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Amazon Fire TV Edition televisions put its box in the big screen
Earlier today Amazon announced that Seiki, Element Electronics and Westinghouse will sell TVs with its Fire TV experience built in, and tonight we got to see them in action. As promised, the televisions pack the latest version of the Fire TV software, with Alexa voice commands plus the usual apps and tweaks. What they add to it are wrinkles needed for TVs, plus the convenience of not having to switch inputs all the time.
Amazon Fire TV is now built into 4K sets
You won't have to buy a separate Fire TV device to use Amazon's full services on your TV. Seiki, Westinghouse and Element Electronics are launching a series of 4K sets with Fire TV technology built in. They all include Amazon's current interface, including a wide range of Alexa voice commands, thanks to a microphone-equipped remote. If you use an over-the-air TV antenna, you'll have access to both a channel guide and favorite individual channels on the home screen.
Seiki U-Vision HDMI cable promises to squeeze 4K upconversion out of 1080p video
Known for suddenly coming on the scene last year with some of the cheapest Ultra HD televisions around, Seiki is getting into the accessories game with its new U-Vision HDMI cable. The $40 HDMI cable packs Technicolor 4K-certified video processing that it claims promises the best edge restoration, noise reduction and other tweaks available, all performed by the USB-powered Marseille Networks VTV-1222 chip within. While we usually prefer that our signal pass to the TV unaltered, so far Seiki's UHD TVs haven't proven to pack the most sophisticated scalers within. Also helping its case are industry darlings like the Darbeevision Darblet that many are using to improve the quality of their HD video on passthrough. We saw the cable in action and while the demo seemed clean, the demo reel didn't give us much of an opportunity to compare what it was actually doing. The cable will go on sale sometime in the first quarter of this year, and arrive as an adapter in Q2. Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Engadget's Black Friday 2013 roundup
Don't think that the Black Friday shopping rush this year is all about the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We've rounded up a smorgasbord of Thanksgiving week deals that should appeal to tech-savvy shoppers of all stripes, whether they're looking for entry-level smartphones or giant 4K TVs. Hop past the break and you'll find bargains that could please the gadget lovers in your life -- and just might spare you from battling the crowds at the mall. [Image credit: AP]
Seiki brings a $1,500 55-inch 4K set to Sears stores
It's not quite an impulse buy, but it's getting close. And hey, who's to say we wouldn't swing by the electronics section after picking up a couple of power tools? Just in time for the holidays, Seiki's rolling out a 55-inch 4K set for the nice price of $1,499 -- a followup to the $700 39-incher we saw back in June. And look, the company's even tossing in a USB port and an HDMI 1.4 cable in for good measure. Can't beat that. Interested parties will have pop into a Sears or visit the store's site to take Seiki up on its offer.
Seiki launching its 65-inch 4K TV in December for $3,000
Not one to rest on its 39- and 50-inch Ultra HDTV options, Seiki has announced that its promised 65-inch model is going to arrive this December, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Seiki's newly minted, well-sized Ultra HD set, which is formally known as the SE65UY04, features a refresh rate of 120Hz on 1080p and 30Hz on 4K resolution. This means the outfit's 65-incher won't have HDMI 2.0 onboard, and thus potential buyers will have to be content with HDMI 1.4 technology. Now, given the not-too-shabby $3,000 MSRP, we have a hunch some folks won't mind that too much once it becomes available in "early December." More importantly, do you plan to snag one?
Seiki launches 39-inch 4K TV for $699, expects 65-inch model by fall
You thought Seiki's 50-inch 4K TV was affordable? You haven't seen anything yet. The company is releasing a 39-inch 4K set before the end of June for $699, with pre-orders at Sears starting on the 27th. The screen probably won't compete with top-tier rivals, but it's hard to disagree with the price -- we're really looking at a regular 1080p, 120Hz TV that happens to handle 4K, even if few can see the extra detail at this size. And don't worry if you think Seiki should be going larger. The company plans to ship a 65-inch 4K set by the fall, which should cover those who equate large resolutions with large screens.
Seiki officially prices its 50-inch 4K TV at $1,500 with a late April launch
When Seiki's 4K TV set popped up on retail listings with a price that's just a fraction of what we've seen from its more expensive rivals, we were almost convinced it was a site glitch -- that couldn't be real, could it? The company would like to reassure us that it's quite serious. The 50-inch Ultra HD set is officially shipping to the US later in April, and it will still carry that regular $1,500 price tag when sales expand from TigerDirect (which claims to have stock today) to include Amazon and QVC, among others. We'd remain cautious about leaping in when Seiki is trying to skip a year or three of the usual commoditization process, but those who insist on their 4K bragging rights won't have long to wait before they can start boasting.
Seiki 50-inch 4K TV on sale for $1,299, offers Ultra HD for a regular HD price
The entry price for Ultra HDTV plunged by more than $10,000 earlier this week thanks to Sony's new 4K sets, but now it's going even lower with this model from Seiki. The brand is new to the US market and as such unfamiliar to most, but with a $1,300 listing on TigerDirect it's been lighting up AV enthusiast and deal-hunting forums alike. We haven't yet had a chance to see this display, but hope to take a look shortly. In the meantime, there are plenty of reasons not to be an early adopter -- the infamous eye charts suggest 4K's impact at this size may be reduced, it's an unknown company with unknown standards for quality and service, a new HDMI standard may be incoming and there's no content until the $699 FMP-X1 player arrives this summer -- but with a sub-$2K pricetag some would say you can't afford not to have an Ultra HD set in your possession. Those same people would also suggest inviting us over to watch the game (sports, console, but most likely a super high-res PC title if you can manage) on it, and indicate we are willing to bring refreshments. [Thanks, Eric Kotz]
