Fresh off its announced acquisition by Walmart, Vizio has dropped news of a new 86-inch TV, the largest screen yet to release from the US-based TV maker.
Ultra-large TVs are nothing unusual, with the best 85-inch TVs now starting to look small compared to the 98-inch and even larger models that many brands rolled out at CES 2024. What’s unusual about Vizio’s new 86-inch TV is its price: $999. That’s not much more than the 65-inch Vizio M-Series QX model I reviewed in late 2022, and it’s a stone-cold bargain for a TV of this format.
The new 86-inch model tops the company’s 4K TV range, which includes screens in other sizes ranging from 43 inches to 75 inches. It has a full-array LED display and supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats. The TV’s native refresh rate is 60Hz, but 120fps gaming is possible if you play at 1080p resolution, and there’s also support for ALLM, VRR and Dolby Vision gaming.
DTS:X audio processing is on board, which usually includes a virtual surround sound option. The new 4K TV also comes with a Vizio Voice remote with built-in microphone, works with Alexa and Google voice assistants, and supports AirPlay2 and Chromecast for streaming from a phone or tablet.
Big and cheap… but good?
Low-priced large TVs are becoming increasingly common, with even premium brands like Samsung offering affordable 85-inch sets (and now 98-inch ones for 2024). But as we saw when we tested the Samsung CU8000 with a 75-inch screen size, the picture quality of these more basic TVs can fall short in key areas, especially when it comes to contrast and black uniformity.
Shortcomings in picture quality in cheaper TVs can often be related to the backlight technology used. More expensive models usually have a full array LED or mini-LED backlight with local dimming, which distributes the lighting evenly across the screen and increases contrast. But the Samsung CU8000’s basic edge-lit lighting made deep blacks appear more like a heightened gray, and highlights in movies with HDR looked relatively dull.
That’s not to say Vizio’s 86-inch TV will have the same shortcomings. It features a full-array LED backlight, but there was no mention of local dimming in the press release Vizio shared with us, or in the product listing on the company’s website.
Other budget TV brands like TCL and Hisense also sell 85-inch models for under $1,000, and like Vizio’s 86-incher, these use standard LED backlighting without local dimming. Ny Breaking hasn’t tested these models, but they’re unlikely to offer the same level of performance as mini LED TVs like the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K, models that are among the best TVs when it comes to combining picture quality with value.
Both TVs with an 85-inch screen size cost roughly twice as much as the new 86-inch Vizio. And while we can’t say whether the company’s new top 4K TV can rival the TCL and Hisense mini-LEDs without first completing a full review, if it’s anything close, it’ll be a incredible value at $999. It has at least an inch of screen size over the competition.