Vizio's 65-Inch 4K Smart TV Is $120 Off At Walmart Right Now

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Walmart has discounted Vizio's 65-inch Class Quantum 4K QLED HDR Smart TV from its original price $498.00 down to $378.00. That's a markdown of $120, giving this massive QLED model a price point that feels closer to a smaller, more entry-level 4K smart TV. With this TV, you'll get features such as Dolby Vision HDR, Wi-Fi 6 streaming, and Vizio's built-in smart TV platform. Looking at rival offerings from Samsung and Westinghouse, this Vizio stands as one of the most affordable QLED options on the market for its size.

The TV also comes with AMD FreeSync Premium, which gives a smoother gaming experience at up to 120 frames per second (a frame rate that, it should be noted, is capped at 1080p resolution for this particular model). The 65-inch Vizio also includes Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HLG support, along with a wide viewing angle panel for more consistent colors no matter where you're sitting in the room. That said, the inherent issues with QLED technology remain — no matter how appealing the price point might be.

Vizio dubs the display "Quantum QLED," which is not to be confused with the similarly named OLED TVs often found at much higher price points. QLED, short for quantum dot LED, is essentially no better than the LED LCD displays that have dominated the TV market for years. The only real difference between QLED and regular old LED? QLED TVs use a quantum dot layer (essentially a bunch of ultra-tiny, super-transparent pops of color on a thin sheet on top of the backlight) to improve the TV's color output.

Where QLED TVs are transmissive, an OLED TV means it's emissive. In other words, OLED panels create their own light directly from their individual pixels. This allows OLEDs to give the viewer perfect black levels, much stronger contrast, and more consistent picture quality overall — especially compared to QLED picture quality. For buyers on a budget, QLED TVs (like this discounted Vizio model) give you a brighter picture than standard LED TVs without the costs of OLED. However, they have a comparatively worse picture quality than OLED, too.

While this discounted Vizio model certainly looks nice, consider the trade-offs before heading to checkout. The set's refresh rate tops out at 60Hz for 4K content, meaning gamers hoping for 120Hz performance at full 4K resolution will not find it here. The brightness is only rated at 300 nits, which may fall short in particularly sunny rooms. What's more, the panel can't match the uniformity or deep contrast of OLED screens. The panels are also prone to blooming (also known as light bleed) around bright objects on dark backgrounds, though QLEDs do have one big advantage over OLED TVs beyond price: they're less susceptible to burnt-in pixels.

Still, this particular model has its pros (especially at this price point): integration with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Home ecosystems, for one, plus a "QuickFit" feature that allows certain Vizio soundbars to mount directly to the television. If you're looking to upgrade your LED TV to a bigger, brighter model, then this Quantum 4K QLED HDR Smart TV might not be a bad idea. But if you have an OLED TV, it would no doubt be a downgrade.