Great PS5 support is provided by Amazon’s inexpensive QLED 4K TVs, but there is a Dolby Atmos catch.

Support for HDMI 2.1, however there’s a significant catch

 

The first QLED Fire TVs produced under Amazon’s own Omni brand were presented during the company’s significant September 2022 event. We’re talking about a direct full array backlight with local dimming, Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive HDR, the wider colours of QLED, 4K resolution, a nearly bezel-free design, and 65-inch and 75-inch size possibilities, all at $799 for the 65-inch and $1,099 for the 75-inch. (The sets won’t be introduced outside of the US at this time.)

 

More information on the new Omni QLED TVs, including unexpectedly strong gaming capability to compete with less expensive options in our guide to the best gaming TVs, has now been confirmed by Amazon. In particular, HDMI 2.1 is supported, with features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).

 

When your PS5 or Xbox Series X signals to the TV that you are playing games, ALLM means that the TV will immediately convert to its gaming mode, and VRR support means that games can add more graphical effects without any risk of framerate drops resulting in screen tearing.

 

However, despite the HDMI 2.1 support, you won’t be able to play in 4K 120Hz here – the panel itself is only 60Hz. We wouldn’t have expected a 120Hz screen here, but given the price, we can’t really complain about the overall gaming support.

 

While the gaming compatibility is a welcome addition, Amazon also disclosed a more depressing fact: there is no integrated Dolby Atmos audio support.

 

In many circumstances, though, that won’t be a problem because the TV can transmit the Dolby Atmos data that has been encoded to a Dolby Atmos soundbar, which can decode the Atmos track and still provide the highest sound quality.

 

However, in our experience, effectively using Dolby Atmos on TVs can be hit or miss. Using built-in programmes is typically good, but using external equipment like a streaming stick or 4K Blu-ray player may not work. Since we haven’t tested the new Amazon TV yet, it’s evident that we can’t predict how well it will perform in this situation, but that’s one reason why we prefer TVs that support Atmos – there won’t be any doubt.

 

Additionally, DTS audio is not supported, and Amazon only stated that Dolby-encoded audio can be transmitted through the TV.

 

If the performance lives up to the specs, the new QLED Omni TVs could rank among the greatest TVs of the year in terms of value. We’ll try to test them as soon as we can.