The 50-inch size hits the sweet spot for most living rooms and bedrooms, large enough for an immersive viewing experience without overwhelming your space. This Insignia F50 Series 4K Fire TV just dropped to an all-time low of $179 on Amazon, down from its regular $299 price. For this price, you’ll get a smart TV equipped with Ultra HD resolution, HDR10 support and built-in Fire TV streaming without the premium pricing that Samsung or LG demand for similar specs.
The 3840×2160 resolution supplies four times the pixel density of standard 1080p displays which becomes evident when watching nature documentaries or sports where fine details make all the difference. Textures in clothes are finer, individual blades of grass on football fields are more distinguishable, and facial features during close-ups are sharper. The upscaling engine takes your existing HD content from cable boxes or Blu-ray players and upscales it to near-4K quality, filling in missing information via intelligent processing. This means that even older shows and movies look better than they did on your previous TV.
HDR10 opens up a wider color gamut than what standard dynamic range displays can show, and displays subtle gradations in bright skies and shadow details that might otherwise disappear to black. Sunsets contain more layers of orange and red rather than a flat blob of color, and dark movie scenes reveal details in shadows without washing out the overall image. This wider color gamut makes animated films pop with vibrant hues while live-action content receives a more realistic appearance that feels closer to what your eyes see in real life.
The Fire TV interface puts streaming apps front and center and removes the need for external streaming sticks or boxes that clutter your entertainment center. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max load directly from the home screen, and the system remembers where you left off across different services. Voice control through the included Alexa remote lets you search for content by speaking actor names, movie titles, or even vague descriptions.
DTS Virtual-X processing does give simulated surround sound from the TV’s built-in speakers, and furthers dialogue clarity and adding spatial depth to action sequences. It analyzes the audio signal and adjusts the output of the speakers to create an impression of height and width that goes beyond the physical speaker placements. Of course, it is not a replacement for a dedicated sound system, but it considerably enhances the viewing experience compared to the thin, tinny audio that plagues budget TVs.
HDMI eARC support transmits full-resolution audio from streaming apps or connected devices to compatible soundbars and receivers without compression. This type of connection is used to handle more advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X which need higher bandwidth than the standard HDMI ARC allows. You can attach a soundbar later with no concerns about limitations of audio quality and the automatic switching of the audio output when connecting compatible equipment occurs seamlessly.
The refresh rate of 60Hz handles standard TV content and movies smoothly, and refreshed the image 60 times per second so that motion blur does not occur when the camera pans or there is fast action on screen. Smart home integration allows Ring doorbell feeds, Philips Hue lights, or Nest thermostats to be accessed through the TV interface using voice commands. Content from iPhones and iPads can directly mirror onto the screen via Apple AirPlay, without the use of additional casting devices.
But this Insignia TV delivers on most people’s actual usage at a price point of just $179 for a 50-inch 4K display with streaming built in, rather than requiring months of budgeting.
