When comparing VIZIO P-Series 65" (P65-E1) vs Sony X930E 65” (XBR65X930E), the Slant community recommends Sony X930E 65” (XBR65X930E) for most people. In the question“What are the best TVs?” Sony X930E 65” (XBR65X930E) is ranked 12th while VIZIO P-Series 65" (P65-E1) is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose Sony X930E 65” (XBR65X930E) is:
This TV offers much better HDR experience than the overwhelming majority of competitors in its price range because of its ability to display shots that combine bright and crisp highlights with some truly inky dark regions.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great for movies and HDR content
The P65-E1 performs extremely well for HDR content thanks to its black levels, high native contrast ratio (4675:1, up to twice of that at 9271:1 with local dimming), and wide color gamut — all three of which are essential to HDR.
Pro Can be remote-controlled from smartphones/tablets
The P65-E1 runs on Vizio’s SmartCast OS, which has a remote app for iOS & Android capable of controlling the TV.
Pro Supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision
There are two different formats for HDR — HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Some TVs support only HDR10 and can't play Dolby Vision content. The P65-E1 supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, giving it the ability to play any HDR content in 2017.
Pro Does not suffer from image retention
Unlike the OLED panels in this price range, the P65-E1 has a VA panel and thus it does not suffer from image retention issues.
Pro Interface is ads-free
The user interface of modern smart TVs can include some advertisements similar to those on the internet or in a mobile app. The P65-E1 does not include any.
Pro Dark scenes looks great
The P65-E1 can handle dark scenes very well thanks to its high native contrast levels, which clocks in at 4675:1 native, and it can go up to double of that at 9271:1 with local dimming enabled. This, along with good black levels and uniformity, gives the TV the ability to achieve great representations of dark scenes beyond most expectations.
Pro Suitable for watching sports & gaming
The P65-E1 is versatile enough to be used for sports & gaming — its handling of motion blur is fantastic at ~11ms, and the input lag is only ~16ms which makes it good for gaming where input lag matters (but it is not suitable for HDR gaming because of the ~45ms of input lag for HDR content).
Pro Great at handling motion
The P65-E1 is great at handling motion with very fast response time (~11ms). It will have no issues with displaying fast-moving objects — they will look smooth without any blur or lag.
Pro Decent color representation
The P65-E1 does a decent job with color accuracy — the colors are accurate out of the box and there is no calibration required, although it would benefit from some adjustments to the white balance. Color calibration is recommended to get the most out of this TV, but not necessary if you find it alright.
Pro Excellent black levels and uniformity
The black levels of a TV affects the viewer’s perception of other colors next to it. If the black levels are not deep enough and doesn’t remain uniform across the screen, the overall picture quality will look “flat” without much depth. The P65-E1 handles this well with only <0.8% deviation (across the entire screen) from what a pure black screen should be — this results in a significant gain in its native contrast levels, thereby increasing the picture quality.
Pro Decent color reproduction
The color gamut of a TV refers to the range of colors the display can reproduce — the wider the color gamut, the more colors it can display, and the better the overall picture quality will be. This is extremely important for HDR content because it requires a much wider color gamut than SDR content. This TV has a wide color gamut and have no issues with accurately reproducing the colors necessary for true HDR, although its color gamut is not as wide as other TVs in this price range (e.g. the Sony X900E).
Pro Great picture quality
The picture quality is great on the P65-E1. It has one of the highest contrast ratios in an LED TV when local dimming is enabled (9271:1), giving it the ability to produce very deep and uniform blacks. The brightness level for HDR is decent enough at ~450 nits to fight glare in bright environments without much picture quality degradation.
Pro Local dimming is superb
Local dimming is the TV's ability to dim areas of the screen for deeper black levels and better contrast — they are separated into different dimming zones, where each zone can be individually dimmed as needed. The local dimming on the P65-E1 is by far one of the best in LED TVs of 2017 (only beaten by the Sony X940E). It is capable of doubling the contrast levels from 4675:1 to 9271:1.
Pro Decent performance in bright environments
The P65-E1’s panel has a semi-gloss finish for diffusing the light across the screen evenly to decrease intensity. This, along with its ability to get quite bright (practically, it peaks at ~450 nits for HDR and can maintain this level of brightness), means that this TV is decent at handling reflections and performs okay in bright environments.
Pro Great for HDR
This TV offers much better HDR experience than the overwhelming majority of competitors in its price range because of its ability to display shots that combine bright and crisp highlights with some truly inky dark regions.
Pro Screen has virtually no reflections
The X930E's panel is excellent at handling reflections, thanks to its semi-gloss finish that significantly decreases the intensity of glare.
Pro Excellent for HDR content
The X930E shines when it comes to HDR content. HDR pictures look true-to-life with stunning highlights and great black details. This is thanks to the high contrast ratio, local dimming, wide color gamut, and really high peak brightness level.
The local dimming can make parts of the screen darker when neccessary, giving it a boost in contrast ratio from 5744:1 to 6564:1. This gives the image deeper blacks and greater detail, resulting in brighter HDR highlights and better overall picture quality.
Its wide color gamut enables it to reproduce all the colors neccessary for HDR, and the high peak brightness level of ~1.4k nits makes the color really vibrant.
Pro Excellent at handling glare
When set in a bright environment, the X930E's picture quality doesn't suffer from much deterioration.
It has no issues fighting glare thanks to its really high peak brightness levels of ~900 nits for SDR & ~1.4k nits for HDR. The intensity of glare is also further reduced by the panel's semi-gloss finish.
Pro Decent sound quality
The sound quality of X930E’s built-in speakers is decent enough for users that aren't picky about sound details.
Dialogue sounds clear, and details aren't drowned out by too much bass or treble. It can get pretty loud at ~95dB, but there's some distortion at higher volumes.
Pro Interface is ads-free
The X930E's interface has no ads, and it even has a feature for limiting ads in third-party applications.
Pro Great alternative to OLED TVs
The X930E doesn't suffer from image retention issues like OLED TVs do, and the picture quality can be considered on par with OLEDs in the same price bracket, making it a great alternative when image retention is a concern.
Pro Excellent at handling highly dynamic content
The X930E can handle fast-paced or rapidly-moving objects very well.
Objects don't leave any trail behind it, thanks to the panel's quick response time. It only requires ~13ms fully change the pixel's color, which eliminates virtually all motion blur.
The panel also has a native refresh rate of 120Hz that makes images look smoother.
Pro Excellent picture quality
The X930E’s picture quality is top-notch. Images are wonderfully reproduced with captivating colors and great detail.
The blacks are really deep - it’s about 6000 times darker than the brightest white pixel the screen can produce. This creates a sense of depth as the focus of the picture pops, without any loss in background details.
It gets even better when watching in a dark room. You’ll be able to notice subtle details in the picture, and dark scenes will look stunning as the lack of glare allows you to perceive blacks better.
On top of that, the colors are really vibrant, even in broad daylight, thanks to its really high peak brightness levels of ~900 nits for SDR & ~1.4k nits for HDR. It can get brighter than most smartphone’s screen under the sun without significant loss in picture quality.
Pro Works well straight out of a box
You will most likely not need to spend time calibrating this TV because it's out-of-the-box color accuracy is reasonably high.
Cons
Con Lacks TV tuner
The P65-E1, along with several of VIZIO’s latest TV lineups, does not have a TV tuner built-in. If you plan to watch local over-the-air broadcasts, you will need to purchase a TV tuner separately.
Con Bad sound quality
The sound quality of the P65-E1's built-in speakers is bad — it can't get very loud and the frequencies are not very well-balanced. There is also noticeable distortion at all volumes that gets worse with higher volumes. An external audio setup — such as a soundbar — is highly recommended in order to get the most out of this TV.
Con Interface can be sluggish and slow
The interface of VIZIO’s SmartCast OS can sometimes be sluggish; some users have reported experiencing choppy animations, frame drops when browsing through the menu, and slow response to input/selection.
Con Poor viewing angles
The picture quality on the P65-E1 suffers from some degradation when viewing from an angle, as typical of a VA panel. It is worth noting that this con does not apply to the 55" version of the VIZIO P-Series as it has an IPS panel whereas the rest has a VA panel.
Con Lacks support for Dolby Vision
The X930E currently only supports the HDR10 format. Dolby Vision is not supported.
Con Speakers produce distortion at higher volumes
The X930E's speakers produces some distortion at higher volumes, and it becomes significantly noticeable when nearing maximum volume.
Con Poor viewing angles
The X930E is not suitable for group-watching because of its poor viewing angles.
Audience viewing from other angles might not experience the same picture quality as those directly in front of the screen. The picture quality starts deteoriating at just ~10° off the center of the screen with the blacks turning into gray and colors looking dull.
Con Doesn't sound good
The TV's overall sound quality is not a match to its picture quality.