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Amazon Launches Android-Powered 'Fire TV' For Streaming and Gaming
Today Amazon launched 'Fire TV,' a new video streaming box designed to compete with devices like the Roku and Apple TV. The Fire TV runs Android on a quad-core Qualcomm 1.7 GHz processor with 8GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. It supports 1080p video output at 60fps and measures 4.5" x 4.5" x 0.7". The Fire TV is also explicitly designed to support gaming, and Amazon has concurrently launched their own game controller. The Fire TV's remote control includes a microphone and a button that lets you search TV show and movies by voice.
Or user-subjugating software?
My Roku 3 will let me side-load channels. If this won't, not interested. No pron, no go!
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Fire TV? Coming from the Fire Box perhaps?
Sigh. Almost as bad as XBone.
Karma: Can only be portioned out by the Cosmos.
It's Android based so I assumed you could load other alternate things onto it.
The one odd omissions was no HBOGo. Perhaps that's forthcoming.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Is that the sound of Ouya dying that I hear in the background? (Not that it was truly ever alive to begin with)
The same price as a Roku 3 or Apple TV, but it it "tied to membership in Amazon Prime" (Which just increased its yearly price). No thanks. Even if Amazon hadn't started charging sales tax in my state I wouldn't buy into this.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
These TV devices seems likes a fairly odd market.
We have game consoles with Apps that do all these things. or you can hook up an old PC that you have around.
On the other end you got the Chromecast which is very cheap for your streaming from your PC.
This middle ground I don't think really fits a lot of peoples needs, Either Pay more and get more out of your purchase, such as gaming, and perhaps a Blu-Ray player. Or pay a lot less and get something good enough.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
1. The scroll wheel beats both Chromecast's software slider and Roku's remote, but it's still no substitute for proper chapter stop buttons.
2. No H.265 support means this model of FireTV will become obsolete later this year.
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
Apart from Netflix, which is already available on a lot of devices, is there any point in buying a Fire TV in other countries? Even Canada doesn't get things like Hulu or Amazon Streaming.
I don't think the Fire TV will sell at all outside of the USA.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
I need something that will play iTunes. AppleTV and homebrew fiddly options are out. I need it to just work.
Also, I'd love to watch what happens when the voice recognition is active and you tell some "go fuck yourself". Will it immediately search for and start playing porn?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
True, it's more expensive to get an application into Amazon Appstore ($99 per year) than into Google Play Store ($25 for 25 years). But the last time I tried a Kindle Fire tablet, the "Allow installation of applications from unknown sources" checkbox was just as easy to get to as it is on my Nexus 7 tablet.
Kindle Fire is a tablet that extends the Kindle e-reader line and runs Fire OS, Amazon's fork of Android OS. Fire TV is a set-top box for watching TV that runs Fire OS. I don't see how it's that bad of a name.
Not sure what the point of these devices are...turning tvs into smart tv's might make sense but eventually...everyone will just have a smart tv.
Why put so much money into these devices? Even roku is being relegated to an app on many smart tvs
If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
"Does it talk to proprietary software? I need it to talk to proprietary software, but the already available option from same proprietary software vendor is out. I need it to just work."
0 rows returned.
Regarding the assertion that you should just use a game console or old PC, many people don't game seriously enough to warrant a $400+ game console, and don't want to uglify their TV setup, or deal with the kludge factor of a PC-based solution.
That said, this thing retails for $100, which means it has no price advantage over Apple TV, and there are several Roku models (not to mention Chromecast) that undercut it. The purchase also oddly does not include the game controller, which seems more or less a necessity to play the games, which is positioned as a major selling point of the unit. As it is, there seems no compelling advantage over existing set-top streaming boxes.
This would have been much more interesting if it had included the game controller and a pack-in game at the $100 price point (Minecraft, anyone?) of if they had done a more minimalist device a la Chromecast with its own remote, that they could have thrown in as a freebie for all their Prime members, to offset the recent Prime price bump...
The same price as a Roku 3 or Apple TV, but it it "tied to membership in Amazon Prime"
I'm not sure what you mean. From the TechCrunch article: "The catch here is that for free access to Instant Video, you’ll need to be a prime subscriber, which carries a price tag of $99 per year." Or does one of the articles claim that the Fire TV is like an Xbox 360 in that one must pay for Prime even to use third-party services such as Netflix?
(Which just increased its yearly price)
Which is how much more than Netflix?
Doesn't look significantly different that the other options on the market. Slightly higher specs, but tied to an Amazon Prime account. It they really wanted to make an impact and push people to sign up for Prime, they should include this device for free with Prime membership. That would be a move that could really shake things up...
We have game consoles with Apps that do all these things.
Including indie games? Given that the Kindle Fire has an "Unknown sources" option, I'd assume it'd probably be a lot easier for a small family business to get approved as a game developer for Fire TV than for, say, Wii U.
or you can hook up an old PC that you have around.
I've been told for years that the majority of people are unwilling to put a big noisy PC case in the living room. (See comments linked from this post.) A smaller box has a better spouse acceptance factor.
I guess this solves the mystery as to why Amazon never batted any eyelashes towards Chromecast.
And now I know why Amazon never supported the Chromecast.
If members of the public can't lawfully download the game except through OUYA's store, and OUYA's store applies a process that "requires the application of information, or a process or a treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain access to the work" (source: 17 USC 1201), then it's OUYA exclusive.
How does the Fire TV compare to Western Digital's WD TV Live box (which can play almost any media format I throw at it over my LAN)? Or is Fire TV cloud/internet stream-only (i.e. no locally hosted content)?
Just get a CuBox-i. 2"x2"x2" cube, available in three editions. The quad-core with 2 GB of RAM version that's equivalent to this Amazon thing is $130 and it has a microSD card slot, so you can fill it with as much or as little flash memory as you feel like paying for. I run Android on mine, but it also boots any of several different Linux distributions. It doesn't come with a remote or a game controller, but it has USB, and the quad-core version has BlueTooth. All versions have an IR receiver. No Amazon prime subscription needed, no custom manufacturer-mangled smart TV version of Android required, and it has access to the Google Play store.
Small business that doesn't have a "tie the world to our services" agenda can still deliver a product designed for customers, rather than consumers.
As someone who already owns a Roku 1, a WiiU (for the kids) and several iOS devices, I can find no compelling reason to get this thing
The compelling reason is if your kids find a particular game they want you to buy and its web page says something like this:
Windows: Buy Now
Linux: Buy Now
OUYA: Buy Now
Google Play: Buy Now
Fire TV: Buy Now
Wii U: We are seeking a publisher. If you represent a licensed publisher that is interested in bringing this game to Wii U, contact us.
Western Digital's WD TV Live box (which can play almost any media format I throw at it over my LAN)
Can WD TV play interactive media formats? Fire TV has games according to the featured article.
This is late to the game in a market window that is rapidly shrinking with such technologies integrated into TVs and BlueRay players. There is a huge user base of Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast who do not need this. There is a huge user base of XBox and PS3 that have no desire to play silly Android games on a non-portable device.
The BOM cost approaches $130 per unit, selling at $99 each. The game controller is an absolute turd and should have never been offered as a product. The remote controller only works for the Kindle Fire TV and voice recognition has to be purchased by Nuance as the internal voice recognition was a huge faiure. Furthermore, the Qualcomm quad core processor can not run at its full potential because the ID is too small to dissipate the heat required to do so.
There is nothing innovative here and anything that is innovative has been purchased by a third party at Amazon's loss.
The OUYA console comes with one controller. The Fire TV for the same price does not.
I'll stick with my FyreTV. :)
It's also a lot more expensive than these $99 streamers.
Not if you already own it, which makes it $0.
An older or cheaper PC might not even have the HDMI output you need for connecting to a typical flat-panel TV.
Because HDMI inherited its signaling from DVI-D, any cheap DVI-D to HDMI cable from Monoprice will work, so long as your TV has an analog audio input on one of its HDMI inputs. (Mine does.) And the vast majority of flat-panel TVs that I've seen have a DE15 jack for VGA video. I haven't seen a PC since 1990 that doesn't have a VGA, DVI, or HDMI out.
And a standard Windows PC is set up with a user interface that is designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse at close range
Not since Windows 8. There's a reason for those Metro tiles that it inherited from the November 2011 update to Xbox 360 Dashboard. Hairyfeet might also recommend a Bluetooth remote with a trackball and a cell-phone-style QWERTY keyboard.
Netflix and Amazon have player apps for the original Wii console. Can the Wii's 729 MHz PowerPC G3 CPU decode standard-definition H.265 video at a steady 24 frames per second? Or are Netflix and Amazon planning to obsolete the Wii?
Have issues....
There is a huge user base of XBox and PS3 that have no desire to play silly Android games on a non-portable device.
Not all games can be easily adapted to touch control. Perhaps people would want to play more substantial Android games on a portable device if only stores would sell a portable device with a directional control and discrete action buttons. Right now it's pretty much the Xperia Play phone (way outdated), the Archos GamePad tablet (obscure in USA), several gaming tablets made by JXD (obscure in USA), and NV's Shield tablet (expensive). Set-top Android boxes like OUYA ($100) and Fire TV with a controller ($140) have these advantages:
Otherwise, it's portability, ease of obtaining, gaming controls, indie games: pick three.
Roku (and I assume the other set top boxes) make it amazingly simple and quick to stream media.
Until you hit "This video is not available on devices. Add it to a playlist to watch it later on a PC." I've seen a message on YouTube when viewing certain videos, and I've read reports that a lot of videos on Hulu are "web only" and unavailable through Hulu Plus. Speaking of that, last time I checked, Hulu had a free service tier that was PC-only, and not needing a valid subscription to Hulu Plus could help a home theater PC pay for itself.
Netlfix for just streaming is about as much as the increased Prime on a yearly basis.
But Netflix has a much wider selection.
I have been a Prime and Netflix subscriber for along time, but after this year the Prime increase means I'll probably drop it, as I hardly ever use the Prime video and don't ship quite enough to make up the Prime membership fee.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Not all games can be easily adapted to touch control.
Yes, but there are already very nice controllers made for those games that need buttons.
So the single game controller for Fire (especially not being included by default) puts it behind other platforms.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Hulu+ is $8/month. You've got a bit of a wait if you've using that money to pay for a PC.
Nine months and you've already covered the cost of a Bluetooth remote so that you can reuse an existing PC that has HDMI, DVI, or VGA output.
Car analogy: It's like using a gas-guzzling truck for your everyday commute, because your economy car can't move a piano.
A small family car like a Ford Focus can easily move an electronic sampler piano. For an acoustic model, one would normally rent a truck. I've heard the car/truck analogy applied to "mobile" devices vs. PCs as well. But in this analogy, what corresponds to rental?
there are already very nice controllers made for those games that need buttons.
Provided a particular device supports these "very nice controllers". An iPod touch purchased the day before the fifth-generation iPod touch came out can't use them because a fourth-generation iPod touch cannot use iOS 7. And it took less than 12 months between when Apple discontinued the fourth-generation iPod touch and when Apple released iOS 7. Besides, even for those who do happen to own a suitable device, to what extent do Apple's App Store and Google Play Store let users search for games that support these "very nice controllers"?
If you see $80 per month, you're looking at the "Digital Preferred" package, not the "Locals and HBO" package that some cable operators have started offering for around $30 per month.
So... we still can't read books on our TVs? WTF Amazon? Your bread and butter, and you still can't do this? Sad, sad, sad.
No DLNA? This is simply a less functional Roku device. At least you can do a custom channel to play local files. I wish WD TV would get an Amazon app...but it appears that door is closed with the release of this device. Amazon hasn't realized there are a lot of people with local files as well...not just online app accounts.
actually this market makes perfect sense to me.
a $100 device that does everything i need on my tv that i can replace every few yrs is appealing.
what doesn't makes sense to me is the smart tv market.
the tv will last a decade. the smart part is outdated at purchase time.
old pcs and consoles are not replacements for various reasons relating to cost, noise, size, power use, and maintenance.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
The big question is do games for the Fire TV require some special API or can any game from the Amazon game store work with it. Can regular Android apps be sideloaded onto it. If the answer is yes to both, then I could be interested...
A budget laptop seems to work fine for my neighbors.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Bought a Roku 3 Sunday, set it up last night, woke up to this on sale, never knew it was coming. What's the point of a surprise announcement? Why not build up some hype in advance? I probably would have waited for this instead (for the voice search and extra ram).
Oh well, probably best not to get stuck in Amazon's ecosystem anyway.
Priced at $39.99, the controller is too damn expensive.
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo can get away with charging as much as they do because (a) they're playing to a different base who is willing to spend more money and (b) their users know there are going to be games to use that damn controller with.
Poorly ported Android games retailored for a controller on a device made by a company that has never done console gaming before. I think I'd rather play the games in their native habitat, such as a tablet or phone.
OK, I get it. You think I'm interested in cloning falling block games. With this I disagree; I gave that up almost five years ago. You think Catch-22 style entry barriers improve quality of available applications. With this I disagree, especially in the era of free-to-play first episodes and reviews available through the World Wide Web at no charge. You think using M-rated language in your post will help your point. With this I disagree. Finally, you think people who want to enter any of several industries should prepare to relocate. With this I agree. But preparation for a such a major life event is not immediate. It takes time to hone a portfolio and save up income from a day job to cover relocation costs. And it's possible to do this while continuing to promote awareness of the unintended consequences of platform policies.
Besides, isn't King famous for a puzzle game clone?
The Kindle Fire isn't particularly locked down.
Sorry, but that just isn't true. While the original KF did not have a locked bootloader, the Kindle Fire HD/HD+ did (although it was circumvented) and the HDX also has a locked bootloader (not circumvented as of now, and unlikely to be in the future)
This means that unless you jump through some hoops on the HD/HD+, (or if you have an HDX) you are completely "locked down" -- you are restricted to whatever Amazon decides to let you do at any particular moment... that may include sideloading apps.. for now. But that certainly doesn't include running non-Amazon approved operating systems. You're not in any control of the device, really.
This is the #1 reason to NOT buy a Kindle Fire, IMO. It's not your device to do with as you want.
Enjoy the ads.
VPN
Almost no media players adjust the output's timing to match the video being played which leads to tearing and stuttering when playing video where the frame rate doesn't match the default refresh rate on your monitor.
Tearing? Yes, that's a problem. But there's a degree of stuttering that most people would find acceptable. I see 2:3 pulldown artifacts on regular cable television when they're sending a 24 fps movie over a 59.94 fps channel, and they don't annoy me.
but I don't like the idea of another Amazon based walled garden.
Then we'll both have to wait to see how walled the garden is. Kindle Fire supports unknown sources, if Amazon's previous Fire OS devices are anything to go by.
The winning device will be agnostic, supporting all content:
DVD
Blueray
iTunesStore
AmazonPrime
NetFlix
etc.
AmazonTV misses out by not supporting all content paths. e.g., iTunesStore
AppleTV misses out by not supporting all content paths. e.g., AmazonPrime
Both need to be supporting disks at the very least with an optional plugin drive that they sit on to look like one nice neat device for those billions of existing DVD and Blueray disks.
My Vote: no buy yet.
See you here http://tech.slashdot.org/comme... you bigmouthed little nobody...
APK
P.S.=> Have the balls to show up there in the link above to reply to it (& NOT days later like you did, LONG after I left that thread!)
NOW, in the link above, I simply tore you apart in it vs. your "so-called 'points'" that you "amended" bogusly, changing your parameters/constraints there!
(& I am going to rip you a new asshole there YET AGAIN, publicly, for your BIG mouth you little shit - prepare to be utterly humiliated, publicly...)
... apk