VIZIO P-Series Ultra HD Displays Preview

VIZIO has made a huge splash in the high definition display market. They've had their hands in every segment from the most budget conscious to those that care about video quality and have the money to buy quality. As they do every year at CES, they're announcing many new lines of displays. We wanted to take a look at their new P-Series as it features some of the latest technologies that should give even the most ardent skeptic a reason to take a second look at VIZIO.

The P-Series is second only to the Reference series from VIZIO. While the Reference series has the top of the line video processing, it only comes in 65" and 120" sizes, so it is targeted at a different type of consumer. The P-Series represents a more budget-minded consumer that wants a reasonably sized screen that gives a great picture at a reasonable price. How great and how reasonable? We don't know yet as pricing hasn't been announced, but we can make some guesses about the picture quality.

To start with, the P-Series will feature Ultra 4K panels. This is the new state-of-the-art in display technology and boasts four times the resolution of the standard 1080p panel (although 1080p is more than sufficient for almost every consumer level application). More exciting for us is the inclusion of local dimming LED backlighting. One of the ways to cut corners in flat panel displays is to use edge lighting. While this makes for a very thin TV, the brightness tends to be uneven and black levels suffer. Local dimming puts a number of lighting "zones" behind the panel so that they can be shut completely off when needed. The P-Series features 64 different dimmable zones.

While getting the black levels correct is a big step toward an accurate picture, color correction is also important. The P-Series feature Advanced Color Management and Active Pixel Tuning. Advanced Color Management gives users precise color control to dial in their levels while Active Pixel Tuning allows for luminescence control at the pixel level. Custom installers and power users will appreciate these control options.

One traditional criticism of LCD panels is motion blur. Fast motion across an LCD panel tends to "streak," making events such as sports harder to watch. VIZIO is looking to correct this problem with their new Clear Action Rate 960. Clear Action Rate 960 uses high-speed effective refresh rates and precise synchronization of backlight scanning to enhance motion clarity and deliver incredibly crisp fast action scenes. VIZIO also developed a V6 six-core processor, comprised of a quad-core GPU plus dual-core CPU, to deliver advanced graphics processing and even faster smart TV user experience. 

Of course, the P-Series will be a "smart" display with access to apps. Rather than requiring users to run an Ethernet cable to their living room (or buy an extender), the P-Series will sport a 802.11ac dual-band MIMO wireless connection for quick streaming from your home network. This is important as VIZIO has included HEVC H.265 codec support - necessary for streaming 4k content from sources like Netflix. HDCP 2.2 is on board as well, allowing streaming from protected Ultra HD devices. The only apps currently announced for the P-Series are Netflix and YouTube, but that lineup is sure to expand.

Pricing has not been announced, but the P-Series will be available in 50”, 55”, 60”, 65”and 70” screen sizes. One interesting thing to note is the lack of 3D support. In fact, if you look at VIZIO's lineup from CES, you'll note that 3D has been completely dropped. Abandoning 3D by such a huge manufacturer of displays surely indicates that we've been right all this time that 3D does, in fact, suck.

Conclusion

We wish VIZIO had announced the pricing of the P-Series so that we could get a bit more excited about the lineup. From a technological standpoint, the P-Series looks top-notch with a 4k panel, 64 areas of dimmable backlighting, 802.11ac dual-band MIMO wireless connection, and H.265 codec support for 4k streaming. While VIZIO has suggested that their prices will be very competitive, we've seen 4k display prices drop within a handful of weeks after their release. We expect that VIZIO will keep their prices close to their chest until they get close to shipping.

For more information, please visit www.vizio.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.