Amazon has launched its own range of Fire TV-powered flatscreens in the UK, led by a QLED flagship lineup dubbed the Omni Series.

Fire TV is one of Amazon's biggest successes, with over 200 million devices sold worldwide. New models promise the most personalised Fire TV experience yet, and on the Omni there are some innovative new features, including AI generative art -–just ask Alexa to create an AI image as a TV backdrop, and a few moments later a custom piece appears on your screen.

Amazon is pitching its Omni proposition somewhere between Sky Glass and Samsung’s QLED The Frame, albeit without the style.

Much like The Frame, the Omni can display artworks and operate as a smart home hub. However there is no monthly subscription required to turn the Omni into an art gallery. Amazon plans to offer free access to a collection of more than 1,700 gallery-quality photos and curated art pieces. Cutely, you can also ask Alexa to tell you a little about the various artworks it’s displaying. There are also 80 ‘motion backgrounds’ which are partially animated, or short video sequences.

The Omni is available in 43in, 50in, 55in and 65in screen sizes, priced at £550, £650, £750, and £999 respectively. The QLED panel features full-array local dimming, with up to 80 zones on the largest model, and has built-in support for HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision (including HDR10+ Adaptive and Dolby Vision IQ). We had a close look at the set at its London launch; images exhibit good bright-room contrast and colour pop. An Adaptive Brightness feature will dynamically change brightness levels depending on ambient lighting conditions.

Unveiling the screen, Amazon said it was keen for its new Fire TV hardware to provide functionality, even when no TV programme was being watched -–hence the Fire TV Ambient Experience. Paintings and artwork are displayed in native 4K resolution, and you can pull up personal photos. The Omni also introduces Alexa Widgets: small colour blocks which can be calendar reminders, sticky notes and smart home device controllers, the latter for Alexa powered lighting, thermostats or security cameras.

The set has built-in far-field microphones, plus built-in presence sensors to detect when a person enters the room and activate this ambient experience. In addition to the familiar Fire TV interface, all new Amazon Fire TVs have Freeview Play tuners.

Gamers should note that the Omni is a 60Hz panel, and does not support 4K/120fps gaming. There is eARC, though, and Amazon is still pushing the gaming angle hard, specifically its cloud-based Luna platform, which includes Twitch integration.

Supporting the Omni screen are Fire TV 4-series, and entry level 2-series sets. The 4-Series is available at 43in, 50in and 55in, and features HDR 10 and HLG HDR support. Prices start at £430.

The entry-level 2-Series is available as either a 32in HD screen or 40in 4K model. Both are HDR-compatible, and prices start at £250.

All Amazon's new Fire TVs flatscreen are available for pre-order. To celebrate their launch, buyers can save up to £300 off models.

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Welcome to the March issue
Congratulations. You’re the proud owner of the 500th issue of HFC. Not to spend too long blowing our own trumpet, it strikes me that it’s some achievement for any periodical to reach the big five-double-O in an era when there are so many other sources of information competing with the printed page. So thanks to one and all for your continued loyalty.

Our first copy was published back in 1975 and you can find our potted history of the journey to here, beginning on p46. Coincidentally, this happens to be my third anniversary issue as editor. I hopped into the hot seat for the April 2019 issue and we haven’t looked back since – well, except for the retrospective bit this issue, obviously! Looking ahead, we’ve taken the opportunity to make a few changes and introduce a few new features this month. On p126 you’ll find Flashback where we recount classic encounters with musical celebrities. On p78, in response to an increasing number of requests, you’ll find our new Beginners Guide series to help fathom the intricacies of setup with some useful jargon busting thrown in. And on p69 we’ve introduced a little chuckle to the Letters pages.

Hope you enjoy the issue and here’s to 500 more!

Enjoy!

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Pink Floyd fans will have a rare opportunity to hear the newly released “The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974” LP and the new 2023 remastered studio album featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions delivered on premium sound systems in participating local high-end audio stores.... Read More »

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