Amazon has now launched a new and affordable TV powered by Fire TV along with Dolby Vision.
The TV is the Toshiba 55LF711U20 and thanks to the included Dolby Vision support, buyers can expect a richer viewing experience without having to pay more than they need to. On paper, these Dolby Vision TVs are said to offer “highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker” compared to non-Dolby Vision TVs.
These new Toshiba TV sets are also 4K TVs and come with Alexa built-in allowing the user to make voice commands to control the TV, as well as the ability to control other compatible smart home devices on the same network. This is in addition to also providing access to the wealth of apps that are available through the Fire TV platform.
Besides being a lower-cost option, Amazon has also added an extra level of choice when it comes to the price by making the new Toshiba TVs available in three different sizes. The cheapest is the 43-inch priced at $329.99. This then sees the size rise up to 50-inches and the price up to $379.99. Lastly, there’s the 55-inch model which comes in at $449.99.
These TVs have only currently been released in the U.S and at present, only the 55-inch model is available to buy today through Amazon and Best Buy. The two smaller units are expected to go on sale starting June 30, 2019.
Dolby Vision is a form of HDR and so these are HDR TVs although they do differ from HDR10 – to most, Dolby Vision is considered the better of the two HDR formats. Either way, HDR has become big business of late and a label that’s usually reserved for more premium TVs which is why the newer lower price point for Dolby Vision is so appealing.
That’s particularly true with Amazon’s Fire TV Edition TVs as other low-cost TV brands have also started to offer Dolby Vision with their TV sets. In fact, this is likely to be one of the reasons why Amazon has now launched this latest model as it looks to ensure its products are keeping up with the value proposition offered by others within the highly-competitive affordable TV sector.
On that note, the sales of the TVs themselves is not technically what companies like Amazon are competing for. What’s more important right now is the adoption of the platform, and in Amazon’s case, Fire TV OS.
While there are many platforms available, including Android TV, Amazon’s Fire TV OS and Roku’s Roku OS are proving to be the most competitive in this space with both now servicing a growing number of platform users in the U.S.
Amazon recently confirmed that it now has 34 million platform users and TV sets pre-loaded with the OS seem to be playing an increasingly important role in this respect. For example, Amazon says that in 2019 alone, the sales of “Fire TV Edition smart TVs have increased every month.” Naturally, this has also led to the number of monthly active users also increasing every month in 2019.
A trend Amazon no doubt hopes will continues with the first of the new wave of Fire TV Edition TVs with Dolby Vision.
Toshiba Fire TV Edition with Dolby Vision (Amazon)