The Vizio V5 Series 2021 is an okay entry-level 4k TV. It's limited on extra features, as it doesn't have HDMI 2.1 inputs nor variable refresh rate (VRR) support. It has a VA-type panel that displays deep blacks thanks to its high native contrast ratio, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve it. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, even worse than most VA-type TVs, so the image looks washed out as soon as you move off-center. Although it has good reflection handling, it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in a well-lit room. Lastly, it comes with Vizio's new remote that features voice control, but you can't download any extra apps on the SmartCast system like on some other operating systems.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is okay overall. It performs best for watching movies in dark rooms because it has a high native contrast ratio with incredible black uniformity, but it lacks a local dimming feature. It's decent for watching TV shows and okay for sports, but it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not good for wide viewing areas. Unfortunately, it's not good for HDR content because it doesn't get bright and can't display a wide color gamut.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is decent for watching movies. It has a VA-type panel with a fantastic native contrast ratio to display deep blacks, but there's no local dimming feature to improve it. It removes judder from 24p sources, great for watching movies, but it has some trouble upscaling lower-resolution content like DVDs.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is decent for watching TV shows. Although it doesn't get very bright, it has good reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a few lights. Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks inaccurate from the side, and there are some upscaling artifacts with 720p content, like from cable boxes.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is okay for sports. It has a decent response time, but there's still some noticeable motion blur due to smearing. It has good reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in a very well-lit room. Also, it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not a good choice to use in a wide seating arrangement as the screen looks washed out from the side.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is decent for gaming. It's fairly limited on gaming features as it has a 60Hz panel and doesn't support FreeSync VRR. It has low input lag and a quick response time, but there's visible motion smearing. It's great for dark room gaming thanks to its high contrast, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is alright for watching HDR movies. Its fantastic native contrast and incredible black uniformity make it a great choice for use in dark rooms. However, it fails to display a wide color gamut for HDR content, and it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out. It also lacks a local dimming feature.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is decent for HDR gaming. Even though it's limited to a 60Hz panel and doesn't support VRR, it still provides a responsive gaming experience with low input lag and a quick response time. However, you may notice motion smear with fast-moving scenes. HDR content doesn't look good due to the low brightness and lack of a wide color gamut, but it still has a fantastic contrast ratio.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is decent for use as a PC monitor. It has low input lag for a responsive desktop experience. It displays chroma 4:4:4 at any supported resolution, which helps with text clarity. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so the edges of the screen look washed out if you sit too close. It has good reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare.
The Vizio V655 is a basic entry-level TV made entirely out of plastic. It looks like the Vizio V Series 2020 from the front, but the back looks different. It has thicker bezels than most modern TVs, but they're still not too distracting.
The back panel is smooth plastic and the bottom part where the inputs are sticks out more. Sadly, there's no cable management.
The Vizio V655 has a fantastic native contrast ratio, typical of VA-type panels. Even without a local dimming feature, it displays deep blacks. Keep in mind that the contrast can vary between units.
Note: The picture above looks different than the contrast ratio photo in the Vizio V Series 2020 because our unit of the V655 has a warmer color tone, and it looks more like the Vizio V Series 2019.
The Vizio V655 has disappointing SDR brightness. It doesn't get bright enough to combat glare in a well-lit room. On the plus side, brightness doesn't vary between content.
We tested the SDR brightness after calibration in the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode with Gamma set to '2.2' and Color Temperature set to 'Warm'. If you want a slightly brighter image, we reached 269 cd/m² in the 'Sports' Picture Mode with Color Temperature set to 'Normal'. However this comes at the cost of losing image accuracy. If you want something a bit brighter, check out the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series instead.
The Vizio V655 doesn't have a local dimming feature. The videos above are for reference only. Blacks look closer to gray with the test pattern because the video is shot at an angle, and due to the TV's narrow viewing angles, the black levels appear raised.
Once again, there's no local dimming feature. The videos are provided for reference only, and blacks look gray with the test pattern video due to the narrow viewing angles.
The HDR brightness is poor. It doesn't get brighter than in SDR and it's not enough to make highlights stand out. The EOTF follows the target perfectly until the roll off at the peak brightness, so scenes are displayed at their correct brightness.
We tested the HDR brightness in the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode with Gamma set to '2.2' and Color Temperature set to 'Warm'.
Setting the Gamma to '1.8' and Color Temperature to 'Normal' results in a brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF.
The HDR brightness in Game Mode is exactly the same as outside of it because you can enable Game Low Latency to achieve low input lag and use any Picture Mode.
The gray uniformity is okay. The edges of the screen are darker, and there's noticeable dirty screen effect in the center. It could get distracting when watching sports. Uniformity is better in near-dark scenes, but there's some backlight bleed along the bottom edge. Note that uniformity can vary between units.
The Vizio V655 has narrow viewing angles. It's expected from a VA-type panel, but it's even worse than other TVs and you really notice the loss in image accuracy when viewing from the side. Blues in particular really start to look different at an angle.
This TV has an optional Enhanced Viewing Angle setting to try to improve the viewing angles. The results are with the setting off, but we also tested it with it enabled. Using this feature doesn't really change the viewing angles, and you can see the graphs below:
It has good reflection handling. Even though it has a semi-gloss finish, it absorbs light well, and glare shouldn't be an issue unless you place it opposite strong light sources. There are more direct mirror-like reflections than the Vizio V Series 2020, but less light is scattered across the screen.
Our unit of the Vizio V655 has excellent out-of-the-box accuracy, but this can vary between units. Only saturated blues and reds are slightly inaccurate, and the white balance is just a bit off. Color temperature is just a bit on the cold side, but it's fantastic regardless. Sadly, gamma doesn't follow the target 2.2 very well, so bright scenes are over-brightened.
The accuracy after calibration is remarkable. Any remaining inaccuracies are nearly impossible to spot, but dark red is still a bit off. Both the color temperature and gamma are nearly spot-on with our targets.
You can see our recommended settings here.
The Vizio V655 seems to have a type of VA panel that's technically different, but it performs the same. The BGR sub-pixel format can affect text clarity when using it as a PC, which you can read about here.
The Vizio V655 has an okay color gamut for HDR content, but it's not considered a wide color gamut. It has very good coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space, but its coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 is limited, and tone mapping is off.
Due to the lack of a wide color gamut, the color volume is disappointing. It displays dark colors well thanks to the high contrast but struggles with brighter colors.
The Vizio V655 has excellent gradient handling. There's only a bit of banding in the darker shades, especially green and red, but it's minimal. Using the Contour Smoothing in the 'Reduce Noise' settings page helps smooth out banding, and setting it to 'High' helps best with real content, but this comes at the cost of losing fine details.
There are no signs of temporary image retention after displaying a high-contrast static image, but this 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 V655 has a decent response time. The 100% response time is quicker than the Vizio V Series 2020, but there's still noticeable motion smear due to the slow response time in darker transitions. This can be especially distracting with darker objects. You may also notice image duplication due to the backlight's flicker frequency.
This TV has a flicker-free backlight if you set the Backlight setting to anything above '45' in the 'Calibrated Dark' and 'Calibrated' Picture Modes, and anything above 40 in the other modes. However, the TV uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to dim the backlight below those settings, and it flickers at 480Hz. It always flickers at 480Hz in 'Game' mode.
There's no optional black frame insertion. It always flickers at 480Hz in 'Game' Picture Mode on this TV. If you don't like that, you can enable the Game Low Latency setting and use another Picture Mode.
The TV doesn't have a motion interpolation feature.
Since the response time isn't the quickest, there isn't too much stutter with lower-frame rate content.
This TV removes 24p judder from apps and native sources, but not from 60p/i sources. You need to enable Film Mode and disable the Full Color 4:4:4 setting for it to do so.
The Vizio V5 Series isn't advertised to have any VRR support, but the V6 Series does have it. We confirmed there's no VRR on the V655 as there isn't a specific setting for it, and there's screen tearing with our pendulum test video.
The Vizio V655 has low input lag as long as Game Low Latency is enabled. It's low enough for non-reaction-based games even with the setting disabled. If you're going to use it as a PC monitor, make sure you enable the Full Color 4:4:4 setting, and you're in Game Mode for it to have low input lag.
This TV supports any common resolution up to 60Hz. It displays chroma 4:4:4 at any supported resolution as long as Full Color 4:4:4 is enabled. However, you can't achieve 4k @60Hz with 4:4:4 and a 10-bit signal because it doesn't support that much bandwidth. For full-bandwidth signals, set the HDMI Mode to '2.1'.
Since the Vizio V655 doesn't support anything above 60Hz, it doesn't support any 120Hz signals from the PS5 or Xbox Series X. It has an Auto Low Latency Mode that automatically switches the TV into Game Mode when a game from a compatible device is launched. For it to work, set Game Low Latency to 'Auto'.
Even though it's advertised to have HDMI 2.1 inputs, they don't support a 4k @ 60Hz 10-bit signal with chroma 4:4:4, meaning they don't support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
There's eARC support on HDMI 1, allowing you to pass high-quality, uncompressed audio to a compatible receiver through a single HDMI connection. For it to work, enable eARC and set Digital Audio Out to 'Digital' for DTS:X via eARC and any ARC signal, and to 'Auto' for Atmos via eARC or any optical signal.
The Vizio V655 has an okay frequency response. It gets fairly loud and has a well-balanced sound profile, so it's good for listening to dialogue. Sadly, it doesn't produce much bass, if at all.
The Vizio SmartCast system is decent and easy to use. It can feel laggy at times, so menu navigation isn't the smoothest. However, you can move your apps around on the home page, making them easier to access.
Update 08/26/2021: We corrected a mistake in our test results. There's no opt-out from ads because there are no ads.
There's suggested content on the home screen, but we didn't see any ads. Let us know if you see any.
Unfortunately, you can't download any extra apps besides the ones that come pre-installed. On the plus side, you can cast anything you want from your phone.
It comes with a new Vizio remote that lacks a numpad and has a mic for voice control, which past models didn't have. You can ask the voice control to change inputs, open apps, and ask the weather, but you can't search for specific content in apps or change settings.
We tested the 65 inch Vizio V5 Series (V655), and for the most part, we expect our results to be valid for the 43" (V435), 50" (V505), 55" (V555), 58" (V585-J01), 70" (V705), and 75" (V755) models. There's also a V6 Series model set to be released, but it's only going to be available in 70 and 75 inches and is advertised to have more gaming features like FreeSync support.
Size | Model |
---|---|
43" | V435-J01 |
50" | V505-J09 |
55" | V555-J01 |
58" | V585-J01 |
65" | V655-J09 |
70" | V705-J03 |
75" | V755-J04 |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or their Vizio V Series 2021 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, can vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
The Vizio V Series 2021 is an okay low-cost TV. It performs well in dark rooms as it has high contrast, but it's not versatile. The built-in SmartCast system lags behind competitors in terms of features because it still lacks an app store, and there are better options available for a bit more, like the Hisense U6G.
See our recommendations for the best TVs, the best Vizio TVs, and the best budget TVs.
The Vizio V5 Series 2021 and the Samsung TU7000 are both okay TVs. The Vizio has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms, but it still doesn't get very bright. The Vizio also removes judder from 24p sources, which the Samsung can't do, which helps motion in movies. However, the Samsung's built-in Tizen is better overall than the Vizio's OS as it comes with an app store, and the Samsung does a better job at upscaling lower-resolution content.
The Hisense U6G is significantly better than the Vizio V5 Series 2021. The Hisense has more features like full-array local dimming, a wide color gamut for HDR content, and the built-in Android TV has a Google Play Store. The Hisense gets significantly brighter, so it's a better choice for watching HDR content or using it in well-lit rooms. Lastly, the Hisense even has a quicker response time for smoother motion.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 and the Vizio V5 Series 2021 are both okay TVs. The M6 is higher up in the Vizio lineup than the V5, so it has a few more features like a wide color gamut and VRR support. Picture quality is similar as they both have high contrast, lack local dimming, don't get bright, and have good reflection handling. Choosing one over the other comes down to whether or not you need the extra gaming features on the M6.
The Samsung AU8000 and the Vizio V5 Series 2021 are both decent TVs. They have the same panel type, so they each have high contrast but lack local dimming. The Samsung is a better choice for well-lit rooms because it gets brighter and has better reflection handling. Samsung's Tizen OS is better overall than Vizio's SmartCast because it has an app store, which the Vizio doesn't, and menu navigation feels smoother.
The Vizio V5 Series 2021 and the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020 are both okay entry-level TVs. They have the same panel type and many of the same features, but the Vizio has better dark room performance because of its superior contrast and black uniformity. However, each of these can vary between units. The Vizio is also better for gaming because it has a much better response time and lower input lag. The TCL has better smart features because the built-in Roku is less laggy than Vizio's SmartCast system, and it doesn't have any issues upscaling lower-resolution content like the Vizio does.
The LG C1 OLED and the Vizio V5 Series 2021 are very different TVs. The LG is a high-end model with many features like a 120Hz panel, HDMI 2.1 inputs, and VRR support, all of which the Vizio doesn't have. The LG has an OLED panel that allows it to turn off individual pixels, resulting in a near-infinite contrast ratio and perfect black uniformity. It also has wider viewing angles. On the other side, the Vizio is a basic entry-level model with an LED panel, so it doesn't suffer from the risk of permanent burn-in the way OLEDs do.
The Vizio V5 Series 2021 is similar to its predecessor, the Vizio V Series 2020. The 2021 model comes with Vizio's new remote that features a built-in mic for voice control, which the 2020 model doesn't have. The 2021 model also gets slightly brighter in SDR, but it's not a significant difference, and other than that, both TVs deliver similar picture quality.
The Vizio V5 Series 2021 is a significant step up from the Vizio D3 Series 2021. The V5 is a 4k TV with much better black uniformity, HDR support (although this doesn't add much), and a faster smart interface. The V5 series is also available in much larger sizes, up to a maximum size of 85 inches.