Vizio M8 Series Quantum 2020  TV Review

The Vizio M Series Quantum 2020 has an excellent design. It's nearly, if not entirely, identical to the Vizio M Series Quantum 2019. It's simple and minimalist, with thin borders on all sides and wide-set feet.

The feet are set almost as wide as the TV itself, so it requires a large surface to put it on if you don't plan on wall-mounting it. They support the TV well, and there's very little wobble.

Footprint of the 65" stand: 50.4" x 11.7"

The top portion of the back is metal, while the bottom portion is made out of plastic. Some of the inputs are bottom-facing, but they're easy to access even when the TV is wall-mounted. Unfortunately, there's no cable management.

The Vizio MQ8's borders are thin and aren't distracting.

The bottom portion of the TV is thicker than the top, but it's still relatively thin and doesn't stick out much when wall-mounted.

The Vizio M Series Quantum's build quality is decent. It's a mix of metal and plastic, and it feels very sturdy. There's only a little bit of flex around the inputs. The stand supports the TV well, and it doesn't wobble much.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has an excellent contrast ratio, and it gets a lot better with local dimming enabled. Blacks look deep and inky, which is great for watching in a dark environment. Note that the contrast ratio can vary between units.

The Vizio M Series Quantum 2021 has good SDR peak brightness. It varies a lot depending on the scene, but overall, it's enough to overcome glare in bright lighting conditions.

We measured the SDR peak brightness after calibration, using the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode, with Active Full-Array set to 'High', Color Temperature set to 'Warm', and Gamma set to '2.2'.

If you don't mind a slightly less accurate image, you can achieve a higher peak brightness by setting the Picture Mode to 'Vivid, Active Full-Array to 'High', and Color Temperature to 'Cool'. We achieved a peak brightness of 648 cd/m² in the 10% window using these settings.

Update 08/02/2021: Added the real content local dimming videos.

Update 01/13/2021: We've retested the local dimming, specifically the flashing issue in Dolby Vision content. It seems like there's some improvement as the flashing isn't as noticeable, but it's still present. We also encountered a bug that causes red and green flashes in the opening scene of 'Our Planet'.

Update 12/22/2020: We've retested the local dimming with the latest firmware version 1.10.15.1-2. Not much has changed except that we now recommend using the 'Medium' setting instead of 'High'. The 'Medium' setting isn't as aggressive as the 'High' and causes less blooming.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has a sub-par local dimming feature. There are a few issues with its implementation, as well as some bugs that need fixing through a firmware update. The recommended setting is 'Medium' (local dimming is called Active Full-Array in the settings menu) and is the setting we used for testing.

The most glaring issue with the local dimming is the amount of blooming. There's a lot of it, and like the Vizio P Series Quantum 2020, it's inconsistent between different areas of the screen, which makes the screen look blotchy and accentuates uniformity issues. In dark scenes with small highlights, like a starfield, it has a hard time deciding which stars should stand out, so while some stars look bright with blooming around, others look dim. Subtitles aren't handled well, and there's a lot of blooming around them.

It doesn't crush blacks, although it's mostly due to the higher overall black level and the amount of blooming present. Zone transitions are very slow, and the lighting zones are visible when bright objects move across the screen.

We encountered a few bugs with the local dimming. The first is that the TV indicates that the local dimming is on even when it's off. Turning the local dimming off and back on again usually resolves this issue. The second bug is that the local dimming shuts off when viewing Dolby Vision content. Unfortunately, there's no workaround for this, and it requires a firmware update. We'll retest it once it's available. The third bug is that when the TV is in 'Dolby Vision Bright' Picture Mode and local dimming is set to 'Medium', the screen flickers when it displays a bright, static image, even though the local dimming is disabled due to the mentioned bug.

Update 08/02/2021: Added the real content local dimming videos.

The Vizio M Series Quantum's HDR peak brightness is mediocre. It's an improvement over the Vizio M Series Quantum 2019, but it still isn't enough to make highlights pop in HDR content. Just like in SDR, the brightness varies a lot across different content.

We measured the HDR peak brightness before calibration, using the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode, with Active Full-Array set to 'High', Color Temperature set to 'Warm', and Gamma set to '2.2'.

If you want an even brighter picture and don't mind losing image accuracy, set the Picture Mode to 'Vivid', Active Full-Array to 'High', Color Temperature to 'Cool', and Gamma to '1.8'. We achieved a peak brightness of 629 cd/m² in the 10% window using the settings.

Update 10/26/2020: We've reuploaded a new gray uniformity picture and updated the score from 6.5 to 6.7.

Gray uniformity on our unit of the Vizio M Series Quantum is okay. There's noticeable dirty screen effect in the center, and there are a few spots that appear darker than the rest of the screen, like the top corners. It's much better in dark scenes, but the dirty screen effect is still visible. Note that gray uniformity can vary between units.

Update 10/26/2020: We've reuploaded a new black uniformity picture and updated the score from 9.1 to 9.3.

Black uniformity on our Vizio M8 Series Quantum is exceptional. With local dimming disabled, the whole screen looks more grayish but otherwise very uniform. With local dimming enabled, black level is much better, but the blooming around the test cross is more visible. Note that black uniformity can vary between units.

Like most VA panel TVs, the Vizio M Series Quantum has poor viewing angles. This results in images looking washed out when viewed from the side and isn't ideal for wide seating areas.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has decent reflection handling. It handles ambient light well but struggles more with direct reflections, so it's best to avoid placing the TV opposite bright lights.

The Vizio M65Q8-H1's out-of-the-box color accuracy is decent. Most colors are only slightly inaccurate and are hard to spot. White balance is off, and the color temperature is much warmer than our 6500K target, resulting in a slight reddish tint. Gamma follows the target reasonably well, although most scenes are too dark and bright scenes are too bright. Note that color accuracy can vary between units.

After calibration, the Vizio M Series Quantum's color accuracy is exceptional. White balance and gamma are nearly perfect, and the color temperature is much closer to our 6500K target. The remaining color inaccuracies shouldn't be noticeable without the aid of a colorimeter.

You can see our recommended settings here.

480p content, such as from DVDs, looks decent on the Vizio M Series Quantum, but it isn't as good as most 4k TVs.

There aren't any obvious artifacts when upscaling 720p content, but it doesn't look as good as most 4k TVs.

Upscaling of 1080p content, such as from Blu-rays, looks almost as good as 4k.

The Vizio M Series Quantum displays 4k content perfectly.

The Vizio M Series Quantum can't display an 8k signal.

The Vizio M Series Quantum uses a BGR sub-pixel structure. It doesn't affect picture quality but can affect text clarity when using the TV as a PC monitor. You can read more about it here.

Excellent HDR color gamut. The Vizio M65Q8-H1 has near full coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space and great coverage of the wider Rec. 2020. The EOTF follows the PQ curve reasonably well until the roll-off, but most scenes are too dark. The 'Game' Mode EOTF follows the target curve much closer; however, dark scenes are still too dark, and the roll-off is more abrupt.

If you find HDR content too dim, you can make it brighter by setting the Picture Mode to 'Calibrated Dark', Active Full-Array to 'High', Color Temperature to 'Normal', and Local Contrast to 'High'. These settings result in a brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF.

Great color volume. It displays dark and saturated colors well thanks to its high contrast ratio. It struggles with bright blues, which is typical for LCDs.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has great gradient handling. There's only some fine banding in the darker shades. There's no setting to help smooth it out, and enabling Noise Reduction doesn't seem to help at all.

The Vizio M Series Quantum doesn't exhibit any signs of temporary image retention after exposing a high-contrast image for ten minutes. However, this can vary between individual units.

We don't expect VA panels to experience permanent image retention, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has decent response time, resulting in only a short blur trail behind fast-moving objects. However, there are some motion artifacts caused by the slower dark scene transitions and overshoot.

The Vizio M Series Quantum is flicker-free when the TV's brightness is set to max. However, it flickers at 480Hz in all picture modes when the brightness is set below max.

The Vizio M65Q8-H1 has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature to help improve motion clarity. When enabled, the backlight's flickering frequency drops to 60Hz. Unfortunately, it causes a bit of image duplication with 60fps content. To turn on BFI, enable Clear Action.

The Vizio M65Q8-H1 doesn't have a motion interpolation feature.

Due to the TV's slower response time, there's no stutter in 60fps content. However, it can stutter a bit in 24p content.

The Vizio M Series 2020 can remove judder from 24p sources and native apps, but not from 60i/60p sources. To remove judder, enable Film Mode.

Update 10/26/2020: We've retested the VRR with the new firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2). It now works at all supported resolutions.

The Vizio M Series 2020 is advertised to support HDMI Forum VRR to help reduce screen tearing when gaming. We can confirm that it works with FreeSync, but we aren't certain that HDMI Forum VRR works because the Xbox One that we use for testing supports both, and there's no way to tell which one is active. To turn on VRR, enable Variable Refresh Rate.

Update 10/26/2020: We've retested the input lag with the latest firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2). Unfortunately, we're still unable to measure the input lag at 1440p with VRR, as VRR doesn't work properly when performing our input lag test, even though it works properly during our VRR test. Also, 1440p seems to only work with our laptop. Using an Xbox One, we had to force 1440p, and VRR isn't available when using a forced resolution.

The Vizio M Series Quantum has outstanding low input lag. It's higher when displaying a 1440p @ 60Hz signal, although it's likely a bug that'll be fixed in a future firmware update. To get the lowest input lag, set Game Low Latency to 'On'. Setting it to 'Auto' enables the 'Auto Low Latency Mode', which is a feature that automatically turns on the low latency mode when it detects a game launching from a compatible device.

When using the TV as a PC monitor with chroma subsampling, set the PC to RGB (see supported resolution section) and Game Low Latency to 'On' to get the lowest input lag.

Update 12/22/2020: We've updated the firmware to version 1.10.15.1-2 and retested the TV's ability to display a 10-bit 4k @60Hz signal with chroma 4:4:4. The maximum signal that it can display at 10-bit is with chroma 4:2:0.

The Vizio M Series Quantum supports most resolutions at 60Hz. It can display proper chroma 4:4:4; however, it's a little buggy right now. To display chroma 4:4:4 properly, you have to set both the PC and the TV to 'RGB' (setting the PC to RGB grays out the Full Color 444 option on the TV). This is because the Full Color 444 option looks bad and causes text to look more blurry, and setting the PC to chroma 4:4:4 makes it even worse. It's likely a bug that'll be fixed in a future firmware update. Vizio has removed the 'Computer' mode.

For signals that require full bandwidth, the Full UHD Color setting has been removed, so there's nothing to change.

Update 12/22/2020: We've retested the HDMI ports with the latest firmware version 1.10.15.1-2 and an HDMI 2.1 source. All ports are functioning as HDMI 2.0 even though they're advertised as HDMI 2.1.

Update 10/26/2020: We've retested all the ports for HDMI 2.1 support using an NVIDIA RTX 3080 graphics card. They're all limited to 4k @ 60Hz only, which is to be expected as this TV only has a 60Hz panel.

The Vizio M Series Quantum is advertised to have HDMI 2.1 ports. However, unlike the Vizio P Series Quantum 2020, it isn't indicated which ports have proper support. At this time, they're limited to HDMI 2.0's bandwidth.

The Vizio M Series Quantum supports eARC, allowing the TV to send high-quality object-based audio like Dolby Atmos via TrueHD over an HDMI connection. To use it, set eARC to 'On' and Digital Audio Output to 'Auto'.

The Vizio MQ8's frequency response is mediocre. It delivers dialogue clearly, but there's a noticeable lack of bass. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very loud, so it isn't ideal for noisy environments. There isn't much compression when playing at max volume, though, which is great.

Note: We received reports of audio issues with the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 and the Vizio M8 Series Quantum 2020. Audio seems to cut out during quiet scenes or when there's a pause in sound, such as when scrolling through menus. It also can also make a popping or crackling sound in these situations, as you can see in this video posted on Reddit. It seems to be a problem with the internal speakers, but we've read reports of it continuing with a soundbar as well. We didn't notice this during testing, but if you've experienced the same issue, let us know.

The distortion performance is just okay. It sounds pretty clean when playing at moderate volume levels, but there's a fair amount of distortion when playing at max volume. That said, it depends on the content and might not be audible for some.

Vizio's SmartCast platform is decent. It's user-friendly and runs smoothly for the most part. Other than the bugs mentioned in the local dimming section, we didn't experience any other issues.

There's suggested content on the home page, and it isn't possible to disable it. Thankfully, there aren't any ads.

There's a good number of apps that come pre-installed, but unfortunately, it isn't possible to add more since Vizio doesn't have an app store.

Update 10/20/2021: We updated the 'Voice Control' results for consistency with our other reviews. The M8 Series Quantum 2020 doesn't have voice control on the remote, but you can use voice commands through the companion app on your phone.

The remote control has changed slightly compared to the Vizio M Series Quantum 2019's. It now has a circular navigation pad and a dedicated button for Vizio's 'Watch Free' feature. There's no built-in microphone for voice control, but you can control a few basic functions, including changing inputs or launching apps, from the companion app on your phone.

The controls are located on the right backside of the TV. It allows you to turn the TV On/Off, change the input source, and adjust the volume.

• Remote control
• 2x AAA batteries
• User guide