Editors’ Note: This is the most recent version of the 50-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni. Read our review from October 27, 2021 below.
The Fire TV platform has driven Amazon’s own media streamers as well as many third-party TVs for years, but until now the company hasn’t made any of its own TVs. The Omni is one of Amazon’s first Fire TV-powered televisions, as well as the highest-end model in its new lineup. At $829.99 for the 65-inch model we tested, the Omni still leans more toward the budget-friendly end of the spectrum than flagship, and its picture quality reflects that. But it’s packed with all the powerful features of Fire TV, including hands-free Alexa voice control, making it a compelling option for a new smart TV that won’t break the bank.
Editors’ Note: This review is based on testing performed on the 65-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni. Apart from the screen size difference, the $479.99 50-inch Fire TV Omni lacks Dolby Vision support. This does not affect our HDR10-based measured and observed testing, and we expect similar performance from this model.
A Simple Design
The Omni perks up an otherwise nondescript design with a bit of chrome around the edges. The screen is framed by an almost-as-thin black border, giving it a nearly bezel-less look. Only the bottom edge has a bezel, a gunmetal strip with the Fire TV logo in the middle and a small protrusion with near-field microphones below that (a small switch on the underside turns off the mics). The TV stands on two widely placed, metal, V-shaped legs, or it can be mounted on the wall.
A power connector sits on the left side of the back panel, with all other connections facing right. They include four HDMI ports (one eARC), a USB 2.0 port, an optical audio output, a 3.5mm headphone jack, another 3.5mm port for the included IR emitter, an Ethernet port, and a cable/antenna connector.
(Photo: Will Greenwald)
The remote is similar to the ones included with Fire TV media streamers. It’s a flat, slightly rounded black rectangle with a large, circular navigation pad near the top. Power and Alexa buttons, along with a pinhole microphone, sit above the pad. Menu and playback controls are below the pad, with channel and volume rockers below them. Four dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix can be found near the bottom. The remote connects wirelessly to the TV so you don’t need line of sight, but it also has an IR emitter. Another IR emitter on a long cable can be run into a cabinet to control your other home theater devices through the TV and the remote.
So Many Features
As its name indicates, the Omni runs on Amazon’s Fire TV platform, like the Toshiba C350 and Amazon’s own Fire TV media streamers. It provides a feature-rich, Amazon-centric interface with a wide selection of apps and services. Amazon Prime Video is of course integrated directly into the platform, but all of the major non-Amazon streaming services are also available, including Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. A live guide is built into the interface, showing channels from streaming live TV services, Amazon channels, and Pluto TV.
Fire TV lags a bit behind Google TV and Roku TV in device mirroring. You can mirror your computer screen over WiDi/Miracast, but there’s no Apple Airplay or Google Cast for simple and convenient smartphone or computer mirroring.
On the plus side, the Omni offers Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Alexa is standard on all Fire TV media streamers and TVs, available by pressing and holding the Alexa button on the remote and talking into it. However, the Omni adds far-field microphones, so you can simply talk to the TV the way you can with a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or the Fire TV Cube (the only other Fire TV device with hands-free Alexa). Just say “Alexa,” followed by a command, and Alexa will answer and display any relevant information on the TV.
Alexa is a powerful voice assistant, and can search for content, control the TV and any compatible smart home devices, answer general questions, and display your calendar and reminders. If you don’t want Alexa to always be listening, you can flip the switch on the underside of the TV to disable the microphone, and a small red LED will light up to indicate the mic is off.
(Photo: Will Greenwald)
The mic also enables voice calls with Alexa Communications. You can make phone calls through the TV, contact other Alexa users through Drop In, or join one-way video calls with Amazon Chime, Skype, or Zoom. You can even make two-way video calls through those services by plugging in a compatible Logitech webcam (C310, C920x, or C922x Pro).
Price-Appropriate Picture Quality
The Amazon Fire TV Omni is a 4K TV with a 60Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10 and hybrid log gamma (HLG), and the 65- and 75-inch versions also support Dolby Vision, but not the smaller screen sizes.
We test TVs using a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software using methodology based on Imaging Science Foundation’s calibration techniques.
The Omni’s contrast numbers are unimpressive. Its direct LED backlight system doesn’t get particularly bright, and it doesn’t have zone dimming to improve black level. This means we got nearly identical numbers whether we used an SDR or HDR signal, or a full-screen white or 18% white field to measure light output. We measured an average peak brightness of 333.653cd/m^2 across those four conditions in Movie mode with the backlight set to maximum, with variations of only 3cd/m^2 between them. Black levels were just as disappointing, showing a fairly high 0.11cd/m^2 for an effective contrast ratio of 3,033:1. The Vizio MQ6-J is a bit dimmer (256.623cd/m^2 with an HDR signal showing an 18% field), but it can also get darker (0.062cd/m^2), for a better contrast ratio (4,139:1). If you can find them, spending a few hundred dollars more on the slightly older Hisense H8G or TCL R635 will get you far higher contrast (56,104:1 and 74,326:1, respectively). The 2021 versions of those TVs, while much brighter, are more expensive.
The Omni fares a bit better with color performance, but it doesn’t reach quite far enough. The above charts show color measurements with an SDR signal compared with Rec.709 broadcast standards, and with an HDR signal compared with DCI-P3 digital cinema standards, in Movie mode. The Omni nails Rec.709 out of the box, but this is a less impressive feat than it was a few years ago; many TVs can cover broadcast standard colors accurately with little effort. The HDR signal showed undersaturated greens and reds, falling well short of DCI-P3. Blues were accurate, though, and while other colors were undersaturated, they weren’t skewed or tinted in any way.
The Omni’s modest color range comes through in BBC’s Planet Earth II. While all colors look balanced and natural, the greens of plants and feathers appear a bit undersaturated, not showing the vibrancy that the Vizio MQ6-J and more expensive TVs are capable of. Fine details like fur and bark can be clearly seen in all lighting conditions, but shade doesn’t appear particularly dark.
Deadpool looks good on the Omni, with the red of Deadpool’s costume appearing nicely balanced in the overcast opening scenes, though again not quite as vibrant as on other TVs we’ve tested. Shadow details in the burning lab fight can appear a bit muddy or washed out depending on how bright the overall frame is.
The starkly contrasting shots in the party scenes of The Great Gatsby highlight the Omni’s limitations in brightness and black levels. The cuts and contours of black suits tend to get lost in darkness, and while they can be seen from the overall brightness of the frame, they look a bit washed out. Skin tones appear natural and well balanced, though, and considering the TV’s modest peak brightness, whites still manage to pop out.
In terms of features, the Omni is a bit under-equipped for gamers. The 60Hz screen only features auto low latency mode (ALLM), without variable refresh rate (VRR) support. Fortunately, it’s very responsive in Game mode; using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, we measured an input lag of only 2.6 milliseconds, making it among the best TVs for gaming (at least in terms of lag; VRR would go far here). Just remember to switch to that mode when you want to play anything, because in Movie mode lag jumps to 111.4ms.
A Promising Start
Amazon’s first Fire TV offers features galore, but the company clearly isn’t trying to push any boundaries in terms of picture quality. That said, the Fire TV platform is very functional, hands-free Alexa voice control is wonderfully convenient, and $830 for a 65-inch screen makes the Fire TV Omni an appealing choice for the price. If you can afford it, the TCL 4K R6-Series and Hisense U7G both offer far superior contrast and color for a few hundred dollars more. The TCL model uses Roku TV, which offers AirPlay support but lacks a true voice assistant, while the Hisense is powered by Google TV, which features Google Cast and a far-field microphone for hands-free Google Assistant use. If you’re looking to spend less and you like Alexa, however, the Fire TV Omni is a good alternative.
Amazon Fire TV Omni (50-Inch)
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The Bottom Line
Amazon’s first attempt at making its own television, the Fire TV Omni offers an impressive range of features for the price, tempered by average picture quality.
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About Will Greenwald
Lead Analyst, Consumer Electronics
