The Vizio V5 Series 2021 is an entry-level 4k TV from Vizio's 2021 lineup that replaces the Vizio V Series 2020. It sits below the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 and the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021, and while it doesn't have many of the same features as the higher-end models, it still comes with features you'd expect to find on a modern 4k TV, like a built-in smart system. The Vizio SmartCast operating system is unique because it doesn't have an app store to download extra apps besides the pre-installed ones. However, you can cast any content you want from your phone thanks to the Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay support. It's also available in a variety of sizes, from 43 to 75 inches, so you can get the one that suits your needs the most.
Our Verdict
The Vizio V655-J09 is okay for most uses. It's decent for watching movies in dark rooms because it has a high native contrast ratio with incredible black uniformity, meaning blacks look deep without much blooming, but it lacks a local dimming feature. It's also decent for watching TV shows and okay for sports as it has good reflection handling, but it has a narrow viewing angle, so it isn't good for wide viewing areas. Unfortunately, it isn't good for HDR content because it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out and can't display a wide color gamut.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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Good reflection handling.
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Colors are accurate out of the box.
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Has trouble upscaling 480p and 720p content.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Visible motion smear.
The Vizio V655-J09 is decent for watching movies in dark rooms. It has a fantastic native contrast ratio to display deep blacks, but there's no local dimming feature to improve it. Luckily, it also has incredible black uniformity with minimal blooming around bright objects. It removes judder from 24p sources, which is great for watching movies, but it has some trouble upscaling lower-resolution content like DVDs.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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Removes judder from native 24p sources.
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No local dimming feature.
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Has trouble upscaling 480p and 720p content.
The Vizio V655-J09 is decent for watching TV shows in well-lit rooms. 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, but don't place it opposite a bright window. Unfortunately, it has a narrow viewing angle, so the image looks washed out from the side, and there are some upscaling artifacts with 720p content, like from cable boxes.
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Good reflection handling.
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Colors are accurate out of the box.
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Has trouble upscaling 480p and 720p content.
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Doesn't get bright in SDR nor HDR.
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Narrow viewing angle.
The Vizio V655-J09 is okay for sports. It has a decent response time, but there's still noticeable black smearing behind fast-moving objects. It has good reflection handling if you have a few lights around, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in a very well-lit room. Also, it has a narrow viewing angle, so it isn't a good choice to use in a wide seating arrangement as the screen looks washed out from the side.
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Good reflection handling.
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Colors are accurate out of the box.
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Doesn't get bright in SDR nor HDR.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Visible motion smear.
The Vizio V655-J09 is decent for gaming. It's fairly limited on gaming features as it has a 60Hz panel and doesn't support FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. It has low input lag and a quick response time, but there's visible motion smearing. It's also great for dark room gaming, thanks to its high contrast, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to deepen any blacks.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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Low input lag.
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Visible motion smear.
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No VRR support.
The Vizio V655-J09 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, doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out for a satisfying HDR experience, and lacks a local dimming feature to improve the contrast.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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No local dimming feature.
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Doesn't get bright in SDR nor HDR.
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Can't display wide color gamut.
The Vizio V655-J09 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, it still has black smearing with fast-moving objects. Also, HDR content doesn't look good due to the low brightness and lack of a wide color gamut, so highlights and colors don't stand out against the rest of the image.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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Low input lag.
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Doesn't get bright in SDR nor HDR.
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Visible motion smear.
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Can't display wide color gamut.
The Vizio V655-J09 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 a narrow viewing angle, so the edges of the screen look washed out if you sit too close. It also has good reflection handling if you have a few lights around, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare.
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High native contrast ratio displays deep blacks.
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Good reflection handling.
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Low input lag.
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Doesn't get bright in SDR nor HDR.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Visible motion smear.
- 6.9 Mixed Usage
- 7.1 Movies
- 7.0 TV Shows
- 6.6 Sports
- 7.1 Video Games
- 6.7 HDR Movies
- 7.1 HDR Gaming
- 7.4 PC Monitor
- Updated Feb 06, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Nov 17, 2022: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Oct 11, 2022: Clarified that the newer version of this TV, the Vizio V Series 2022, has variable refresh rate support.
- Updated Aug 01, 2022: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Aug 26, 2021: We corrected a mistake in our test results. There's no opt-out from ads because there are no ads.
- Updated Jul 12, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jul 07, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65-inch Vizio V5 Series, and for the most part, the results are also valid for the 43-inch (Vizio V435), 50-inch (Vizio V505), 55-inch (Vizio V555), 58-inch (Vizio V585), 70-inch (Vizio V705), and 75-inch (Vizio V755) models. There's also a V6 Series version that's available in 70 and 75 inches, and it's different because it supports FreeSync.
| Size | Model |
|---|---|
| 43" | Vizio V435-J01 |
| 50" | Vizio V505-J09 |
| 55" | Vizio V555-J01 |
| 58" | Vizio V585-J01 |
| 65" | Vizio V655-J09 |
| 70" | Vizio V705-J03 |
| 75" | Vizio V755-J04 |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or their unit 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.
Compared To Other TVs
The Vizio V Series 2021 is an okay low-cost TV. It's good as an entry-level TV because it displays deep blacks without much blooming. However, the built-in SmartCast system lags behind competitors in terms of features because it 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 V Series 2022 is the newer version Vizio V5 Series 2021. Both TVs are very similar overall, with the main difference being that the 2022 model has VRR support for gaming, which the 2021 model doesn't have. The 2022 model improves in a few areas, like its peak brightness and response time, while the 2021 model has better upscaling, so choosing one over the other depends on which aspects are important to you.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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.
Video
Test Results
The Vizio V655-J09 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 not too distracting.
The TV comes with the same V-shaped feet as other Vizio TVs. They're wide-set, and you can't place them in an alternate position. It raises the screen enough so you can place a soundbar without blocking the image.
Footprint of the 65-inch TV: 47.6" x 12" x 3.25"
The back panel is smooth plastic, and the bottom part where the inputs are sticks out more. Sadly, there's no cable management, and because the inputs are set towards the center of the TV, they can be hard to reach if you wall-mount it.
The build quality is okay. It's plastic throughout and feels solid, but it's nothing special. There's some flex on the back, especially near the logo in the center. The TV wobbles a bit on the stand, but it isn't too bad considering its size.
The Vizio V655-J09 has a fantastic native contrast ratio. Even without a local dimming feature, it displays deep blacks.
The Vizio V655-J09 has disappointing SDR brightness. It doesn't get bright enough to combat glare in a well-lit room.
These results are from 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, use the 'Sports' Picture Mode with Color Temperature set to 'Normal'. However, this comes at the cost of losing image accuracy, and it doesn't get significantly brighter.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature. The videos above are for reference only, so you can compare the Vizio V655-J09 to a TV that does have a local dimming feature. It's a direct-lit LED TV, which means that the backlights are placed directly behind the screen, which is different from edge-lit TVs and isn't the same as local dimming.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature. The videos above are for reference only, so you can compare the Vizio V655-J09 to a TV that does have a local dimming feature. It's a direct-lit LED TV, which means that the backlights are placed directly behind the screen, which is different from edge-lit TVs and isn't the same as local dimming.
The HDR brightness is poor. It doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out. The EOTF follows the target perfectly until the sharp roll-off at the peak brightness, meaning there's a loss of fine details with most highlights.
These results are 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' makes the image appear brighter, as you can see in this EOTF, but it doesn't change the peak brightness.
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 the same Picture Mode. It means these results are with the same picture settings as outside of Game Mode.
This TV has some issues with the gray uniformity. The edges of the screen are darker due to bad vignetting, which you'll notice when using it as a PC monitor, and there's noticeable dirty screen effect in the center, which is distracting when watching sports.
The black uniformity is fantastic. There isn't any backlight bleed, but despite the high contrast, the screen looks closer to blue than black because of the clouding throughout. Sadly, there's no local dimming feature to improve it.
The Vizio V655-J09 has a narrow viewing angle. It isn't ideal for wide seating areas as the image looks washed out as you move off-center, even at narrow viewing angles.
This TV has an optional Enhanced Viewing Angle setting that's marketed to improve the viewing angle. The results are with the setting off, but you can see the graphs with it on below. Unfortunately, it doesn't improve the viewing angle:
This TV has good reflection handling. It absorbs indirect reflections from small light sources well, and glare isn't an issue unless you place it opposite strong light sources like a window.
The Vizio V655-J09 has excellent out-of-the-box accuracy. Only saturated blues and reds are slightly inaccurate, and the white balance is just a bit off. Color temperature is also close to the 6500K target. Sadly, gamma doesn't follow the 2.2 target for moderately-lit rooms very well, so bright scenes are over-brightened.
The accuracy after calibration is remarkable. It's easy to calibrate and 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 the targets.
You can see our full calibration settings here.
The Vizio V655-J09 does a decent job at upscaling lower-resolution content like from DVDs. However, it doesn't look as good as other 4k TVs because content doesn't look as clear and the image is blurrier.
This TV displays 720p content fairly well, but there are more artifacts than other 4k displays. Once again, the image isn't as well-defined as other displays, so the image is blurrier.
The Vizio V655-J09 displays 1080p content nearly as good as native 4k content.
The Vizio V655-J09 has a BGR subpixel layout which could negatively impact text clarity when using it as a PC monitor. However, it isn't a big issue and doesn't affect the overall picture quality. You can read more about it here.
The Vizio V655 has an okay color gamut for HDR content. It has very good coverage of the commonly-used DCI-P3 color space, but its coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space is limited, and tone mapping is off, which means it isn't future-proof as colors look inaccurate and don't appear as intended.
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-J09 has excellent gradient handling. There's only a bit of banding in the darker shades, especially green and red, but it's minimal. Using Contour Smoothing 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.
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. Sadly, there's noticeable black smearing due to the slow response time in darker transitions. You'll 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 flickers at 480Hz. It always flickers at 480Hz in Game Mode.
This TV doesn't have an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur, and the backlight always flickers at 480Hz in Game Mode, which you can't change. The score is based on that flicker frequency and the fact that you can't change it and not its actual performance.
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 that don't have a Match Frame Rate feature, like a cable box.
The Vizio V5 Series doesn't support any VRR technology, but the higher-end V6 Series models and the newer Vizio V Series 2022 support it.
The Vizio V655-J09 has low input lag as long as Game Low Latency is enabled. It's low enough outside Game Mode that you won't notice too much delay while scrolling through the TV's menus or using the on-screen keyboard.
This TV supports any common resolution up to 60Hz. It displays chroma 4:4:4 at any supported resolution as long as you enable the Full Color 4:4:4 setting. This helps it display clear text when using it as a PC monitor.
Since the Vizio V655-J09 doesn't support any signal above 60Hz and is limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, it doesn't support any 120Hz signal 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.
Even though it's advertised to have HDMI 2.1 inputs, it's still limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.
The composite inputs are great if you still use an old gaming console or any other device that uses this connection.
There's eARC support on HDMI 1, allowing you to pass high-quality, uncompressed audio to a compatible receiver through a single HDMI connection.
The Vizio V655-J09 has a mediocre 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 distortion performance isn't bad. There isn't too much at moderate listening levels, but there's more at its max volume.
The Vizio SmartCast system is decent and easy to use. However, it can feel laggy, so menu navigation isn't the smoothest. You can move your apps around on the home page, making them easier to access.
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 thanks to the Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay support.
This TV 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.
