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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.
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.
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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.
"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."
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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...
I'd rather replace/upgrade a $49 widget than a $500 TV.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
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?
I won't pretend to give you a generalized answer, but rather answer it for myself and my household:
(Context: I work at Netflix, which may make a difference so it's worth noting. That said, I'm back-end cloud systems, with nothing to do with consumer devices).
I consume my media from several sources, including iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go.
I could get a SmartTV that lets me access them, but IME, smart TV manufacturers move pretty slowly; I also think of my TV as just a large display, and imbuing it with more smarts makes it more painful and expensive to upgrade to something else. By focusing on modularity -- this TV is just a bunch of HDMI ports with a big screen -- it lets me optimize the TV for display, and use another device for content access.
Which is why I prefer the AppleTV rather than a SmartTV.
(We could have another conversation about AppleTV vs Roku or the Fire TV, but that's outside the scope of this particular comment thread).
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.
I haven't seen a smart tv where the smart features are any good.
I have a Roku 3 and it works great. Technology moves quickly though and when the Roku 4 comes out, I'd rather upgrade my $100 Roku box than my $1000 television.
I will likely buy a Fire TV. We have a two television sets and because of the way one is mounted on the wall, it's a pain to connect and disconnect the Roku. So for me, it makes sense to have a second streaming device and for $100, this one seems like a pretty good deal.
That said, I wish they would incorporate some DVR capabilities. On the Roku, I can get streaming versions of all my local TV stations. It would be nice if it could tell it to record shows from the streams.
I think you are going to need something like Plex to stream local content.
>Roku and AppleTV have it.
Not if you don't have a HBO cable account. I have a Roku that is HBOgo capable, they will not sell me access.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
turning tvs into smart tv's might make sense but eventually...everyone will just have a smart tv.
That might work on the low end, but if you buy a $1000+ TV, you probably don't want to have to buy another one to replace it in a few years when the company stops updating the firmware or the SoC can't handle the latest video codec or whatever. Much better to use the expensive TV as a video monitor alone, and keep the fast-obsoleting stuff on a cheap external box.
Apple doesn't let anyone else stream? That must explain why I can stream from Apple, Netflix, Crackle, Crunchyroll, Vimeo, Youtube, etc.
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The Kindle Fire isn't particularly locked down. Sideloading is explicitly allowed, and most complaints are more along the lines of "I bought all these games on Google Play and can't transfer them" (because Google doesn't licence Google Play for Kindle - ie it's Google's decision, not Amazon's), not "I can't install APKs I've developed myself."
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Have issues....
Correct. It's the fault of HBO.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
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.
No, because smart TVs are inherently time limited. So are these small boxes, but you can replace small box much more cheaply than you can replace a $700 TV. And even then many smart TVs are very limited in what they support. Whereas every year the streaming players are improving and adding features, making licensing deals with services, and so forth.
I just got replaced a 16 year old TV (which was used when I got it) and I definitely plan to keep the replacement TV a loooong time.
You seem to be living in the past if you think that's still Nintendo's policy. Their policy with the Wii U for digital publishing is not the same as it was for the Wii.
I built a HTPC a few years ago. I used a HTPC case, and it looks more or less like an audio receiver from the outside. When I have people over who see Windows on the TV, they often ask how I'm doing it. I point to the PC and they're shocked that it's a PC. My total cost was ~$500 for the entire shebang. On one hand, it's a little less couch friendly than a Roku or AppleTV, but I've never found content that I can't get to it. While the interface might not be simple enough to control with a 6 button remote (up/down/left/right/ok/back), it's the same interface everyone is used to with a PC, so it has a very quick learning curve. Last I checked, it drew about 30 watts running. In addition to streaming from the net, I have a dual TV tuner built in that turns WMC into a very nice DVR for my local channels. I've got the $40 comcast deal for 25mbps and HBO/HBOgo. Between our Netflix($8), Hulu (free), Amazon Instant($8), StreamPix (included in cable bill), and HBOgo, there are very few shows I can't get legally streamed to my TV. If I don't want to wait until the next day to watch a show, if it's a local broadcast, I can watch it from the DVR. For the one or two shows that I can't get legally, there are fairly simple illegal methods to attain them that I may or may not use. Total monthly cost is $16. That's not much money for the amount of content that we consume.
The part I like about the HTPC so much, is the flexibility. Not only can I view the sources listed above, but I can stream from the more specialized websites. For instance, I like watching cooking shows on foodnetwork.com. I'll watch shows off HGTV.com. It's hit or miss with these shows on Hulu or Streampix. I also like that with free software, I can easily have a VERY NICE front end to my 350+ DVD collection on my basement server (MediaBrowser 3). I can also play a real game on it fairly easily. Just nothing too graphics intensive, (It plays Civ5 pretty well. It's an i3 processor with a cheap passively cooled video card I think I paid $10 for after rebate from NewEgg). I also just love having the web browser on the TV. An example would be when my wife and I go over our finances, I can pull up the bank website on my TV and go over our finances for the coming month. It's a lot easier than trying to both look at a laptop or a small screen.
Having said all that, while I love my HTPC and I'd pay another $500 to replace it today if it broke, I would never recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a reasonible technical aptitude. There is certainly something nice about having a small box that you plug in, enter your account details, and it instantly connects you to your movies/shows. If it breaks, it's just $60 for a new one, so who cares, right? That's what end users want. It's much less complicated. My grandma can use a Roku, but she can't even use the DVR on her cable box. It's all about simplicity of design and ease of function.