Amazon’s bringing back its Fire TV Edition TVs, adding in a new twist: Support for Dolby Vision for dynamic HDR. Amazon made the announcement about the new 4K TVs at Dolby Soho, a boutique “Dolby Vision experience space” where Dolby can show off its HDR technology. The companies also announced the launch of a pop up at the space where New Yorkers can experience shows and movies in full Dolby Vision glory.
The new Fire TV Edition TVs are produced by Toshiba and will be sold through Best Buy stores and Amazon. At the event, the company showed off a 50-inch Toshiba Fire TV Edition TV. A 55-inch model is available today, but the 50-inch and the 43-inch models will be available on June 30.
Amazon claims that, apart from the addition of Dolby Vision HDR to show off the growing collection of Dolby Vision content from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and others, it also improved the Fire TV interface, adding more dynamic visuals as you shift through content.
This is not the first Dolby Vision-powered Fire TV device Amazon has introduced — the Fire TV 4K stick already supports Dolby Vision. However, this latest move appears to be a direct response to the proliferation of popular Roku-powered TVs, specifically TCL models such as the 6-series, which offers a winning combination of Roku’s intuitive streaming interface and (you guessed it), Dolby Vision HDR support to go along with 4K Ultra HD resolution for excellent picture quality on a budget.
In addition to Dolby Vision HDR, of course, the new TVs offer easy access to Alexa — something Roku TVs can’t claim. You can access the digital assistant via the included voice remote, allowing for the ability to launch apps, use voice search for your favorite shows and movies, switch inputs, and even control smart home devices all with your voice via Amazon’s eager helper.
The TVs likely won’t have access to as many apps as their Roku counterparts, but Amazon is touting a solid collection of built-in apps, including popular choices like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, Starz, and of course, Amazon Prime Video, among others.
You can purchase the 55-inch model from Amazon today, or wait until the end of the month to grab one of the smaller sizes.
