Amazon announces Fire TV
http://sourcefed.com/amazon-announces-fire-tv/
Amazon has dove in head first into video hardware, announcing it’s new set-top device: Amazon Fire TV. Clearly a competitor for Apple TV and Roku, the $99 device is an internet-connected set-top box which uses voice commands that you speak into its remote control. It will also serve as a gaming console, and consumers have the option to purchase a separate $39 controller that is paired with the box. Amazon has claimed the device is 3 times more powerful than Apple TV and is based on Android and HTML 5, which means it should be easy for companies to bring their apps over to the platform. It supports Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora, Youtube, Crackle, iHeartRadio and Vevo. Sadly, HBO Go and Vudu are not supported. Fire TV also has a predictive engine called “ASAP,” which pre-loads content it thinks you are going to watch, so it can start without any buffering or load time. This feature learns over time and gets better at suggesting content you like. In a prior announcement made this weekend, Amazon said it will be turning six shows from its Amazon Originals program into a full series. The shows, which were selected after viewer feedback from the pilot episodes, include ’The After’, ‘Bosch, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street’, ‘Mozart in the Jungle’, ‘Transparent’ and ’Wishenpoof’. Amazon also renewed ’Alpha House’ — starring John Goodman — for a second season. As far as gaming is concerned, the console will offer titles such as “Minecraft” and “The Walking Dead”. Many of the titles will be free or cost a little as $1.85 to play. |
Now they just need to allow you to control the video quality output.
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When I first got my Roku I thought how cool it was to have the media options and all those cool games.
They didn't have any cool games. They had a great idea with the remote and gaming options and it just never went anywhere. A real shame. Perhaps this will pull in people who don't have a Roku/AppleTV but I see no reason to upgrade from what I've got. Other than the gaming problems mentioned above I love my almost invisible, reliable, and versatile Roku... |
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OK.... this thing is really gaining momentum already. It's already been rooted(giggle). It's now got XBMC support, and it can be easily installed without even needing a computer. That's HUGE. It's already being hailed by some XBMC developers as the new best XBMC device. And this is just the very tip of the iceberg.
I might make a purchase soon...... |
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If I got Amazon video and my Google Fiber Box didn't play back MKV files as well as it does I'd be all over it.
Should be interesting to see how (if) Apple counters at WWDC. I'm guessing they will. |
Amazon just up and offers the source code to its FireTV online available to the public.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=201452680 How. ****ing. Awesome...... |
XBMC might be its saving grace.
It's not getting the best reviews so far... |
Another plus... it uses Amazon's Voice navigation/search features. Which also happens to be perfectly compatible with XBMC too.
"Play latest Game of Thrones!" :D |
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Think I'm going to give this a try after some research. |
Yeah... we'll see who comes begging for help from this dork when someone else buys one and bricks it..... :evil:
Remember this thing is only a week old. It's going to get much much much better still. There's a $40 game controller available. They've hacked a Ouya controller to work with it, and will likely have a PS3 controller working on it before long. And it has the juice to play some decent games. Putting the source code out there for any nerd developer to play with? This has the potential to explode, and overtake AppleTV/Roku/Ouya in a landslide. It's already taken huge leaps in it's first week of release. |
Success ought to come down to content. Right now everything plays Netflix, Hulu. Apple's got it's library and ecosystem going for it, Amazon has people who will stream by virtue of liking cheap shipping and Google has three (arguably) competing products in Google TV, Google Fiber and Android TV. You've also got the Steam box laying around as a possible competitor.
Developers big and small seem to have adopted iOS and the Apple Ecosystem in a big way. If suddenly EA can push Madden out through an Apple TV or Android TV, cutting out Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony things could get really interesting. I'll be sitting back and waiting to buy anything in this space until the holidays at the earliest. |
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I ordered this for my dad's birthday. With XBMC, I feel this is the best balance between the ease of use of a roku or apple tv and the amazing free content and customization of XBMC.
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Within a matter of weeks/months they'll have revamped customized Amazon dashboards that have XBMC available as a dashboard item. You can have different profiles too, to restrict/simplify things for kids and old people.
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I don't have any room in my media repertoire for yet another toy. Sounds fun though.
I do hope that there will be some convergence of all these devices as time goes on. I've got 2 smart TV's (one LG and one Vizio), one Roku box, and a Chromecast. They all work great, but it's a bit odd getting used to all of them having slightly different interfaces for Netflix, YouTube, etc. |
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They both run XMB so they function, for all intents and purposes, exactly like my PS3. I admit, it's kind of nice having pretty much the same interface in every room. |
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To say the least, it was a convoluted mess and a good example why I swear off Sony. Is that every bluray player from them now? |
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Prolly going to pull the trigger on this instead of a Celeron NUC. With an mSata and RAM, it'd be twice as much. |
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It has all of the drawbacks of a traditional console without the actual gaming power. It also has none of the convenience of a traditional handheld/tablet/smartphone. It's kind of like the worst of both worlds. |
I never liked Ouya. It was destined to fail.
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The analysts absolutely hate the idea. I honestly don't see the appeal even if developers get on board (and right now most of them are lukewarm at best). |
some people will buy it because it is valve.
I like the idea of Steam OS doing a mirror playback from my Gaming PC, but I wouldnt buy one just for that. |
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The big problem is that Steam OS is built on Linux and most developers just don't want to support another OS, especially one with such a small install base. It will likely end up being like OS X, where a few LARGE publishers release games and 3rd-party port developers are left cleaning up the gaps. The Windows game market is so many times larger than OS X, it's not even funny. |
I thought that Windows would run the game on your gaming rig and steam would mirror it to a less beefy steambox running steam OS?
I wouldnt necessarily poo poo the idea of linux support. In the simplest of terms, if a developer used non proprietary software to make their game, it is rather easy to release it across multiple platforms. Steam makes a lot of money from these indie games on their store. I am sure they could motivate them to release a steam OS version of their title. |
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The Fire TV runs XBMC like a champ. New leader in the clubhouse for a $99 streaming box.
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Thank god. All these chinese imported android boxes for XBMC was ruining it.
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It's fast, too. I can switch from an authorized app (i.e., Showtime Anytime) and start a video in SBMC in 10-15 seconds. |
Anyone else play the game Amazon is giving with the Fire TV, Sev Zero? It's a combo Tower Defense and FPS game that's freaking awesome. I'm a tower defense junky, and haven't really gotten into FPS in a while, but this made it fun as hell.
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Can those of you that own this confirm two things for me. 1. will it read large external HDDs 2tb that I store tons of pictures and video files on. 2. Can I install WinSCP on it for quick transferring of small files via wireless.
My gbox crashes regularly now and I'm getting tired of it but these are two features I love and would miss greatly. |
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Either NAS or another PC on your network. |
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USB HD support will be added in a future firmware release according to Amazon. I bet it will be there in a month or so.
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That's not bad at all. Hell my original XBOX running XBMC would lose its IP address in that time requiring a restart.
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Android platform does not scale to 1080i. My old tv does not accept 1080p or 720p. That is what I am bummed about.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...x3KHCHMIP7G3YG |
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Anywho, yeah Fire TV only outputs 720p and 1080p. |
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Anyone had any success with XBMC 13.0 (Gotham)? It installs, but the clickpad function is disabled (i.e., can't type in repositories, search terms, etc).
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do they have 1channel working on gotham yet?
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http://www.xbmchub.com/forums/thread...-2-1-1-(Gotham) |
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Might need to give it a few tries, but eventually goes |
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Finally got 1channel to install on my tablet and it has all kinds of display issues. Everything worked fine on Frodo. Gotham is a disaster.
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Actually, it is unrelated to Gotham other than needing the xml file updated. The main issue is the xbmchub servers.
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That's bizarre. It's working fine for me on every platform.
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If I had to guess, since I dont know programming, but really should learn python, the way they set up Gotham is it would be backwards compatible with frodo add ons. All that was required is the xml file for the addon to be updated. With all the server issues they have had, I am sure it is near impossible for you to get your xml updated.
So it works fine on Frodo but not Gotham. Honestly, I am a bit less than impressed with the enhancements of Gotham. Maybe it is a little faster in the menus, but it was not the big leap like Eden to Frodo was. |
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with rooted access, i bet you can finally get usb storage going.
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OK.... USB storage is now working...
Here's how: http://www.xbmchub.com/forums/thread...-Fire-TV-(ROOT) |
I was going to say. with root access you could have android mount an "sd card" that is actually your usb.
Either way, the Fire TV gets better and better. Anything to kill the China made boxes that are muddying up the XBMC community. |
I don't care enough to start a thread about it, but Amazon's finally putting out their long-rumored phone:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/...he-fire-phone/ |
AT&T
why does the shittiest network get debut all the cool phones? |
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