Amazon Fire TV(amazon.com)

388 pointsby ndrake12 tahun yang lalu381 comments

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX5P8FC/ref=tsm_1_tw_s_kin_n3er02

381 comments

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.

WoodenChair12 tahun yang lalu

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.

eclipxe12 tahun yang lalu

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/

[2] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...

swanson12 tahun yang lalu

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.

mashmac212 tahun yang lalu

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...

mmcclure12 tahun yang lalu

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.

declan12 tahun yang lalu

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...

mkempe12 tahun yang lalu

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-...

stevenp12 tahun yang lalu

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.

tehwebguy12 tahun yang lalu

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.

landhar12 tahun yang lalu

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

ChuckMcM12 tahun yang lalu

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?

duked12 tahun yang lalu

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

bernardom12 tahun yang lalu

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

pazimzadeh12 tahun yang lalu

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.

Dwolb12 tahun yang lalu

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.

suyash12 tahun yang lalu

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

drawkbox12 tahun yang lalu

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.

jggonz12 tahun yang lalu

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.

mikeryan12 tahun yang lalu

More information about the SDK has also been released here:

https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx1K5ORNN...

abdophoto12 tahun yang lalu

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.

hswolff12 tahun yang lalu

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

timdierks12 tahun yang lalu

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.

theseanstewart12 tahun yang lalu

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?

[deleted]12 tahun yang lalu

jstalin12 tahun yang lalu

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.

aashaykumar9212 tahun yang lalu

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.

johne2012 tahun yang lalu

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

matthewaustin12 tahun yang lalu

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

aresant12 tahun yang lalu

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?