Vizio OLED55-H1 Review

When it comes to TVs, we’ve long sang the praises of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology for for its ability to pack incredible contrast with perfect black levels and excellent color performance into thinner panels than LED-backlit LCD models. LG has been at the head of the trend, though Sony also offers some models, and now Vizio is joining the fray with a line of OLED panels. Vizio's TVs offer the exact kind of high-end performance we’ve come to expect from OLED technology, at much friendlier prices than models from LG and Sony; the 55-inch OLED55-H1 we tested is available for $1,299.99, several hundred dollars less than competing models. And with similar performance for a much lower price, Vizio's new line earns our Editors' Choice award for affordable OLED TVs.

The OLED55-H1 is slim and simple, with an edge-to-edge glass panel framed by a dark metal band. There's no bezel, or even a Vizio logo on the TV—the metal frame is broken up only slightly by a small bump in the lower left corner for the infrared receiver. When you turn the TV on, that’s when a big Vizio logo appears in bright white against the black OLED background.

While the panel itself is only a fraction of an inch thick, the lower half of the back of the TV bulges out with a plastic casing that holds the TV’s electronics and connections. An HDMI port, a USB port, and RCA composite video inputs face left on the back of the TV. Three more HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, an antenna/cable connector, and RCA stereo and optical audio outputs face downward, near the other connections. A small panel of control buttons sit near the left edge of the back of the TV.