Amazon thinks yours television don’t work hard enough when you don’t watch and it’s new Fire TV Omni QLED Series aim to fix that. With hands-free Alexa built in, it can do everything a powerful voice assistant can. Plus, it becomes an always-on (or mostly on) display that doubles as a really big picture frame, and it also displays widgets that keep you up to date on weather, events upcoming and more.
Oh, and you can use it to watch TV shows and movies as well as play games – you know, just like a regular TV. With QLED screen technology, it produces a beautiful picture. But that’s almost a second thought.
A great smart home hub with OK picture quality
The Fire TV Omni QLED has a good picture for a 4K TV at its price point. But it integrates Alexa better than other TVs, making it a powerful machine for managing your smart home. Ambient Experience turns your TV into an always-on display – for better or for worse.
Amazon’s voice assistant is part of many TVs today – in TVs running the Fire TV operating system as well as models that don’t, like those from LG and Samsung. But no one has depth Alexa integration that Amazon-made TVs can offer, resulting in a more seamless voice control experience. In many ways, using your voice to control the Fire TV Omni QLED is easier and faster than using the remote. You can use your voice to turn on the TV, launch shows, rewind, pause, adjust the volume, and more.
Alexa on Fire TV Omni QLED can do more than control the TV. It can manage your smart bulbs, check your smart security devices, change the temperature on your smart thermostat – if you live in a connected home, monitor TV can become the hub for it all. And Alexa works when the screen isn’t on, so you can queue tunes or use the assistant’s other features whenever you need to.
Other Fire TVs can do all that, too, though Omni QLED makes for a smoother experience. The Fire TV Omni QLED innovation is what Amazon calls the Ambient Experience. This feature turns your TV into an always-on display. When you’re not watching TV, it displays photos, art, or other visuals – like a giant picture frame or screensaver. You can control how long the images are displayed and choose which images to display, choose from the gallery or use your personal photos. If you like the idea of Samsung’s The Frame TVyou’ll love Ambient Experience on Fire TV.
You can also choose from several widgets to display information when in Environment mode. These include displaying your calendar, suggestions for things to see, and sticky notes, which allow you to post notes on your desktop as an alternative to leaving notes on the fridge or counter. Widgets make TV like a lock screen on your phone – you’ll never know the latest in your life.
You can set up Ambient Experience so that it only turns on the screen when it senses someone in the room. This saves energy, but it also feels creepy. When you walk into the room and the TV turns on automatically, you can’t help but feel like you’re being watched. Fortunately, you can turn off Ambient Experience if you don’t feel like your TV has to work too hard.
With Amazon’s experience in manufacturing smart speaker, it’s no surprise that the Fire TV Omni QLED delivers good sound for a TV. Even though it only has two channels, dialogue is clear and it even produces a bit of bass. While listening to music, it sounds as good as a Echo. However, the TV does not support Dolby Atmos and lacks any virtual surround sound modes. Good soundbar would be a welcome addition to your setup.
The Fire TV Omni QLED has the technology you want in a mid-priced 4K TV – a QLED display with full-range backlighting and local dimming, and an input that supports HDMI 2.1, the latest standard. In theory, that should produce sharp images with great contrast and vibrant colors.
But the reality is that it has a very average image. Colors often look flat. It has better contrast than TVs without the technology, with deep blacks, but in many scenes the dark overwhelms the light. Image quality depends on the source content. For example, while watching “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, the TV switched to Dolby Vision IQ mode, which resulted in a blurred background and dull green, but very bright reds. lively. The TV produced good contrast on the 4K Blu-ray version of “Blade Runner 2049,” although some colors appeared oversaturated.
There are lots of tweaks you can make in the settings to help fix these issues, but I’ve never been able to tweak the image to make it as good as it should be.
Other TVs in this price range, such as Hisense U7H, provides much better images. And the U7H offers a 120Hz refresh rate, while the Omni QLED is only capable of 60Hz – something gamers will want to keep in mind.
It focuses on Amazon services and products
All Fire TVs put Amazon Prime Video content front and center, so this isn’t the only complaint against the Omni QLED. But on the home screen, where it suggests shows to watch, you’ll see Amazon’s content stand out above shows on other services. And you don’t have much control over what shows up on the home screen. If you’re not a Prime member, the TV will become much less capable or useful.
Fire TV Omni QLED is available in 65 inches for $800 or 75 inches for $1,100 (we tested the 65 inch model). If you want the features it offers but don’t have room for such a large screen, you’re out of luck. First Amazon Omni TV (without QLED technology), released last year, comes in more sizes, from 43 inches ($330) up to 75 inches ($1,050) and U7H priced from 55 inches ($570) to 85 inches ($1,800).
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Size |
65 and 75 inches |
55, 65, 75 and 85 inches |
| Dimensions (for 65-inch models) |
57.1 x 33.4 x 3.2 inches |
57.0 × 33.1 × 3.5 inches |
| Weight (for 65-inch models) |
45.4 pounds |
43 pounds |
| Panel Type |
QLED LCD |
ULED LCD |
| Input |
4 HDMI (One HDMI 2.1 with eARC), 1 USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, coaxial antenna |
4 HDMI (2 up to 4K @ 120Hz, 2 up to 4K @ 60Hz), 2 USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, coaxial antenna |
| Output result |
Optical digital audio, 3.5mm auxiliary, Bluetooth |
Optical digital audio, 3.5mm auxiliary, Bluetooth |
| HDR |
Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10, HLG |
Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10, HLG |
| Sound |
2.0 channels |
2.0 channels |
| Price |
$800 |
$798 |
By making its own line of Fire TVs, Amazon has the ability to innovate, thanks to its deep integration with Alexa. And Fire TV Omni QLED shows that a TV can be more than just a screen – voice control is easy and quick and can change the way you interact with your TV. Environmental experiences can also make your life more visual and informative – or you can decide to turn it off.
In terms of picture quality, the Omni QLED can’t compete with other TVs in its price range, such as the Hisense U7H, despite having comparable technology. But if you’re looking for a TV that’s more than just a TV, Omni QLED shows promise in making the biggest screen in your home the centerpiece of your smart life.
