Vizio's OLED TVs are coming this fall starting at $1,300
The OLED55-H1 and the OLED65-H1 from Vizio undercut LG's cheapest models by a couple hundred dollars.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
After years of manufacturing LCD-based TVs, Vizio is set to sell its first OLED televisions in fall of this year. They'll come in 55- and 65-inch sizes priced at a very reasonable $1,300 and $2,000, respectively. That makes them the least-expensive 2020 OLED TVs announced so far, beating the current prices of LG's 2020 BX series by $200 in both sizes.
TVs that use organic light-emitting diode displays deliver the best picture quality available and generally cost a lot more than LCD screens. CNET's Editors' Choice OLED model for 2019, the B9 series, currently sells for $1,900 at the 65-inch size, while Vizio's best 2020 LCD TV, the P-Series Quantum X, costs $1,500 for the 65-incher.
Vizio 2020 OLED TVs
| Model | Price | Size | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| OLED55-H1 | $1,300 | 55 | Fall |
| OLED65-H1 | $2,000 | 65 | Fall |
Vizio will compete against established OLED names LG and Sony , as well as newcomers Konka and Skyworth, which both also announced OLED TVs for the US at CES 2020. Vizio sells more TVs than any of those brands, however -- its market share is No. 3 in the US after Samsung and TCL, neither of which sell OLED TVs (yet). Vizio has a reputation for both cheap TVs and, at the higher end, models that deliver excellent picture quality for the money, like the 2019 M-Series and P-Series Quantum X. In any case Vizio's entry into the OLED game, and the inevitable competition between it and LG, is a very good thing for high-end TV buyers.
Like the 2020 LCD-based models it announced, Vizio's OLED TVs will include the company's own IQ Ultra Processor for picture processing along with a "ProGaming Engine" with AMD's FreeSync and 4K/120Hz compatibility. They will also offer Vizio's SmartCast 4.0 for streaming and media playback while connectivity includes HDMI 2.1 ports across the board plus a single eARC port (handy for new soundbars like the Sonos Arc). The design is super sleek with a 4 mm bezel and a curved stand bottom designed to hold the optional Elevate sound bar.
The OLED TV's stand can attach to the optional Elevate sound bar.
The backside of the TV, bar attached.
We saw Vizio's OLED TV in person at its CES 2020 suite, and at first glance it looked as good as expected from any OLED TV. Vizio's representatives wouldn't confirm to CNET that its OLED panel will be sourced from LG Display, but did coyly mention the fact that LGD is the only company producing large OLED panels. Both LG and Sony use LG Display panels, as does Skyworth.
We're looking forward to comparing Vizio's OLED TVs to LG's 2020 models like the CX series, and also to the inevitable Black Friday 2020 price drops. We wouldn't be surprised to see a 65-inch for $1,500. We'll see.