Toshiba 4K HDR 60Hz Smart LED TV Review – Fire TV Edition (43LF711U20, 50LF711U20, 55LF711U20)

LF711U20

A Quick Look at Toshiba’s 55LF711U20 Ultra HD TV

Review Summary

Product Name: LF711U20

Product Description: Fire TV edition | 4K HDR | Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range support | Voice Remote Control with Alexa

Brand: Toshiba

• Check current price at Amazon.com

• Toshiba 55LF711U20 Fire TV Edition

3

See full review below

Model year: 2019

Screen size reviewed: 55″

Bottom Line: So is the Toshiba Fire TV worth buying? In my opinion, yes. But only if very good picture quality isn’t at the top of your list of “must-haves”. Nevertheless, the overall picture quality is fine if you choose not to nitpick at its deficiencies, and if you’re willing to accept it for what it has to offer, then you should be satisfied with this TV.

Dimensions:

With stand: (W x H x D) 30.1″ × 49.1″ × 11.8″
Without stand: (W x H x D) 28.7″ × 49.1″ × 3.7″

Weight:

With stand: 33.1 lbs.
Without stand:32.4 lbs.

Warranty: One year limited parts and labor

Pros

• Decent entry-level 4K TV performance
• Very good Amazon Fire TV OS
• Alexa built-in
• Dolby Vision HDR support
• Deep black levels

Cons

• TV has typical contrast and color saturation loss when viewed from wide angles
• TV lacks brightness with HDR content
• Mediocre sound quality

Intro

Most of us have heard of Amazon Fire TV streaming media devices such as the Fire Stick which allows viewers to watch TV via the Amazon Fire smart TV platform.

Well, in 2018 Amazon decided to leap into the television market with its own TV that carries the Fire TV brand name. There is one catch though, these TVs aren’t built by Amazon and don’t actually have the Amazon label physically placed on them, but instead, are actually made by Toshiba, and have the Amazon Fire TV OS and electronics built-in.

The original 4K Toshiba Fire TV was introduced as the LF621U19 in 43”, 50” and 55-inch screen sizes and is still available. There is now a new version called the LF711U20 which is available in the same screen sizes. This latest 2019 edition is not a replacement for the older model, yet instead an addition to the Fire TV lineup. The only major difference is the addition of Dolby Vision HDR support.

Side View

The older model (LF621U19) has very high customer satisfaction ratings on Best Buy.com. Check out the hundreds of consumer reviews here. These reviews can be applied to the new model (LF711U20) as well since they are basically the same TV.

Design

The TV uses edge-lit LED backlighting for screen illumination. The screen has a semi-gloss finish and handles natural room lighting reflections quite well.

This TV has decent build quality and doesn’t appear to be a cheaply made panel, even though the materials used to assemble this product are most likely to be of low cost. The borders look fine for an entry-level TV and are relatively thin. The panel depth, on the other hand, is fairly thick measuring almost 3.5 inches deep.

Product Highlights:

• Fire TV experience built-in: Fire TV Edition brings together live over-the-air TV, and your favorite streaming content on the home screen. Connect any HD antenna (sold separately) to watch live over-the-air TV, or stream movies and shows from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO and more.
• Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range support: Enhanced 4K HDR picture with an expanded range of contrast and brightness.
• Voice Remote Control with Alexa: Launch apps, search for TV shows, switch inputs, control smart home devices and more, using just your voice. The remote also provides quick access buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, HBO and PlayStation Vue for instant access to these favorite apps.
• A smarter TV: Just plug it in; connect to Wi-Fi and the TV keeps getting smarter with new Alexa skills and features through automatic over-the-air software updates.
• Endless entertainment: Watch over 500,000 streaming movies and TV episodes in HD or Ultra HD, from Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO and more. Plus, access to thousands of channels and apps.
• Entertainment option all in one place: With Fire TV Edition it’s easy to see everything you’ve recently watched – live TV, streaming services and connected devices – in one place. Plus, you can connect your cable/satellite box or gaming console through one of the TV’s three HDMI inputs.
• Alexa-enabled: Want to watch something new? Press the microphone button and say “Find dramas”, and Alexa will show results from hundreds of integrated apps and channels. Want to order a pizza? Check the weather? Dim the family living room lights? Alexa can do that too.
• Pair with an Echo device for hands-free control: Control your TV hands-free including power, volume, channel navigation, playback, search and more. Simply pair your TV with an Echo device and Alexa will hear you from across the room.
• Speed and performance: Powered by Quad-core CPU/Multi-core GPU for responsive streaming – experience smooth streaming of 4K video at up to 60 fps, instant search results and fast and fluid responsiveness.
• Advanced TV sound: Two 10-watt Onkyo speakers, with DTS Studio Sound and Dolby audio clear and intelligible audio.
• Personalize your viewing experience: Customize the name of each input, adjust picture settings for each connected device, favorite live TV channels in the guide and more.

Connectivity

• 3 HDMI 2.0 inputs – HDCP 2.1 compliant
• 1 USB input
• 1 Digital Optical out
• 1 Analog audio out 3.5mm
• 1 Composite input
• 1 RF input for antenna/cable
• 1 Ethernet input
• Built-in W-Fi

So how does it perform?

The LF711U20 is a budget-priced 4K HDR TV that offers entry-level performance. The overall picture quality is decent, delivering clear, sharp and detailed high-def images with decent color rendering. However, this TV will produce much better color quality if calibrated.

The TV is more than bright enough with SDR (standard dynamic range) content and will perform well in a room with lots of natural lighting. However, with HDR content, the display doesn’t have enough light output (peak brightness) to produce high-quality HDR images.

The LF711U20 has great contrast and good black-level performance. This means watching dark content in a dark room on this TV will yield satisfying picture quality.

Black screen uniformity did exhibit some slight clouding/backlight bleed on a completely black screen which may be noticed when viewing certain dark content.

Depending on the fast-action content being viewed, you may experience some motion artifacts such as motion blur on this TV.

For all of you video gamers out there, this TV’s input lag while using game mode is on the higher end of the acceptable performance scale and comes in at approximately 42.0 ms for 1080p content @ 60Hz, and 33.0 ms with 4K content @ 60Hz.

The LF711U20’s picture quality will suffer the usual LED TV contrast and color saturation loss, as well as picture dimming when viewing the TV at wide angles.

As mentioned above, both models have Amazon Fire TV built-in, and the OS is operated with the supplied Alexa-enabled voice remote control. You can also use an Echo device to control the TV with Alexa voice control.

Conclusion

The LF711U20 does what it was designed to do within its inexpensive design parameters. This means it will not offer high-end picture quality, but it will provide the basics needed for decent performance, as well as a more than capable smart TV platform.

The Toshiba Fire TV is well suited for a bedroom or secondary viewing area, or even a business setting and will provide an enjoyable entertainment experience.

All Toshiba Fire TVs are available now from the retailers mentioned above.

LF621U19