[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] First up I will say that I'm legitimately shocked and surprised by how much of a massive leap forward Vizio panel quality has taken. Last time I was in the market for a TV, Vizio products (like those from all other mid-range manufacturers) really couldn't match the bigger names' offerings. But, boy, has that changed, at least in the budget-to-midrange sector.
The picture quality of the V-series is simply superb for a standard LED panel, leagues beyond that of the big boys' comparable displays, and absolutely stunning for this price point. The V-series display is bright, colorful, has great contrasts, excellent viewing angles, and a lovely glossy finish. It performs spectacularly in both viewing and gaming. It's incredible that such excellent image quality can be now be obtained at so low a price.
The software is equally remarkable. The long and short of it is that I absolutely loathe the industry leader's software, and Vizio's is the polar opposite of it. The user interface on the big S's TU line is simply dreadful: it's slow, sluggish, unresponsive, and constantly shoves their idiotic, paid content-packed and ad-laden home menu in your face at every possible opportunity. Even something so simple as selecting source input is an arduous and time-consuming affair there. Vizio's UI, on the other hand, is wonderfully snappy, fast, simple, streamlined, and functional: everything simply works, and it works instantaneously. The same goes for Vizio's Smartcast vs the leader's streaming setup: snappy and smooth. Vizio's on-screen keyboard is miles better than the big S's, too, and, thankfully, totally lacks the unspeakably stupid "checkmark finish" feature that assumes you're done inputting characters for your Wi-Fi password after five inputs and that forces you to restart entry once you inevitably mistakenly click it after pressing the left arrow key in trying to navigate to the next character.
Now, for the only sore spot with the Vizio: the sound. The speakers on this set are rather tinny, very much lacking in bass and lower midrange. They work, they get the job done, they sound OK under certain circumstances, but the market leaders still take the cake when it comes to sound quality in this market range. The speakers on the TU line are unquestionably superior. The tradeoff in picture quality might be worth it, though. The Vizio offers Bluetooth functionality, as well, so you, the viewer, are able to pair your favorite headset with it and bypass the subpar speaker quality. Many people invest in sound bars, as well, so if you're going to go that route then the picture quality on offer here makes the V-series totally worthwhile. So, while the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired, it's not enough to be a deal breaker.
Customer reviews for VIZIO V-Series 43" Class 4K UHD HDR LED Smart TV - V435-J01 for
