQ6 is decent for most uses. It's decent for watching movies in dark rooms because it has an outstanding native contrast and fantastic black uniformity, but there's no local dimming. It has a few gaming features like FreeSync support and low input lag, but motion looks blurry due to the slow response time. It's okay for watching sports as it has good reflection handling, but it has a narrow viewing angle, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement as the image degrades from the side. Although it displays a wide color gamut, it's just okay for watching HDR content because it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights pop.
- High native contrast and fantastic black uniformity.
- Good reflection handling.
- You can cast anything using Google Chromecast or Apple AirPlay 2.
- No local dimming feature.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Doesn't get bright in SDR or HDR.
The Vizio M65Q6-J09 is decent for watching TV shows in bright rooms. It has good reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight a lot of glare. The interface is user-friendly, and you can cast content from your phone, but there's no app store to download any extra apps besides the pre-installed ones. It also has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks washed out from the sides.
- Good reflection handling.
- You can cast anything using Google Chromecast or Apple AirPlay 2.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Doesn't get bright in SDR or HDR.
- Narrow viewing angles make the image inaccurate from the side.
The Vizio M65Q6 is okay for sports. It's not a bad choice for use in well-lit rooms because it has good reflection handling, but it doesn't get very bright. Unfortunately, it has a slow response time that makes motion look blurry. It has narrow viewing angles, so it's not a good choice for watching the game with a large group of friends. Also, it has noticeable gray uniformity issues that could get distracting during sports.
- Good reflection handling.
- You can cast anything using Google Chromecast or Apple AirPlay 2.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Narrow viewing angles make the image inaccurate from the side.
- Motion looks blurry.
The Vizio M6 is decent for gaming. It has a few gaming-oriented features like variable refresh rate support and an Auto Low Latency Mode. It's good for dark room gaming thanks to the high contrast and fantastic black uniformity, but it lacks a local dimming feature. Input lag is low for a responsive gaming experience, but it has a slow response time that makes motion look blurry.
- High native contrast and fantastic black uniformity.
- FreeSync VRR support.
- Low input lag.
- No local dimming feature.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Motion looks blurry.
The Vizio M6 is okay for watching HDR movies. It displays a wide color gamut, and it supports both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. Its VA panel has a high native contrast with fantastic black uniformity, but it, unfortunately, lacks a local dimming feature. Sadly, it doesn't get bright enough in HDR to make highlights stand out.
- High native contrast and fantastic black uniformity.
- Removes judder from 24p sources and native apps.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- No local dimming feature.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Doesn't get bright in SDR or HDR.
The Vizio M65Q6 is decent for HDR gaming. It has a VA panel with an outstanding contrast ratio and fantastic black uniformity. However, it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further deepen any blacks or make highlights stand out in HDR. It has VRR support and low input lag for a responsive gaming experience, but it's limited to a 60Hz panel and has a slow response time.
- High native contrast and fantastic black uniformity.
- FreeSync VRR support.
- Low input lag.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- No local dimming feature.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Doesn't get bright in SDR or HDR.
- Motion looks blurry.
The Vizio M65Q6-J09 is decent to use as a PC monitor. It has low input lag for a responsive desktop experience, and it displays chroma 4:4:4 with 1080p, 1440p, and 4k resolutions. It has good reflection handling if you want to use it in a well-lit room, but it doesn't get extremely bright. Sadly, it has gray uniformity problems with dark bands that are visible with large areas of bright colors, like on a webpage.
- Good reflection handling.
- Low input lag.
- Display chroma 4:4:4 properly with 1080p, 1440p, and 4k signals.
- Visible issues with gray uniformity.
- Narrow viewing angles make the image inaccurate from the side.
Changelog
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Updated Aug 11, 2025:
This TV has completely failed. It no longer turns on, so we've removed it from 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 65 Inch Vizio MQ6 Series, and our review is also valid for the 43-inch (M43Q6-J04), 50-inch (M50Q6-J01), 55-inch (M55Q6-J01), 70-inch (M70Q6-J03), and 75-inch (M75Q6-J03) variants. The MQ6 is part of the M Series lineup which features the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021, but the two TVs are different.
| Size | Model Code | VESA Mount Size |
|---|---|---|
| 43" | M43Q6-J04 | 200x100 |
| 50" | M50Q6-J01 | 200x200 |
| 55" | M55Q6-J01 | 300x200 |
| 65" | M65Q6-J09 | 400x200 |
| 70" | M70Q6-J03 | 400x200 |
| 75" | M75Q6-J03 | 400x200 |
You can see the label for our unit here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Vizio MQ6 is a decent lower-mid-range TV that has more gaming features than other budget-friendly options. However, there isn't anything special about its picture quality as it lacks a local dimming feature and doesn't get bright. There are better options that offer more value, like the Hisense U6G, especially if you don't need the VRR support.
Also see our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best gaming TVs, and the best 4k TVs.
The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021 and the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 are both part of the same M Series lineup, but the M7 has a few more features that make it better. The M7 has a local dimming feature, which the M6 doesn't, so it displays deeper blacks. The M7 also gets brighter in SDR, but not by much. The M7 has a backlight strobing feature, which the M6 doesn't have, but this is only beneficial to gamers. Other than these differences, both TVs are very similar.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is the newer version of the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021, and it's a downgrade in a few areas. The 2022 doesn't remove 24p judder from native 24p sources like the 2021 model, which is disappointing for watching movies. However, motion looks better on the 2022 version because it has a quicker response time and it has a backlight strobing feature, which the 2021 model doesn't have.
The TCL S535 is better overall than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021. The TCL has a local dimming feature to improve the picture quality in dark scenes, which the Vizio doesn't have. The TCL also does a better job at upscaling lower-resolution content, and the built-in Roku has an app store, unlike the Vizio SmartCast system. Motion also looks a lot smoother on the TCL thanks to the quicker response time. One of the few advantages the Vizio has over the TCL is that it supports FreeSync, which the TCL doesn't.
The Hisense U6G is much better overall than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021. The Hisense delivers better picture quality because it has a local dimming feature, which the Vizio doesn't have, and it gets significantly brighter in HDR and SDR. The Hisense doesn't show any upscaling artifacts with low-resolution content like the Vizio. The Android TV app store has a massive selection of apps available, and you can't download any extra apps on the Vizio. On the other hand, the Vizio has FreeSync VRR support, which the Hisense doesn't.
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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