The Vizio M-Series Quantum 2020 is a budget 4K TV. You’re getting most of what you’d want out of a 4K experience, like full array local dimming, good contrast ratio, saturated colors, and fantastic color accuracy and gamut. Gamers will benefit mostly from VRR, low input lag, and a fast response time. It doesn’t get very bright, though, and depending on the content, shadow details can suffer.
PICTURE QUALITY
4K
- The majority of trusted reviewers were satisfied by the 4K resolution on the Best Budget TV, the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020. It’s virtually perfect in that regard; however, upscaling lower resolution content lagged behind by a small margin. There aren’t any noticeable artifacts, but content blown up from 480 or 720p is good, but not perfect. Content in 1080p fares better, though not by much.
Color
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 TVs come out of the box with decent color accuracy, but testers were more enamored with color accuracy once the colors were calibrated. Once calibrated, colors were nicely saturated. This is attributed to its wide color gamut, which covers over 99% of the DCI P3 color space and almost 87% of the Rec 2020.
Black
- Most testers enjoyed the deep black levels the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 could produce. It helps that it has Full Array Local Dimming technology, too. There are enough inky black levels to highlight HDR content—especially details in shadows.
Brightness
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 Smart TVs are described as having decent brightness levels, though it depends on the content viewers partake in. SDR brightness fared better than HDR brightness, but not by much. It varied between TV shows and movies, but both SDR brightness and HDR brightness were able to fend off bright rooms; however, it’s better placed in a darker room.
Contrast
- Most product experts were pleased by the contrast ratio for the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 Smart TVs. It created some particularly rich black levels and made colors pop pretty well, thanks in part to its quantum dot technology. However, its contrast ratio takes a small hit from the Full Array Local Dimming, which is supposed to help. Contrast performance still pushes through despite that for an overall pleasing experience.
Dimming
- Testers described the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 Smart TV as having a subpar local dimming feature. Local dimming simply isn’t bright enough to be a major asset to both SDR and HDR content. With fewer local dimming zones, users will notice some backlight bleeding and blooming due to having fewer local dimming zones, despite having Full Array Local Dimming.
Gaming
- Numerous reviewers appreciated the Vizion M7 Series Quantum 2020 Smart TV’s ability to handle video games. It isn’t the best for gaming—far from it—but it does bring a few goodies, such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to reduce screen tearing, low input lag, and fast response time. Its overall image quality is also a plus, like decent black levels, rich color gamut, and good HDR performance.
HDR
- Experts agree the overall performance of high dynamic range is good. While the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 has a solid contrast ratio, quantum dots are still putting in the work to bring richer colors and improve image quality. It also supports Dolby Vision, aside from HDR10.
Motion
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 Smart TVs are described as having really good motion blur handling. Testers found that for the most part, scenes don’t blur or leave behind transition artifacts, though a few to slip by such as color trailing. What helps is the introduction of BFI (Black Frame Insertion) to help reduce the effect of motion blur with fast-moving objects.
Refresh
- Reviewers liked the refresh rate of the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020, since it features a 60Hz refresh rate, but saddened it doesn’t hit the target 120Hz, like the Vizio OLED 2020 does. On the bright side, it comes with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which helps with screen tearing.
Response
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020’s very low input lag was admired by most trusted experts, with nearly half the input lag of the Vizio M-Series (MQ6) LED TV. During a full transition, response time measures 12ms, which is well in range for gamers to take advantage of.
Viewing Angle
- Product testers were disappointed by the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020’s narrow viewing angles. It isn’t the worst experience, and guests can still sit at a moderate angle, but it quickly loses its picture quality after 30 degrees.
Burn-in
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020, RTings was delighted to report, shouldn’t experience any burn-in.
DESIGN
Stand
- Product testers were left feeling good about the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020’s stand, though there was some slight wobbling. They’re rather wide, so a large surface is needed, but overall keeps the TV firmly in place.
Back
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 satisfied most reviewers, due to its simplicity. The back is forgettably plain, but side-facing ports allow for easy wall mounting. The Vizio M7 Series Quantum delivers an overall very good picture, plenty bright and colorful with no real drawbacks. The only issue is that the plastic near the airflow vents on the back flexes a bit, but otherwise, there aren’t any apparent gaps. If you like to watch 24fps playback content (i.e. HDTVs) you’ll have to wait until the next-to-the-last day of the year for the TV’s battery life to kick in.
- What reviewers didn’t like was the lack of cable management.
Borders
- Experts were indifferent to the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020’s bezels, but did note they were thin—just 0.47”—and weren’t distracting at all.
Thickness
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 has an acceptable thickness, according to reviewers. This is because it only measures to 2.95” at its largest portion, which when mounted to the wall won’t stick out very far.
FEATURES
Tuner
- Testers were indifferent by the existence of an RF antenna tuner, but it’s there if users want to use it.
Input
- Trusted reviewers agreed Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 TVs have a fair selection of ports. Along with four HDMI 2.0 ports, there’s one USB port, a digital optical audio out, composite, analog audio out RVA, tuner, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi.
Remote Control
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020’s remote control wasn’t liked by most reviewers, due to its cheap-feeling plastic and lack of voice control. It has a few shortcut buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Xumo and more, but otherwise is insignificant.
SMART TV
Apps
- Many product reviewers were pleased by Vizio’s SmartCast platform, since it came with many of the big hitters like Disney+, Apple TV, Netflix, and Amazing Prime Video. Users also get a choice of unusual ones, such as Tubi and Pluto TV.
- What disappointed reviewers was the inability to add more apps, but since Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 are supported, external devices can stream missing apps.
Streaming
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 streaming performance is average, reviewers agree. It can connect to Ethernet or Wi-Fi for a smoother experience. Its best feature, however, is support for Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2.
Menu
- Most experts were fine with the performance of the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 4K TV’s menu, referred to as Vizio SmartCast 3.0. Its layout is simple, with apps along the bottom, and getting around is straightforward. Sometimes it struggles from a bug or two, but otherwise responds well enough.
SOUND QUALITY
Audio, Bass, and Soundstage
- The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2020 TV has mediocre sound quality, according to reviewers. Its volume can get loud, yet stay clear (especially dialogue), but the bass is lacking definition, so verbose action scenes will lose out on that audio goodness. It’s best to invest in external sound options to fully appreciate Dolby Atmos.
