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After a less than stellar debut for Amazon's Smart TVs under the Westinghouse and Element brands, Toshiba's 4K Fire TV Edition (55LF621U19) gives the OS a more respectable image, with improved displays, a HDR load and a more refined user experience.
However, the bottom line is that Amazon's higher-performance software is still bothered by the decision to put it in really cheap hardware. Although the price below $ 500 is popular with consumers, it has several undeniable weaknesses that make the TV difficult to recommend.
Design
(Image credit: Future)
As you probably guess at this price, the design of the 55LF621U19 is quite simple, with a thick plastic case and shiny black frames.
They are joined by a pair of shiny black plastic crescent-shaped feet, which sit towards the center of the screen – stable but somewhat inelegant. We would prefer far wider separate feet or a single central foot.
The TV can be mounted, of course, and you'll need a 200mm x 300mm VESA mount to do it.
(Image credit: Future)
Characteristics
(Image credit: Future)
The connections for this TV are not too bad for a defined budget. On the left side you will find the main set – three HDMI ports (one with ARC), a USB port, an optical digital port and a headphone output. They are a little far from the edge to make them super easy to use, but they are always visible and accessible.
It's not quite the same for the extra ports – namely the RCA composite video inputs, an Ethernet port and a coaxial screw connector for antenna and cable – all of which are inserted and angled down. Fortunately, you are likely to connect most of these items once and leave them there. This is not a major disadvantage. Plus, there is an integrated 802.11ac Wi-Fi connection.
Amazon's Fire TV OS is one of the main topics of discussion for this TV, but despite a potentially promising experience, it is overly aggressive in its content recommendations and heavy with its banner ads for Amazon Prime broadcasts.
While many smart TV platforms include some form of advertising, usually recommended content for favorite apps and services, Amazon's Fire TV also includes advertisements for Amazon products.
This goes from the obvious, like movies and home theater equipment, to specific interests, such as sports equipment and personalized recommendations based on the history of the Amazon. Sometimes it may sound a bit odd, such as when we turned on the Toshiba Amazon TV to receive an advertisement for the Samsung Q7F TV.
(Image credit: Future)
Alexa would not really be a Fire TV. Therefore, the famous voice assistant is there to help you search for content, adjust settings on the TV and control any smart device compatible with Alexa.
The selection of apps here is very good, including popular apps such as Netflix and HBO Go. These are often promoted on the home screen, so easy to find and use. download, but you have to search for everything you want.
The apps are divided into 27 different categories, such as Movies & TV, News & Sports. There are literally thousands in total, but they are difficult to navigate because of slow loading times and poor categorization. You'd better search by name, although it's also rather slow.
Quality control is also not the best choice. There are many nonsensical apps that we do not like to please anyone, and you would not put in a properly organized application store.
The Toshiba remote that comes with this TV is quite small and light enough, but it is not abnormal for the price.
(Image credit: Future)
Not surprisingly, it's reminiscent of Amazon's Fire TV remotes. In the center, a shiny ring serves as a four-way directional pad. It is surrounded by buttons dedicated to the reading controls for the home, back, menus and media.
Another button allows you to switch to live TV, while a button up / down allows you to adjust the volume.
At the bottom, four application-specific buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, HBO and PlayStation Vue, and at the top, a remote button to access Alexa. This is especially useful when searching for content and applications because it eliminates the need to waste time with the slow keyboard.
Picture
(Image credit: Future)
Toshiba uses direct LED backlighting without local attenuation, resulting in expected failures that dramatically affect image performance.
For example, we notice shadows in the corners of the screen when displaying uniform colors, indistinct outlines for bright objects, and inconsistent light burst and backlight consistency issues that are difficult to ignore.
The undesirable flowering is not to be missed in the scenes of Blade Runner 2049for example, with a halo of unwanted light surrounding a lighted door at the end of a dark hallway.
It is similarly perceptible in Spider-Man: Homecoming when a gang armed with alien weapons holds a bank branch, their shining and purple energy bundles punctuate the action. While these beams need to be well defined and have a big impact, a faint glow surrounds them instead, resulting from Toshiba's less accurate backlighting.
At this price, it's nice to see that Toshiba offers HDR support, with compatibility for HDR10 but not Dolby Vision. There is no support for HDR10 +, which seems like a missed opportunity, because Amazon Prime Video is currently one of the few sources of HDR10 + content.
That said, the offer offered here works well and HDR support provides excellent midtones, with many subtle details in dark and dimly lit scenes. It's not perfect, but it's still a significant advance in quality compared to the standard dynamic range.
The viewing angles leave a lot to be desired. You will notice a color shift of only 30 degrees to the center, but the vertical viewing angles are worse. You will notice significant color problems when standing compared to sitting.
Color accuracy is not the highlight of this TV. Although colors can be rich and punchy, they are rather imprecise despite the average brightness, and their off-axis display further aggravates this situation.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
There are two 10 watt speakers with DTS on board, but although they are loud, the quality of their production is not excellent.
The bass is nonexistent because of the lack of subwoofer, but at the other end of the range, the highs are also muffled and indistinct. If you buy this TV, it is essential to add a soundbar.
Verdict
The 55LF621U19 may offer a better image than the original Westinghouse Fire Edition television, but the improvements in image quality (HDR support and improved color accuracy) are not doing enough to give the green light to this TV.
As long as Amazon remains loyal to its more economical TVs as a platform for its Fire TV platform, it seems likely that they will continue to lag behind the performance we want from a TV that we recommend.
And that's a shame. Because despite all the quirks of the Fire TV platform, the performance is solid. It's just the material that lets him down.
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