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Amazon Fire TV 4-Series Review

Debanjan Chowdhury Avatar
Debanjan Chowdhury
Debanjan Chowdhury Avatar
Debanjan Chowdhury
I am a student who likes to read comics, build PCs, play games, and discuss tech stuff. I also love geeking out over comic book movies and Star Wars. Just your average nerd.
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Updated Feb 6, 2024 11:43 AM

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The Amazon Fire TV 4-Series models boast a 4K VA LCD panel, high native contrast ratio, and great black levels, making it a value-for-money pick for budget shoppers. However, its slow response and lack of local dimming are big drawbacks for enthusiasts.

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Table of Contents

Product Snapshot

Overview

First released back in early 2021, the Amazon Fire TV 4-Series is an entry-level 4K HDR model that boasts a VA panel for providing deep black levels and high contrast.

Unlike some of the best TVs available in the market today, it only features a 60Hz non-VRR panel. And when it comes to ports, unlike the best smart TVs available on the market today, it only has four HDMI 2.0 ports with an eARC and doesn’t have HDMI 2.1 for better compatibility with newer graphics cards and current-gen consoles. Other ports include an optical and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

The Amazon Fire TV 4-Series sadly lacks advanced gaming features like AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G Sync. And it has two built-in stereo speakers for audio output.

Consensus

our Verdict

Despite their low tested peak brightness of 288 nits, the Amazon Fire TV 4-Series models are great for those looking to pick up a 4K living room TV on a strict budget.

While it doesn’t support HDMI 2.1, it does have four HDMI 2.0 ports and an optical and a 3.5 mm audio jack. It also features a VA panel that has a measured contrast ratio of 6075:1 which helps deliver excellent black levels in dark scenes.

And it has a semi-gloss coating on the screen, which diffuses bright reflections fairly well. It sports a slow response time of 17.8 ms, resulting in blurry action.

The Fire TV 4 doesn’t feature local dimming to boost HDR performance. It also doesn’t upscale lower-resolution texts very well.

ReasonS to Buy

  • Excellent black levels, thanks to the VA panel
  • Handles reflections well thanks to the semi-gloss coating
  • Extremely high 6075:1 native VA contrast ratio
  • Does not suffer from blooming
  • Good picture quality while upscaling lower-res content
  • Good quality Bluetooth remote with Alexa’s voice controls
  • Extensive, feature-rich, and smooth Amazon Fire TV OS
  • Extremely low input lag of 10.7 ms
  • Supports Dolby Atmos output through the eARC port
  • Works well with the whole Amazon device ecosystem

Reason to Avoid

  • Extremely low peak brightness of just 288 nits
  • Lacks HDMI 2.1 necessary for current-gen consoles
  • Terribly slow response time results in blurry action
  • Lacks local dimming functionality for helping HDR performance
  • Blurs texts while upscaling lower-res content to 4K
  • Extremely narrow viewing angles due to VA panel
  • Does not support variable refresh rate at 60Hz
  • Terrible color accuracy right out of the box
  • Lacks Dolby Vision HDR and poor HDR performance
  • Does not have a true wide color gamut

Amazon Fire TV 4-Series Specs

Backlight TypeBacklight TypeDirect Lit
Display TypeLED
HDMI Inputs4
HDR FormatHDR10, HLG
LED Panel TypeLED Panel TypeLED
Max Resolution5120 x 2160
Refresh Rate60 Hz
Screen size43", 50", 55"
Smart PlatformSmart PlatformFire TV
Sync TechnologySync TechnologyNo
VRRVRRNo

All Specs

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Score Card

E

Expert Score

78

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

86

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

81

Any product with a True Score above 70 is a Mixed Reviews

Expert Scores

Publications with higher Trust Ratings are given more weight.

  • Rtings
    101.4

    Category Trust Rating

    67
    The Amazon Fire TV is okay overall. It’s best suited for a dark room, as… Read More

    By:

    Kelsey Linhares
  • Tom’s Guide
    79.85

    Category Trust Rating

    70
    PROS: Affordable 4K smart TV., HDR support., Alexa voice assistant built in. CONS: No far-field… Read More

    By:

    Brian Westover
  • Trusted Reviews
    77.5

    Category Trust Rating

    80
    The Amazon Fire TV 4-Series is yet another competitively-priced TV screen – one that packs… Read More

    By:

    Henry St Leger
  • Pocket Lint
    65.1

    Category Trust Rating

    NR
    The Fire TV 4-Series comes in a range of attractive sizes with attractive prices. It’s… Read More

    By:

    Chris Hall
  • Reviews.org
    26.55

    Category Trust Rating

    NR
    PROS: Highly-rated and most popular device on the market., 4K Ultra HD + support for… Read More

    By:

    Chantel Buchi
  • T3
    39

    Category Trust Rating

    80
    Unrepentantly budget, this Series 4 Fire TV benefits from a seamlessly integrated smart platform, offering… Read More

    By:

    Steve May

Customer Scores