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The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is a budget-friendly 4k TV. Released in 2022, it's part of Vizio's lineup that they label as 2023, and it sits alongside the Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022, which has a few more features. This TV replaces the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 and has many of the same features, like the Vizio SmartCast system, variable refresh rate (VRR) support, and eARC support. It's available in a wide range of sizes, from 43 to 75 inches, so you'll likely find the right size for your needs.
Our Verdict
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is alright for most uses. It isn't bad for watching movies in dark rooms as it has a high native contrast ratio, but it lacks a local dimming feature. It also has problems upscaling lower-resolution content like from DVDs, and if you watch 4k HDR content, it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights pop. It's alright for watching TV shows and decent for sports as it has decent reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare and has a narrow viewing angle. It's also alright for gaming thanks to its low input lag and decent response time, and it has variable refresh rate (VRR) support, but only within a narrow range.
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Fantastic native contrast ratio.
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Good black uniformity.
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Decent reflection handling.
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Trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
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No local dimming feature.
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Narrow viewing angle.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is okay for watching TV shows in well-lit rooms. Although it doesn't get bright enough to fight a ton of glare, it has decent reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around. Sadly, it isn't the best for watching cable TV because 720p content isn't as clear as on other 4k TVs. If you stream your content, the Vizio SmartCast system is decent, but it feels slow and buggy at times.
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Decent reflection handling.
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Trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Low peak brightness.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is decent for watching sports. It has a decent response time, so there isn't a lot of blur behind fast-moving players and balls. It has decent reflection handling if you have a few lights around, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight a ton of glare. Unfortunately, it has a narrow viewing angle that makes the image look washed out from the sides. Also, it isn't a good choice if you watch sports from cable boxes as it doesn't upscale lower-resolution content properly.
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Decent reflection handling.
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Decent response time.
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Trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Low peak brightness.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is decent for gaming. It has low input lag for a responsive feel and has VRR support to reduce screen tearing, but it only works within a narrow range. It also has a decent response time resulting in minimal blur trail. However, it's limited to a 60Hz panel and HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, so it can't take full advantage of the PS5 or Xbox Series X.
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Fantastic native contrast ratio.
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Decent response time.
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Low input lag.
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Limited VRR range.
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Only max refresh rate of 60Hz.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is mediocre for watching HDR movies. While it displays deep blacks in dark rooms and has good black uniformity, it lacks a local dimming feature to further improve it. It also displays a wide range of colors in HDR, but it doesn't get bright enough to make those colors look vivid and for highlights to pop.
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Fantastic native contrast ratio.
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Wide HDR color gamut.
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No local dimming feature.
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Only removes 24p judder from apps.
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Doesn't make highlights pop.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is decent for HDR gaming. It delivers a decent gaming experience thanks to its low input lag, decent response time, and VRR support, but its VRR range is limited. It also displays deep blacks and has a wide color gamut for HDR. Sadly, it doesn't deliver a satisfying HDR experience as it can't get bright enough to make highlights pop and colors look vivid.
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Fantastic native contrast ratio.
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Good black uniformity.
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Decent response time.
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Low input lag.
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No local dimming feature.
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Limited VRR range.
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Only max refresh rate of 60Hz.
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Doesn't make highlights pop.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is good for PC use. Its low input lag delivers a responsive desktop experience, and it has a decent response time too. It displays proper chroma 4:4:4 with any of its resolutions, which helps with text clarity, but there are some issues displaying a native 4k signal that you can notice if you sit close. Also, if you sit too close, the edges of the screen look washed out due to its narrow viewing angle.
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Decent reflection handling.
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Decent response time.
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Low input lag.
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Displays proper chroma 4:4:4.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Low peak brightness.
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Only max refresh rate of 60Hz.
- 6.7 Mixed Usage
- 6.2 TV Shows
- 6.4 Sports
- 7.4 Video Games
- 6.5 HDR Movies
- 7.7 HDR Gaming
- 7.4 PC Monitor
- Updated Aug 09, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Aug 01, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.11. With this update, we've added a new Upscaling: Sharpness Processing test and revamped our Blooming test so the scores and picture better match the real world experience. With this change, it was necessary to remove the Black Crush test. Finally, we've updated our usage scores to better align our scores with user expectations.
- Updated Jun 22, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.10. With this update we've revamped our Gradient testing, added a new test for Low Quality Content Smoothing, and expanded our Audio Passthrough testing.
- Updated Jun 07, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 03, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for four months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 24, 2023: Updated to Test Bench 1.9, modifying our Contrast testing and splitting our local dimming testing into multiple sections covering Blooming, Black Crush, and Lighting Zone Transitions. You can see our full changelog here.
- Updated Feb 06, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Nov 17, 2022: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Oct 19, 2022: We bought and tested the Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022 and added a few relevant comparisons to this review. Check out our full comparison here.
- Updated Oct 06, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Sep 29, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 20, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 07, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 24, 2022: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55-inch Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 (M55Q6M-K04), and the results are also valid for the 43-inch, 65-inch, 70-inch, and 75-inch sizes. It's part of their M Series lineup released in 2022, which they label as their 2023 models. Note that this TV is different from the 50, 65, and 75-inch Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022 models, which the manufacturer advertises to have a higher refresh rate, get brighter, and have a local dimming feature.
| Size | Model Code |
|---|---|
| 43" | M43Q6M-K04 |
| 55" | M55Q6M-K04 |
| 65" | M65Q6M-K04 |
| 70" | M70Q6M-K03 |
| 75" | M75Q6M-K03 |
You can see the label for our unit here.
Compared To Other TVs
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is an okay budget TV, but considering its upscaling issues and low peak brightness, there are better options available from brands like Hisense or TCL. It's also a bit of a downgrade compared to its predecessor, the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021, which is disappointing.
Also see our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best 55-inch TVs, and the best smart TVs.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is a higher-end model than the Vizio V Series 2022, but the performance is very similar. The main difference is that the M6 has a wider color gamut thanks to its quantum dot technology, allowing it to display a wider range of colors. However, the V Series is still better in a few areas, like the peak brightness and color accuracy, and it removes 24p judder from Blu-rays, which the M6 can't do.
The Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022 is significantly better than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022. The M Series Quantum X has much better picture quality, as it gets brighter in both SDR and HDR, and it has a decent full array local dimming feature, so bright highlights stand out. The M Series Quantum X is also better for gaming, as it has a higher native refresh rate and a wider variable refresh rate range.
The TCL 5 Series/S546 2021 QLED is better overall than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022. Thanks to its local dimming feature and higher peak brightness it delivers better overall picture quality. Although both TVs have trouble properly upscaling 480p content, the TCL is better with 720p content, like from HD cable channels.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is the newer version of the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021, and it's a downgrade in a few areas. The 2022 model has trouble properly upscaling 480p content and it doesn't get as bright as the 2021 model. The 2022 also doesn't remove 24p judder from native 24p sources like the 2021 model, which is disappointing for watching movies. However, motion looks better on the 2022 version because it has a quicker response time and it has a backlight strobing feature, which the 2021 model doesn't have.
The Hisense U6G is much better overall than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022. It delivers better picture quality thanks to its local dimming feature and improved brightness, so highlights pop and colors look more vivid. The Hisense also doesn't have trouble upscaling lower-resolution content like on the Vizio, which is ideal if you watch DVDs or cable TV.
The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021 is much better than the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022. The M7 has more features like local dimming which results in a better picture quality in dark scenes. It also gets brighter if you want to use it in a well-lit room, and if you watch movies it removes 24p judder from native apps and 24p sources, while the M6 can only remove it from native apps.
Test Results
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 looks a lot like the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021. It's a simple-looking TV with an all-black body, and it's mainly made of plastic.
The wide-set feet hold the display well as there's minimal wobble. They also raise the screen high enough off the table that most soundbars won't block the screen.
Footprint of the 55-inch TV: 39" x 11" x 3.15" to the bottom of the screen.
The back is made of metal on the back panel and plastic where the inputs are and at the bottom. Because the inputs are placed towards the center of the TV, they're hard to reach, especially if you have it wall-mounted. Unfortunately, there isn't anything for cable management.
The section where the inputs are sticks out and the TV doesn't sit flush against the wall if you mount it.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has decent build quality. It feels good for a budget-friendly TV, and even if its materials aren't premium, it's well-put together, and there aren't any noticeable issues. There's a bit of flex on the back panel, but that's normal and isn't an issue until you press on it.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has a high native contrast ratio. It means that it displays deep blacks next to bright highlights, which is ideal for dark room viewing. However, without a local dimming feature, it can't further improve it.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has poor HDR peak brightness. It doesn't get bright enough for highlights to stand out against a dark image, and it doesn't deliver a satisfying HDR experience. These results are in the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode with the Gamma on '2.2', Color Temperature on 'Warm', and the Tone Mapping set to its default of '50'.
If you want a slightly brighter image, set to Picture Mode to 'Bright', the Color Temperature to 'Cool', and the Gamma to '1.8'. It makes the image slightly brighter at 273 cd/m² with a 10% window, but it isn't enough to be a significant difference, and the image is less accurate.
The HDR brightness in Game Mode is once again poor and looks the same as outside of Game Mode. It was tested using the same settings, but with Game Low Latency enabled.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has excellent PQ EOTF tracking with darker shades and show details. It follows the target nearly perfectly, but as there's a sharp roll-off at the peak brightness, there are a lot of details lost in bright scenes. If you find the image too dim, set the Gamma to '1.8' and the Color Temperature to 'Normal'. This makes shadows appear brighter, as you can see in this EOTF, but there's still the same sharp roll-off.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has disappointing SDR peak brightness. It doesn't get bright enough to fight glare, so it's best to use it in a dim or moderately-lit room. The higher-end Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022 gets significantly brighter. These results are from after calibration using the 'Calibrated Dark' Picture Mode with the Backlight at its max, Color Temperature on 'Warm', and Gamma set to '2.2'.
By setting the Picture Mode to 'Bright', Color Temperature to 'Cool', and Gamma to '1.8', the TV reaches a peak of 276 cd/m² in the 10% window. However, this isn't a significant difference, and the image is less accurate.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has an excellent color gamut thanks to its quantum dot technology. It displays a wide range of colors in the DCI-P3 color space used in most HDR content, and it's future-proof because it also has good coverage in the Rec. 2020 color space, which more content will start to use.
The color volume is decent, but it struggles to display bright colors well, and it's limited by its incomplete color gamut.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has mediocre out-of-the-box accuracy in SDR. Most colors and the white balance are noticeably off, resulting in an inaccurate image. Luckily, the color temperature is very close to the 6500K target, and while gamma is brighter than our intended 2.2 target for moderately-lit rooms, it's only slightly off.
The accuracy after calibration to the 6500K white point is fantastic. It's easy to calibrate the white balance and gamma, but because the colors were so inaccurate before calibration, they're still a bit off after calibration.
See our full calibration settings here.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has okay gray uniformity. There are noticeable issues with backlight bleed and dirty screen effect that can get distracting with large areas of uniform colors, particularly when watching sports. Even with near-dark scenes, there's noticeable backlight bleed.
The black uniformity is alright. There's backlight bleed throughout, resulting in the blue screen, but it isn't terrible either. Unfortunately, without a local dimming feature, it can't further deepen those blacks.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has a narrow viewing angle. Colors lose their hue very fast, and the image looks washed out as you move off to the sides. This means it isn't an ideal choice for wide viewing areas.
The reflection handling is decent. It handles a moderate amount of light well, but considering it has low peak brightness, it struggles to fight glare in a well-lit room.
Unfortunately, the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 can't properly upscale 480p content, like from DVDs and SD cable channels. It doesn't apply the proper aspect ratio as it stretches the image horizontally. Vizio TVs are known to have upscaling issues, but never like this.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 uses a BGR sub-pixel structure, which doesn't affect image quality, but it can negatively affect text clarity when using the TV as a PC monitor. You can read more about it here. It also has dithering in blue pixels, which negatively impacts the 4k upscaling as some images aren't as sharp.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has a decent response time. Motion looks good for the most part, and while there's a bit of blur trail behind fast-moving objects, it's minimal with brighter objects. However, it has a slow response time in dark transitions, leading to black smearing with darker objects.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 uses pulse width modulation to dim its backlight at any Backlight level below its max and in any picture mode. Considering how dim the TV is, it's best to set it at its max backlight level to avoid flicker, but the flicker is high enough that it likely won't bother you if you're sensitive to flicker. However, it can also cause image duplication.
There's an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, to reduce persistence blur. It works at 60Hz, which matches up with the refresh rate, but there's still a bit of image duplication. Keep in mind that the BFI score is based on the flicker frequency and not the actual performance.
There's no motion interpolation feature to bring lower-frame-rate content up to 60 fps.
Because the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 doesn't have the fastest response time, lower-frame-rate content doesn't stutter that much.
Unlike most TVs, the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 only removes 24p judder from native apps. Strangely, it can't do it with a 24p source, like a Blu-ray player. The setting to remove judder is actually grayed out when you use an external device.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) technology to reduce screen tearing. It only works within a narrow range because it doesn't support Low Framerate Compensation, so you'll see screen tearing when the frame rate drops too low.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has low input lag in Game Mode for a responsive feel. Even outside of Game Mode, you won't notice too much of a delay while scrolling through menus.
This TV supports most common signals up to 4k @ 60Hz, including proper chroma 4:4:4 which helps with text clarity when using it as a PC monitor. It actually accepts a 120Hz signal with 1080p and 1440p resolutions, but it skips frames.
Without HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and a 120Hz refresh rate, this TV can't take full advantage of the PS5 as it's limited to signals up to 60Hz.
Without HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and a 120Hz refresh rate, the Vizio M6 Quantum Series 2022 can't take full advantage of the Xbox Series X as it's limited to signals up to 60Hz.
Although the HDMI inputs are advertised as HDMI 2.1, they're limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, so you can't take advantage of the extra bandwidth of HDMI 2.1. It's also advertised to support Wi-Fi 6E, which is 6GHz, but this only works with Wi-Fi 6E compatible devices for faster speeds.
The RCA Analog Audio output is great if you have an older two-channel sound system that requires this connection.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 supports eARC with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X signals. It means you can pass this high-quality audio to a compatible receiver with a single HDMI connection.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 has an okay frequency response. It's good for listening to dialogue and gets loud, but like with most TVs, it doesn't produce much bass, if any.
The distortion handling isn't bad. It's better with moderate listening levels, but it gets more noticeable at its max volume.
The Vizio SmartCast platform is a bit different from other operating systems as the apps are web-based, and the interface feels slower. It's easy to learn, but there are a few bugs as the SmartCast was unavailable when we first started the TV, and we had to reset it for it to work.
Like with most TV brands, there are ads throughout the interface, but they aren't always there.
The Vizio SmartCast platform doesn't have an app store because all the apps are web-based. This means you can only use the ones it already has, but there's a large selection of apps to start with, and you can cast content from your phone.
The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 comes with a basic remote. It has all the basic functions, including quick-access buttons to popular streaming services, and there's a mic for voice control. You can ask it to open apps and switch inputs, but you can't use it to search for content in apps or change the TV's settings. You can use Google Assistant, Alexa, or Apple Home too. Also, you can use the Vizio Mobile app on your phone to use the voice features.
