Inexpensive cheap TV
Insignia Fire TV Edition (NS-DF710NA21) series TVs are affordable and have many streaming options, but you can get better performance for a little bit of money.
If you are looking for ultra low prices for new products
, Best Buy's Insignia brand seems to be an attractive option. Its Fire TV Edition TV is very cheap, the 55-inch NS-55DF710NA21 model we tested retails for $429.99, and at the time of writing, it was only $329.99. We have tested some impressive
Before, but none of them were so cheap. Unfortunately, due to the medium image quality, Insignia Fire Edition TV series products are not cost-effective, because you can spend more money on high-end models from Hisense and TCL.
The Insignia Fire TV Edition series will not win any fashion awards. The screen is framed by a simple half-inch black plastic frame on the sides and top, widened to about 1 inch at the bottom. It thickens to 3.3 inches on the bottom half of the back of the TV. It stands on a pair of flat black flat feet (can also be mounted on the wall). This is a completely unassuming design, with a flat frame featuring only the gray Insignia logo in the middle of the bottom frame. The small trapezoidal bulge in the lower left corner indicates the position of the infrared remote control receiver, and the button on the bottom edge of the power/input combination.
Three HDMI ports, a USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack are located on the back of the TV, facing left. Slightly inwards, the Ethernet port, a set of RCA composite video inputs, an optical audio output and an antenna/cable connector face down. For modern TVs, three HDMI ports are quite few, but the price is not surprising.
The included remote control draws inspiration from Amazon's Fire TV ribbon, with a similar narrow rectangular rectangular black rod shape and circular navigation board near the top. The power and voice assistant buttons are located above the navigation board along with a pinhole microphone. Volume and channel joysticks as well as menus, playback controls and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, IMDB TV and Netflix can be found below the navigation panel.
As the name suggests, Insignia Fire TV Edition uses the same smart interface as Amazon Fire TV
. After logging in with your Amazon account, you can access a variety of
, (Obviously) includes Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Twitch and YouTube. You can also mirror the screen of a compatible Windows PC or mobile device via WiDi/Miracast, although unlike current Android and Roku TVs, it is neither compatible with Apple AirPlay nor Google Cast.
You can also use Amazon Alexa voice control by pressing and holding the voice assistant button on the remote control and speaking into the microphone. Alexa is a powerful voice assistant that can provide general information such as weather and sports scores, directly control the TV, search for media and trigger compatibility
.
Insignia Fire TV Edition is an LED-backlit LCD
TV. It supports high dynamic range (
) The content is compatible with HDR10, but it does not support Dolby Vision.
We use
, A
, with
, Use based on
TV calibration technology. Not surprisingly, the inexpensive Insignia Fire TV Edition showed moderate contrast performance in tests.
The TV has an SDR signal with a peak brightness of 200.273cd/m^2, a black level of 0.059cd/m^2, and an effective contrast ratio of 3,394:1. When using HDR signals, with a contrast ratio of 5,080:1, the peak brightness increases to 269.253cd/m^2, while the black level is slightly reduced to 0.053cd/m^2. This is the same as
with
, But not particularly good. If you are willing to spend a little more money,
($499.99) and
($649.99) The peak brightness level is three to four times that of the Insignia model, coupled with a much lower black level, which significantly improves the contrast.
It is worth noting that under the HDR signal, you can coax Insignia's peak brightness to reach about 315cd/m^2 in the standard mode, but this obviously skews the colors and is not as accurate as the film mode.
The above chart shows the SDR color level compared to the Rec.709 broadcast standard color and the HDR color level compared to the DCI-P3 digital cinema standard color. When using the SDR signal, although the yellow is slightly warmer and the red is slightly biased towards magenta, the color is largely accurate. When using HDR signals, blue will appear as bright spots, red will be slightly lower than saturation, and green will be significantly lower than saturation. The latter problem is common in cheap TVs (the Vizio M series Quantum is obviously an exception, which has a very wide Colors). Green is slightly yellowish, and yellow is slightly reddish, but the colors are balanced and accurate to a large extent within the range that the TV can reach.
Obviously moderate color and contrast performance when watching BBC video
. The green of plants looks natural, but it is not as vibrant as TVs with a wider color range such as the TCL 6 series. In sufficient light, fine details such as fur and bark can be clearly seen, but they tend to become muddy in the shadows.
in
, Like the red in the costume of the nominal character, and the Marvel logo at the beginning looks vivid and full. In the burning laboratory battle sequence, the flame looks good, orange-yellow, but the contrast of the TV is medium, which means that shadow details may be lost and disappear, and disappear in the frame.
Tailoring and silhouettes of black suits in party scenes.
It also tends to disappear on the bright white in the frame. In these scenes, the white looks very white, although the panel is a bit dim, but still quite bright. The skin tone will also appear saturated and balanced.
The performance of Insignia Fire TV may disappoint gamers. The screen is not only 60Hz, there is no variable refresh rate (VRR), and the input lag is also passed
It is very high even in the game screen mode. In movie mode, the input delay is 112.7 milliseconds, which is uncomfortable. In game mode, the lag time is shortened to a more reasonable 45 milliseconds, but it is still twice as high as the 20 millisecond lag time that we believe that TV falls within the 20 millisecond threshold.
The price of the Insignia Fire TV Edition is as cheap as the new TV line, but its performance lags far behind the more expensive models. Its picture quality is the best medium, the contrast can swallow the shadow details, even in the game mode, the input delay is also very high. It also lacks Apple AirPlay, Dolby Vision and Google Cast support. In addition to considering using it on TV, consider spending more on Hisense H8G, or at least spending on Vizio M series Quantum (50-inch model is $439.99). Hisense has all-round excellent image quality, the panel brightness is higher, and the display color gamut is wider, while the cheaper Vizio offers even wider colors, but the brightness is not as good as the latter. Or if you can spend more money,
The TCL 6 series is still the first choice for affordable (if not very cheap) TVs.
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Will Greenwald (Will Greenwald) has been engaged in consumer technology research for ten years and has worked as an editor for CNET.com, Sound & Vision and Maximum PC. His work and analysis have been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com and some other publications. Currently, he covers consumer electronics products in PC Labs as an in-house home entertainment expert, and is responsible for reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also a THX Class I home theater expert and ISF Class III TV calibrator expert, ensuring the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews.
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