Vizio Jumps on OLED Bandwagon but Keeps Quantum Dot as Flagship Tech

Vizio rolled out its first OLED model as part of its 2020 TV launch before CES Sunday, while reasserting itself as “America’s fastest growing Quantum Dot company." It’s also launching its largest TV to date, the 85-inch P-Series Quantum X, which leads the company’s flagship line that includes 75- and 65-inch models. All LED models have new voice remote technology, full-array local dimming, up to 792 local dimming zones and up to 3,000 nits brightness. All 2020 intros are 4K models. Vizio is keeping quantum dot LED as its flagship technology, slotting the 55- and 65-inch OLED models into a section of the portfolio that’s “built for the cinephile,” it said. The OLEDs’ self-emitting pixels offer “true blacks, infinite contrast and unmatched viewing angles,” in a borderless 4mm thick display, said the company. Vizio’s Elevate sound bar, a 5.1.4-channel unit, is designed to pair with the OLED TVs and includes Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio, with rotating front height speakers. New Vizio IQ processors power all 2020 models and incorporate multistep algorithms said to more accurately upscale HD and Full HD content to 4K resolution, reduce noise and artifacts, and enhance detail and contrast. Vizio is pushing a gaming engine it said will take Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 gaming up a level with support for variable refresh rates, AMD FreeSync and resolutions up to 4K at 120 Hz for better motion clarity and smooth play. All LED models feature HDMI 2.1 and Dolby Vision, HDR 10 Plus, HDR10 and hybrid log gamma high dynamic range. Pricing and availability will be given closer to launch. On why Vizio isn't showing an 8K TV for 2020, a spokesperson told us the company "focuses on the technologies that matter most to consumers rather than bloating its products with unnecessary features that drive up cost." While 8K is "an exciting technology that will further enhance pixel detail, content isn’t available, and brightness limitations make it difficult to match the performance of a 4K UHD TV," he said. Vizio will continue to evaluate 8K "as with all technologies" for inclusion in future product lines, he said. The response was similar to our question on ATSC 3.0, which Vizio isn't announcing support for now.