Vizio Positions $2,200 Flagship Quantum Dot LED TV as OLED Killer

The flagship 2018 P-Series quantum 65-inch LED 4K HDR smart TV ($2,199) balances 192 zones of local dimming for contrast and deep black levels with a 2,000-nits peak brightness rating to make the most of HDR, Carlos Angulo, senior product marketing manager, told us. The top-of-the-line model has a quantum dot film and achieves 72 percent of the Rec. 2020 color gamut, said Angulo.

On whether the P-Series Quantum is Vizio’s OLED alternative or an interim step before the company adds OLED to its portfolio, Angulo said the company is always evaluating different display technologies available. “For us it was extremely important to put out a display that could continue to live up to what Vizio is known for,” which he said was “bringing high-end technologies at a price point that’s fairly disruptive.” The flagship model, available only in a 65-inch screen size, will be sold at Amazon, Costco and Sam’s Club.

Vizio expanded HDR to its entry-level E series TVs for 2018, and now all Vizio TVs offer Dolby Vision, hybrid log-gamma and HDR10 flavors of HDR, Angulo said. On whether Vizio also is eyeing HDR10+, he said, “We’re not making an announcement today regarding HDR10+.” To support HDR, Vizio’s TVs range in nit peak brightness levels from 400 for the 43-inch E series to 2,000 for the 65-inch flagship, which doubles the nit peak brightness level of the 65-inch P series TV ($1,299), he said.

Appealing to cord cutters was a theme at the 2018 line rollout. After taking a hiatus from building tuners into its TVs -- rendering the sets monitors rather than full TVs -- the company brought tuners back across the board for 2018, a decision that won’t affect 2018 model pricing, said Angulo. On the rationale for the decision, he cited an increase in consumer cord cutting or “cord trimming” and said Vizio is looking for more ways to serve consumers looking for free viewing options.

Matt Thompson, director of product management for SmartCast, highlighted 2018 features that are available in a software update to SmartCast users going back to the 2016 model year. He demonstrated an Amazon Echo with Alexa turning on a Vizio TV with a “start the demo” command that also powered on a couple of Philips Hue smart bulbs. Consumers with an Echo can control simple functions such as volume channel switching via voice, Thompson said. Alexa can pause and rewind streaming content but can’t yet handle input switching or content search, and Thompson didn’t have a timeline for when that capability would be available.

Thompson demonstrated a Google Home speaker that was able to play a program based on the command, “Find Seinfeld.” The TV launched Crackle and began playing the program via Google Assistant. Google Home also works with YouTube, HBO, Netflix and a few others, he said. Users can use one assistant for one command and pick up with another, he showed us, by having Alexa pause the living room TV and have Google resume play. “Most households have one or the other,” he said of Alexa and Google Assistant, but the Vizio software accommodates both. SmartCast TVs can integrate with Google Assistant on weather. On command, a weather overlay comes on screen when a user asks for the weather, showing current conditions and a five-day forecast. It synched with audio from the Google Home.

Thompson highlighted SmartCast’s ability to help consumers find content at different price points, or for free. With the remote, they can see new releases and apps such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and soon, YouTube. Viewers also can cast content from iPhone and Android phones via the SmartCast app, he said. Via cast, customers have access to “thousands” of apps, he said. Vizio’s SmartCast remote app features a swipe pad to facilitate search via software developed by Vizio. He searched for The Social Network and three options came up at different prices. Search supports most of the apps available on the system, he said. “Getting users more ways to watch content without having to open up their wallets is key to the SmartCast OS,” Thompson said.

To further support cord cutters, Vizio announced Tuesday a yet-unbranded offering of more than 100 free streaming channels. Thompson pressed an input called Free TV -- the working title -- and a guide of streaming channels came up on screen. The feature will also be available to SmartCast TVs going back to 2016, he said. “Anybody can get into cord cutting” by using the channel up/down feature to scroll through free channels, he said.

Vizio also has partnerships with Newsy, Zumo and Pluto, enabling customers to watch various news shows for free “without a sign-in, without a subscription,” Thompson said.

In its sound bar line, Vizio introduced its first Dolby Atmos products. Vizio 46-inch 5.1.4-channel and 3.1.2-channel sound bars will ship this summer with up-firing speakers for the height channel, along with an entry-level, non-Dolby model with DTS Master Audio but not DTS:X. Prices weren’t available.

Ryan Tubman, Vizio senior product manager-audio, demonstrated the sound bars using content from three Oppo optical disc players. Asked if Vizio was buying all remaining players following Oppo’s recent announcement it's exiting the market, Tubman joked: “We bought all we could so we can sell them next year for twice as much.”

On how Vizio is preparing for possible tariffs if there’s a trade war with China, a company spokesman told us the company is taking a wait-and-see approach.