28 Feb
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Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV Review (P65Q9-H1)

Vizio 65 "Class P-Series (P65Q9-H1)

"One of the best values ​​in high-performance television."

  • Excellent HDR brightness for the price

  • Fixed black levels at an angle

  • Excellent color coverage

  • HDMI 2.1 connectors

  • Feature loaded

  • Possible local dimming error

  • Game console synchronization error

  • Bad contrast out of angle

After looking at the Vizio P-Series Quantum X (PQX for short), I wondered if people really needed all of the bells and whistles that Vizio's premium set had to offer. For a few hundred dollars less, I was hoping the rundown Quantum of the Vizio P-Series (PQ9 for short) would be "all killer, no filler." What do you lose if you lose the "X"? Let's find out.

Details on the Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV

While we tested the 65-inch model, our test also applies to the 75-inch model.

Screen size Model number RRP
65 inches P65Q9-H1 $ 1,200
75 in P75Q9-H1 $ 1,700

Out of the box

The box comes with the standard Vizio remote control (no voice), batteries and two easy-to-install metal feet and four screws. Similar to the Quantum X, the back of the PQ9 is fairly straightforward and includes a power connector and speakers, as well as inputs that are shaped in an “L” pattern on one side. Inputs include analog and optical audio, four HDMI ports (with eARC on port 1), composite video, and USB. While only the third and fourth HDMI inputs are labeled as 4K 120 Hz supportive, Vizio has assured us that all four HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1.

Similar to the PQX, the PQ9 is an attractive television. There are practically no bezels at the top and the sides and just a thin metal strip at the bottom. The Vizio logo is on the right side of the lower edge and on the left is an inconspicuous power indicator. Because the PQ9 has a local full array dimming backlight system, the TV does not have a particularly deep profile.

The PQ9 sits just high enough above an entertainment stand that one of Vizio's soundbars (we used the M-Series 5.1 soundbar) can slide right underneath, making for one of the most understated soundbar arrangements I've ever seen.

When I have to complain about the design of the TV, there is no cable management to speak of. If there is a soundbar, you probably won't see any dangling cables, but with nothing blocking your view, the cables were clearly visible.

Basic settings

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Maintaining the picture settings is a little less annoying than with other TV brands. The picture settings for apps and HDMI inputs must be specified separately. In addition, there are individual settings for SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision content that must be processed for apps and HDMI inputs.

In my experience, the easiest way is to open the YouTube app on the TV, play SDR content, then navigate to the picture settings menu and select the preset for calibrated pictures. Further down the image settings menu, navigate to advanced settings and then to motion controls. If you don't want the “soap opera effect”, reduce the jerking and blurring from two to zero.

Next, go to a YouTube video in HDR (there are tons of them) and repeat the process if necessary by selecting “HDR Calibrated” and lowering those same motion settings if necessary. In my experience, however, selecting “Calibrated” for HDR causes the PQ9 to make a similar setting for HDR.

For Dolby Vision, I recommend going to a Dolby Vision title from Netflix or Disney +, then selecting Dolby Vision Bright, selecting Warm for the color temperature, and then turning off motion smoothing.

Repeat the above three processes for an HDMI input and you should be set.

Color performance

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After making the above settings, I measured the PQ9's white balance which gives a good indication of color accuracy at a glance. Since white is made up of red, green, and blue colors, I can tell if those colors are made in balance. In my tests, I noticed that the PQ9 leaned a little too much towards red – an attribute that I noted was present in the PQX. It took much less time and tweaking to match the PQ9, however, and the bright whites had less redshift than the PQX. Maybe that's because the PQ9 doesn't get that bright, but I still call it an advantage.

On the whole, the colors look rich, vibrant, and pleasant, and I haven't done anything repulsive that the average viewer would recognize. My tests have confirmed that the Vizio is not perfectly color accurate, but it is close enough for most people. In addition, the PQ9 generates a very large color palette with different brightness levels, which leads to a very satisfactory display of HDR content.

We measured around 1,100 nits in HDR mode.

brightness

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After some testing, I found that the PQ9 hit almost 550 nits in SDR mode – which gives a bright picture, but you won't get a lot of bright highlight detail in SDR. While for bright room scenarios you could get brighter by maximizing the backlighting, it could result in a washed out image in darker rooms.

In HDR mode, we measured around 1,100 nits and thus missed the promised 1,200 a bit – but the PQ9 easily achieved 1,200 nits in standard and vivid mode. For both HDR and SDR, this TV is more than bright enough for most viewing situations. Not as bright as the PQX and its bold 3,000 nit peak brightness, but we'll discuss whether I missed that extra punch later in this review .

Backlight

It's true that the PQ9 creates a halo or bloom effect when you have bright objects against a really dark, black background, and that black areas tend to be a little grayed out – we could see the screen lit up when subtitles There were bolts over the black mailbox. However, the fact is that almost all LED-backlit TVs do, and I think Vizio did an admirable job of solving the problem.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Looking at it head-on from direct center wasn't a big problem, but once off-center you could see things cloud over. Again, this is typical of VA type LCD panels, but here it seemed particularly severe compared to some of the other TVs we tested this year. To be fair, these competing TVs were more expensive and didn't get as bright. I think we're looking at a compromise situation where you'll have to spend a lot more to get similar brightness with better backlight control. (It's worth noting that we kept the backlighting on medium for Active Full Array for SDR, HDR, and Dolby Vision as this gave the best results.)

Now to a problem that both I and Vizio found rather annoying: On my test device, the backlight seemed to be slow to respond in some test clips that trace a small white box around a black screen. When I take out Netflix content and go back to the title screen, I can see it darken and then lighten again when I figure out what to do. I call it local dimming delay.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

While testing the actual content to see if the issues were just limited to logos and test screens or not, we found that the backlight was slow to respond, which is problematic in dark rooms where our eyes are more sensitive to displacement Brightness.

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good.

It is known that local dimming delays occur. I've seen it on a number of televisions. However, that delay seemed extreme by comparison, even with other TVs in Vizio's cast. It looks like a bug, but Vizio and I had a hard time tracking it down. Vizio has informed me that there are no widespread reports of this type of problem. As such, it is very likely that the problem is limited to the test pattern I have, but if I do, others could too.

uniformity

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good. I could see vertical bands pretty clearly in images with wide areas of color, and there was some heavy vignetting in the corners where the brightness decreases a bit. Again, that dirty screen effect and vignetting will vary from panel to panel, so your mileage may vary.

Move

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The motion handling of the PQ9 for 24 fps movie content looks great. When the set's film mode is activated, there is no serious judder, although we could see a judder with 30 fps content. (This jerking can be removed by smoothing motion, but you get back the "soap opera effect" which in most cases makes things look generally worse.)

If there's an abundance of fine details to be tracked, you may see some glimmer in these objects, which we've seen on many televisions this year. There is something about high brightness coupled with fine details that seems difficult for current processors.

On the positive side, I didn't see any excessive moire patterns in tight geometric patterns on the PQ9, which suggests that the processor is indeed doing a pretty good job

Play

There were many problems enabling 4K 120Hz with HDR and variable refresh rate (VRR), all of which were suitable for next-gen gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. This has been a problem with many televisions this year.

The gameplay was excellent, with extremely low entry lag and great HDR graphics.

Connecting an Xbox Series X is designed to be an automated process in which the console detects the capabilities of the TV and automatically applies the correct video settings. Unfortunately, there is a bug that requires you to quickly adjust the settings so that everything communicates well with each other.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

To make the adjustment, go to Image Settings and scroll to the bottom of the menu where you will find "Input Settings". By default, the TV is set to Auto, but HDMI 2.1 must be turned on for Xbox Series X to function properly. After that, I also had to restart the TV so the Xbox Series X could get the correct information from the PQ9. It took some work, but we finally got there. Vizio is hoping to fix this bug soon and if it does then this review will be updated accordingly.

The gameplay highlighted the slowness of the backlighting issues mentioned above, especially with regards to the menus for the games. Other than that – which we know could be a bug with this example – the gameplay was excellent, with extremely low input lag and great HDR graphics that really brought the games to life.

Our opinion

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

I started by wondering if the PQ9, being a cheaper TV than the PQX, is the smarter buy. Based on my experience, I cannot make a definitive call.

To make sure the PQ9 has enough brightness for stunning HDR images and doesn't have the excessive redshift that I saw in the PQX. But the local dimming delay is distracting and I did everything I could to eliminate the problem – reset, restart, various settings – but the PQ9 was just an odd feat for us. However, if that lag is just a bug, the PQ9 is an excellent option and probably the smarter buy compared to the admittedly impressive PQX. It would also be one of the best values ​​in high end television that you can buy today.

Is there a better alternative?

No. With its superior brightness and black levels, the Vizio PQ9 is in a class of its own. The comparable Q70T from Samsung is nowhere near as well equipped or exciting to look at. TCL's 8 series is very well matched in terms of price and performance, but it's free and hard to buy right now. LG's Nano90 is very competitive to sell, but this TV is also on its way out as new 2021 models ship to retail stores. For a $ 1,200 65-inch TV with its specs and performance, the Vizio P-Series Quantum can't be touched.

How long it will take?

Given Vizio's track record of overall build quality and HDMI 2.1 features and the PQ9's advanced processor, the TV can last for several years before it may (want to) be replaced.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. For more information, see the Vizio warranty page.

You should buy it

Yes, but only if you have the option to return it should you run into the local dimming problem that I experienced with my test device. At this point, I am encouraged by a low response rate on the PQ9, and the fact is that this TV is tremendous performance for the price.

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