If you’ve ever wondered what would happen when an affordable TV combines with Amazon’s Fire TV streaming technology, your curiosity will be satisfied with the JVC Fire TV Edition. This smart TV by JVC offers an intriguing bundle at a budget-friendly price, with features like Dolby Vision included in its specifications. The question remains whether it can deliver on its promises. The JVC Fire TV Edition is essentially a JVC Smart TV running on Amazon’s Fire TV operating system. It provides a familiar Fire TV interface, an easy setup process, and the convenience of Alexa integration through a dedicated button on the remote control. All of this is available at an approximate price of £300.
Key Features to Know:
- The TV is available in three sizes: 40 inches, 49 inches, and 55 inches, all of which support the HLG, HDR10, and Dolby Vision codecs. This ensures compatibility with HDR content from various sources, with the added advantage of optimal performance on streaming services that support Dolby Vision, such as Disney+ and Netflix.
- The presence of Dolby Vision is especially remarkable for a budget-friendly model. Dynamic HDR formats like Dolby Vision can adapt to the capabilities of lower-end 4K TVs, while static HDR formats like HLG and HDR10 rely more on a TV’s inherent capabilities. At this price point, such advanced features are often limited, making the JVC Fire TV Edition a compelling choice.
Price and Competition:
The JVC Fire TV Edition is competitively priced for a 4K HDR TV, starting at around £300 for the 40-inch model and reaching approximately £480 for the 55-inch variant. Hisense is the only other brand offering 4K TVs in this ultra-low price range. Although we have not evaluated their most recent models, it’s worth mentioning the Hisense H43AE6100UK, which we reviewed in November 2018 and was priced at £329 for a 43-inch model. While that model struggled with brightness and lacked support for dynamic HDR codecs, it served as a reasonable option for 4K SDR content at the time.
In terms of performance, the JVC Fire TV Edition surpasses the LG UM7400 (reviewed in August 2019) despite being in a similar price range. The LG UM7400, priced at approximately £329 for a 43-inch model, offers comparable overall brightness but outperforms the JVC in HDR performance and motion handling. If you’re looking for reasonably priced HDR capabilities, the LG UM7400 is the better choice. However, if you can find the JVC Fire TV Edition on sale, it may be worth considering as a secondary TV for a bedroom or other rooms. For larger spaces, the JVC Fire TV Edition also offers a 55-inch model.
Ease of Use:
Upon turning on the JVC Fire TV Edition, you’ll encounter a simple and user-friendly interface similar to Amazon’s Fire TV devices. The setup process guides you through basic steps, including connecting to your Wi-Fi network and entering your Amazon account information. You can also scan for terrestrial TV channels (if you have an antenna) and pre-select the streaming services for which you want to install apps. The remote control resembles Amazon’s Fire TV remote, featuring a compact design with a few additional buttons. The remote includes four white shortcut buttons for quick access to Prime Video, Netflix, Live TV, and the Apps screen, making it easy to switch between them. Navigating menus and apps using the directional pad and central button is a breeze.
Performance:
Considering the price, it’s not surprising that the JVC Fire TV Edition utilizes typical edge-lit LCD backlighting. While it offers adequate brightness for comfortable viewing even in well-lit environments, the backlighting may exhibit unevenness. Blooming around darker picture areas and some dirty screen effect, including striping and blotchiness on dark grey backgrounds, may be noticeable when the lighting seeps through too quickly. The main weaknesses of the JVC Fire TV Edition lie in its motion handling and upscaling capabilities, both of which are crucial aspects of a respectable 4K TV.
Given its 60Hz refresh rate, expectations for motion handling were modest, but the panel’s poor response time is noticeable, particularly in darker scenes where motion blur compromises detail and colors. Similarly, while slow camera movements may appear sharp in 4K, fast action scenes and sports highlight the panel’s limitations, resulting in flattened and indistinct details. The upscaling capabilities of the JVC Fire TV Edition are also noticeably lacking. When switching to terrestrial TV or regular Full HD content, the TV struggles to upscale to native 4K resolution, resulting in soft, smeared images with reduced detail. Combined with its poor motion handling, this leads to disappointing results. Gaming experiences are particularly affected, as reducing the resolution to 1080p produces a smeared and less appealing visual output. Therefore, if you’re seeking an affordable TV for console gaming, it’s best to avoid this model.
Conclusion
Despite its limitations, the JVC Fire TV Edition is not without merit. Its intuitive TV interface and integration with Alexa are appealing features, and the simplicity of having everything in one box may be a selling point for some buyers. While the TV’s motion handling and upscaling may disappoint certain users, it remains suitable for watching regular TV shows and streaming services. If you find the JVC Fire TV Edition at a reasonable price, you may be willing to overlook its drawbacks and even be pleasantly surprised by its performance. For more information, visit the official website of Hummingvibe.
FAQs
Which streaming services are supported by the JVC Fire TV Edition?
The JVC Fire TV Edition supports streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer, with HDR support for some of these services.
What are the available screen sizes for the JVC Fire TV Edition?
The JVC Fire TV Edition is available in three screen sizes: 40 inches, 49 inches, and 55 inches.
Does this TV have HDMI ports? Yes, the JVC Fire TV Edition has four HDMI ports located on the backside of the TV.
How well does the HDR mode perform on this JVC TV?
The HDR mode on the JVC Fire TV Edition offers good performance, although there are instances where colors may lack vibrancy in HDR mode.
