The latest version of Insignia’s Fire TV Edition sets, the Insignia F30 Fire TV Edition, remains a good bargain and one of the best models with Amazon’s Fire TV built in. Costing just $429 — and available for less as we see holiday discounts — the NS-55DF710NA21 is an incremental update from last year’s version.
INSIGNIA FIRE TV EDITION SPECIFICATION
Price: $429.99
Model: NS-55DF710NA21
Screen size: 55 inches
Resolution: 3840 x 2160
HDR: HDR10
Refresh rate: 60Hz
Ports: 3 HDMI (1 ARC), 1 USB
Audio: 10 watts, 2.0 Channel
Smart TV software: Fire TV 7.1.2.3
Size: 48.9 x 28.6 x 3.3 [w/o stand]
Weight: 29.3 inches [w/o stand]
INSIGNIA F30 FIRE TV: Price And Availability
We tested the 55-inch version of the Insignia F30 Series Fire TV Edition, sold at Best Buy and Amazon. But there are several other sizes of the Insignia Fire TV available, if you’re looking for something larger or smaller.
We’ve listed the recommended retail prices below, but be aware that the Insignia 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition is frequently on sale, and most models have been available at lower prices off and on for the last several months. Even without discounts, the Insignia earns a place among the best TVs under $500.
- 43-inch (model NS-43DF710NA21) – $279.99
- 50-inch (model NS-50DF710NA21) – $339.99
- 55-inch (model NS-55DF710NA21) – $389.99
- 65-inch (model NS-65DF710NA21) – $519.99
- 70-inch (model NS-70DF710NA21) – $619.99
Across these models, the Insignia 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition line is virtually identical, offering the same number of ports, the same 4K resolution and HDR support, and the same display. All the sets use a direct backlight and feature the same processor. As a result, we expect the performance for all sizes to have the same strengths and weaknesses as the 55-inch model we used for this review.
Insignia F30 Fire TV: Design
The 48.9 x 28.6 x 3.3-inch Insignia F30 looks like what it is: an inexpensive TV. Its dark plastic case doesn’t project an air of prestige like pricier TVs do. And unlike many newer (and more expensive) TVs, it still has a rather thick half-inch bezel around the edge. But that said, it’s not an eyesore, either.
The included plastic feet also look a little cheap, and they weren’t nearly as easy to put on as those that come with more expensive TVs from companies like LG and Samsung. Instead of snapping in, you have to use screws to secure the feet to the bottom of the TV, and small hands would help to get the screws inside the enclosure. Alternatively, you can get a 200 x 200 VESA wall mount if you don’t want to deal with the stand.
Insignia F30 Fire TV: Performance
It produced a sharp picture overall, but it’s far from a great viewing experience out of the box. The underwater scenes in My Octopus Teacher were crisp and realistic. But don’t move too far from center while watching — the TV’s limited viewing angles change the colors significantly when you get to 45 degrees from the middle.
Using the default settings, the picture looked oversaturated and colors skewed toward red. While watching Blade Runner 2049 on 4K Blu-ray, the orange sky in the ruins of Las Vegas was too orange and overwhelmed the scenes. The F30 supports HDR10, but not HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. As a result, HDR performance was limited and contrast was poor; it lost details in the darkness while watching both Blade Runner 2049 and Avengers: Infinity War.
Testing in our lab showed that its color gamut was 96.68 percent — much worse than the 99.45 that last year’s model scored but on par with the Vizio V505-G9 (96.48). The screen also showed some improvements. Color accuracy was much better, with a Delta-E score of 2.7 versus 3.9 last year (the V505-G9 scored an even better 2.3). The Insignia F30 also improved on brightness, putting out 347 nits, compared to 307 for last year’s version and the V505-G9’s relatively low 287 nits.
Blurring presented another problem, especially with motion processing and dynamic noise reduction on. The TV had trouble keeping up with fast action sequences during The Old Guard and quick drives down the lane in a live basketball game. The F30’s lag time is actually a little better than last year, scoring 36.4 milliseconds on our Leo Bodnar signal lag tester (last year’s was 38.8). That score still won’t impress gamers, who typically want lag times in the 20s or lower.
Part of that is due to the TV’s 60Hz refresh rate. But as soon as I made some adjustments to the settings, the picture quality improved and the TV became much more enjoyable to watch. I preferred Natural picture mode to the default standard; the oversaturation I saw disappeared. After I turned off motion processing and dynamic noise reduction, the problems with blurring significantly reduced.
Insignia F30 Fire TV: Smart features
If you’re familiar with Amazon’s Fire TV stick, you’ll feel right at home while using the Insignia F30 Fire TV Edition. As with last year’s Insignia 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition, Fire TV on the Insignia F30 is fast and responsive.
Since this is a Fire TV, Amazon Prime Video movies and shows are front and center on the home screen. You’ll also see recently used apps there. Menu options include Live for live TV services; Your Videos, which is focused on your Prime Video watchlist and recommendations; Free, which shows free services and movies and shows that are free; Movies; TV Shows; Apps; and Settings.
While it doesn’t come with many apps installed, you can download apps for most services you’ll want, including Netflix, Hulu and HBOMax. You can also run live TV from YouTube TV, Sling and others. Conveniently, once you install a live TV app, you can access it through the TV button on the remote.
To get the Fire TV setup, you start by choosing Basic or Full. Basic doesn’t require an Amazon account, but you only get live TV through an antenna and five apps. Full setup requires you login to Amazon, but then you get all the features you’ll want from the smart OS — including Alexa.
You activate Alexa by pressing the microphone button on the remote (there’s no hands-free activation on this TV). Alexa can help you start apps, go to specific videos or change inputs — it did all those things much more quickly than navigating the menus. Thanks to its smart home integration, it also switched on my holiday lights when asked.