Vizio P-Series Quantum aims high, costs $2,100 for 65 inches
Built to compete against high-end models from Samsung, Sony and LG, the quantum-dot equipped, super-bright TV is now shipping.
- 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.
Judging from its specs, the P-Series Quantum looks like Vizio's best TV yet.
Would you pay two grand for a 65-inch Vizio ?
That's the essential question posed by the all-new P-Series Quantum, which just started shipping for $2,100 from major retailers and Vizio.com.
Vizio certainly tempts picture quality aficionados with the right specs. The company claims a searing 2,000 nits of peak brightness, which, if true, would make it among the brightest TVs I've ever measured. Equally important is its prodigious number of full-array local dimming zones -- 192 -- which should allow it to minimize blooming and maximize local contrast. Finally, its quantum dots likely achieve a wider color gamut, which has been a relative weakness of past Vizio sets I've reviewed, including the M-Series.
The Quantum was first announced in April along with Vizio's step-down M-Series, reviewed last month, and non-Quantum P-Series (review coming soon). It's available in only one size: 65 inches. Vizio says it considered making a larger size, say 75 inches, but decided not to for cost reasons. My take: If it's tough to imagine paying two grand for a 65-inch Vizio, how about twice that for a 75 incher?
65-inch TV shoppers in the $2,000-ish price bracket have plenty of great options right now. The most compelling are 2017 LG OLED TVs like the B7A at $2,300. Although it will certainly be brighter, I'd be surprised if the Quantum outperformed those OLED TVs overall.
Other contenders include the excellent Samsung Q8 (also $2,300) and Sony X900F ($2,000), both of which fall short of the Quantum's lofty specs. Finally, the money-no-object, I-just-want-the-best-picture crowd might be curious how the Quantum compares with the Samsung Q9 ($3,000) and 2018 OLEDs like the LG C8 ($3,500).
I expect to review the Q9 and the Quantum, as well as whatever other high-end TVs Sony may have up its sleeve, in the next couple of months. In the meantime, anxious Twitter friends, hang tight.
Vizio’s response: No official update on timing for the P Quantum beyond “summer.” But a source tells me late July is a possibility. We’ll see. https://t.co/8UbhvePIbn
— David Katzmaier (@dkatzmaier) July 6, 2018