There’s a huge selection of large, expensive 4K TVs to choose from with excellent image quality and highly advanced features, but a large TV isn’t practical for every home. A 24-inch TV with a 720p resolution is small enough to fit in a lot of places and offers just enough clarity for a good viewing experience.
If you need a small TV for your bedroom or office and don’t want to spend much, the Insignia Fire TV is a solid choice that should fit most budgets. We decided to do some hands-on testing to see if this TV from Amazon is worth the investment.
Going into testing, it was pretty clear what to expect from the TV. We weren’t looking for premium features like high refresh rates or HDR compatibility. The Insignia TV occupies a niche that almost seems forgotten in today’s slew of big-screen Ultra HD home theaters. So, instead of testing its color gamut and input latency, we were more interested in the actual experience of the TV — installing it, setting it up and operating the smart TV functions.
We’ve used a smart TV and an Apple TV streaming device for years, and the interface on both was a little sluggish. Many users in the market for a 24-inch TV are focused on convenience, and the clumsy experience we had with the previous smart TV is something we hoped to avoid with the Insignia Fire TV. We believe interface responsiveness is almost as important as a TV’s image quality, and slow, laggy controls make the product unappealing to users.
For our needs, the 24-inch size is perfect for having background entertainment running while multitasking around the house. Its small size makes it not ideal for movie night, but it can help the day pass by giving you something to watch out of the corner of your eye as you spend time around the house. Another convenience-boosting feature we appreciate that many high-end TVs have, and that a secondary TV could benefit from, is voice control.
Unboxing was straightforward, and assembling the TV consisted of screwing the feet to the bottom of the set (you’ll need your own screwdriver). Our first impression of the TV was that it doesn’t look like a cheap, rebranded no-name TV, nor a high-end home theater display. Setup was especially easy because the TV’s small size and weight made it simple to move into place.
Once it was on, it prompted us to sign into our home Wi-Fi network and log into our Amazon account, which we did without issue. It took 6-7 minutes to download an update and we didn’t have to push any buttons or answer any questions, which made it easy. We then had to sign into each app that we wanted to use. This could take a while if you use a lot of apps, but you only have to do it once for most apps. Thankfully, the interface and remote are all pretty responsive, which goes a long way. Even if we were a complete newcomer to smart TVs, we wouldn’t have had a problem.
There are several popular apps preloaded onto the TV and many more available through a simple search on the front page. Aside from the onboard software, you can easily navigate the local stations using the integrated TV tuner or connect to cable or any video source with an HDMI output.
Overall, the user interface was snappy and responsive and the remote was consistently easy to use. Some apps take a while to install, but load times are generally short. The menus are relatively intuitive as well, and if you do get lost, the Alexa voice integration can help you out.
Voice controls can be pretty rough on some devices, but the Insignia Fire TV’s implementation worked very well. Using it is the same as any other Alexa device: simply hold down the button, wait for the tone and say a command. The Fire TV did a good job tracking all our questions and instructions, even when we didn’t enunciate very well.
You wouldn’t expect a small, inexpensive TV like this Insignia to offer amazing video quality, but it’s actually great. The Insignia Fire TV’s video quality is relatively bright, has plenty of contrast and displays bold colors. It has a great combination of deep blacks and bold highlights, something even some high-end TVs struggle to put together. While the resolution is nothing to write home about, it looks perfectly fine from a few feet away.
The 24-inch model retails for $169.99, and you can find it on Amazon.
This is the upgraded 1080p version of the TV we reviewed. It’s the same size but with a better resolution and a slightly higher brightness, in addition to a relatively higher cost.
Sold by Amazon
Billed as a smart monitor, it combines the precision and readability you need on a PC with the convenience and connectivity of a smart TV. It boasts robust wireless features and works great with screen mirroring apps including the advanced Samsung Dex suite.
Sold by Amazon
This one’s as close as it gets to a modern 4K TV in terms of overall image quality. The only drawback is that it’s also pretty expensive.
Sold by Amazon
TCL is well-known for their budget-friendly yet high-quality TVs. This one is a great upgrade pick if you want something a little larger and are willing to invest a bit more.
Sold by Amazon
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Chris Thomas writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
