The Insignia Fire TV is a decent 4k TV with a decent picture quality. It has a high native contrast ratio and produces deep blacks, but unfortunately, they are not very uniform and the lack of local dimming cannot help improve the appearance of dark scenes. The image degrades rapidly when viewed from the side so it is not a good choice for a large room with a wide seating arrangement. The TV supports HDR, but it can't deliver the creators intent. This Insignia TV integrates very well with the Amazon Alexa voice assistant.
Update 11/30/18: Changed the text a bit for clarification
Our Verdict
The Insignia Fire TV Edition is a decent choice for mixed usage. The picture quality is okay. It has a high native contrast ratio, but dark room performance is hurt by the mediocre black uniformity. The TV has bad viewing angles so you should sit directly in front to get the best possible picture. Reflection handling is okay when the room is not too bright and finally, the TVs input lag is good for some casual gaming.
- Excellent native contrast
- Powerful Alexa voice assistant
- Bad color accuracy
- Amazon Prime account is required for many functions
- Bad viewing angles
The Insignia Fire TV Edition is mediocre for watching movies in a dark room. The picture quality is okay, and the native contrast ratio is high, and although the blacks are deep, they are not very uniform when viewed in a dark room. The lack of local dimming doesn't help either. Unfortunately, this TV cannot remove 24p judder from older content and has a bad color accuracy that you can not significantly improve, due to the lack of the necessary menu options.
This is a decent TV for watching TV shows. It can handle reflections decently and this is important as TV shows are usually watched in brighter rooms with more than one light sources. Unfortunately, if you are used to walking around while watching your favorite TV show you will notice that the image degrades as you look at it from the side.
The Insignia Fire TV Edition is decent for watching sports. It has decent reflection handling for an average bright room and good response time. Fast action has some blur that helps the image look smooth, but unfortunately, there is no option to introduce flicker to make it crisper. The gray uniformity is decent, but you will see some dirty screen effect while watching hockey or football. Unfortunately, the bad viewing angles do not favor watching from the side, so this TV is not a good choice if you plan to watch a game with a group of friends.
This TV is decent for playing video games. It has a low input lag and responds quickly to your actions. The response time is good, and only a little motion blur is present on fast-action games. The TV does not have any advanced gaming features but will keep happy most casual gamers. However, it is not a good choice if you are a gaming enthusiast.
The Insignia Fire TV Edition is mediocre for watching HDR movies. It has deep blacks due to the high native contrast ratio but unfortunately, they are not uniform and this can be visible in a dark room. Also, the TV lacks local dimming that would help improve this. The HDR brightness is only decent and cannot deliver the creators intent.
This TV is decent for playing HDR Games. It has a low input lag in HDR mode and the response time is good. Blacks are deep but they are not uniform. That, along with the lack of local dimming, hurts dark room performance. where HDR games are meant to be played.
The Insignia Fire TV has a decent performance when used as a PC monitor. It is quite responsive to your actions due to the low input lag. You have to make careful adjustments to make it properly display chroma 4:4:4. Finally, the edges will have some uniformity issues due to the bad viewing angles.
Changelog
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Feb 28, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Oct 31, 2018: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" NS-55DF710NA19 and for the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 43" and 50'' models.
The Insignia Fire TV is also available in smaller sizes 24,'' 32' and 39". These sizes do not support HDR and have a lower resolution. In most other aspects we expect them to be similar to the model we tested.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Insignia TV NS-55DF710NA19 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Model | Resolution | Refresh Rate | HDR Support |
| 24'' | NS-24DF310NA19 | 720p | 60 | No |
| 32'' | NS-32DF310NA19 | 720p | 60 | No |
| 39'' | NS-39DF510NA19 | 1080p | 60 | No |
| 43" | NS-43DF710NA19 | 4K | 60 | Yes |
| 50" | NS-50DF710NA19 | 4K | 60 | Yes |
| 55" | NS-55DF710NA19 | 4K | 60 | Yes |
The 55" NS-55DF710NA19 we reviewed was manufactured in July 2019.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Insignia Fire TV is well integrated with the Amazon Alexa framework. See our recommendations for the best budget TVs and the best TVs under $300.
The Toshiba Amazon Fire TV 2018 is a bit better than the Insignia Fire TV. The Toshiba has more uniform blacks, and this is great for dark room viewing. The Toshiba also has a lower input lag and better response time, which are important if you play video games. The Insignia Fire TV, on the other hand, has a better gray uniformity which is good if you watch sports.
The Samsung NU6900 is much better than the Insignia Fire TV. The Samsung NU6900 has lower input lag and better response time which is great if you play fast-action video games. The Samsung NU6900 also has better black uniformity, which is great for dark room performance, and better reflection handling, which makes it a better choice for a room with many light sources.
The TCL S Series/S405 4k 2018 is much better than the Insignia Fire TV. The TCL has better reflection handling, so it's more suitable for a room with many light sources. Also, the TCL has lower input lag and is more responsive to your actions which is great if you use the TV for gaming or a PC monitor. The Insignia Fire TV, on the other hand, has a motion interpolation feature that will please soap opera effect fans.
The LG UK6300 is better than the Insignia Fire TV. The LG has a lower input lag and better viewing angles, which are great if you wish to use the TV as a PC monitor, or you have a room with a wide seating arrangement. The LG also has better reflection handling and can accommodate for more light sources. The Insignia Fire TV, on the other hand, has better blacks and will perform better in a dark room, provided you sit directly in front.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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