Vizio 86-inch Smart TV and 2.1 Soundbar Review: An Affordable Big Screen With a Few Big Tradeoffs

I find fund TVs to beryllium a large refresher if you’re similar maine and you’ve spent excessively agelong agonizing implicit the QLEDs, OLEDs, and each that high-falutin, high-end representation technology. Even still, the $1,000 Vizio 86-inch Smart TV pushes the boundaries of size and capabilities. If fund TVs are each astir tradeoffs, past this large lad has plenty. Make nary mistake with this review, there’s plentifulness to similar excessively if you conscionable privation a big, large tv to revel successful that consciousness of excess. 

The V4K86C-0804 pairs amended erstwhile you nexus it with 1 of the latest Vizio 2.1 soundbars. The institution sent america 1 of these audio units for reappraisal with the TV, and wide it’s a seamless acquisition that seems the bare minimum for this size of TV astatine $170. The latest budget-end 2.1 soundbars travel with the branded “Quickfit” strategy that involves you skewing successful 2 attachment points to the TV, allowing you to slot it nether the tv with small fuss. It is simply a bully enactment if you privation a cheaper soundbar to capable the room, but it whitethorn not lucifer the afloat boisterousness of an 86-inch display.

The 86-incher is an absorbing enactment astatine $1,000 MSRP for its mammoth size. For comparison, TCL’s 85S551G Google TV is $1,300 MSRP astatine 85 inches (though you’ll find it connected merchantability regularly for hundreds less). Still, astir radical don’t person the abstraction for specified a large TV, and those that bash volition inactive beryllium giving up connected the prime benefits of mini-LED. There is the large Vizio Quantum and Quantum Pro QLEDs going for astatine oregon little than Vizio’s 86-inch LED. And don’t fto the size steer you distant from a deal. You tin find fair-sized, prime LED TVs from different budget-type TV makers similar Hisense’s U7N that outgo hundreds of dollars little if you sound a fewer inches off.

There is simply a usage lawsuit for these types of displays. My bureau watched a week and a fractional of the 2024 Paris Olympics enactment with Vizio’s 86-inch 4K TV. The surface was truthful large, it wouldn’t adjacent acceptable connected the array we brought with america to a caller bureau space. Instead, it sat connected the level but was truthful large it kept the full Giz unit entertained with a fewer spare chairs and a azygous loveseat. As acold arsenic my coworkers were concerned, the size meant they could beryllium backmost and enjoy, contempt the precise constricted viewing angles.

As large arsenic it was to person the full squad enjoying the TV astatine once, it was acold from a cleanable experience. For one, Vizio’s TV doesn’t travel with an ethernet port. It’s a well-known tradeoff with the marque of cheaper TVs, but it means my enjoyment of this quadrennial lawsuit is beholden to my WiFi speeds. That wouldn’t beryllium arsenic large of an contented if the TV did not admit my bureau WiFi. Instead, I was signed connected with much spotty “guest” WiFi astatine slower net speeds. If I was hoping to usage Peacock’s multi-view streams of 4 events astatine once, I was dealing with changeless jaggies and interruptions.

But there’s a batch to like, particularly erstwhile you’re paying a measly $1,000 for a 4K TV that’s arsenic wide arsenic a play cart. It’s a DLED TV, truthful you can’t expect specified representation prime you’ll find connected 4K QLED similar Sony’s Bravia 7, but you’re besides not paying the much than $2,000 MSRP for the 65-inch oregon bigger mentation of the TV. It’s astir arsenic overmuch arsenic you’d walk connected chap large TVs from fund brands similar TCL

Vizio 86-inch 4K Smart TV Review: Design and UI

There’s a Severe Lack of HDMI and Ethernet Ports

Vizio’s distant plan is spartan and effective. Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

There are a fewer options for however you tin acceptable up your 86-inch TV. The feet spell connected acold to the ends of the TV, 63 inches apart. You amended person a large TV basal to acceptable it up on, oregon other get acceptable to drill successful for the partition mount. 

You’ll apt request a small to assistance enactment the feet connected this large boy, but erstwhile they’re on, I recovered the 86-inch surface is very, precise stable. I could rack it with astir of my spot and not adjacent perceive the integrative strain. Part of that is due to the fact that it’s a heavy TV. It measures astir 17 inches heavy astatine its thickest end. That’s truly not a large woody unless you program to bent it from a wall. 

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

This is yet different tv that decides to instrumentality its powerfulness cord connected the other extremity of its comparatively fewer HDMI ports. There’s besides lone 1 eARC HDMI larboard that volition beryllium your main prime for your consoles. However, if you opt for the Vizio soundbar you’ll request to marque hard choices arsenic Vizio requires you to instrumentality your audio done the eARC port. That leaves a scant 2 different HDMI ports disposable for immoderate different devices.

In the end, the TV’s larboard enactment leaves a batch of options disconnected the table. Just to remark connected the deficiency of an ethernet port, there’s nary existent mode to instal drivers to person the net spell done HDMI oregon the azygous USB-Type A port. The U.S. is afloat of zip codes wherever definite telecom companies person monopolies connected the internet. If you’re idiosyncratic who’s perpetually annoyed astatine WiFi interruptions oregon mediocre connections, this fund TV doesn’t marque things immoderate easier.

At the precise least, Vizio’s redesigned UI is present easier than ever to navigate. My net transportation didn’t help, but erstwhile the main leafage loaded it’s plentifulness casual to find your most-used apps and services from the folders recovered close adjacent to your apps and inputs. Vizio’s updated UI lets you entree your apps easy without immoderate jumbled menus oregon unnecessary clicking around—and that’s the astir importat thing. The TV and settings menus are besides straightforward, and they avoids each the unnecessary clicking astir I get connected LG TVs. Simply put, the UI does the job.

The TV doesn’t person each the crippled barroom features you’ll find connected the latest Sony and Samsung TVs, which fto you rapidly modify the VRR, cheque HDR settings, oregon power the solution without going done excessively galore menus. 

Vizio 86-inch 4K Smart TV Review: Visual Quality

There’s Only So Much You Can Get Out of DLED, But What’s There Works

Don’t expect achromatic levels connected par with mini-LED, contempt this TV’s premium size. Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

There’s lone truthful overmuch prime you tin expect from DLED technology. We’re astatine the constituent wherever OLED and mini-LED are truthful ubiquitous we’re eyeing a aboriginal of tandem OLEDs, micro-LED, oregon adjacent NanoLED arsenic the adjacent large thing. However, a 4K TV is inactive a 4K TV, and the viewing acquisition connected Vizio’s surface is inactive beauteous damn bully erstwhile you hone successful connected the close settings.

I recovered that determination are not galore settings you truly request to alteration to get the astir cinematic experience. I ended up sticking with Calibrated mode for astir non-game content, and Game Mode for some the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The TV was besides automatically acceptable to “warm” colors, which means erstwhile I play a 4K Blu-Ray of The Matrix it would look acold much greenish than what its really expected to be. My proposition is to power it backmost to “normal” for a much theater-like experience.

There are a fewer precocious options that you whitethorn privation to stray distant from. Active Pixel Tuning volition effect successful an overly sharpened representation with an other spot of unwanted smoothing. You’ll privation to support backlight power connected for the involvement of amended contrast. The Black Detail setting, which is expected to amended details successful acheronian areas of the screen, doesn’t assistance overmuch with opposition but simply boosts the lights more. It could beryllium utile for those gaming and wanting to spot enemies successful the shadows, and it’s the benignant of enactment you’d usually find connected modern TV’s crippled barroom settings.

A nonstop LED TV is ne'er going to person the aforesaid level of opposition arsenic mini-LED oregon much costly TVs, but this Vizio is not a slouch. The blacks were, connected the whole, reasonably deep. Still, successful movies similar Oppenheimer, definite scenes volition look acold much grey than they should, adjacent nether Calibrated Dark settings. You’ll inactive get large 4K prime that’s each the easier to spot crossed the country with the 86-inch Vizio’s bulky size. Better yet, determination wasn’t astir arsenic overmuch reflection and nonstop glare arsenic I anticipated adjacent erstwhile the TV was positioned straight adjacent to an unfastened window.

Gaming is besides a good clip connected the 86-inch Vizio. The gameplay connected some PS5 and Xbox Series X was creaseless astatine their max FPS. The colors connected games similar Star Wars Jedi: Survivor were bully and vibrant, arsenic overmuch arsenic you mightiness request them to be.

That being said, this being a DLED the viewing angles are restricted to straight successful beforehand of the TV, and obscurity else. Even a fewer degrees offline you’ll spot the colour morph and decay. You’ll request to support it conscionable wrong the silhouette of the TV to get the champion viewing experience. As agelong arsenic you toed the line, it’s a good viewing experience.

Vizio 2.1 Soundbar Review: Design and Sound Quality

It’s a Relatively Cheap Soundbar that’s Real Easy to Install

The 2.1 Soundbar slides successful onto 2 screws, meaning it’s casual to connect and region to a Vizio-brand TV. Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

The hardest portion of installing my 30-inch SV210M 2.1 Soundbar was taking it retired of the oddly-shaped box. It’s evidently meant to brace good with Vizio’s circumstantial bundle suite. The Quickfit strategy is reasonably elemental and effective, though it’s not precisely locking the soundbar into place. It’s simply a bully mode of tucking the audio nether the TV and making it easier to swipe the particulate disconnected from nether the TV and soundbar. 

Vizio wants users to plug it straight into the TV’s eARC HDMI port. It instantly takes bid of your TV’s dependable controls, and it becomes operable with a distant oregon Vizio app. It adds a deeper consciousness of bass to the country than it would with conscionable the in-built TV speakers acknowledgment to the summation of the subwoofer. The sub does request a spot of country to marque the astir of it, but if you’re lacking immoderate other country you astir apt shouldn’t beryllium looking for an 86-inch TV.

There is much extent to the effect of the sound, and the soundbar does a bully occupation of staying accordant successful antithetic parts of the room. Now, this isn’t astir arsenic wide a quality arsenic you mightiness get with the stereo of the Vizio 5.1 and the other situation speakers. With conscionable the $170 2.1 soundbar, it feels similar it doesn’t rather lucifer up to the bombastic quality of an 86-inch screen. Instead, it feels much similar a budget-friendly summation to a much blimpish display. The 5.1 Soundbar SE, which costs $220, mightiness beryllium the amended enactment if you privation to marque the astir of this TV’s size. 

Vizio 86-inch 4K Smart TV and 2.1 Soundbar Review: Verdict

Everything Works As Intended, But Very Few People Really Need an 86-inch TV

‘Juicy, and delicious.’ Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

I’d inquire anybody considering an 86-inch TV to inspect their surviving arrangements and interruption retired the portion measure, whether it’s a Vizio oregon not. If determination is plentifulness of abstraction for this “budget” monolithic surface successful your country past it comes down to whether the deficiency of an ethernet port, 3 HDMI ports, oregon the representation prime is simply a woody breaker. 

But it’s a good viewing and listening acquisition erstwhile you get it each acceptable up to the champion of your ability. You truly person to bash the other enactment to spot if your ain setup volition accommodate the 86-inch Smart TV, not conscionable due to the fact that of the size but due to the fact that of its ain limitations. All that aside, you’ll inactive find the 4K viewing acquisition is simply a bully one. It’s amended to spell into it without immoderate bright-eyed visions of big-screen bliss, particularly if your main anticipation is to prevention a fewer 100 bucks connected your display.