Contemporary off its introduced acquisition by Walmart, Vizio has dropped information of a brand new 86-inch TV, the largest display screen but to look from the US-based TV maker.
Extremely-large TVs are nothing uncommon, with the perfect 85-inch TVs now beginning to appear small in comparison with the 98-inch and even bigger fashions that many manufacturers rolled out at CES 2024. What’s uncommon about Vizio’s new 86-inch TV is its worth: $999. That’s not rather more than the 65-inch Vizio M-Collection QX mannequin I reviewed in late 2022, and it is a stone-cold discount for a TV of this dimension.
The brand new 86-inch mannequin tops off the corporate’s 4K TV sequence, which options screens in different sizes starting from 43 inches to 75 inches. It has a full-array LED show and helps the Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+ excessive dynamic vary codecs. The TV’s native refresh price is 60Hz, however gaming at 120fps is feasible when performed at 1080p decision, and there’s additionally assist for ALLM, VRR, and Dolby Imaginative and prescient gaming.
DTS:X audio processing is onboard, which generally features a digital encompass sound choice. The brand new 4K TV additionally comes with a Vizio Voice distant management with a built-in mic, works with Alexa and Google voice assistants, and helps AirPlay2 and Chromecast for streaming from a cellphone or pill.
Huge and low-cost… however good?
Low-priced massive TVs have gotten extra widespread, with even premium manufacturers like Samsung providing inexpensive 85-inch units (and now 98-inch ones for 2024). However as we noticed after we examined the Samsung CU8000 in a 75-inch display screen dimension, the image high quality of those extra fundamental TVs will be missing in key areas, particularly in the case of distinction and black uniformity.
Image high quality shortcomings in lower-cost TVs can typically be related to the backlight know-how used. Pricier fashions usually have a full array LED or mini-LED backlight with native dimming, which evenly distributes the lighting throughout the display screen and boosts distinction. However the Samsung CU8000’s fundamental, edge-lit backlight precipitated deep blacks to look as extra of an elevated grey tone, and for highlights in films with HDR to look comparatively uninteresting.
That’s to not say Vizio’s 86-inch TV will endure the identical shortcomings. It does characteristic a full-array LED backlight, however there was no point out of native dimming in both the press launch Vizio shared with us, or within the product itemizing on the corporate’s web site.
Different funds TV manufacturers similar to TCL and Hisense additionally promote 85-inch fashions for underneath $1,000, and like Vizio’s 86-incher, these use fundamental LED backlights with no native dimming. TechRadar hasn’t examined these fashions, however it’s unlikely that they’d present the identical degree of efficiency as mini-LED TVs such because the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K, fashions rating among the many greatest TVs for combining image high quality with worth.
Each these TVs with an 85-inch display screen dimension price roughly twice as a lot as the brand new 86-inch Vizio. And whereas we are able to’t say if the corporate’s new prime 4K TV can rival the TCL and Hisense mini-LEDs with out first finishing a full assessment, if it comes wherever shut will probably be an unbelievable worth at $999. On the very least, it has an inch of display screen dimension on the competitors.