17 ms·

Amazon Fire TV

388 points by ndrake 13y ago

bernardom 13y ago
So that answers my question of whether my Apple TV would ever get Amazon streaming.
- ambirex 13y ago
  Not necessarily, Roku, PS 3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One all have amazon streaming. It probably has more to do with Apple than Amazon.
  - lvs 13y ago
    But other Android devices, weirdly, do not.
    - guyzero 13y ago
      Slightly more weirdly, Google TV does have an Amazon Instant Video app. But non-TV Android does not. Well, Kindle. But non-TV Google-standard Android does not.
  - opendais 13y ago
    Eh, I'd believe that except for the fact Amazon basically limited its 'Android streaming' to its Fire line. I think Amazon is trying to lock customers into thinking of Amazon products first whenever they search for anything Amazon sells.
  - josephlord 13y ago
    My guess is that Apple insists that they are the only source for pay per view/purchased films/TV programs on the Apple TV and the Amazon won't just bring their subscription Prime service without the PPV side. This guess is made without knowledge of the specific situation between Apple/Amazon but having dealt with some similar service providers (when working for an electronics company).
    - bitcrusher 13y ago
      That has not stopped them from making it available on the iPad... It works just fine, you just have to use the browser to buy new things.
- aroch 13y ago
  I think you mean "any device that isn't Amazon branded", since Android devices that aren't in the Kindle Fire family also can't watch Amazon streaming stuff. Amazon is attempting vendor lockin.
  - schrodinger 13y ago
    There is an ios app for Amazon streaming...
    - jauer 13y ago
      Yes, but not on non-Amazon Android.
      - alttab 13y ago
        Interesting. I went to look it up because I thought you were wrong. You can get the Amazon Appstore on non-Amazon android devices, but it seems you are correct about AIV. Wonder if its a DRM issue, or other hardware security issue for Android devices.
        deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
        72deluxe 13y ago
        I wondered if it was security but the banking apps don't have a problem with being installed... I suspect it's to attempt to railroad people into buying the Fire range of Android-based devices. Not for me thanks! Why do I need another Android device? Mind you, if the Lovefilm "By Post" application is anything to go by, Amazon can't find any decent Android developers in the world to employ because that piece of software is dreadful. Truly truly dreadful. Buggy, crashy, laggy, all three. They decided to not use native lists but use some weird HTML system; look at the licenses on that app. It's rubbish. So, either railroading or they can't find decent developers to write a video streaming app. After all, BBC iPlayer uses Air I think. That was never a painfree experience on Android.
    - deleted 13y ago
- paulyg 13y ago
  Ditto for Chromecast.
mikeryan 13y ago
More information about the SDK has also been released here: https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx1K5ORNNPOMUXA/Put-your-Apps-and-Games-on-more-screens-with-Amazon-Fire-TV https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx1K5ORNN...
rubysucks 13y ago
Well, I do like Amazon stuff and I pay for Prime each year. But I have to say that nothing pops out to me for this product. I have an Apple TV and that seems to do everything that I need it to (although the interface is a bit tedious). I bought the chromecast because it was so cheap, but my phone can't detect the device half the time (AP Isolation issue), so that was a major fail on Google's device. If this device was $49.99 I would pick it up certainly.
rch 13y ago
> enjoy best-selling titles from Mojang, EA, Disney... Now that's an interesting order of emphasis.
robogrowth 13y ago
$35 and chromecast work for me.. don't see a need for this. Not only that I can just start playing any video and browse to 127.0.0.1:8888 and stream whatever I want via chromecast.
impostervt 13y ago
And I just bought the new Roku Streaming stick...I'll be curious to see how they stack up. Amazon offers a comparison of FireTV to the Roku3, but not the Roku Streaming Stick. And the Stick is just $49.
blueash 13y ago
Any idea how many controllers the system will support?
mindslight 13y ago
Or simply stick with a Raspberry Pi, which is free of arbitrary manufacturer-imposted restrictions and comfortably off of the locked-down-software induced upgrade treadmill.
- Osiris 13y ago
  RPI is a single-core @700mhz with 512MB RAM compared to quad-core, 2GB of RAM, so it's a significant bump up in hardware specs for not that much money. I'm curious how long it will take people to root it.
  - mindslight 13y ago
    Sure, the hardware is faster, but for what purpose and at what cost? We're well into the a time where the capabilities of a device have much more to do with its software than its raw hardware specs. When you root a proprietary environment, the best you can do is gain a leg-up within the ecosystem of the initial manufacturer. You're always swimming against an overall current of what the manufacturer implements, and paying a usability tax every time you use the device and things that should be easy are either a little harder, or have to be coped with on other devices.
- jevinskie 13y ago
  My mother can't operate a Raspberry Pi.
karangoeluw 13y ago
This seems like a really good offering by Amazon. Now we'll just have to see if the competition lowers its prices or no.
- notatoad 13y ago
  Why would they drop prices? At 99 this is just following the status quo.
eclipxe 13y ago
Congrats to the FireTV team!
theseanstewart 13y ago
This looks really cool but I'll have to wait and see how it compares to the other devices that accomplish the same objectives. I would have liked to see it include gigabit ethernet instead of just 10/100. Interesting that they have a game controller available. I've been looking for something to replace my Popcorn Hour, but I haven't been able to find anything in this price range that will play MKV files and allow playing movies over USB. Maybe this will be the answer?
- oskee80 13y ago
  Western Digital's WDTV Live can play any file you throw at it. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330 http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330 It supports many online services as well, but unfortunately no Prime Instant Video. I have yet to see a box that offers everything I want: Local and network media playback, Netflix, Prime. However, I wish the WDTV had better specs and UI - it can be a little clunky.
  - theseanstewart 13y ago
    I've been holding off on the WDTV because of the UI and a few other issues I came across while researching it.
  - matt_heimer 13y ago
    Roku is close once you use Plex. You get local network playback + Netflix, Prime, Crackle, Hulu, Pandora which is what I want. The video quality, performance, bugs, and gaming support of the Roku suck though. I keep swapping my Roku for a Chromecast and back again. I'd like a box that supports Prime, local network playback, and casual gaming/emulation. If Amazon would have released a Prime Video app I'd switch to some of those cheap Android PCs on an HDMI stick by now but they've been holding out probably to use as a carrot to get people locked into their app store. I hate having to side-load apps but if I can on the FireTV and get local network playback working I very well might buy one. Edit: Looks like it will have Plex and Miracast support.
    - 13y ago
pazimzadeh 13y ago
What I'm taking away from this is that Fire TV is the same as Roku and Apple TV. As for the gaming capabilities, it'll be interesting to see if they can compete with Steam Machine.
- webology 13y ago
  FireTV is built on Android and has a real controller for gaming. It won't compete with Steam Machines for high-end games but there's certainly enough hardware to pull off some great games and apps.
- luckyno13 13y ago
  I don't think this device and a Steam Machine (just a PC with a badge on it) will be in the same realm of competition. This would most likely compete with the Ouya, where the Steam Machine would compete with the 5th gen consoles.
- Igglyboo 13y ago
  Well this is running android and Steam Machine is running full fledged linux(debian?). Comparing a set top box to a personal computer isn't really fair.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  > it'll be interesting to see if they can compete with Steam Machine Of course not. Different market - Steam Machine will be an expensive flagship hardcore gamer device, while this is firmly casual. The better question is whether gaming on this device can compete with a VitaStation or an Ouya... or even a Wii-U.
hswolff 13y ago
Does this support playing local media? It seems like no, but I couldn't find any explicit answer.
- aroch 13y ago
  It might given the USB 2.0 Type A port.
- eclipxe 13y ago
  I saw an icon for Plex, so maybe?
  - hox 13y ago
    More than likely plex streaming, like roku has.
acgourley 13y ago
I'll be curious how good the screen mirroring is. Does anyone know if it's using a direct connection (like miracast) or an indirect over your normal wifi rounter (like apple tv mirroring)?
- eclipxe 13y ago
  Miracast according to Press Release: You can also wirelessly mirror your tablet display to your Fire TV with Kindle Fire, as well as other Miracast-enabled phones or tablets starting later this year. Fire TV supports standards like DIAL, so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...
superqd 13y ago
So is everyone making these now? The only thing Amazon seems to have brought to this is voice command, assuming it has actually been brought.
deleted 13y ago
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mistermcgruff 13y ago
Not seeing HBO Go. That means no GoT on demand :-(
- sailfast 13y ago
  Agreed - I would be more excited about this if I did not have to decide between Amazon and HBO Go. Timeline for app deployment would be good to know. Side note: if I were Jony Ive, I'd sue for design infringement - that remote is a blatant ripoff.
- timfrietas 13y ago
  It's apparently coming, but not part of launch: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/hbo-go-sho-anytime-amazon-fire-tv/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/hbo-go-sho-anytime-amazon...
dcc1 13y ago
Anyone know if this will work for nonUSAsians
eclipxe 13y ago
Fire TV supports standards like DIAL[1], so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies.[2] [1] http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/ http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/ [2] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...
aresant 13y ago
I think this represents the first device to support Amazon streaming in 1080p - as far as I know Roku etc are still limited to 720p?
- benlm 13y ago
  It's not actually clear whether Amazon Instant Video will stream at 1080p for any/all HD material, or if the device just supports 1080p for other services like Netflix. Does anyone know?
  - 72deluxe 13y ago
    I have Amazon Instant Video on a Sony Bluray and it is 1080p. Out of interest, it's not really instant. The application could be swifter to respond.
matthewaustin 13y ago
Prominently showing Game of Thrones content in the images, even though the Fire doesn't support HBO Go? Way to be deceptive, Amazon.
- eclipxe 13y ago
  Amazon Instant Video has GoT http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming/dp/B007BVOEPI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1396455947&sr=8-3&keywords=game+of+thrones http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming/dp/B007BVOEPI/ref=sr_...
- landon 13y ago
  They do sell the old episodes.
- podman 13y ago
  You can buy Game Of Thrones on Amazon. It's just not available for streaming through Amazon Prime. http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming-HD/dp/B007BVMVDU http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming-HD/dp/B007BVMVDU
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- abhinavg 13y ago
  Game of Thrones is also available on Amazon Instant Video.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- intherdfield 13y ago
  Game of Thrones is available for streaming on Amazon Instant Video.
- personZ 13y ago
  Aside from it being available via Amazon Instant, note that HBO Go is listed as a partner, announced as "coming soon". It is an act of remarkable honesty that Amazon put HBO Go with no checkbox, as most vendors would have put a checkbox with a superscript indicating that it was coming soon.
chocks 13y ago
curious if it'll support YouTube, didn't see on the list.
- eclipxe 13y ago
  According to this[1] image it does [1]http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/845b7c4fc5f114cefc63df45ff2276eb/amazontvcontent.jpg http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/845b7c4fc5f114cefc63df4...
- philsnow 13y ago
  It's in the matrix farther down on the page as a checkbox, "sorted" below Crackle and Hulu Plus. The YouTube logo is not in the big image describing "What's on Amazon FireTV?" [0], apparently it is one of the "plus many more". [0] https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2014/B/feature-whatson2.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/d...
duked 13y ago
I was an early Ouya backer and was really really disappointed I sold it (like 1 month after I received it. This Amazon Fire TV may be what the Ouya was supposed to be, I mean I know it's more seen as a Roku/Apple TV competitor but for me if it runs Android then I can use it as a decent Emulation machine (RetroArch etc... ) I will buy one for sure
- 72deluxe 13y ago
  Why did you sell it?
mkempe 13y ago
They're studying the mistakes of others, and paying attention to user reviews of competing products, so they can solve real pain points: > During its presentation, Amazon said that it has been paying close attention to the complaints of customers who have been using the other companies' devices through Amazon—namely that search is difficult, performance is laggy, and the ecosystems are closed—in order to build its own streaming device." [1] For instance, what they're doing with the child-oriented mode is what I wish Apple had done with the iPad and iPhone, a long time ago. [1] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-streaming-box-fire-tv/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-...
- dublinben 13y ago
  That's pretty funny, as a long-time Roku user. The search couldn't be easier, whether you're inside a specific app, or using the cross platform search feature. Performance is snappier than these services on a desktop browser, and the ecosystem is as open as anyone could want.
  - fixedd 13y ago
    As a long-time Roku user I curse ours almost every day. Performance is slower than every other device we own (except the Chromecast). They constantly "reset" themselves while trying to navigate through the Netflix and Amazon listings. Videos will just sporadically stop playing or run into constant buffering issues. There are no parental controls. They didn't support DLNA until a few months ago.
    - officemonkey 13y ago
      "long-time Roku user." How old is your box? I'm still happy with mine, despite it being a couple of years old. I was thinking of getting a new one, but if the new ones are of poorer quality...
      - fixedd 13y ago
        We own a Roku 2 XD and a Roku LT, both about 2.5 years old. Both worked great for ~ 6 months and then... something changed and they haven't worked well since. I used to have one of the originals, it was great.
mashmac2 13y ago
Amazon FreeTime (coming next month, according to this page) is the most interesting piece for me - customized child safety settings for each child, with monthly subscriptions at $2.99 for children's TV shows. It seems like Amazon recognized the popularity of streaming services for parents of young kids and is setting this up just for them...
- mkempe 13y ago
  Further, the voice-driven interface is an interesting feature for young kids. Soon they'll expect to be able to talk to every machine in the house.
- j_s 13y ago
  Kindle FreeTime Unlimited is available now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021 http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021
  - jyap 13y ago
    Ugh it's $2.99 a month if you have Amazon Prime. Otherwise it's $4.99 month. That kinda changes the deal since $4.99 a month gets you closer in cost to other services.
  - mkempe 13y ago
    That is incredible. Makes me consider buying a Kindle Fire for my daughter (age 5) instead of letting her use a legacy iPad when my wife upgrades her iPad 2.
  - bryanlarsen 13y ago
    But not in Canada. Not surprising given that Amazon would have to negotiate redistribution rights with an almost completely different set of distributors, but annoying none the less.
- r00fus 13y ago
  FreeTime is more along the lines of what Apple should have done instead of Guided Access for iOS7. The only Amazon device I have is an old Kindle, but FreeTime would be used a lot if I had a Fire.
jggonz 13y ago
I like the voice search idea, but I'm still hooked on the Chromecast / HDMI on a stick form factor. I just don't see the point in cables anymore. The UI looks neat and I'm really impressed with Amazon's search results on my Roku, so this will probably improve on that. If it wasn't so 'big' and 'expensive', I'd buy one.
swanson 13y ago
The side-by-side comparison with Roku/AppleTV actually looks pretty bad for Amazon Fire TV... Same price, the only differences are that the Fire TV has voice search (don't care), a bunch of technical specs that the layperson doesn't care about, and a bunch of games (don't care). It's missing the checkbox for HBO GO (deal breaker for me personally). I was expecting something like a monthly subscription for all-you-can-watch access to any TV show on Amazon Instant (not just the free Prime episodes). Kinda bummed because I really like Amazon as a content provider, but I'll be sticking with Roku for now.
- ANH 13y ago
  Eh, looks pretty good to me. Our wants are diametrically opposed: Voice search (do care -- Apple TV search is painful), tech specs (non line-of-sight remote -- Apple TV is line-of-sight), games (eh, might be a nice diversion for a few minutes after an episode of Walking Dead), and I don't have an HBO subscription.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    I know the Apple TV came with a remote, but I never use it, because I have an iPhone. The RF remote isn't a huge win for people that use their phones to control the TV, which, as time goes on, will eventually be "everybody".
    - personZ 13y ago
      That is really making lemonade out of lemons. Especially given that the Apple TV remote app is absolutely horrendous. Now you can push media from your phone, but it's pretty terrible to have to have the apps, and then download to your phone, then push out to your Apple TV. Many, many people don't want to deal with apps on their phone to control the TV, especially around social or family settings. I use the terrible AppleTV remove, and not only is it infra-red, it is one of the most directional infra-red devices going. It has always seemed like a very un-Apple thing that they made it like that, or that the control app is so terrible.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
aashaykumar92 13y ago
The competitive advantage seems to be in the Voice Search and in the gaming. If the gaming takes off, it'll be hard for anyone to compete. Everyone so far is talking about the Roku and Apple TV as competition, which they are, but what about the Xbox and PS4? Those offer gaming and other streaming services like Netflix too. And it seems as though Amazon is trying to be at the center of all of them.
- notatoad 13y ago
  The problem is that gaming is hard. Look at the ouya disaster. If you want to build a successful gaming product, you need a big developer relations team and a bunch of good first party titles to kick things off. If amazon was really trying to build a gaming console here, they needed to announce with some compelling games. as it is, nobody is going to spend the extra 40 for the controller without any games and nobody is going to write games for a platform with no users.
  - angryasian 13y ago
    ouya only supported selected games. If this box supports all games along with emulators and top tier games, it may be a different outcome.
    - notatoad 13y ago
      Ouya only supported selected games because games designed for a touchscreen interface are hard to play on a TV and with a gamepad. Amazon can support all games if they want to, but they're going to run into the same problem where most of them suck.
      - angryasian 13y ago
        I said in another comment , but you're thinking candy crush I'm thinking emulators and titles like GTA, Modern Combat, Minecraft, and many other rpg and fps titles. Most of the games on the play store have controller support. With a ps or xbox controller and apps for mapping if necessary.
SlashmanX 13y ago
Any indication on whether or not it will run XBMC?
- Osiris 13y ago
  I'm curious myself if this will be capable of running XBMC or another app for streaming content over a LAN. FireTV runs an Android variant, so it seems like it's plausible, but it depends on if you need to root it or if it will be an installable app.
deleted 13y ago
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abdophoto 13y ago
I keep thinking to myself "The second Apple puts out an SDK for the Apple TV, it's over" If you're going to spend $99, you're probably going to wait for Apple or Google. If you want to spend less, you'll just get a Chromecast.
- goatforce5 13y ago
  I keep thinking "There will be an Apple TV SDK any second now." I'm surprised it's taken them this long to release it.
johne20 13y ago
This device plus antenna input for over-the-air local HD channels combined with simple dvr functionality would be the ultimate cord-cutting device.
- goatforce5 13y ago
  Yes, something like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouView http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouView in North America would be great.
- chrisgd 13y ago
  Exactly. Especially one without a monthly fee for service. It seems with the storage costs and the processing power here, Amazon could integrate that easily. Edit: the really interesting part is that when searching for "DVR" in electronics, the first result is this device. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=dvr http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Del...
- baggachipz 13y ago
  You mean like this?: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mohu/mohu-channels-personal-channel-guide-makes-tv-smar https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mohu/mohu-channels-pers...
limejuice 13y ago
I have a Sony BluRay player I bought for $70 which plays Blu Rays, Amazon video, Netflix, etc. Why would I want to pay $99 for this box.
- alttab 13y ago
  Apps, games, better user experience. I have the same BluRay player and I would choose this over that. That said, I already have the BluRay player so there will need to be a game worth $140 for me to get this.
mkempe 13y ago
I've thought for a while that a voice-interface was one of the features Steve Jobs saw as key to "cracking" TV. Now Amazon has done it. I'm curious about what Apple may announce later this month.
WoodenChair 13y ago
I'm really not that impressed. This is just Apple TV for the Amazon eco-system with gaming lopped on. The majority of people don't care about the specs of their set-top box since that really doesn't affect the performance of streaming an HD video in this day and age. So the two differentiating features are: - Voice Search - Gaming Are those enough of a value proposition? Probably not to make converts. I suspect the main buyers will be those who simply have bought into Amazon Instant Video as opposed to iTunes in the past. Let's see what Apple's next revision of Apple TV offers.
- personZ 13y ago
  Smart TV saturation remains small, so I don't see it being a proposition where they need to convert people: If you put the Amazon Fire beside an Apple TV, for many people the Amazon device may very well represent a better choice. As to the specs of the device, while it's certainly true that specs alone mean little (especially vague, close to meaningless specs like "quad core"), the hardware put a ceiling on what the device is capable of doing. And in this case right off the bat it can do voice search, which as an Apple TV user I would actually be a convert for: It is an act of pure brutality to search on the Apple TV device. Even just that the remote does not use infra-red is a hugely compelling feature to me. EDIT: given that I mentioned the specs being vague, I should correct that on Amazon's dev site they list specifics, and it has a powerful CPU/GPU combo. Actually the same SoC as the Nexus 7 (2013), running at a higher frequency.
- caio1982 13y ago
  There's a third feature that is not so obvious: competition. The more the better, for us customers.
- mkempe 13y ago
  If you have kids, you get some love in your parent role, too: limits to what kids see, and caps by content types and times of day -- no more negotiating! And they're launching an all-you-can-eat content subscription designed for kids under 9, including e-books.
  - 13y ago
badman_ting 13y ago
I have a WD Live TV box that I've enjoyed so far. It has all these streaming services except Amazon Prime, and it will play all my AVI/MP4/MKV files, streaming over DLNA. This has some sweet features though, the voice search sounds good and the horsepower should allow for an overall nicer experience (speed of booting, menus, graphical effects in apps, etc).
mmcclure 13y ago
I know this is a nitpick...I really do, but for some reason things like this in marketing copy really annoy me: "Remote with no line of sight required" - not checked for Chromecast. While kind of true since Chromecast doesn't have a dedicated remote, but the devices used to control it absolutely don't require line of site.
- dusing 13y ago
  I agree, you could say the same thing for voice search since you can use voice search on your iphone/android to queue up videos to airplay/cast.
  - cheald 13y ago
    And for "games" (many exist, though not of the sort that this device promises).
  - spinchange 13y ago
    Agree with both of you and also wanted to add, who cares about how much memory the Chromecast has vs. the other devices?
- chrisdroukas 13y ago
  The same is (sorta) true of Apple TV. You can use an iOS device as a remote via WiFi.
landhar 13y ago
What I find most exciting is that this finally opens the doors for indie game developers to write games for the big screen. It is true that Steam was already doing that, but I think the audience of people with a PC plugged to a TV screen in the living room or that owns a Steam box is not as big as what the Fire TV owners might end up being
- maxsilver 13y ago
  For what it's worth, OUYA's strategy was literally "let indie game developers write games for the big screen", and they successfully launched that product more than half a year ago. OUYA has lots and lots of their own problems, but they are the most polished version of the "get indie developers on TV" idea. Or at least, they were, until today's FireTV launch.
- itafroma 13y ago
  > this finally opens the doors for indie game developers to write games for the big screen Sony has had extensive and widely-used support for indie game development for the PlayStation platforms for quite some time.[1] Microsoft has has had so-so support for indie developers (choice between them essentially acting as your publisher or fending for yourself in the Xbox Live Indie Games wasteland), but they're trying to fix that with ID@Xbox.[2] Then, of course, there's Ouya, if you're in to that sort of thing.[3] It's an Android platform too. [1]: http://us.playstation.com/develop/ http://us.playstation.com/develop/ [2]: http://www.xbox.com/en-us/Developers/id http://www.xbox.com/en-us/Developers/id [3]: https://www.ouya.tv https://www.ouya.tv
  - landhar 13y ago
    Everything you say is absolutely right. What I meant to say however (and I apologize for the way I phrased it) is that this is makes it even easier for indie developers to reach a wide audience. Not only do I expect that it will be fairly easy to port Android Tablet games to the Fire TV, I also think that the strategy of offering a TV box that has a Games marketplace as a bonus feature is a strategy that will allow Fire TVs to sell a lot more than Ouyas.
- 13y ago
programminggeek 13y ago
This is pretty much what Google TV should have been all along, but Google cares too much about web search and not enough about what people actually want to do on a TV - watch shows and play games. The gaming aspect of this will make it a winner. OUYA's big problem is that it didn't do streaming and was a bit clunky. Amazon has a big game library and just needs controller support. As a parent, a $100 streaming box and game console that has cheap/free games is very appealing. As a developer, the economics of game development for such a console is not so great, but maybe IAP would make it worthwhile.
- keehun 13y ago
  I disagree that this will become a winner. No one wants to play crappy games on their TV, and Amazon can't become a winner with the small population of people who do.
  - runevault 13y ago
    Amazon in theory is looking for more than just crappy games. They grabbed Double Helix and I have to assume that was part of this initiative, and they've recently released several well regarded games in Killer Instinct and Strider.
  - matt_heimer 13y ago
    Wrong audience, this is everything my Roku is but better. Better UI, better performance. Plus apps and maybe some games with a real controller. It is everything an OUYA is but better. And miracast support too.
    - keehun 13y ago
      This reminds me of phones before the iPhone. Yeah, "better" UI, bigger keyboards, more color, .1 more megapixel camera... Iterative stuff. Someone or some company is going to have to completely shatter our imaginations of this market. Until then, good luck getting any massive success.
- sutterbomb 13y ago
stevenp 13y ago
For me, AirPlay is the killer Apple TV feature. Any time a new app comes out for iOS that supports streaming video, I know I'm going to be able to play it on my television. The local content provider apps on the device don't really matter that much to me. I can even stream Amazon Prime video to my Apple TV, so I'm having a hard time seeing why I would want this instead of waiting for the next generation Apple TV.
- eclipxe 13y ago
  FireTV supports Miracast according to the PR: Miracast according to Press Release: You can also wirelessly mirror your tablet display to your Fire TV with Kindle Fire, as well as other Miracast-enabled phones or tablets starting later this year. Fire TV supports standards like DIAL, so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...
  - stevenp 13y ago
    Ah, this is one of the problems with isolated ecosystems, I guess. Until Apple opens up AirPlay (never), I'm stuck with whatever they give me. :/
    - Touche 13y ago
      The only way to get yourself out of the lock in is to stop buying their devices.
- asabjorn 13y ago
  I just bought the G-Box MX2 and it can do almost everything you request; play Netflix, local media, pandora, etc. However, Prime is not available on it since that is Amazon exclusive. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CH643A8/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CH643A8/ref=oh_details_o...
- smackfu 13y ago
keehun 13y ago
This is not good enough. What's the improvement that is worth $100?
barlescabbage 13y ago
Not enough differentiation, give us some other channels, live news, or broadcast TV and we'll buy it in a heartbeat. Otherwise your features are surprisingly irrelevant. This is mostly bad news for Roku, before this, the paradigm was, Apple TV for iTunes, Roku for Amazon. During the holidays there were so many roku photos on amazon, I thought they owned them. I think Amazon will slowly strangle Roku. Amazon probably tried to buy Roku, they declined, so they said, "fine we'll make our on device and crush you" Typical Amazon.
- declan 13y ago
  > other channels, live news, or broadcast TV and we'll buy it in a heartbeat. Agreed! Does anyone know of any device that offers live streaming news from CNN, Fox, etc.? The Roku store doesn't list CNN; it does list Fox News but only "video clips" and not a full 24/7 live stream of the television channel: http://www.roku.com/channels/#search/cnn/by-popular http://www.roku.com/channels/#search/cnn/by-popular
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
declan 13y ago
This is a reasonable answer to Apple TV. If you have videos on or subscriptions to iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon Prime (as I do), there's no box I'm aware of that will let you watch all three. So you end up using your Apple TV and then Roku or another box -- the Playstation 3 in my living room takes a long time to boot, and a long time to load the Netflix app, draws quite a bit of power, and is overkill for merely watching streaming video. The Amazon Fire TV, assuming it's fast enough, will add another device to my living room cabinet but make it a lot faster to switch to watching Amazon Prime videos. Ideally Apple would allow Amazon to add Prime Streaming to the Apple TV box, or Roku would get the iTunes library. Then I could have an all-in-one box. But we all know that's not going to happen...
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  Apple TV lets you watch all three (iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon Prime). Airplay is a thing.
  - brewdad 13y ago
    Amazon Prime is not on Apple TV. That's why I have a Roku sitting next to my Apple TV.
    - jawngee 13y ago
      I actually AirPlay amazon prime to Apple TV from my iPhone. In Vietnam, playing anything off the iTunes store can be a lengthy process but somehow Amazon is almost always instantaneous.
  - Touche 13y ago
    * Requires $500+ companion device.
    - smackfu 13y ago
      Technically you only need an iPod Touch for $229. (Or maybe you need the better $299 one.)
mrfusion 13y ago
Is it missing YouTube? Also, if it easy to buy newly released movies like you can with iTunes on the Apple TV?
chrisgd 13y ago
What is everyone using for a DVR? Why doesn't this include some time of recording, storage and pausing capabilities? The DVR provided by the cable companies are laggy and the Tivo one charges a monthly fee for what equates to updating program guides, but not accounting for shows actually running over.
sureshv 13y ago
Does it have a headphone jack on the remote ala the Roku 3? It's probably one of the more useful features on the new Roku box.
Edmond 13y ago
well if this works as advertised it seems the end of cable could very near.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
walkon 13y ago
Do these convex/rounded remotes that this and the Roku have bother anyone else? They seem to slide off the couch easier and if I set it down on a flat surface, it rocks back and forth for several seconds.
Pxtl 13y ago
How hackable will the android on this thing be? Will you be able to connect bluetooth-based gamepads to it?
fjabre 13y ago
this is a me too product
- dusty64 13y ago
  That it is.
hydralist 13y ago
i like apple tv because of airplay, to me its a system killer
_superposition_ 13y ago
Cant wait to jailbreak this and run xbmc on it.
NextUserName 13y ago
Tech specs here: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html
tehwebguy 13y ago
I think this will be huge. It will only take one great game for this thing to pop. With a system that enough users will have in the living room someone is going to put together a fun free-to-play FPS and that will be enough for it to be the clear winner over AppleTV / Chromecast. Voice search is a big deal if it works the way I think it does. TV is easy, everyone knows how to use one and how to find what they want to watch. Navigating between Netflix, Hulu, Instant, iTunes, Cruncyroll, NBC ... is a pain. Even on my AppleTV navigating Netflix alone is the worst.
totallymike 13y ago
Interestingly enough, the 'What is Fire TV' video heavily features HBO content (Game of Thrones, Veep, etc), but doesn't support HBO Go?
drawkbox 13y ago
Impressive, they beat Apple TV and Google to the app/game punch. This could be big. Disappointed in Apple doing nothing with TV apps/games, all the while having years of lead time.
Dwolb 13y ago
Does Amazon see the future? Content delivery platform for commercials/suggestions + shipping infrastructure to deliver products + drone delivery for last mile = Commercials with immediate product purchase ability. Amazon can even broadcast a commercial in a geographic area, know the percentage of users who will immediately want the commercial's product, and pre-emptively unleash drones to a geographic location to drop off the product within seconds.
ChuckMcM 13y ago
I am kind of surprised the Roku manages to stay independent in all the 'tv' efforts. They have a really nice player and now a nice 'stick' player. Also a pretty easy to use SDK. So why re-build all or much of that for a proprietary box? Any thoughts on that strategy?
- Zelphyr 13y ago
  Roku, as I understand it, derives their revenue from hardware sales. So they have such an incentive to get you to upgrade hardware that they will actually take away content[1] in an effort to force you to do so. My guess is Amazon is doing the opposite. They're probably practically giving away the hardware in hopes they'll realize more profits on the content you buy. And a device like this is just a small piece of a larger puzzle for Amazon and with their previous hardware experience its not a giant leap for them to produce a proprietary box. For Roku, their device line is the puzzle. So sure, they have an easy to use SDK[2] it is also proprietary. I'm guessing Amazon built the Fire TV on Android so new apps are really just Android apps. [1]: They did this last year and as a result I will never buy another Roku product again. [2]: I'm still dumbfounded that they based it on Visual Basic. Carl Sassenrath is an employee now. In my opinion they'd do well to scrap their existing VB-style SDK and base the next generation on Rebol.
  - baggachipz 13y ago
    Tut tut, brightscript ;) I looked into writing for Roku, cracked open some docs, and that was the end of that.
timdierks 13y ago
I have difficulty envisioning exactly how this market is going to develop. None of the products (AppleTV, Roku, Google, Amazon) are differentiated enough to imagine someone who's pretty happy with their box switching, particularly given various ways you'd get locked into particular features or media (e.g., if the average AppleTV user has bought a bunch of movies from iTunes, they're unlikely to switch to Amazon even if they like the games). At the price point, you can imagine people owning more than one device to get access to different feature silos, but the huge duplication of features (e.g. every device having Netflix) makes this feel wasteful. Furthermore, I think people quickly run into a limitation on how many HDMI ports their TV has. If you're going to have a cable box and DVD/BluRay player connected, you need to have 3 ports to be able to connect one of these devices at all, and you can't plausibly have more than two. (I don't know how many HDMI ports TVs have in the market, but 2, 3, and 4 seems to cover the consumer space in a very small sampling of Amazon availability.) If I were building one of these devices, I would include an HDMI switch with pass-through so I don't consume an HDMI port. In the absence of that, it's not clear at all to me what the shape of market adoption looks like.
- wmeredith 13y ago
  For less than a $100 bucks I make pick this up to put alongside my Apple TV just so I can watch Amazon video without airplay.
brandonbica 13y ago
To me it looks like the biggest comparison is Apple TV (and Roku which I'm less familiar with). It's just an incremental version of the Apple TV for the Amazon ecosystem and to me that's the biggest disappointment. I would have much preferred that they go in the direction of incremental improvement over the Chromecast which would make this industry much more exciting in my opinion.
UncleChis 13y ago
Do they try not to mention Youtube? Only in the comparison chart!
jstalin 13y ago
I love it, but I don't see that there is an app for non-kindle devices for managing or playing video for the Fire TV. The thing I like about chromecast is the ability to browse and play video from my ipad. But of course chromecast doesn't have amazon prime, so I have to switch to my roku to watch Walking Dead. If Fire TV has an app to manage it for ipad or android, then it's pretty much the perfect device.
- snsr 13y ago
  Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but this is referenced elsewhere in the thread - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-instant-video/id545519333?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-instant-video/id54551...
suyash 13y ago
Android Developers who want to jump into this opportunity: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb.html & https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/blog/author/Mike+Hines https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/blog/author/Mi...
- suyash 13y ago
  It would be interesting to know if the Fire TV is running on X86 or ARM processor. Anyone know?
  - guyzero 13y ago
    Processor type is on the Amazon product page. ARM.
  - eclipxe 13y ago
    ARM. https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html
  - whoisnatelam 13y ago
    Check out the post about the additional details and comments for specs: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y Interesting to see what they are doing.
- whoisnatelam 13y ago
  You can check out all the specs here for any developer looking for it: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y
thewordis 13y ago
Fire TV lacks iTunes and Google Play. Apple TV lacks Google Play and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Chromecast lacks iTunes and Amazon Prime Instant Video. And now we have a million and one ways to watch Netflix.
whoisnatelam 13y ago
Looks like we can develop for this. If you're an Android developer you should check out all the specs and docs here: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y
- allenwu9326 13y ago
  This is pretty cool. Makes sense to port over my apps. Seems pretty straight forward. We basically just need to change UI and game controller functions...
dgrant 13y ago
Anyone know if this supports DLNA?
- chadgeidel 13y ago
  They list "Plex" (DLNA server) in their "streaming services" list. It would be nice to know if there are other servers supported.
cavilling_elite 13y ago
No rechargeable remote? Should of had a simple dock on top to charge the remote and another dock purchased with the game pad. No need for batteries.
jpatel3 13y ago
Just another Roku, Google TV, Apple TV
eshvk 13y ago
So I just bought a new TV that has Amazon Prime, Netflix, Voice search integrated into it. I don't play games. Is there any point in me getting this vs getting an Apple TV or a Chromecast? The only thing I would use an Apple TV (all computers in my house are macs) for is to screenshare wirelessly. I believe Chromecast lets me do that for specific apps.
- clauretano 13y ago
  Chromecast lets you "cast" a tab from chrome, but the performance will be subpar. Very subpar. Don't try to watch a video with that or anything. If your macs are all modern enough (sandy bridge or newer) AirPlay display mirroring/extending works pretty well. The latency is noticeable but not the end of the world if you're using it to consume content. You won't want to full screen a 1080p video in VLC though, the framerate will be good but not perfect. There's an app Beamer that can be used for things like that. For most video files it won't need to transcode the whole thing, rather it'll just demux and maybe transcode the audio to AAC (appletv can natively play common video formats).
  - eshvk 13y ago
    So if I ever want to full screen a 1080p video which is pretty all I would ever do on a Mac and a TV, I should just hook it up using HDMI?
bluthru 13y ago
The lady in the photo looks like she's confusing the remote for a candy bar.
theorique 13y ago
Pretty cool: http://firetv.com http://firetv.com
- OlivierLi 13y ago
  Warning: the link above is highly NSFW.
  - theorique 13y ago
    Sorry, should have mentioned that bit. AMZN has just bid the value of that domain through the roof though.
    - pbhjpbhj 13y ago
      Maybe a few years ago when the search engines used exact match domains as a key relevancy indicator. SE now are highly likely to put amazon.tld above firetv.com for all "fire tv" searches [Google does for me now anyway]. Who types in domain names anyway? Amazon's brand strength means those not going to a SE are going to go to Amazon.tld to find it, certainly that was what I did without thinking about it. [Sadly though there's nothing there that's relevant except the option to buy a Chromecast, seems very poor marketing to me. They could probably take pre-orders even without a localised list of content providers being ready].
ycaspirant 13y ago
Why is this priced on par with Apple TV? That's like pricing a Kindle on par with an iPad. I always thought that unlike Apple, Amazon's strategy was to sell really cheap hardware so that you can consume more content.
vladgur 13y ago
oh my, it looks like it supports mkv containers.
dataminded 13y ago
How many remotes will this support? If I can hook up 2-4 controllers to it then it will be in my house soon.
- sib 13y ago
  It supports a total of seven controllers and remotes: "Amazon Fire TV allows up to 7 remotes and game controllers to be connected at one time. Each game controller can be associated with a player ID, opening up multi-player gaming in the living room. Games can even use different combinations of input types (remotes and game controllers) to make multi-player gaming easy for everyone." https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/devices/fire-tv https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/devices/fire-t...
tejbirwason 13y ago
Glad to finally see Amazon announce this. Also I can finally share with family and friends about what I worked on during my internship at Broadcom. It took longer than expected for Amazon to finally release it which makes me think they went through multiple chip design iterations after I finished my internship at Broadcom last year. So long in fact that I thought it would never see the light of day. Excited to see how customers respond, this is definitely going to shake things up. Glad I had a small role in bringing this to life.
- Flenser 13y ago
  The main chips are listed as SOC Platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064 Processor Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz GPU Qualcomm Adreno 320 what Broadcom tech does it use?
abjorn 13y ago
Or you could just buy a Roku?
yblu 13y ago
I had a Roku and returned it. Amzn Fire TV doesn't seem much better. I'm sticking with PS3 for now, the only thing that can stream Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Instance Video and what not.
Osiris 13y ago
I ordered one with 1-day shipping. I'm heading to Sunnyvale for a week and I'm tempted to take it with me to see how it works over the hotel WiFi.
shurcooL 13y ago
For gaming, this would be an ideal place to have an OnLive client.
shirro 13y ago
I love chromecast (have two imported) and for my use the lack of features such as remote/ui are a huge bonus over the slow dysfunctional bloatware crap in "smart" televisions. I want my screen to be just another display device I can send stuff too rather than the focus. That would probably change if I wanted my tv dongle to double as a games console but at current price/performance I don't see acceptable big screen gaming happening in a sub $100 device for awhile yet. I think people are going to go with price rather than features for tv and Chromecast/Roku and a mountain of clones will take most of the sales. People who want to play games aren't going to do it on a $100 box from Amazon. They will stick to Xbox One/PS4 or a Steam box. I imagine Amazon are thinking they can rely on content to sell these but I don't know that they are that strong an offering. However this turns out the real winners are going to be Netflix.
Splendor 13y ago
I don't want another box and remote. I would rather have an Amazon Video app with Chromecast functionality for Android.
revelation 13y ago
Alpha House And there it is, as a dropdown appears with only one entry you still have to select, and then continue to travel three menus deep to get to a point where video appears. What are they thinking?
periferral 13y ago
The one thing about the Roku I like a lot is the headset on the remote. I love that! I can be in a room with my headset and not disturb my wife sleeping and enjoy the show. The lack on the headset jack on the remote on this for me would be a non-starter. Other than that, nothing to write home about. I can't see anything here that would make me switch from the Roku.
benhebert 13y ago
Ouch no HBO Go.
dusty64 13y ago
There is a trick to enter diagnostic/device mode and enter CLI debug. Email dusty64@hushmail.com

Amazon Fire TV

388 points by ndrake 13y ago

bernardom 13y ago

So that answers my question of whether my Apple TV would ever get Amazon streaming.

ambirex 13y ago
Not necessarily, Roku, PS 3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One all have amazon streaming. It probably has more to do with Apple than Amazon.
- lvs 13y ago
  But other Android devices, weirdly, do not.
  - guyzero 13y ago
    Slightly more weirdly, Google TV does have an Amazon Instant Video app. But non-TV Android does not. Well, Kindle. But non-TV Google-standard Android does not.
- opendais 13y ago
  Eh, I'd believe that except for the fact Amazon basically limited its 'Android streaming' to its Fire line. I think Amazon is trying to lock customers into thinking of Amazon products first whenever they search for anything Amazon sells.
- josephlord 13y ago
  My guess is that Apple insists that they are the only source for pay per view/purchased films/TV programs on the Apple TV and the Amazon won't just bring their subscription Prime service without the PPV side. This guess is made without knowledge of the specific situation between Apple/Amazon but having dealt with some similar service providers (when working for an electronics company).
  - bitcrusher 13y ago
    That has not stopped them from making it available on the iPad... It works just fine, you just have to use the browser to buy new things.
aroch 13y ago
I think you mean "any device that isn't Amazon branded", since Android devices that aren't in the Kindle Fire family also can't watch Amazon streaming stuff. Amazon is attempting vendor lockin.
- schrodinger 13y ago
  There is an ios app for Amazon streaming...
  - jauer 13y ago
    Yes, but not on non-Amazon Android.
    - alttab 13y ago
      Interesting. I went to look it up because I thought you were wrong. You can get the Amazon Appstore on non-Amazon android devices, but it seems you are correct about AIV. Wonder if its a DRM issue, or other hardware security issue for Android devices.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
      - 72deluxe 13y ago
        I wondered if it was security but the banking apps don't have a problem with being installed... I suspect it's to attempt to railroad people into buying the Fire range of Android-based devices. Not for me thanks! Why do I need another Android device? Mind you, if the Lovefilm "By Post" application is anything to go by, Amazon can't find any decent Android developers in the world to employ because that piece of software is dreadful. Truly truly dreadful. Buggy, crashy, laggy, all three. They decided to not use native lists but use some weird HTML system; look at the licenses on that app. It's rubbish. So, either railroading or they can't find decent developers to write a video streaming app. After all, BBC iPlayer uses Air I think. That was never a painfree experience on Android.
  - deleted 13y ago
paulyg 13y ago
Ditto for Chromecast.

mikeryan 13y ago

More information about the SDK has also been released here: https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx1K5ORNNPOMUXA/Put-your-Apps-and-Games-on-more-screens-with-Amazon-Fire-TV https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx1K5ORNN...

rubysucks 13y ago

Well, I do like Amazon stuff and I pay for Prime each year. But I have to say that nothing pops out to me for this product. I have an Apple TV and that seems to do everything that I need it to (although the interface is a bit tedious). I bought the chromecast because it was so cheap, but my phone can't detect the device half the time (AP Isolation issue), so that was a major fail on Google's device. If this device was $49.99 I would pick it up certainly.

rch 13y ago

> enjoy best-selling titles from Mojang, EA, Disney... Now that's an interesting order of emphasis.

robogrowth 13y ago

$35 and chromecast work for me.. don't see a need for this. Not only that I can just start playing any video and browse to 127.0.0.1:8888 and stream whatever I want via chromecast.

impostervt 13y ago

And I just bought the new Roku Streaming stick...I'll be curious to see how they stack up. Amazon offers a comparison of FireTV to the Roku3, but not the Roku Streaming Stick. And the Stick is just $49.

blueash 13y ago

Any idea how many controllers the system will support?

mindslight 13y ago

Or simply stick with a Raspberry Pi, which is free of arbitrary manufacturer-imposted restrictions and comfortably off of the locked-down-software induced upgrade treadmill.

Osiris 13y ago
RPI is a single-core @700mhz with 512MB RAM compared to quad-core, 2GB of RAM, so it's a significant bump up in hardware specs for not that much money. I'm curious how long it will take people to root it.
- mindslight 13y ago
  Sure, the hardware is faster, but for what purpose and at what cost? We're well into the a time where the capabilities of a device have much more to do with its software than its raw hardware specs. When you root a proprietary environment, the best you can do is gain a leg-up within the ecosystem of the initial manufacturer. You're always swimming against an overall current of what the manufacturer implements, and paying a usability tax every time you use the device and things that should be easy are either a little harder, or have to be coped with on other devices.
jevinskie 13y ago
My mother can't operate a Raspberry Pi.

karangoeluw 13y ago

This seems like a really good offering by Amazon. Now we'll just have to see if the competition lowers its prices or no.

notatoad 13y ago
Why would they drop prices? At 99 this is just following the status quo.

eclipxe 13y ago

Congrats to the FireTV team!

theseanstewart 13y ago

This looks really cool but I'll have to wait and see how it compares to the other devices that accomplish the same objectives. I would have liked to see it include gigabit ethernet instead of just 10/100. Interesting that they have a game controller available. I've been looking for something to replace my Popcorn Hour, but I haven't been able to find anything in this price range that will play MKV files and allow playing movies over USB. Maybe this will be the answer?

oskee80 13y ago
Western Digital's WDTV Live can play any file you throw at it. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330 http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330 It supports many online services as well, but unfortunately no Prime Instant Video. I have yet to see a box that offers everything I want: Local and network media playback, Netflix, Prime. However, I wish the WDTV had better specs and UI - it can be a little clunky.
- theseanstewart 13y ago
  I've been holding off on the WDTV because of the UI and a few other issues I came across while researching it.
- matt_heimer 13y ago
  Roku is close once you use Plex. You get local network playback + Netflix, Prime, Crackle, Hulu, Pandora which is what I want. The video quality, performance, bugs, and gaming support of the Roku suck though. I keep swapping my Roku for a Chromecast and back again. I'd like a box that supports Prime, local network playback, and casual gaming/emulation. If Amazon would have released a Prime Video app I'd switch to some of those cheap Android PCs on an HDMI stick by now but they've been holding out probably to use as a carrot to get people locked into their app store. I hate having to side-load apps but if I can on the FireTV and get local network playback working I very well might buy one. Edit: Looks like it will have Plex and Miracast support.
  - 13y ago

pazimzadeh 13y ago

What I'm taking away from this is that Fire TV is the same as Roku and Apple TV. As for the gaming capabilities, it'll be interesting to see if they can compete with Steam Machine.

webology 13y ago
FireTV is built on Android and has a real controller for gaming. It won't compete with Steam Machines for high-end games but there's certainly enough hardware to pull off some great games and apps.
luckyno13 13y ago
I don't think this device and a Steam Machine (just a PC with a badge on it) will be in the same realm of competition. This would most likely compete with the Ouya, where the Steam Machine would compete with the 5th gen consoles.
Igglyboo 13y ago
Well this is running android and Steam Machine is running full fledged linux(debian?). Comparing a set top box to a personal computer isn't really fair.
Pxtl 13y ago
> it'll be interesting to see if they can compete with Steam Machine Of course not. Different market - Steam Machine will be an expensive flagship hardcore gamer device, while this is firmly casual. The better question is whether gaming on this device can compete with a VitaStation or an Ouya... or even a Wii-U.

hswolff 13y ago

Does this support playing local media? It seems like no, but I couldn't find any explicit answer.

aroch 13y ago
It might given the USB 2.0 Type A port.
eclipxe 13y ago
I saw an icon for Plex, so maybe?
- hox 13y ago
  More than likely plex streaming, like roku has.

acgourley 13y ago

I'll be curious how good the screen mirroring is. Does anyone know if it's using a direct connection (like miracast) or an indirect over your normal wifi rounter (like apple tv mirroring)?

eclipxe 13y ago
Miracast according to Press Release: You can also wirelessly mirror your tablet display to your Fire TV with Kindle Fire, as well as other Miracast-enabled phones or tablets starting later this year. Fire TV supports standards like DIAL, so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...

superqd 13y ago

So is everyone making these now? The only thing Amazon seems to have brought to this is voice command, assuming it has actually been brought.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

mistermcgruff 13y ago

Not seeing HBO Go. That means no GoT on demand :-(

sailfast 13y ago
Agreed - I would be more excited about this if I did not have to decide between Amazon and HBO Go. Timeline for app deployment would be good to know. Side note: if I were Jony Ive, I'd sue for design infringement - that remote is a blatant ripoff.
timfrietas 13y ago
It's apparently coming, but not part of launch: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/hbo-go-sho-anytime-amazon-fire-tv/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/hbo-go-sho-anytime-amazon...

dcc1 13y ago

Anyone know if this will work for nonUSAsians

eclipxe 13y ago

Fire TV supports standards like DIAL[1], so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies.[2] [1] http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/ http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/ [2] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...

aresant 13y ago

I think this represents the first device to support Amazon streaming in 1080p - as far as I know Roku etc are still limited to 720p?

benlm 13y ago
It's not actually clear whether Amazon Instant Video will stream at 1080p for any/all HD material, or if the device just supports 1080p for other services like Netflix. Does anyone know?
- 72deluxe 13y ago
  I have Amazon Instant Video on a Sony Bluray and it is 1080p. Out of interest, it's not really instant. The application could be swifter to respond.

matthewaustin 13y ago

Prominently showing Game of Thrones content in the images, even though the Fire doesn't support HBO Go? Way to be deceptive, Amazon.

eclipxe 13y ago
Amazon Instant Video has GoT http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming/dp/B007BVOEPI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1396455947&sr=8-3&keywords=game+of+thrones http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming/dp/B007BVOEPI/ref=sr_...
landon 13y ago
They do sell the old episodes.
podman 13y ago
You can buy Game Of Thrones on Amazon. It's just not available for streaming through Amazon Prime. http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming-HD/dp/B007BVMVDU http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming-HD/dp/B007BVMVDU
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abhinavg 13y ago
Game of Thrones is also available on Amazon Instant Video.
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intherdfield 13y ago
Game of Thrones is available for streaming on Amazon Instant Video.
personZ 13y ago
Aside from it being available via Amazon Instant, note that HBO Go is listed as a partner, announced as "coming soon". It is an act of remarkable honesty that Amazon put HBO Go with no checkbox, as most vendors would have put a checkbox with a superscript indicating that it was coming soon.

chocks 13y ago

curious if it'll support YouTube, didn't see on the list.

eclipxe 13y ago
According to this[1] image it does [1]http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/845b7c4fc5f114cefc63df45ff2276eb/amazontvcontent.jpg http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/845b7c4fc5f114cefc63df4...
philsnow 13y ago
It's in the matrix farther down on the page as a checkbox, "sorted" below Crackle and Hulu Plus. The YouTube logo is not in the big image describing "What's on Amazon FireTV?" [0], apparently it is one of the "plus many more". [0] https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2014/B/feature-whatson2.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/d...

duked 13y ago

I was an early Ouya backer and was really really disappointed I sold it (like 1 month after I received it. This Amazon Fire TV may be what the Ouya was supposed to be, I mean I know it's more seen as a Roku/Apple TV competitor but for me if it runs Android then I can use it as a decent Emulation machine (RetroArch etc... ) I will buy one for sure

72deluxe 13y ago
Why did you sell it?

mkempe 13y ago

They're studying the mistakes of others, and paying attention to user reviews of competing products, so they can solve real pain points: > During its presentation, Amazon said that it has been paying close attention to the complaints of customers who have been using the other companies' devices through Amazon—namely that search is difficult, performance is laggy, and the ecosystems are closed—in order to build its own streaming device." [1] For instance, what they're doing with the child-oriented mode is what I wish Apple had done with the iPad and iPhone, a long time ago. [1] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-streaming-box-fire-tv/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-...

dublinben 13y ago
That's pretty funny, as a long-time Roku user. The search couldn't be easier, whether you're inside a specific app, or using the cross platform search feature. Performance is snappier than these services on a desktop browser, and the ecosystem is as open as anyone could want.
- fixedd 13y ago
  As a long-time Roku user I curse ours almost every day. Performance is slower than every other device we own (except the Chromecast). They constantly "reset" themselves while trying to navigate through the Netflix and Amazon listings. Videos will just sporadically stop playing or run into constant buffering issues. There are no parental controls. They didn't support DLNA until a few months ago.
  - officemonkey 13y ago
    "long-time Roku user." How old is your box? I'm still happy with mine, despite it being a couple of years old. I was thinking of getting a new one, but if the new ones are of poorer quality...
    - fixedd 13y ago
      We own a Roku 2 XD and a Roku LT, both about 2.5 years old. Both worked great for ~ 6 months and then... something changed and they haven't worked well since. I used to have one of the originals, it was great.

mashmac2 13y ago

Amazon FreeTime (coming next month, according to this page) is the most interesting piece for me - customized child safety settings for each child, with monthly subscriptions at $2.99 for children's TV shows. It seems like Amazon recognized the popularity of streaming services for parents of young kids and is setting this up just for them...

mkempe 13y ago
Further, the voice-driven interface is an interesting feature for young kids. Soon they'll expect to be able to talk to every machine in the house.
j_s 13y ago
Kindle FreeTime Unlimited is available now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021 http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021
- jyap 13y ago
  Ugh it's $2.99 a month if you have Amazon Prime. Otherwise it's $4.99 month. That kinda changes the deal since $4.99 a month gets you closer in cost to other services.
- mkempe 13y ago
  That is incredible. Makes me consider buying a Kindle Fire for my daughter (age 5) instead of letting her use a legacy iPad when my wife upgrades her iPad 2.
- bryanlarsen 13y ago
  But not in Canada. Not surprising given that Amazon would have to negotiate redistribution rights with an almost completely different set of distributors, but annoying none the less.
r00fus 13y ago
FreeTime is more along the lines of what Apple should have done instead of Guided Access for iOS7. The only Amazon device I have is an old Kindle, but FreeTime would be used a lot if I had a Fire.

jggonz 13y ago

I like the voice search idea, but I'm still hooked on the Chromecast / HDMI on a stick form factor. I just don't see the point in cables anymore. The UI looks neat and I'm really impressed with Amazon's search results on my Roku, so this will probably improve on that. If it wasn't so 'big' and 'expensive', I'd buy one.

swanson 13y ago

The side-by-side comparison with Roku/AppleTV actually looks pretty bad for Amazon Fire TV... Same price, the only differences are that the Fire TV has voice search (don't care), a bunch of technical specs that the layperson doesn't care about, and a bunch of games (don't care). It's missing the checkbox for HBO GO (deal breaker for me personally). I was expecting something like a monthly subscription for all-you-can-watch access to any TV show on Amazon Instant (not just the free Prime episodes). Kinda bummed because I really like Amazon as a content provider, but I'll be sticking with Roku for now.

ANH 13y ago
Eh, looks pretty good to me. Our wants are diametrically opposed: Voice search (do care -- Apple TV search is painful), tech specs (non line-of-sight remote -- Apple TV is line-of-sight), games (eh, might be a nice diversion for a few minutes after an episode of Walking Dead), and I don't have an HBO subscription.
- tptacek 13y ago
  I know the Apple TV came with a remote, but I never use it, because I have an iPhone. The RF remote isn't a huge win for people that use their phones to control the TV, which, as time goes on, will eventually be "everybody".
  - personZ 13y ago
    That is really making lemonade out of lemons. Especially given that the Apple TV remote app is absolutely horrendous. Now you can push media from your phone, but it's pretty terrible to have to have the apps, and then download to your phone, then push out to your Apple TV. Many, many people don't want to deal with apps on their phone to control the TV, especially around social or family settings. I use the terrible AppleTV remove, and not only is it infra-red, it is one of the most directional infra-red devices going. It has always seemed like a very un-Apple thing that they made it like that, or that the control app is so terrible.
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aashaykumar92 13y ago

The competitive advantage seems to be in the Voice Search and in the gaming. If the gaming takes off, it'll be hard for anyone to compete. Everyone so far is talking about the Roku and Apple TV as competition, which they are, but what about the Xbox and PS4? Those offer gaming and other streaming services like Netflix too. And it seems as though Amazon is trying to be at the center of all of them.

notatoad 13y ago
The problem is that gaming is hard. Look at the ouya disaster. If you want to build a successful gaming product, you need a big developer relations team and a bunch of good first party titles to kick things off. If amazon was really trying to build a gaming console here, they needed to announce with some compelling games. as it is, nobody is going to spend the extra 40 for the controller without any games and nobody is going to write games for a platform with no users.
- angryasian 13y ago
  ouya only supported selected games. If this box supports all games along with emulators and top tier games, it may be a different outcome.
  - notatoad 13y ago
    Ouya only supported selected games because games designed for a touchscreen interface are hard to play on a TV and with a gamepad. Amazon can support all games if they want to, but they're going to run into the same problem where most of them suck.
    - angryasian 13y ago
      I said in another comment , but you're thinking candy crush I'm thinking emulators and titles like GTA, Modern Combat, Minecraft, and many other rpg and fps titles. Most of the games on the play store have controller support. With a ps or xbox controller and apps for mapping if necessary.

SlashmanX 13y ago

Any indication on whether or not it will run XBMC?

Osiris 13y ago
I'm curious myself if this will be capable of running XBMC or another app for streaming content over a LAN. FireTV runs an Android variant, so it seems like it's plausible, but it depends on if you need to root it or if it will be an installable app.

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abdophoto 13y ago

I keep thinking to myself "The second Apple puts out an SDK for the Apple TV, it's over" If you're going to spend $99, you're probably going to wait for Apple or Google. If you want to spend less, you'll just get a Chromecast.

goatforce5 13y ago
I keep thinking "There will be an Apple TV SDK any second now." I'm surprised it's taken them this long to release it.

johne20 13y ago

This device plus antenna input for over-the-air local HD channels combined with simple dvr functionality would be the ultimate cord-cutting device.

goatforce5 13y ago
Yes, something like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouView http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouView in North America would be great.
chrisgd 13y ago
Exactly. Especially one without a monthly fee for service. It seems with the storage costs and the processing power here, Amazon could integrate that easily. Edit: the really interesting part is that when searching for "DVR" in electronics, the first result is this device. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=dvr http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Del...
baggachipz 13y ago
You mean like this?: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mohu/mohu-channels-personal-channel-guide-makes-tv-smar https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mohu/mohu-channels-pers...

limejuice 13y ago

I have a Sony BluRay player I bought for $70 which plays Blu Rays, Amazon video, Netflix, etc. Why would I want to pay $99 for this box.

alttab 13y ago
Apps, games, better user experience. I have the same BluRay player and I would choose this over that. That said, I already have the BluRay player so there will need to be a game worth $140 for me to get this.

mkempe 13y ago

I've thought for a while that a voice-interface was one of the features Steve Jobs saw as key to "cracking" TV. Now Amazon has done it. I'm curious about what Apple may announce later this month.

WoodenChair 13y ago

I'm really not that impressed. This is just Apple TV for the Amazon eco-system with gaming lopped on. The majority of people don't care about the specs of their set-top box since that really doesn't affect the performance of streaming an HD video in this day and age. So the two differentiating features are: - Voice Search - Gaming Are those enough of a value proposition? Probably not to make converts. I suspect the main buyers will be those who simply have bought into Amazon Instant Video as opposed to iTunes in the past. Let's see what Apple's next revision of Apple TV offers.

personZ 13y ago
Smart TV saturation remains small, so I don't see it being a proposition where they need to convert people: If you put the Amazon Fire beside an Apple TV, for many people the Amazon device may very well represent a better choice. As to the specs of the device, while it's certainly true that specs alone mean little (especially vague, close to meaningless specs like "quad core"), the hardware put a ceiling on what the device is capable of doing. And in this case right off the bat it can do voice search, which as an Apple TV user I would actually be a convert for: It is an act of pure brutality to search on the Apple TV device. Even just that the remote does not use infra-red is a hugely compelling feature to me. EDIT: given that I mentioned the specs being vague, I should correct that on Amazon's dev site they list specifics, and it has a powerful CPU/GPU combo. Actually the same SoC as the Nexus 7 (2013), running at a higher frequency.
caio1982 13y ago
There's a third feature that is not so obvious: competition. The more the better, for us customers.
mkempe 13y ago
If you have kids, you get some love in your parent role, too: limits to what kids see, and caps by content types and times of day -- no more negotiating! And they're launching an all-you-can-eat content subscription designed for kids under 9, including e-books.
- 13y ago

badman_ting 13y ago

I have a WD Live TV box that I've enjoyed so far. It has all these streaming services except Amazon Prime, and it will play all my AVI/MP4/MKV files, streaming over DLNA. This has some sweet features though, the voice search sounds good and the horsepower should allow for an overall nicer experience (speed of booting, menus, graphical effects in apps, etc).

mmcclure 13y ago

I know this is a nitpick...I really do, but for some reason things like this in marketing copy really annoy me: "Remote with no line of sight required" - not checked for Chromecast. While kind of true since Chromecast doesn't have a dedicated remote, but the devices used to control it absolutely don't require line of site.

dusing 13y ago
I agree, you could say the same thing for voice search since you can use voice search on your iphone/android to queue up videos to airplay/cast.
- cheald 13y ago
  And for "games" (many exist, though not of the sort that this device promises).
- spinchange 13y ago
  Agree with both of you and also wanted to add, who cares about how much memory the Chromecast has vs. the other devices?
chrisdroukas 13y ago
The same is (sorta) true of Apple TV. You can use an iOS device as a remote via WiFi.

landhar 13y ago

What I find most exciting is that this finally opens the doors for indie game developers to write games for the big screen. It is true that Steam was already doing that, but I think the audience of people with a PC plugged to a TV screen in the living room or that owns a Steam box is not as big as what the Fire TV owners might end up being

maxsilver 13y ago
For what it's worth, OUYA's strategy was literally "let indie game developers write games for the big screen", and they successfully launched that product more than half a year ago. OUYA has lots and lots of their own problems, but they are the most polished version of the "get indie developers on TV" idea. Or at least, they were, until today's FireTV launch.
itafroma 13y ago
> this finally opens the doors for indie game developers to write games for the big screen Sony has had extensive and widely-used support for indie game development for the PlayStation platforms for quite some time.[1] Microsoft has has had so-so support for indie developers (choice between them essentially acting as your publisher or fending for yourself in the Xbox Live Indie Games wasteland), but they're trying to fix that with ID@Xbox.[2] Then, of course, there's Ouya, if you're in to that sort of thing.[3] It's an Android platform too. [1]: http://us.playstation.com/develop/ http://us.playstation.com/develop/ [2]: http://www.xbox.com/en-us/Developers/id http://www.xbox.com/en-us/Developers/id [3]: https://www.ouya.tv https://www.ouya.tv
- landhar 13y ago
  Everything you say is absolutely right. What I meant to say however (and I apologize for the way I phrased it) is that this is makes it even easier for indie developers to reach a wide audience. Not only do I expect that it will be fairly easy to port Android Tablet games to the Fire TV, I also think that the strategy of offering a TV box that has a Games marketplace as a bonus feature is a strategy that will allow Fire TVs to sell a lot more than Ouyas.
13y ago

programminggeek 13y ago

This is pretty much what Google TV should have been all along, but Google cares too much about web search and not enough about what people actually want to do on a TV - watch shows and play games. The gaming aspect of this will make it a winner. OUYA's big problem is that it didn't do streaming and was a bit clunky. Amazon has a big game library and just needs controller support. As a parent, a $100 streaming box and game console that has cheap/free games is very appealing. As a developer, the economics of game development for such a console is not so great, but maybe IAP would make it worthwhile.

keehun 13y ago
I disagree that this will become a winner. No one wants to play crappy games on their TV, and Amazon can't become a winner with the small population of people who do.
- runevault 13y ago
  Amazon in theory is looking for more than just crappy games. They grabbed Double Helix and I have to assume that was part of this initiative, and they've recently released several well regarded games in Killer Instinct and Strider.
- matt_heimer 13y ago
  Wrong audience, this is everything my Roku is but better. Better UI, better performance. Plus apps and maybe some games with a real controller. It is everything an OUYA is but better. And miracast support too.
  - keehun 13y ago
    This reminds me of phones before the iPhone. Yeah, "better" UI, bigger keyboards, more color, .1 more megapixel camera... Iterative stuff. Someone or some company is going to have to completely shatter our imaginations of this market. Until then, good luck getting any massive success.
sutterbomb 13y ago

stevenp 13y ago

For me, AirPlay is the killer Apple TV feature. Any time a new app comes out for iOS that supports streaming video, I know I'm going to be able to play it on my television. The local content provider apps on the device don't really matter that much to me. I can even stream Amazon Prime video to my Apple TV, so I'm having a hard time seeing why I would want this instead of waiting for the next generation Apple TV.

eclipxe 13y ago
FireTV supports Miracast according to the PR: Miracast according to Press Release: You can also wirelessly mirror your tablet display to your Fire TV with Kindle Fire, as well as other Miracast-enabled phones or tablets starting later this year. Fire TV supports standards like DIAL, so app developers can enable multi-screen experiences based on open technologies. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1915168&highlight= http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...
- stevenp 13y ago
  Ah, this is one of the problems with isolated ecosystems, I guess. Until Apple opens up AirPlay (never), I'm stuck with whatever they give me. :/
  - Touche 13y ago
    The only way to get yourself out of the lock in is to stop buying their devices.
asabjorn 13y ago
I just bought the G-Box MX2 and it can do almost everything you request; play Netflix, local media, pandora, etc. However, Prime is not available on it since that is Amazon exclusive. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CH643A8/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CH643A8/ref=oh_details_o...
smackfu 13y ago

keehun 13y ago

This is not good enough. What's the improvement that is worth $100?

barlescabbage 13y ago

Not enough differentiation, give us some other channels, live news, or broadcast TV and we'll buy it in a heartbeat. Otherwise your features are surprisingly irrelevant. This is mostly bad news for Roku, before this, the paradigm was, Apple TV for iTunes, Roku for Amazon. During the holidays there were so many roku photos on amazon, I thought they owned them. I think Amazon will slowly strangle Roku. Amazon probably tried to buy Roku, they declined, so they said, "fine we'll make our on device and crush you" Typical Amazon.

declan 13y ago
> other channels, live news, or broadcast TV and we'll buy it in a heartbeat. Agreed! Does anyone know of any device that offers live streaming news from CNN, Fox, etc.? The Roku store doesn't list CNN; it does list Fox News but only "video clips" and not a full 24/7 live stream of the television channel: http://www.roku.com/channels/#search/cnn/by-popular http://www.roku.com/channels/#search/cnn/by-popular

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declan 13y ago

This is a reasonable answer to Apple TV. If you have videos on or subscriptions to iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon Prime (as I do), there's no box I'm aware of that will let you watch all three. So you end up using your Apple TV and then Roku or another box -- the Playstation 3 in my living room takes a long time to boot, and a long time to load the Netflix app, draws quite a bit of power, and is overkill for merely watching streaming video. The Amazon Fire TV, assuming it's fast enough, will add another device to my living room cabinet but make it a lot faster to switch to watching Amazon Prime videos. Ideally Apple would allow Amazon to add Prime Streaming to the Apple TV box, or Roku would get the iTunes library. Then I could have an all-in-one box. But we all know that's not going to happen...

alexeisadeski3 13y ago
Apple TV lets you watch all three (iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon Prime). Airplay is a thing.
- brewdad 13y ago
  Amazon Prime is not on Apple TV. That's why I have a Roku sitting next to my Apple TV.
  - jawngee 13y ago
    I actually AirPlay amazon prime to Apple TV from my iPhone. In Vietnam, playing anything off the iTunes store can be a lengthy process but somehow Amazon is almost always instantaneous.
- Touche 13y ago
  * Requires $500+ companion device.
  - smackfu 13y ago
    Technically you only need an iPod Touch for $229. (Or maybe you need the better $299 one.)

mrfusion 13y ago

Is it missing YouTube? Also, if it easy to buy newly released movies like you can with iTunes on the Apple TV?

chrisgd 13y ago

What is everyone using for a DVR? Why doesn't this include some time of recording, storage and pausing capabilities? The DVR provided by the cable companies are laggy and the Tivo one charges a monthly fee for what equates to updating program guides, but not accounting for shows actually running over.

sureshv 13y ago

Does it have a headphone jack on the remote ala the Roku 3? It's probably one of the more useful features on the new Roku box.

Edmond 13y ago

well if this works as advertised it seems the end of cable could very near.

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walkon 13y ago

Do these convex/rounded remotes that this and the Roku have bother anyone else? They seem to slide off the couch easier and if I set it down on a flat surface, it rocks back and forth for several seconds.

Pxtl 13y ago

How hackable will the android on this thing be? Will you be able to connect bluetooth-based gamepads to it?

fjabre 13y ago

this is a me too product

dusty64 13y ago
That it is.

hydralist 13y ago

i like apple tv because of airplay, to me its a system killer

_superposition_ 13y ago

Cant wait to jailbreak this and run xbmc on it.

NextUserName 13y ago

Tech specs here: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html

tehwebguy 13y ago

I think this will be huge. It will only take one great game for this thing to pop. With a system that enough users will have in the living room someone is going to put together a fun free-to-play FPS and that will be enough for it to be the clear winner over AppleTV / Chromecast. Voice search is a big deal if it works the way I think it does. TV is easy, everyone knows how to use one and how to find what they want to watch. Navigating between Netflix, Hulu, Instant, iTunes, Cruncyroll, NBC ... is a pain. Even on my AppleTV navigating Netflix alone is the worst.

totallymike 13y ago

Interestingly enough, the 'What is Fire TV' video heavily features HBO content (Game of Thrones, Veep, etc), but doesn't support HBO Go?

drawkbox 13y ago

Impressive, they beat Apple TV and Google to the app/game punch. This could be big. Disappointed in Apple doing nothing with TV apps/games, all the while having years of lead time.

Dwolb 13y ago

Does Amazon see the future? Content delivery platform for commercials/suggestions + shipping infrastructure to deliver products + drone delivery for last mile = Commercials with immediate product purchase ability. Amazon can even broadcast a commercial in a geographic area, know the percentage of users who will immediately want the commercial's product, and pre-emptively unleash drones to a geographic location to drop off the product within seconds.

ChuckMcM 13y ago

I am kind of surprised the Roku manages to stay independent in all the 'tv' efforts. They have a really nice player and now a nice 'stick' player. Also a pretty easy to use SDK. So why re-build all or much of that for a proprietary box? Any thoughts on that strategy?

Zelphyr 13y ago
Roku, as I understand it, derives their revenue from hardware sales. So they have such an incentive to get you to upgrade hardware that they will actually take away content[1] in an effort to force you to do so. My guess is Amazon is doing the opposite. They're probably practically giving away the hardware in hopes they'll realize more profits on the content you buy. And a device like this is just a small piece of a larger puzzle for Amazon and with their previous hardware experience its not a giant leap for them to produce a proprietary box. For Roku, their device line is the puzzle. So sure, they have an easy to use SDK[2] it is also proprietary. I'm guessing Amazon built the Fire TV on Android so new apps are really just Android apps. [1]: They did this last year and as a result I will never buy another Roku product again. [2]: I'm still dumbfounded that they based it on Visual Basic. Carl Sassenrath is an employee now. In my opinion they'd do well to scrap their existing VB-style SDK and base the next generation on Rebol.
- baggachipz 13y ago
  Tut tut, brightscript ;) I looked into writing for Roku, cracked open some docs, and that was the end of that.

timdierks 13y ago

I have difficulty envisioning exactly how this market is going to develop. None of the products (AppleTV, Roku, Google, Amazon) are differentiated enough to imagine someone who's pretty happy with their box switching, particularly given various ways you'd get locked into particular features or media (e.g., if the average AppleTV user has bought a bunch of movies from iTunes, they're unlikely to switch to Amazon even if they like the games). At the price point, you can imagine people owning more than one device to get access to different feature silos, but the huge duplication of features (e.g. every device having Netflix) makes this feel wasteful. Furthermore, I think people quickly run into a limitation on how many HDMI ports their TV has. If you're going to have a cable box and DVD/BluRay player connected, you need to have 3 ports to be able to connect one of these devices at all, and you can't plausibly have more than two. (I don't know how many HDMI ports TVs have in the market, but 2, 3, and 4 seems to cover the consumer space in a very small sampling of Amazon availability.) If I were building one of these devices, I would include an HDMI switch with pass-through so I don't consume an HDMI port. In the absence of that, it's not clear at all to me what the shape of market adoption looks like.

wmeredith 13y ago
For less than a $100 bucks I make pick this up to put alongside my Apple TV just so I can watch Amazon video without airplay.

brandonbica 13y ago

To me it looks like the biggest comparison is Apple TV (and Roku which I'm less familiar with). It's just an incremental version of the Apple TV for the Amazon ecosystem and to me that's the biggest disappointment. I would have much preferred that they go in the direction of incremental improvement over the Chromecast which would make this industry much more exciting in my opinion.

UncleChis 13y ago

Do they try not to mention Youtube? Only in the comparison chart!

jstalin 13y ago

I love it, but I don't see that there is an app for non-kindle devices for managing or playing video for the Fire TV. The thing I like about chromecast is the ability to browse and play video from my ipad. But of course chromecast doesn't have amazon prime, so I have to switch to my roku to watch Walking Dead. If Fire TV has an app to manage it for ipad or android, then it's pretty much the perfect device.

snsr 13y ago
Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but this is referenced elsewhere in the thread - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-instant-video/id545519333?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-instant-video/id54551...

suyash 13y ago

Android Developers who want to jump into this opportunity: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb.html & https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/blog/author/Mike+Hines https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/blog/author/Mi...

suyash 13y ago
It would be interesting to know if the Fire TV is running on X86 or ARM processor. Anyone know?
- guyzero 13y ago
  Processor type is on the Amazon product page. ARM.
- eclipxe 13y ago
  ARM. https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/device-specs.html
- whoisnatelam 13y ago
  Check out the post about the additional details and comments for specs: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y Interesting to see what they are doing.
whoisnatelam 13y ago
You can check out all the specs here for any developer looking for it: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y

thewordis 13y ago

Fire TV lacks iTunes and Google Play. Apple TV lacks Google Play and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Chromecast lacks iTunes and Amazon Prime Instant Video. And now we have a million and one ways to watch Netflix.

whoisnatelam 13y ago

Looks like we can develop for this. If you're an Android developer you should check out all the specs and docs here: http://bit.ly/1pLH83y http://bit.ly/1pLH83y

allenwu9326 13y ago
This is pretty cool. Makes sense to port over my apps. Seems pretty straight forward. We basically just need to change UI and game controller functions...

dgrant 13y ago

Anyone know if this supports DLNA?

chadgeidel 13y ago
They list "Plex" (DLNA server) in their "streaming services" list. It would be nice to know if there are other servers supported.

cavilling_elite 13y ago

No rechargeable remote? Should of had a simple dock on top to charge the remote and another dock purchased with the game pad. No need for batteries.

jpatel3 13y ago

Just another Roku, Google TV, Apple TV

eshvk 13y ago

So I just bought a new TV that has Amazon Prime, Netflix, Voice search integrated into it. I don't play games. Is there any point in me getting this vs getting an Apple TV or a Chromecast? The only thing I would use an Apple TV (all computers in my house are macs) for is to screenshare wirelessly. I believe Chromecast lets me do that for specific apps.

clauretano 13y ago
Chromecast lets you "cast" a tab from chrome, but the performance will be subpar. Very subpar. Don't try to watch a video with that or anything. If your macs are all modern enough (sandy bridge or newer) AirPlay display mirroring/extending works pretty well. The latency is noticeable but not the end of the world if you're using it to consume content. You won't want to full screen a 1080p video in VLC though, the framerate will be good but not perfect. There's an app Beamer that can be used for things like that. For most video files it won't need to transcode the whole thing, rather it'll just demux and maybe transcode the audio to AAC (appletv can natively play common video formats).
- eshvk 13y ago
  So if I ever want to full screen a 1080p video which is pretty all I would ever do on a Mac and a TV, I should just hook it up using HDMI?

bluthru 13y ago

The lady in the photo looks like she's confusing the remote for a candy bar.

theorique 13y ago

Pretty cool: http://firetv.com http://firetv.com

OlivierLi 13y ago
Warning: the link above is highly NSFW.
- theorique 13y ago
  Sorry, should have mentioned that bit. AMZN has just bid the value of that domain through the roof though.
  - pbhjpbhj 13y ago
    Maybe a few years ago when the search engines used exact match domains as a key relevancy indicator. SE now are highly likely to put amazon.tld above firetv.com for all "fire tv" searches [Google does for me now anyway]. Who types in domain names anyway? Amazon's brand strength means those not going to a SE are going to go to Amazon.tld to find it, certainly that was what I did without thinking about it. [Sadly though there's nothing there that's relevant except the option to buy a Chromecast, seems very poor marketing to me. They could probably take pre-orders even without a localised list of content providers being ready].

ycaspirant 13y ago

Why is this priced on par with Apple TV? That's like pricing a Kindle on par with an iPad. I always thought that unlike Apple, Amazon's strategy was to sell really cheap hardware so that you can consume more content.

vladgur 13y ago

oh my, it looks like it supports mkv containers.

dataminded 13y ago

How many remotes will this support? If I can hook up 2-4 controllers to it then it will be in my house soon.

sib 13y ago
It supports a total of seven controllers and remotes: "Amazon Fire TV allows up to 7 remotes and game controllers to be connected at one time. Each game controller can be associated with a player ID, opening up multi-player gaming in the living room. Games can even use different combinations of input types (remotes and game controllers) to make multi-player gaming easy for everyone." https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/devices/fire-tv https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/devices/fire-t...

tejbirwason 13y ago

Glad to finally see Amazon announce this. Also I can finally share with family and friends about what I worked on during my internship at Broadcom. It took longer than expected for Amazon to finally release it which makes me think they went through multiple chip design iterations after I finished my internship at Broadcom last year. So long in fact that I thought it would never see the light of day. Excited to see how customers respond, this is definitely going to shake things up. Glad I had a small role in bringing this to life.

Flenser 13y ago
The main chips are listed as SOC Platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064 Processor Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz GPU Qualcomm Adreno 320 what Broadcom tech does it use?

abjorn 13y ago

Or you could just buy a Roku?

yblu 13y ago

I had a Roku and returned it. Amzn Fire TV doesn't seem much better. I'm sticking with PS3 for now, the only thing that can stream Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Instance Video and what not.

Osiris 13y ago

I ordered one with 1-day shipping. I'm heading to Sunnyvale for a week and I'm tempted to take it with me to see how it works over the hotel WiFi.

shurcooL 13y ago

For gaming, this would be an ideal place to have an OnLive client.

shirro 13y ago

I love chromecast (have two imported) and for my use the lack of features such as remote/ui are a huge bonus over the slow dysfunctional bloatware crap in "smart" televisions. I want my screen to be just another display device I can send stuff too rather than the focus. That would probably change if I wanted my tv dongle to double as a games console but at current price/performance I don't see acceptable big screen gaming happening in a sub $100 device for awhile yet. I think people are going to go with price rather than features for tv and Chromecast/Roku and a mountain of clones will take most of the sales. People who want to play games aren't going to do it on a $100 box from Amazon. They will stick to Xbox One/PS4 or a Steam box. I imagine Amazon are thinking they can rely on content to sell these but I don't know that they are that strong an offering. However this turns out the real winners are going to be Netflix.

Splendor 13y ago

I don't want another box and remote. I would rather have an Amazon Video app with Chromecast functionality for Android.

revelation 13y ago

Alpha House And there it is, as a dropdown appears with only one entry you still have to select, and then continue to travel three menus deep to get to a point where video appears. What are they thinking?

periferral 13y ago

The one thing about the Roku I like a lot is the headset on the remote. I love that! I can be in a room with my headset and not disturb my wife sleeping and enjoy the show. The lack on the headset jack on the remote on this for me would be a non-starter. Other than that, nothing to write home about. I can't see anything here that would make me switch from the Roku.

benhebert 13y ago

Ouch no HBO Go.

dusty64 13y ago

There is a trick to enter diagnostic/device mode and enter CLI debug. Email dusty64@hushmail.com