Three television brands – Seiki, Westinghouse Electronics and Element Electronics, are launching a range of 4K Ultra HD smart television sets that include integrated Amazon Fire TV functionality at the CES 2017. These new ranges include Amazon’s over-the-air live television programming, plus the ability to stream TV episodes, movies, music and games. The sets include Voice Remote with Amazon Alexa, allowing customers to control their smart TVs and other smart home appliances using their voice. In total, these new Ultra HD Smart TVs will give customers access to over 7,000 channels, applications, Alexa skills and live broadcasts when connected to a separate HD antenna. Customers will be also be able to search for things such as getting the latest news and weather reports, checking sports scores and remote control of other Alexa-enabled smart home technology.
These three brands of television sets are built by Tongfang Global and their vice president of marketing, Sung Choi, explained how integrating the Amazon Fire TV technology will provide “an elevated customer experience powered by the highest performance processors in the industry, a unique voice-controlled remote control, and Amazon’s cinematic viewing experience.” The three brands are each bringing a total of four television sets to the market, available in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch sizes and will be sold under the “4K Ultra HD Smart TV – Fire TV Edition” moniker. Each TV has a 4K Ultra HD panel of 3,840 by 2,160 pixel resolution. Under the skin, the new smart TVs include 3GB of memory, 16GB of local storage, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and the ability to stream video at up to 4K Ultra HD resolution.
At this time there is no additional information regarding other technologies built into the TVs, such as audio or visual systems to enhance the quality. As a technology, Alexa is rapidly gaining traction with many brands, including but not limited to Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, Wink, Insteon and Samsung SmartThings providing support. Neither Seiki, Westinghouse nor Element have announced the recommended retail prices of their new 4K Ultra HD Smart TV – Fire TV Edition line, or an exact release date. These television sets will be available later this year on both Amazon’s website plus other authorized retailers; meanwhile both Seiki and Westinghouse are demonstrating their 4K Ultra HD televisions at the CES 2017 trade show this week.
