Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsRead my UPDATE before you commit to buying this TV
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2023
SECOND UPDATE 9/23 - Yep, the shutting off thing is still a big, big problem for us. Don't like that we can't pause it to go do something and come back to simply unpause and keep watching. Last night I left it paused for a few minutes and came back to a dark living room because I had all the lights off. Had to turn on the kitchen light, go turn the danged tv back on for some light in there, go back and turn off the kitchen light, and then go back and restart the moving I was watching. Is this really a "feature"??? It's a darned poor design as far as I'm concerned.
The other thing is that in any dark or low light scenes the shadow/black areas are ALWAYS splotchy. It's like it's pixelated, just splotches of pixels that fade in and out as the light changes in the scene. In fully lit scenes, no problems. It has done this from the beginning and I've messed around with various settings but nothing helps. I know that some people love this tv but even after using it for months, I'm still pretty sick of it and wish we hadn't bought it. If you buy one, keep the box and remember how to repack it in case you are as disgusted with it as we are!
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UPDATE: I'm really starting to loathe ever buying this TV. The fact that it shuts itself off after a little more than 10 minutes being paused is so very annoying. When we are watching through Dish, it doesn't do it but more than half the time we are streaming through the FireTV app and if I pause to go to the kitchen and check dinner or run to the bathroom, or whatever, I usually come back to a black screen. And when I turn it back on I'm back at the Home screen for Amazon Prime and have to navigate to whatever I was watching again. Truthfully, I wish I hadn't bought this TV. If I could stuff it back into the box and return it, I would. I don't know if this is the FireTV app that does it or the Hisense TV but I'll never buy another FireTV. The convenience of easy access to Prime and Prime Channels is NOT worth dealing with this ridiculous "feature". So consider this issue very carefully before you buy this TV. Don't end up with buyer's remorse like us. At some point we will give this thing to Goodwill and buy a regular TV (Samsung) like we should have to begin with. Soon.
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We had a 46" Samsung tv that we bought 13 years ago. We wanted something to support 4K streaming. We do watch a lot on Amazon Prime so the idea of a FireTv seemed good, theory. I wouldn't need the old FireTV box or the newer FireTV stick.
First, we aren't gamers and we don't have a surround sound system, we don't even have our soundbar set up right now. It's just my husband and I watching a couple episodes of the latest series we follow, or maybe a movie now and then. A 50" tv is plenty big for us. This one occupies almost the same physical space as our 46" Samsung did because the FireTV is nearly all screen, narrow bezel/frame. It fits in our entertainment center space perfectly. Something bigger would not but we don't want bigger anyhow.
We do notice the increased screen size, it's nice. The picture is decent. We haven't yet streamed anything 4K yet. I assume will see a bigger difference there. I'm sure there are much better pictures out there but for a much higher price. This is more than adequate for us.
We are familiar with the old FireTV remotes. The one that comes with this tv is similar so it was easy to figure out. I'm still acclimating my fingers to using it in the dark though and still press wrong buttons. I'll get there but it sure would be nice to have lighted buttons. Not bright, just a little glow would help. Also, like someone else mentioned, the rounded back on this remote isn't a good design. Ya, it feels good in the hand but it doesn't rest securely on things like the arm of a recliner. It rocks off easily. Also, I find the corners at the bottom of the remote to be uncomfortable in my hand. Why not round the corners a bit?
I also don't care for the pre-programmed buttons. Netflix we use. Hulu I sign up for now and then for maybe 3 months then turn it off. I really don't want a button for it. And Disney, never. I get that those guys probably paid to have their buttons on there but I don't appreciate them. Not a huge deal, just a comment.
What really bugs me about this tv is that it shuts off on its own when it's been paused awhile. I guess it actually goes into a sleep mode or eco mode, not sure. I've searched online and apparently this cannot be disabled, or at least the time lengthened. Really?? I'm used to pausing and walking away to check dinner or feed the cats or something and even if I get distracted with other tasks and don't return to the tv for an hour or more, it's still paused. Now, I don't know, maybe 10 minutes max and it goes dark. I hate that! Especially late at night when the house is dark and my husband has gone to bed but I'm still up. I get up to get something to drink, maybe visit the bathroom, then come out to a dark house. I don't appreciate that feature one bit. I want my paused tv to remain on and paused. To top it off, when I wake the tv back up it's on the homescreen so that I have to navigate to my program again. Ya, bad design. Really bad.
The other thing, which may also be in my control to fix but I haven't worked it out yet, is that our Dish remote sound controls don't work with this tv (yet). I don't know if I need to program the remote for this tv. I recall doing that years ago, I don't know if that's still a thing, but having to grab the FireTV remote every time we want to adjust the sound isn't efficient. Again, I'll look into this more online and maybe I'll find a solution. If I do, for the headphones too, I'll post an updated comment.
Overall, this is a nice tv. Not great, but nice and we like it however, the one thing that makes me wish I bought something else instead is that shut off feature. It bugs me that much that I can't pause the tv and come back to where I left off when I'm ready. Really poor feature. At the very least, it should be adjustable. If it is, no one else online seems to know it.
If you don't mind that shut off thing and you aren't looking for an expensive bells & whistles tv, this one may be great for you. I think we will replace this one before we have it as long as the old Samsung just because of the shut off but for now we are happy to have a new, slightly bigger tv with a bit nicer picture. We paid about $353 total, with tax, on a deal. Really can't complain much at that price.