Vizio officially launched its new P (Performance) series of...

Vizio officially launched its new P (Performance) series of Ultra HD TVs Tuesday in New York, pitting its flagship 65-inch TVs against its top rival Samsung. Vizio hung its high-end TVs art-style on the walls while also holding video “shootouts” in darkened rooms of its 65-inch 4K TVs against competing models from Samsung’s 8500 series. Because most material currently available for viewing is HD, Vizio compared upscaled content between the two sets to promote its upscaling engine, Vizio Product Marketing Manager Carlos Angulo told us. Angulo noted the significant price difference between the two models, tagging the competing Samsung TV at $4,999 versus Vizio’s $2,199 price. Our price-check Wednesday revealed a selling price of $3,179, a $300 discount, on the Samsung model at Costco, far below the figure Angulo gave but still a hefty premium over the Vizio TV of the same size. During the test using a Spears and Munsil evaluation tool, Angulo pointed out motion artifacts in the Samsung that didn’t occur in the Vizio, an expected result in a select test chosen by the sponsoring company. Using clips from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Robynne Curry, director-product marketing, demoed the same two TV models in a different room for a contrast and black-level comparison. While the Vizio TV’s 64 LED zones produced more uniform lighting versus the edge-lit LED model from Samsung that had a halo effect in the lower left of the screen, we also noticed too much contrast in one scene on the Vizio TV, where the sky appeared to have a textured pattern. Curry said the TVs were using their “out of the box” settings, saying settings could be tweaked for optimum performance and personal taste. We asked Curry if Vizio would follow the P series, its first Ultra HD TVs, with a high-dynamic range Dolby Vision model, and she repeated the company line: “We haven’t made any announcements yet.” She steered us instead to the P series, which includes five models from 50 inches ($999) to 70 inches ($2,499). Vizio was one of three TV companies to demonstrate Dolby Vision TVs at CES last January, and Sharp’s complete 2014 TV lineup doesn’t include a model with Dolby Vision, leaving TCL and Vizio as likely suppliers. Dolby has said a Dolby Vision model will be in market by year-end.