Vizio accidentally made the best dumb TV on the market

When I first started testing the 65-inch Vizio Mini LED Quantum TV, I thought the big story was that Vizio was back and that it had a quantum dot TV for under $398 — the cheapest on the market. Vizio has been pretty quiet ever since it’s been around Acquired by Walmart It’s 2024, so the introduction of a quantum dot TV, which allows for higher brightness levels and more accurate colours, at a budget price seemed like a strong comeback.

But that’s not the big story. While both of these points are interesting, the big news about the Mini LED Quantum TV is that Vizio accidentally made the best dumb TV on the market.

Walmart bought Vizio For its advertising work. Since Vizio’s advertising department was responsible for everyone Of Vizio’s profits at the time of sale, keeping ad revenue going is likely the priority here, and Vizio’s TV operating system is the means.

You Now you need a Walmart account To use certain features on your Vizio TV, you cannot access any of the streaming apps on the Vizio Mini LED Quantum without agreeing to its Activity Data Policy, which allows Walmart to collect all of your usage data. This is annoying, but not unique. tasty TVs collect data Learn what you’re watching and how to watch it so they can provide recommendations and targeted ads. (Vizio was even He was caught doing so without consent in 2017.)

The potential for Walmart — like Amazon with its Fire TV devices, in this regard — is that it can use viewing habit data to target your shopping app experience. Watched star wars Movies and shows with the family? Maybe the next time you log into your Walmart app, you’ll get a recommendation for the Luke’s Red Five X-wing Smart Lego set. This may sound great to you, but to me, the close association between a TV operating system and a retail store is a bit unsettling.

It is possible to get around it, and to a greater extent than other platforms. As with any other TV, you can add an external streaming device and set up the Vizio to run it to the last input used and bypass the operating system. Even with an external device, Vizio and Walmart still scan the HDMI port and collect data about what you’re watching. But by making certain decisions during the setup process, you can prevent the operating system from being active (and potentially collecting your viewing information), which I’ve never seen before on other TVs.

During setup, your TV asks you to sign in or create a Walmart account. If you choose to skip, you’ll be asked if you’re sure and warned that “you won’t be able to manage payments and subscriptions or link your Vizio devices.” I already manage my subscriptions through every streaming service I use, so there’s no big loss there. After agreeing to Vizio’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, you’ll be asked to accept the Activity Data Policy, which enables the TV’s smart features. Declining this brings up another warning screen – this one actually saying “Oops!” – To inform you that “Skipping this step means losing all Vizio Smart TV features, including apps like Netflix, YouTube, and others.”

One final dip, and the Vizio is the dumb TV many are looking for: no operating system and three HDMI ports waiting for a signal. And to make sure Walmart has no way to get your information, you can always disconnect your TV from the Internet completely by forgetting your Wi-Fi settings. (You can also choose to skip the Wi-Fi connection at the beginning of setup, which instantly switches the TV to HDMI, but you may also miss firmware updates.)

And for a stupid $400 TV — or even a $400 smart TV — the 65-inch Vizio Mini LED Quantum is really good. I watched many World Cup matches using my OTA antenna and my regular set of weekly shows like Last week tonight Through my Apple TV, and they all looked pretty good. Among the picture modes, metering and dark metering are the most accurate. They both lean a little towards the blue, so everything has a slightly cool look to it. Calibrated Dark is best for color accuracy and for a light-controlled darkroom. With SDR, maximum brightness is up to 309 nits (HDR up to 579 nits with low exposure). Calibration reaches 936 nits, which is incredible for a budget TV, so the highlights and overall image can withstand ambient light. The screen is very bright, so if you have lights nearby, the reflections can be distracting, especially during dark scenes.

There is a bit of motion blur with fast action, which I noticed while watching the Austrian Grand Prix (especially with the great fast action Drone shots They came in this race.) The Mini LED Quantum also uses an IPS panel instead of VA, so the black level isn’t as deep as a more expensive TV, and there is some visible color with bright highlights in dark scenes. However, most people will be very happy with the Vizio Mini LED Quantum’s performance. I was even able to put aside my videophile expectations and relax with what I was watching. For a 65-inch TV for under $400 (or up to an 85-inch for just $768), it’s easy to look past these drawbacks and enjoy everyday viewing.

Of course, there are areas where Vizio’s cost-cutting is more pronounced. The TV only has three HDMI 2.0 ports, while most TVs give you four with at least one HDMI 2.1 port (although Vizio does include an ATSC 1.0 tuner). The entire back is made of cheap-touch plastic, there’s only one height position for the feet, and the cable management channels on the back of each foot can only hold one cable each. So, if you have more than one device connected to the HDMI inputs, you won’t be able to run all the cables through the channel. The speakers, although loud, don’t sound great either (but that can be said for expensive TVs too).

If you decide to use the Vizio operating system, it is possible to limit Walmart’s data collection by turning off Show Data in your TV’s privacy menu as well as deselecting personalized advertising on your Vizio account page. The Vizio OS is easy to navigate, if a little slow at times. It supports all the major apps, plus AirPlay and Google Cast, and selecting the different inputs is easy, whether through the operating system or using the input button on the small remote. After a few minutes, the TV will go into screensaver mode, which is just one of the WatchFree+ channels showing what look like AI-generated scenes with music playing. But since they are channels and not an actual screensaver, they get interrupted by ads every now and then. It’s not the most comfortable screensaver experience.

Of course, you don’t have to worry about that if you’re using the Vizio Mini LED Quantum as a dumb TV. That’s not what Walmart hopes you’ll do with it, but it’s certainly what it does He should. And if you want streaming apps, you can always hook up a cheap streaming device like the Fire TV Stick 4K Select for $40. If you use a connected device with active Vizio OS, your viewing data on that device will also be shared with Walmart, according to View data supplement On the privacy policy.

My main concern is that the ability to use the Mini LED Quantum as a dumb TV is a complete accident and software updates could change that in the future. If you’re prompted to use it — and thus accept all the activity data collected — the TV becomes a little trickier to recommend. Even then, the Mini LED Quantum has great performance for the price. If you’re looking for a big dumb TV to escape constant data tracking, the Vizio Mini LED Quantum is for you. At least for now.

Photography by John Higgins/The Verge