Our Verdict
The Toshiba Fire TV is a decent TV for mixed usage. It does not excel in any particular area, but it performs decently in almost all. It is very responsive due to its fast response time and low input lag and is suitable for a relatively bright room. However, the image quality deteriorates when viewing it from the side and it will display some uniformity issues that can annoy some people.
- Deep and uniform dark scenes
- Powerful Alexa voice assistant
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle
- Mediocre HDR
- Many functions require an Amazon Prime account
The Toshiba Fire TV has mediocre performance when watching movies. Although contrast is excellent and blacks will look deep in a dark movie watching environments, the TV cannot produce rich, saturated colors and its color accuracy is sub-par. Watching movies is not one of the strong usages of this.
The Toshiba Fire TV is decent for watching TV shows. It has good SDR brightness and can handle reflections decently so you can place it in a fairly bright room but avoid having too many light sources. It handles upscaling cable content well but the viewing angle is bad and the image loses accuracy when viewed from the side. So to enjoy your favorite TV show you should sit mostly directly in front of the TV.
Sports watching on the Fire TV is okay. It has decent reflection handing for a bright room but poor viewing angles so it is not suitable for wide viewing. Although it has a fast response time, motion handling is just mediocre, and gray uniformity is sub-par, so some people will notice some clouding in hockey or football wide panning shots.
The Toshiba Fire TV is good for occasional video game playing. It has a fast response time and a good low input lag that will keep the infrequent gamer happy. It lacks, however, more advanced gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) or black frame insertion (BFI) that more hardcore gamers are looking for.
Watching HDR movies on this Fire TV is ok. Blacks look great in dark rooms, but the color gamut is limited and HDR highlights are not well displayed, and certainly not to the expectations of their creator. Just like movie watching, HDR content playback is not one of this TVs strong usages.
The Toshiba Fire TV is decent for HDR gaming. It has a very good low input lag for the 4k @ 60Hz + HDR resolution and an impressive response time, but at the same time the color gamut is limited and the TV cannot display rich or even accurate colors.
Decent performance for this Fire TV as a PC monitor. It has a very good low input lag and fast response time, but at the same time, viewing angles are poor thus if you sit too close the image at the edges will not look accurate. You should not worry about permanent burn-in Risk, or temporary image retention, as this is a VA panel which seems to be immune to those risks.
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 Jul 10, 2018: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (55LF621U19). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for other sizes.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Toshiba Fire TV 55LF621U19 that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model |
| 43" | 43LF621U19 |
| 50" | 50LF621U19 |
| 55" | 55LF621U19 |
Update 07/23/2018: We have received reports that the 43" and 50" models do not support motion interpolation as they lack the Motion Processing option.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Toshiba Fire TV is a mediocre TV, especially compared to the capable competition found in its price range. See our recommendations for the best cheap 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 Vizio E Series 2018 is much better than the Toshiba Amazon Fire TV 2018. The Vizio has local dimming and Dolby Vision support, it also has better color gamut and color volume and thus, it can display HDR content slightly better. The Vizio has lower input lag, which is great if you play video games or use the TV as a PC monitor. Finally, the Vizio has a faster response time so it can display fast-moving content with less blur. The Toshiba Fire TV 2018, on the other hand, supports motion interpolation for the soap opera effect enthusiasts and can upscale better cable input, which is important if you watch a lot of TV shows or sports.
The Samsung NU7100 is better than the Toshiba Amazon Fire TV 2018. The Samsung NU7100 has a lower input lag, which is great if you play video games or use the TV as a PC monitor. The Samsung NU7100 also has better black and gray uniformity that improve picture quality and better reflection handling, which allows you to place the TV in a room with many small windows. On the other hand, the Toshiba Fire TV 2018 can get brighter, so it can fight the glare of bright rooms better, and it has better handling of fast motion due to the faster response time.
The TCL S Series/S405 4k 2018 is better than the Toshiba Amazon Fire TV 2018. The TCL S405 has better reflection handling if you wish to place the TV in a room with many light sources, and also has better out-of-the-box color accuracy. The TCL S405 has lower input lag and is very responsive for gaming or when used as a PC monitor. On the other hand, the Toshiba Fire TV 2018 can get much brighter and can fight glare in a bright room. Finally, the Toshiba Fire TV 2018 has a motion interpolation feature for those who like the soap opera effect.
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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