Review Statement: The author of this review receiv...

Review Statement: The author of this review received a sample unit from the manufacturer for the purposes of this review in exchange for the review.

If you are like me and possibly have looked down at the Vizio brand in the past in favor of more expensive, well known brands, I can assure you that you can put your fears aside when it comes to the company s new SmartCast M-Series 4K UHD displays. I have been blown away by the level of quality packed into this very affordable 4K display, which comes loaded with future proof technologies that the big brands don t have yet (HDR10 and Dolby Vision support), and is close to half of the asking price of similar models by companies not called Vizio.

The whole SmartCast system adds a new way to interact with your display, and makes the experience feel very familiar thanks to the inclusion of a 6 Android tablet remote. Luckily you can download and install the Vizio SmartCast app to your own iOS or Android device if you re not a fan of the included remote, or you can just use your current streaming hardware like the Amazon Fire TV, Roku, or an app enabled gaming console with one of the display s four HDMI ports.

In terms of picture quality the SmartCast M-Series 50 outputs crystal clear UHD content that really looks vibrant thanks to the HDR10 and Dolby Vision support (content dependent). The picture is bright and lit uniformly thanks to the Full-Array local dimming technology it employs, so it looks good in both well lit and darker rooms. It really does offer next level display technology for an affordable price with a bit of future proofing built into it. The biggest downsides are the lack of HDMI 2.0 ports (only 1 included), and the lack of an OTA TV tuner, but there is hardware out there to make up for these omissions, albeit with a bit of cost being factored in to the overall asking price. Vizio has hit a homer with the SmartCast M-Series, and has made me change my tune on the brand moving forward. I can wholeheartedly recommend the 50 model, as it is the one I tested, but I have faith the larger models, or the slightly more expensive P-Series displays, will feature the same level of quality in bigger and better packages.

I have learned my lesson, which is don t judge a tech company by its cover, because Vizio is more than just a brand for discount stores and frugal spenders. Plus they give you a free HDMI cable in every box, what other tech company does that!