VIZIO E55 D0 Review: A Google ChromeCast Budget Smart TV

VIZIO E55 D0: At First Glance

Out of the many line-ups of VIZIO TVs, the VIZIO E series is one that promises users quality TV sets at budget-friendly prices. As one would expect, the VIZIO E series consists of five TV models that come in different sizes.

In a previous article, I reviewed the VIZIO E40 D0, which is the 40-inch sized model of the Vizio E series. However, the 55-inch model of the series – the VIZIO E55 D0 – is our focus in this review.

We saw that the VIZIO E40 D0 featured many useful attributes but only lacked a few ones that you will normally find on expensive TVs. Now let us see if the VIZIO E55 D0 will do better than its smaller sibling or not.

Hence, follow me as we proceed into the other sections of this review.

VIZIO E55 D0: Design, Dimension, and Weight

The VIZIO E55 D0 has a similar design-construct to other VIZIO televisions. The entire chassis is built with plastic and finished in a coal-black color.

The TVs display is surrounded by fairly thick bezels. To be precise, the bezels are 0.75 inches thick.

On the bottom bezel, you will find a “VIZIO” inscription on the left side. Apart from making it clear that this is a VIZIO, the inscription adds to the looks of the TV.

Furthermore, the VIZIO E55 D0 is held by inverted V-shaped legs, which will be useful if you plan to place the TV on a desk. These legs are slim, and they have some aesthetic perforations at the top part.

Even though the legs look slim, they still provide sufficient stability to the TV which reduces wobbling when the TV is bumped. Moreover, the legs are attached to the television on its edges, giving it adequate balance. 

However, because the space between both legs is almost the width of the TV, you will need a wide table to place the TV. 

Proceeding to the back of the TV, you will find a simple design with a VIZIO logo at the center. Just like the bezels and the TV legs, the back covering is also coal-black plastic.

One notable omission at the back of this television is that it doesn’t have a cable management system. As a result, you won’t be able to organize the connected cables unless you do it with cable ties.

Furthermore, the back of the VIZIO E55 D0 is somewhat thick when you view it from the side. Therefore, you might want to think twice before wall-mounting the TV because if you do, it will stick out.

However, if you still prefer wall-mounting the television, it features 200 x 200 VESA fixes at the rear. These VESA fixes will make it easy to hang the TV on the wall.

In terms of body mass and size, the VIZIO E55 D0 measures 1239.5 x 73.66 x 718.8 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 14501.3 g.

Comparatively, the VIZIO E55 D0 weighs less than the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA, which weighs 19096.2 g.

Consequently, I will be rating this television an eight in this section of the review.

VIZIO E55 D0: Display Features and Picture Quality

For the display features of the VIZIO E55 D0, let us start with its screen size. In that regard, the VIZIO E55 D0 has a 55-inch display that has an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. 

Even though Full HD resolution is not as great as 4K resolution, it delivers decent pictures quality. In addition to its resolution, the VIZIO E55 D0 has an impressive contrast ratio which helps it produce deep blacks.

To give more details, a contrast ratio is used to describe the difference between the deep blacks and bright whites a display can produce. Thankfully, the VIZIO E55 D0 has a native contrast ratio of 3,147:1.

With a native contrast as high as 3,147:1, the VIZIO E55 D0 will be able to produce enough deep blacks. Hence, it will be suitable for watching movies with dark scenes. 

More impressively, the high contrast ratio of this TV is backed up by local dimming with full-array backlighting. For better understanding, local dimming is a technique that reduces a display backlight automatically when watching movies with dark scenes in a dark room.

Also, the full-array backlighting feature means that the television has light-emitting diodes placed everywhere behind the LCD panel. Hence, this also helps improve the deep blacks and overall quality of display content.

Therefore, with the support of local dimming and full array backlighting, the VIZIO E55 D0 display will produce deeper blacks. Thankfully, that will make it more exciting to watch.

For the display panel, the VIZIO E55 D0 television uses a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel. Unfortunately, VA displays are infamous for producing terrible viewing angles.

By viewing angles, I mean how well the display looks when you view it from acute angles. That said, due to the poor viewing angle of this display, when you view it from angles, you will notice a drop in the quality of display content.

Not only does this TV have a poor viewing angle, but its peak brightness is also not impressive. Specifically, the VIZIO E55 D0 features a maximum brightness of 335 nits.

As a result of that, the display can get easily overwhelmed by bright lights. Therefore, the visibility of this television will be poor in very bright environments.

Thankfully, the VIZIO E55 D0 display has a semi-glossy coating. Thus, the TV’s display will be able to offset glares from indirect bright lights by absorbing and dispersing reflections across it.

However, the television might still not be able to cope with direct light reflection. Overall, it is best to place this TV in a room with less light intensity.

Moving on, it is rather unfortunate that this TV doesn’t support HDR, which would have improved the quality of HDR content.

For more details about HDR (High Dynamic Range), it is a display format that refines colors and increases brightness in HDR content. Also, HDR allows the television display to render realistic pictures.

Unfortunately, the VIZIO E55 D0 lacks this display feature; hence, it misses out in that area. On a positive note, the TV delivers impressive results in its motion performance.

Specifically, the VIZIO E55 D0 records 12 milliseconds in its response time test. In case you don’t know, response time refers to the speed at which pixels transition from one color to another.

Hence, a fast response time is good when watching fast-moving content as well as gaming. Thanks to the fast response time of the VIZIO E55 D0, it will be great for watching action movies and sports like car races.

In addition to its fast response time, the VIZIO E55 D0 also has a decently low input lag of 29.6 milliseconds. Thankfully, this input lag value is within the 40 milliseconds limit.

For better understanding, input lag is the delay in signal response between the time the signal was sent and when it is registered on the display. Hence, a low input lag means that input signals register fast on the display.

Some readers may not relate to what I meant by “the time the signal was sent”. If you’re one of those readers, an example of “signal sent” or “input signal” is input from gamepads.

Back to the input lag of this TV, I note that the 29.6 milliseconds input lag recorded by the VIZIO E55 D0 is within range. However, it won’t be suitable for serious gaming.

In conclusion, the VIZIO E55 D0 display has a Full HD resolution, a high contrast ratio, and local dimming. However, it has bad viewing angles, and it does not support HDR.

Therefore, the VIZIO E55 D0 merits a rating of eight in this display and picture quality section of the review.

Vizio E55 D0: Sound Features

For its sound production, the Vizio E55 D0 comes with 2 channel 10 watts speakers. With a total of 20 watts of speaker power, the sound produced by this TV is manageable.

However, this TV won’t be able to produce a filling sound in a large room. To worsen the situation, the Vizio E55 D0 does not produce adequate bass.

Hence, to get enough bass from your music and videos, you should consider buying a subwoofer. However, the lack of bass is not an entirely bad thing.

This is because it allows the speakers to produce clear dialogue. Dialogue, in this context, means the verbal exchange between two or more people.

Thanks to the clear dialogue produced by the Vizio E55 D0’s speakers, you will be able to hear each individual in the conversation clearly.

In addition to the sound features we have talked about already, this TV comes with some technologies to help enhance its sound performance. These technologies include Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Studio Sound.

To begin with, Dolby Digital Plus tends to boost the TV’s sound quality and create virtual surround cinematic audio. Likewise, the DTS Studio Sound delivers an immersive audio output, enabling users to choose from available presets.

Furthermore, the DTS Studio Sound optimizes the audio quality when watching movies. In a few words, these two sound technologies enhance the sound performance of the Vizio E55 D0’s speaker.

At this point, let us proceed to the sound distortion performance of the Vizio E55 D0. Briefly, sound distortion is the disturbance in the frequency of produced sound.

To measure the distortion performance of this TV’s speaker, we will consider its performance in a THD test. THD is short for Total Harmonic Distortion and just as you might have guessed, it measures the distortion of sound systems.

You should be aware that in this test, a value below 1 percent THD is ideal. That said, the Vizio E55 D0 produced a decent distortion in its THD test.

To be specific, the Vizio E55 D0 registered 0.012 THD at average volume. However, the distortion rose to 0.244 THD at maximum volume.

This implies that even at maximum volume, the distortion produced by this laptop’s speaker is decent. Hence, the distortion will not be noticeable even at maximum volume.

In conclusion, the performance of the Vizio E55 D0 in this sound section is average at best. Hence, I will rate it a seven in this section of the review.

Vizio E55 D0: Ports and Connectivity Features

In terms of connectivity, the Vizio E55 D0 comes with just about the right port options. It is important to note that all the ports on this TV are located at the TV’s back.

Moreover, some of the ports are down-facing while others are side-facing.

Therefore, when the TV is mounted on the wall, the side-facing ports can be accessed readily. However, there might be difficulty in accessing the down-facing ports.

Since we are now familiar with the positions of the ports, let’s proceed as we discuss the various ports available on this TV. Firstly, the Vizio E55 D0 features three HDMI ports.

One of the HDMI ports supports ARC (Audio Return Channel). Hence, you can connect the Vizio E55 D0 to a soundbar with the help of the ARC-compatible HDMI port.

In addition to the HDMI ports, the Vizio E55 D0 comes with an RF port, an Ethernet port, composite video input, and component video input. That is not all; the Vizio also features a digital optical output port and one USB port.

As regards wireless connectivity, the Vizio E55 D0 comes with an integrated 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. Sadly, the television doesn’t have Bluetooth.

Furthermore, the Vizio E55 D0 comes with a basic Vizio XRT132 remote control. Regarding its looks and design, the XRT132 remote is a bit tall with a plastic body and a glossy black finish.

The Vizio E55 D0 remote control features just a handful of functional buttons. Speaking of the buttons, the remote has a volume and channel control with a single playback button all stacked in a separate square-shaped section.

In addition to those, there are six more buttons located on the remote control with a large expanse of blank space at the lower part. One important omission of the remote control is its lack of dedicated buttons for quick access to streaming apps.

Also, the XRT132 remote control doesn’t have an inbuilt mic for voice commands. Therefore, on a scale of one to ten, the Vizio E55 D0 merits a rating of seven in this section of the review.

Vizio E55 D0: Smart Features

Just like other Vizio smart TVs, the Vizio E55 D0 features Vizio’s SmartCast operating system. This SmartCast OS has a simple interface with only a few tools, an apps menu, and a settings menu.

Sadly, transitions and animations on the smart interface are pretty sluggish. Generally, the Vizio E55 D0 SmartCast interface lags, which makes it somewhat difficult to navigate.

Also, the OS doesn’t feature any pre-installed apps. However, since the SmartCast OS is designed based on Google’s Chromecast, you will be able to stream content from your mobile phone to the TV.

Although ChromeCast OS is free, it comes with pre-installed streaming platforms that might require a subscription.

These streaming platforms include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, as well as YouTube. In addition to those, users can also search for and install their favorite apps.

On another positive note, unlike other smart TV platforms, the Vizio E55 D0 SmartCast is free of ads. So users won’t be bothered about opting out of distracting ads.

Furthermore, you can install the SmartCast app on your mobile phone as an alternative to the remote control. This app enables you to control the TV from your smartphone.

However, due to its laggy interface, the remote app might not be too efficient. Therefore, you might want to consider sticking to the dedicated remote control.

In summary, the SmartCast OS is quite functional; it comes with Google’s Chromecast, which is useful. However, the smart interface is not smooth.

Therefore, I will be rating the Vizio E55 D0 a seven in this section of the article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Vizio E55 D0 is a decent smart 55-inch television that comes with a Full HD display resolution. It also has an impressive contrast ratio with support for local dimming.

Additionally, its response time and input lag are superb, and sound quality is manageable, considering its affordability.

However, the Vizio E55 D0 has its fair share of imperfections which include poor brightness and bad viewing angles. It also has inadequate port selections, and it lacks Bluetooth.

Nonetheless, if you want a decent-sized television that is affordable, then I suggest you consider the Vizio E55 D0.

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