Amazon announces its first branded TV sets, the Omni Series and the 4-Series

[Shawn Knight]

Editor's take: Amazon could shake up the television industry with its first branded sets, but they'll have to prove themselves first. Personally, I'd wait and let the early adopters evaluate the quality of the sets before throwing my money down. And you can almost guarantee that they'll be on sale come Black Friday time, so skipping the introductory pricing likely won't be a long-lasting punishment.

Amazon has introduced its first-ever Amazon-branded smart TVs, and they’ll be available in the US starting next month.

Amazon’s first-gen sets are split into two product categories. The premium line, the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series, affords 4K Ultra HD as well as support for HDR10, HLG and Dolby Digital Plus. They’ll be available in screen sizes of 43”, 50”, 55”, 65” and 75”, with the two largest models also boasting slim bezels and support for Dolby Vision.

As the name suggests, the Fire TV Omni Series additionally comes with Amazon’s Fire TV experience baked right in, complete with far-field voice technology for hands-free Alexa controls. This functionality works whether the TV is on or off, allowing you to easily jump right into your favorite show without having to touch the remote.

The Amazon Fire TV 4-Series, meanwhile, is the more affordable alternative. These sets also combine 4K UHD resolution with HDR10 and HLG, and will be offered with screen sizes of 43”, 50” and 55”. The 4-Series additionally affords many of the same Alexa experiences as the Omni Series, but you’ll have to access them using the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.

Amazon’s branded televisions will be available exclusively at Amazon and Best Buy starting next month. Pricing starts at $409.99 for the 43” Omni Series and scales up to $1,099.99 for the 75” model, while the 43” 4-Series commands $369.99 and scales up to $519.99 for the 55” model.

For a limited time, you can save $110 off the 50” Omni and 4-Series models, bringing them down to just $399.99 and $359.99, respectively (the price cut will be reflected at checkout).

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91176-amazon-announces-first-branded-tv-sets-omni-series.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Soooooo ..... whoś building these since Amazon is only attaching their brand ... like the rest of the TV universe .....

 

[wiyosaya]

No thanks. Knowing Amazon, it will probably constantly be spying on users and pestering people to buy stuff.

 

[winjer]

The amount of spyware and bloatware on these TVs must me gigantic.

 

[SirDigby]

So.... the Omni series has Alexa voice commands baked in, and the 4-Series doesn't and you need to use the remote?

Whats with the dumb naming convention?

 

[Avro Arrow]

I'm sure the TV itself is probably fine but I have two deal-breaker problems with it:

#1 - You have to buy it from Amazon which means supporting Lex Bezos
#2 - It says Amazon on it

I paid less than $500CAD for my 55" 4K TV like 5 years ago so $520USD for a TV whose manufacturer is a secret is not impressive to me.

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

Soooooo ..... whoś building these since Amazon is only attaching their brand ... like the rest of the TV universe .....

I remember reading somewhere they were TCL or something. Don't quote me on it tho.

 

[Rdmetz]

Probably the same exact assembly line for the top tier TVs. Everything comes from the same factories, then just gets a different label slapped on.

To some extent you are correct (almost all oled TV's in existence is just an lg panel)

When you understand the differences between something like LG Electronics and LG Display this makes sense. Similar things occur with Samsung and many other companies BUT there is absolutely differences in TV's and they aren't "all the same".

Its very important to understand what the differences are and why one "good tv" is different from another.

If you just care about something making a picture then sure it's not so important and you can shop by price but if you do actually care then doing your research will require quite a bit more than brand a vs brand b.

 

[captaincranky]

Personally, I'd wait and let the early adopters evaluate the quality of the sets before throwing my money down.

I'd suspect they'll be coming from an already established OEM, and simply branded "Amazon". Whether that's good or bad would be dependent on price alone.

Apple doesn't really manufacture iPhones, now do they?