Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020 TV Review

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020 is Vizio's flagship LED TV, directly replacing the Vizio P Series Quantum X 2019. It's also marketed as the Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021. Its main competitors are the Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED, Sony X950H, and the Hisense H9G.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X has an excellent design. It's simple and clean, with thin borders and wide-set feet.

The feet are set almost as wide as the TV, so you need a large surface to put it on if you don't plan on wall-mounting it. The stand supports the TV well, and it only wobbles a little bit.

Footprint of the 75" stand: 57.3" x 13.2"

The back of the TV is plain. Some of the inputs are bottom-facing, but they're still easy to access when wall-mounted. Unfortunately, there's no cable management.

The borders are very thin on all sides and aren't distracting.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X is thin and doesn't stick out when wall-mounted.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020's build quality is great and almost identical to the Vizio P Series Quantum 2020. It's entirely made out of plastic, but the construction feels sturdy, and there aren't any obvious gaps. The stand supports the TV very well and doesn't wobble much.

Update 10/21/2020: We've retested the contrast ratio with local dimming after updating the TV to the latest firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2). The recommended local dimming setting is now 'Medium', as it has the most effect on the contrast ratio, raising it to 14345:1.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X has an outstanding contrast ratio and can produce deep blacks for a fantastic dark room viewing experience. It has a full-array local dimming feature that improves the contrast; however, it seems to process our test pattern differently than in regular content. In real scenes, blacks appear darker, and whites are brighter. Using a full white and full black screen to measure the contrast with local dimming enabled, we obtained a contrast ratio of 21660:1. Note that the contrast ratio can vary between individual units.

Update 10/21/2020: We've updated the TV's firmware to version 5.10.13.1-2. The recommended setting for local dimming is now 'Medium', as it causes less blooming, and the lighting is applied more evenly, so it doesn't look as blotchy. Zone transition is faster and looks good. The only thing that hasn't changed much is how it handles subtitles; there's still a lot of blooming around them.

The Vizio P75QX-H1 has a great full-array local dimming feature. We recommend using the 'Medium' setting (local dimming is called Active Full-Array). There's some blooming around bright objects due to the TV's high brightness, but it isn't as noticeable in regular content, as the algorithm does a pretty good job of balancing bright and dark areas. Unfortunately, subtitles are bright, and there's a lot of blooming around them. Zone transitions are fast and aren't really visible.

The 65" model has fewer lighting zones while the 85" model has more. We expect them to perform differently.

Update 10/21/2020: We've retested the SDR peak brightness after updating to the newest firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2) using a new calibration. However, while this new calibration addressed the red tint issue, it causes the appearance of faint yellow-green lines when displaying shades of white or blue, as well as causing a drop of about 100 cd/m² in brightness. As such, we're posting the results from the initial calibration.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021 has excellent SDR peak brightness. It's more than enough to overcome glare, so you shouldn't have any visibility issues in well-lit environments. However, the brightness varies a lot across different content, and generally gets dimmer as large, bright areas cover the screen.

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

If you don't mind losing image accuracy, you can get a brighter picture using the 'Vivid' Picture Mode, with Backlight at max, Active Full-Array set to 'High', Gamma set to 2.2, and Color Temperature set to 'Cool'. We achieved a peak brightness of 2309 cd/m² in the 10% window using these settings.

Update 10/21/2020: We've retested the HDR peak brightness with the latest firmware update (version 5.10.13.1-2), with local dimming set to 'Medium'. There's a slight drop in brightness overall, but for the most part, it shouldn't be noticeable. The biggest change is the real scene peak brightness, which dropped from 1236 cd/m² to 1039 cd/m².

The Vizio P75QX-H1 has excellent HDR peak brightness, enough to deliver an excellent HDR experience. However, just like in SDR, the brightness varies a lot depending on the scene.

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

If you want a brighter image in HDR, set the Picture Mode to 'Vivid', with Active Full-Array set to 'High', and Color Temperature set to 'Cool'. We achieved a peak brightness of 2456 cd/m² in the 10% window using these settings.

Gray uniformity on our unit of the Vizio PQX is great. There's a bit of darkening around the corners and some dirty screen effect; however, they're fairly minor and shouldn't be visible in regular content. Uniformity in dark scenes is a little better, but not by much. Aside from the mentioned reddish tint, there's also a light gray line in the center-right of the screen that isn't as noticeable in the picture as it is in person. This is likely an issue with the panel's uniformity, though we can't be certain. Gray uniformity can vary between individual units.

As is expected of most VA panels, this TV has poor viewing angles. As a result, images look inaccurate from the sides, making it less ideal for wide seating arrangements. The Enhanced Viewing Angle feature doesn't help much and causes colors to shift slightly.

Update 10/21/2020: We replaced the black uniformity photo with local dimming. It now shows the screen with local dimming set to 'Medium', which is the current recommended setting.

Our unit of the Vizio P75QX-H1 has exceptional black uniformity. When local dimming is disabled, there's some clouding on the left side of the screen. When local dimming is enabled, the clouding is no longer visible, but there's blooming around the test cross. Note that black uniformity can vary between units. If you want a Vizio with perfect black uniformity, check out the Vizio OLED 2020.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021 has excellent reflection handling. Combined with the TV's high brightness, you shouldn't have any visibility issues, even in the brightest environments.

Update 10/21/2020: We've retested the accuracy with the latest firmware version 5.10.13.1-2. There are some minor differences, but they aren't really noticeable.

Before calibration, the Vizio PQX 2021's color accuracy is mediocre. Most colors are noticeably inaccurate, and white balance is off. The color temperature is on the warm side, which adds to the already reddish tint mentioned. Gamma doesn't follow the target at all, making all scenes appear brighter than they should be. Note that color accuracy can vary between units.

Update 10/21/2020: We attempted a new calibration after updating to the latest firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2) to address the red tint issue. However, while this new calibration removed all of the red tint, it causes the appearance of faint yellow-green lines when displaying shades of white or blue. As such, we're sticking with the initial calibration. We also investigated the red tint issue separately using a spectroradiometer and discovered that the backlight itself has an above-normal red wavelength; you can see the recorded backlight spectrum here.

After calibration, the Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021's color accuracy is outstanding. There are still inaccuracies with most colors, but they're much harder to spot with the naked eye. White balance and gamma are almost perfect, and the color temperature is much closer to our 6500K target. As previously mentioned, our unit has a reddish tint. It isn't caused by the calibration process and doesn't show in our measurements.

You can see our recommended setting here.

Upscaling of 480p content looks decent, but it isn't as good as other recent 4k TVs.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021 upscales 720p content, such as from cable boxes, well.

1080p content is upscaled well, and there are no visible artifacts.

The Vizio P75QX-H1 displays 4k content perfectly. However, spatial dithering is present when using the Enhanced Viewing Angle feature, such as in the shadowy parts of this picture.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020 can't display an 8k signal.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021 uses a BGR sub-pixel structure that can affect text clarity when using the TV as a PC monitor. You can read more about it here. As mentioned, there's spatial dithering when using the Enhanced Viewing Angle feature; you can see the pixels here.

Update 10/32/2020: We've retested the color gamut with the latest firmware version 5.10.13.1-2. The results have changed slightly, but shouldn't be noticeable for most people. The score has been adjusted accordingly.

The Vizio P75QX-H1 has an excellent HDR color gamut. It covers the widely-used DCI P3 color space almost entirely and has great coverage of the wider Rec. 2020. The EOTF doesn't follow the PQ curve all that well, making most bright scenes too bright and dark scenes too dark. The 'Game' mode EOTF is very similar, as you can see here.

If you find HDR content too dim, you can make it brighter by setting the Picture Mode to 'Calibrated Dark HDR', Active Full-Array to 'High', Gamma to '1.8', and Local Contrast to 'Medium'. These settings result in a much brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF.

Update 10/32/2020: We've retested the color volume with the latest firmware version 5.10.13.1-2. The results have changed slightly and the score has been adjusted accordingly.

Good color volume. It can display dark and saturated colors very well due to its high contrast ratio. It has trouble with bright blues, which is typical for LCDs.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020 has excellent gradient handling. There's only a tiny amount of banding in the darker shades and the grays. Unfortunately, turning on Noise Reduction doesn't make it any better.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X doesn't show any signs of temporary image retention; however, it can vary between 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 P Series Quantum X has a great response time, delivering clear motion with only a short blur trail behind fast-moving objects. However, there's a significant amount of overshoot in the darker transitions that result in some motion artifacts in dark scenes.

The backlight is flicker-free when the brightness set to max, which helps reduce motion duplication. However, it always flickers at 120Hz when the brightness is set to 99 or lower.

The Vizio P75QX-H1 has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature that can help improve motion clarity. To get a 60Hz flicker for 60fps content, enable Clear Action. To achieve a 120Hz flicker for 120fps content, leave Clear Action off, but set the TV's Brightness to 99 or lower.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X can interpolate lower frame rate content up to 120fps to make motion look more fluid. It works well in quiet scenes, but unfortunately, it doesn't look good in busy scenes, as there are motion artifacts like halos around fast-moving objects. To interpolate native 30fps content, increase Judder Reduction, and for 60fps content, increase Blur Reduction. These settings should be adjusted depending on the content that you're watching.

Even though the Vizio P75QX-H1 has a fast response time, it doesn't stutter too much in 24fps content. If stutter bothers you, enabling motion interpolation can help.

The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2021 can remove judder from 24p sources and native apps, but not from 60i/60p sources. To remove judder, enable Film Mode.

Update 10/23/2020: we've retested the VRR with an NVIDIA RTX 3080 and the latest firmware (version 5.10.13.1-2). It doesn't work at 1440p @ 60Hz because VRR isn't available when it's a forced resolution. 1440p @ 120Hz doesn't work because it's causing artifacts. 4k @ 60Hz works; however, the VRR range is much smaller, from 48Hz to 60Hz. 4k @ 120Hz doesn't work, as there's still a lot of tearing.

The Vizio P75QX-H1 supports variable refresh rate technology to reduce screen tearing when gaming. It's advertised to have HDMI Forum VRR support; however, we can only confirm that it works with FreeSync at this time. This is because the Xbox One that we use for testing supports both FreeSync and HDMI Forum VRR, and we don't have a reliable way to tell which one is active.

To turn on VRR, set Game Low Latency and Variable Refresh Rate to 'On'.