VIZIO D55 D2 Review: The Best FHD Display Television?

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VIZIO D55 D2: At First Glance

Since its announcement in 2016, VIZIO’s D-series have been a major deal in the television market. One of the main focuses of the series is to deliver televisions that suit various pocket sizes and requirements.

To be more specific, the D-series offers 25 smart televisions that vary in size, ranging from the simple 24-inch to the massive 70-inch. Moreover, just as their sizes vary, so do their performance and features.

Specifically, some televisions in the D-series have a 4K display while some feature an FHD display. So, the VIZIO D55 D2, which is the main focus of this review, is a 55-inch smart television in the D-series with an FHD display.

Apart from its FHD display, this VIZIO television offers numerous amazing features which we will be talking about in the remainder of this review. Hence, I implore you to continue reading to find out more about the television.

VIZIO D55 D2: Design, Dimension, and Weight

Design-wise, the VIZIO D55 D2 features a very simple but pleasing design. To give more details, the television features averagely-thick bezels that border its display screen.

Furthermore, these bezels measure 0.55-inch and are entirely made of plastic with a matte-black finish. However, the bottom bezel is a little bit thicker than the other bezels because it houses a “VIZIO” logo at the center.

That said, the VIZIO D55 D2 comes with a pair of V-shaped plastic legs that are somewhat thin. In spite of being thin and made of plastic, these legs support the television very well with little to no wobble when nudged.

Moreover, just like the bezels, these legs offer a matte-black finish. The only issue with these legs is their positioning.

To be more specific, the legs are positioned near the edges of the television. Hence, if you decide not to wall-mount the VIZIO D55 D2, you will need a wide table to place it on.

Turning to the back of the television, you will encounter a plain matte-black panel. Similar to the bezels and the legs, this matte-black back panel is made of plastic.

However, the back of the VIZIO D55 D2 appears to be a bit bulky, especially when you view it from the side. Hence, you might want to reconsider any plans of wall-mounting the television.

This is because the television will stick out of the wall if wall-mounted owing to the bulkiness of its back panel. Speaking of wall-mounting, you will find four 200 x 200 mm VESA mount holes at the television’s back for wall-mounting the TV.

Sadly, unlike most televisions nowadays, the VIZIO D55 D2’s plastic back panel does not have any provision for a cable management system. Hence, to make the cables attached to the television look tidy, you will need to manually arrange them.

With that being said, let us now examine the VIZIO D55 D2’s dimension and weight. To begin with, the television has a measurement of 1240 x 68.1 x 722.6 mm (W x D x H) and weighs just 13800 g.

Comparatively, this TV weighs far less than the LG SK8000, which is also a 55-inch television. Specifically, the LG SK8000 weighs 17599.3 g and measures 1237 x 248.4 x 794 mm (W x D x H).

In conclusion, the VIZIO D55 D2 offers a decent design with bezels of average thickness. However, the television’s back panel is quite bulky and has no system for managing cables.

Therefore, I will rate the VIZIO D55 D2 an eight out of ten in this design review section.

VIZIO D55 D2: Display Features and Picture Quality

Considering the display, the VIZIO D55 D2 features a 55-inch LCD display that offers an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. Although an FHD display isn’t as good as a 4K display, it is still capable of rendering crisp and sharp picture quality.

Besides, an FHD display is significantly better and clearer than the conventional HD display. In addition to its FHD resolution, the VIZIO D55 D2’s 55-inch display offers a mind-blowing contrast ratio.

Specifically, this display comes with a contrast ratio of 5000000:1. Briefly, contrast ratio is the ratio between the brightest white and deepest black a display is able to deliver.

Furthermore, a high contrast ratio means that a display will be able to produce deep black. Hence, with a contrast ratio as high as 5000000:1, the VIZIO D55 D2’s display should be capable of delivering extremely-deep blacks.

Hence, this VIZIO television is a good choice for watching content with many dark scenes such as horror movies. Interestingly, despite its superb contrast ratio, this television’s display supports local dimming.

Local dimming is a technique that involves the reduction of the backlight zones found behind LCD/LED displays. Thereby, improving the black level and contrast ratio of the display.

Hence, with the aid of local dimming, blacks on the VIZIO D55 D2’s display should be deeper than they would without local dimming. Sadly, because this television’s display is made with a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, it offers poor viewing angles.

Consequently, colors will look washed out and images will lose quality when viewing the VIZIO D55 D2 from the sides or off-center. Therefore, this VIZIO television isn’t ideal for a large room setting.

Moving on, the VIZIO D55 D2’s display offers an average maximum brightness of 306 nits. As a result, the television might not be suitable for usage in a sunny or extremely-bright environment.

Nevertheless, with its display’s 306 nits maximum brightness, the television is very much ideal for usage in a moderate-lit room. Besides, the display of the VIZIO D55 D2 features a semi-gloss coating on its surface.

This semi-gloss coating assists the display with reflection handling. Basically, the screen coating diffuses the rays of light across the display.

In doing so, reducing the density of screen glares and reflections on the display.

Unfortunately, unlike most modern televisions, the VIZIO D55 D2’s display does not support HDR. HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a picture-enhancing technology that boosts the brightness and color accuracy of a display.

Thereby, allowing the picture quality of the display to be more realistic and lifelike. On a positive note, VIZIO D55 D2’s display offers a remarkably-fast response time of 11.9 milliseconds.

Hence, the television is ideal for watching fast-moving content because there will be minimal blur trails. In case you’re wondering, response time is the time it takes a display to change from one color to another.

Although the VIZIO D55 D2 is good for watching fast-moving content, it isn’t ideal for playing video games. This is due to its display’s input lag of 26.5 milliseconds.

Input lag is the amount of time it takes a display to respond to signal input from external sources like a wireless gamepad. Furthermore, for a television to be considered ideal for gaming, its display must have an input lag of 15 milliseconds or less.

Hence, with its display’s input lag of 26.5 milliseconds, the VIZIO D55 D2 isn’t suitable for gaming.

In conclusion, the VIZIO D55 D2 features an FHD display that offers an amazing contrast ratio and an incredibly fast response. However, the display doesn’t support HDR, has poor viewing angles, and isn’t good for gaming.

Thus, I will offer the VIZIO D55 D2 a rating of seven out of ten in this display features review section.

VIZIO D55 D2: Sound Features

In terms of sound, the VIZIO D55 D2 features a pair of 15-watts speakers. Hence, these speakers produce a total audio power/output of 30-watts which is considered pretty loud.

Thus, these speakers should be able to produce enough sound to fill a large room. Besides, the speakers deliver decent audio quality as well as clear and audible dialogue.

For clarity, dialogue in this context is the conversation between two or more people in a movie or TV show. Hence, when watching a movie on the VIZIO D55 D2, you will be able to clearly hear what the characters are saying.

Unfortunately, this television does not come with a subwoofer. Therefore, its speakers won’t have enough power to generate an adequate amount of bass for rumbling and thumping sounds.

As a result, you might not enjoy watching bass-heavy movies or listening to bass-heavy songs on the VIZIO D55 D2. On a positive note, this VIZIO television comes with several sound technologies to improve its sound quality and output.

These sound technologies include Dolby Digital Plus, DTS TruSurround, and DTS Studio Sound. Firstly, Dolby Digital Plus enhances the surround sound production of the VIZIO D55 D2’s speakers, enabling them to deliver a cinematic audio quality.

Similarly, DTS TruSurround boosts the loudness of the television’s speakers, allowing them to be loud enough for different room settings. Lastly, DTS Studio Sound allows the speakers to create an immersive sound quality.

Thereby, creating an illusion that sound is coming from different angles of your environment when watching movies on the VIZIO D55 D2. Moving away from the sound technologies, let us now discuss the distortion performance of the television.

To start with, the VIZIO D55 D2 offers amazing distortion performance which was evident via its THD test result. For clarity, THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) is a sound test that evaluates the amount of distortion that a speaker or sound device can create.

Furthermore, on the THD test, a score of 1% or less indicates that the sound device produces minimal distortion. However, if the score is above 1%, that implies that the sound device can generate a significant amount of distortion.

Gladly, the VIZIO D55 D2 scored 0.19% on the THD test. Hence, either at a moderate or maximum volume level, the television’s speakers will produce little to no distortion.

In case you don’t know, distortion in this context is an unexpected change of original sound frequencies. Thereby, allowing a speaker or sound system delivers disturbing audio quality.

In conclusion, the VIZIO D55 D2 offers a pair of speakers that are fairly loud. Besides, the television comes with an amazing distortion performance and numerous sound technologies.

Hence, I will rate the VIZIO D55 D2 an eight out of ten in this sound features review section.

VIZIO D55 D2: Ports and Connectivity Features

Considering the ports, the VIZIO D55 D2 features an ample number of ports. To give more details, some of these ports are facing the left side of the television.

Whereas, some are located directly on the back of the television. Hence, these back-facing ports might not be easily accessed whenever the VIZIO D55 D2 is mounted on the wall.

Now that we know the location of the ports, let us now discuss the type of ports. To begin with, the TV’s left-facing ports include optical audio out, a USB port, and an HDMI port.

That’s not all, you will also discover analog audio (RCA) ports among the left-facing ports. However, the back-facing ports include two HDMI ports, one of which supports ARC (Audio Return Channel).

Therefore, you should be able to connect a soundbar to the VIZIO D55 D2 using the ARC-supported HDMI port. Other back-facing ports include a component video input, a shared composite input, an Ethernet port, and an antenna/RF port.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the VIZIO D55 D2 features a built-in 802.11ac/a/b/g/n WIFI. Unfortunately, the television lacks Bluetooth.

Moving on, as expected, the VIZIO D55 D2 features a basic XRT122 remote control. Design-wise, this remote is averagely tall, made of plastic, and features a glossy-black finish.

Furthermore, the remote has a square-shaped navigation system and offers a full number pad. In addition to that, it comes with dedicated buttons that allow for quick access to streaming services like Xumo, Netflix, and iHeartRadio.

Besides that, you will also find vertical volume and channel rockers on the remote control. Also, for brand recognition, there is a VIZIO inscription at the bottom of this remote.

However, the remote does not come with an in-built mic for voice control. Nevertheless, the VIZIO D55 D2 deserves an eight of ten in this ports and connectivity features review section.

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VIZIO D55 D2: Smart Features

Unlike most modern smart televisions, the VIZIO D55 D2 does not particularly come with an operating system like the Android OS. Instead, the television features a built-in V.I.A (VIZIO Internet Apps) Plus smart platform.

Furthermore, V.I.A Plus is a smart platform that is mostly found on older VIZIO smart TV models. Also, the smart platform offers an easy-to-use interface that has a straightforward navigation system and arrangement.

However, the smooth interface of this smart platform is impaired by pesky pop-up ads. To make things worse, there is no way you can disable these annoying ads.

On the bright side, the V.I.A Plus smart platform offers pre-installed streaming apps that allow you to stream your favorite movies and music. Some of the streaming services that you find on this smart platform include Netflix, iHeartRadio, YouTube, Hulu, HBO, and Disney+.

To make things better, like most operating systems, the V.I.A Plus offers a built-in app store called VIZIO App Store. Hence, through this app store, you can download additional streaming services and applications on the smart platform.

In conclusion, the TV features an effective smart platform that operates smoothly. However, the interface of the smart platform features pop-up ads that cannot be disabled.

Hence, I will offer the VIZIO D55 D2 a rating of eight out of ten in this smart features review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The VIZIO D55 D2 is a 55-inch FHD smart television that offers a decent picture performance. To give more details, the television features a superb contrast ratio and an amazingly fast response time.

That’s not all, the television also offers a decent sound performance and a good number of ports. However, the VIZIO D55 D2 comes with a bag of flaws.

Some of these flaws include poor viewing angles, lack of Bluetooth, and average display brightness. In addition to that, the interface of the television’s smart platform features some disturbing pop-up ads.

Nonetheless, if you can look past these downsides, the VIZIO D55 D2 offers a good performance for casual viewing.

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