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The Xbox Series X and PS5 are here, and frankly, your TV isn't up to the task of handling those next-generation consoles. So, what can you do? Upgrade, of course. And if you're looking for the best gaming TV for a reasonable-ish amount of money, the latest Vizio P Series checks the boxes.

And you know what, even if you don't care about gaming but really want a TV that's ridiculously beautiful without spending OLED prices, the latest Vizio P Series is worth a look. You'll have a few choices, though most of that is down to size. We're testing the $1,299.99 65-inch P65Q9-J model. If you need a larger screen, you can spend another $700 to step up to 75-inch inches with no other differences. Vizio also sells a $3,099 85-inch PQX model, but the feature set differs enough it doesn't compare to the smaller siblings.

So, what do you get at the 65 and 75-inch models? A seriously powerful TV!

Specs (as reviewed)

  • Display Size: 65-inches (64.5″ diagonal)
  • Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
  • HDMI Ports: 4x HDMI 2.1, eARC
  • Local Dimming: Yes, up to 210 zones
  • Refresh Rate: 120Hz
  • Pro-Gaming Engine with AMD Freesync
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11n
  • Smart Home Integration: Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit
  • Start TV OS: SmartCast with Voice Remote
  • Casting: Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast
  • VESA Mount: 400×400
  • Weight: 54.67 lbs. with stand; 53.31 without

Design and Remote, Just Like the Other Vizios

A Vizio remote against the back of a TV
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

To be honest, I'm half tempted to just paste in our entire "Design and Remote" section from our Vizio M Series Quantum (2022) review. At first glance, you might think the two TVs looked identical. Squint a little and you'll see the P-Series places the feet close together, which may be beneficial for anyone using a narrow TV stand. I wall mount my TVs though, so it doesn't make a difference.

But speaking of the feet and stand, like other Vizio TVs this year, the P-Series stand comes with a handy trick. If you buy a compatible Vizio soundbar, it can slot into the stand. The stand even has two height settings so you can ensure the soundbar doesn't block the display. And if you wall mount like me, you can use the stand to "wall mount" the soundbar, too.

Naturally, that means you need Vizio's soundbar if you want to take advantage of that. If you don't already have a soundbar or surround system, you might want to consider it. Like every other flatscreen these days, the Vizio's speakers aren't anything to write home about.

That makes sense, though, as TVs these days don't leave much room for honkin' speakers that make superior sound. The P-Series is no exception. It also follows the "three-bezel-less" design introduced in this years' Vizio lineup. The top and side bezels are incredibly thin, and the bottom bezel is "thicker." And by "thicker" I still mean, "thinner than bezels were five or ten years ago" but noticeably thicker than the other three. Does it look nice? At this point when it's on, good TVs like the Vizio don't attract attention with what's outside the screen---they please your eyeballs with the screen itself. And when it's off, it's a giant black rectangle. No changing that, really.

A sideview of a TV showing HDMI ports, coax, and ethernet.
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

I do know this---more TV manufacturers should follow Vizio's lead and place HDMI ports in easy to reach locations. In this case, you'll find all four HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC capability) on the side. Even mounted on my wall, that's good enough to get to without much effort. No HDMI ports on the backside is a big win. As for buttons, the TV only has one---for power. You'll need the remote for everything else.

Like the other Vizios, the new Smartcast remote is more than serviceable. You can talk to it if you want, and surprisingly my wife did that more often than I expected. She usually doesn't embrace voice commands because they're more cumbersome than just using the remote. But Vizio's voice command options worked well enough.

Everything else about it is pretty okay. You'll get a few buttons for services you might not subscribe to, along with the usual choices of input and volume control. It's longer than a Roku remote, and I still tend to forget where the home button is when the lights are turned off. But it does the job.

SmartCast Is Also Pretty Good

A Vizio TV with the smartcast interface open
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

I'm not going to spend too long on SmartCast, because once again everything we said in the M Series review holds. The SmartCast TV OS is pretty decent and it does the job. A lot like the remote really. It has nearly everything you could want, and it seems to be adding more all the time.

You won't find an app store for SmartCast. Instead, every app available---from Apple TV to HBO Max---comes preinstalled. And when Vizio adds a new app, that automatically downloads, too. On the one hand, that means you don't have to go digging into an app store to find the apps you want. On the other hand, it gives you a giant row of apps filled with endless options you don't need and can't delete.

Thankfully, you can at least reorganize the row. I put the services I subscribe to up front and all is well. What you can't avoid, unfortunately, is ads. Sometimes when you turn on the TV or switch to the SmartCast input, you'll get a full-screen advertisement for some new service or show. It's not immediately obvious how to close the ad, and the wrong button click can launch the show or channel. That's pretty annoying. At least Roku sticks its ads off to the side where you can ignore them.

But besides that, Smartcast does what it's supposed to do. It shows you the apps you want and you can launch them. It's still missing some apps and services, like Twitch, but most of the common apps are there from Netflix to Amazon Prime. When I first received the review unit, Vizio didn't have HBO Max, and now it does. So, it's clear Vizio is working on plugging the few holes it has.

The fact that it can work for both Google Cast and Apple AirPlay 2 helps. And in the worst-case scenario, you could always use something else instead like a Roku stick for Google Chromecast.

Oh My Goodness, This Display

An episode of 'Star Trek: TNG' showing the Enterprise-D on a TV
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

So, let's get to the TV part of this TV review. How does it look? In a few words? Holy Freaking Cow. Look, this isn't an OLED screen. But it also doesn't cost OLED screen buttloads of money. OLED TVs with 120 Hz displays cost $2,000 to start. Vizio brought down the price by going with QLED (called Quantum Dot here).

And sure, the black levels don't quite reach the blacks of OLED, but it's still pretty darn dark. A very close runner-up. I've been rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation recently, and when the Enterprise showed up for a hero shot my jaw dropped. Space never looked so good, and one of my favorite sci-fi ships looked glorious.

In my living room, I have a 4K UltraShort Throw projector paired with a 150-inch ALR screen. And sure, when I want the "big screen" experience I turn to that. Projectors, though, can't produce the same dark levels at this screen; in fact, not even close. So when I want the most vivid colors I can get and dark inky blacks, I "settle" for this 65-inch screen. It produces a superior image.

'Spider-Man' jumping off a building as shown on a Vizio TV
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

Considering it can manage both 4K and 120 FPS, you know I had to hook up my Xbox Series X and PS5, and it did not disappoint. Admittedly, I spent more time playing Xbox games on the TV, but that's down to how convoluted Sony made getting PS5 games with full next-gen console support. Rocket League on the Xbox looks fantastic. Rocket League on the PS5 looks "just" pretty good since it isn't upgraded for next-gen consoles on the Sony side of things.

But jump into one of the few games on PS5 or many games on Xbox Series X that does support 120 FPS, and the Vizio really starts to shine. When you're in one of those titles, everything just moves more smoothly. It's like watching someone slide across the kitchen floor in their socks for the first time when all your life you've only seen it attempted on concrete. If you've never seen how it could be, you might not know the difference. But once you do, it's all you want to see.

But Bad News for PS5

Vizio TV with Forza Horizon 4 on.
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek

I almost came into this review ready to call the P65Q9-J the perfect gaming TV. After all, it's far more affordable than an OLED equivalent, while still hosting impressive capabilities like 120FPS support and AMD Freesync. It's gorgeous, the ports are in the right place, and even the included feet have a use if you wall mount your TV.

So, why can't I call it perfect? Because something about the TV doesn't quite play friendly with the Sony PS5. Three or four times during the review period, I've fired up the console and TV only to be greeted by a green screen. I could hear my PS5, but I couldn't see any images other than the color green. When that happens, the only solution seems to be unplugging the TV and trying again.

Those three or four times have only occurred after months of testing, so it's not a constant battle, thankfully. But still often enough to be annoying. And a quick Google suggests this isn't a one-off issue, but it's not clear if the problem is on Vizio's end or Sony's. Unfortunately, the problems with PS5 don't end there.

About once every other week when I fire up the console, I can see everything fine, but I can't hear anything. The solution in that scenario is to switch over to the SmartCast interface, pick a video on Netflix and play it for a few seconds; from there, I can switch back to the PS5 input and I have sound. It happens more often, but it's easier to solve.

I don't consider these deal breakers, but it certainly is unfortunate. And to be clear, this never happens with my Xbox or my Chromecast. Vizio does seem to be working to address problems like though and frequently issues firmware updates to improve its TVs.

A Gorgeous TV for the Money

At $1,299.99, you can't really call this a budget TV. You can certainly buy a 4K TV for less money. But can you buy a QLED 4K 120 Hz TV for less? That's a harder ask. You get a lot of TV for your money, and while it might benefit gamers the most, the P65Q9-J is great for just watching content, too.

Vizio managed to pack a lot of features and a great-looking display into something that doesn't cost multiple thousands of dollars. You'd probably spend $2,000 or more to get something noticeably better. And I keep going back to that moment where the Enterprise hit the display fullscreen. We're talking about a show from the 90s that has no business looking good on a modern TV. But my jaw dropped.

That's really what great televisions should be about in the end---even in "budget" territory. You want maximum "eye candy" for your dollar, and I can confidently say that's what you get here. Thanks to spending more dollars you get more eye candy. And it's a feast for days. If you want a TV that can handle next-generation consoles, gives you gorgeous blacks and great picture quality without costing two arms and a leg, this is the one.

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VIZIO P-Series 65-inch Smart TV (P65Q9-J)

Pros
  • Gorgeous Display
  • Dark blacks
  • SmartCast is pretty good
Cons
  • Somewhat expensive
  • Occasional issues with PS5