Amazon Fire TV
- Access to over 200,000 TV episodes and movies, millions of songs, and over a hundred games
- With voice search, simply say the name of what you want to watch and start enjoying in seconds
- Fast quad-core processor, 2 GB of memory, dedicated GPU, plus 1080p HD video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound
- Play best-selling games including Minecraft, The Walking Dead, Monsters University and more, plus Amazon exclusives
Amazon Fire TV is a tiny box that connects your HDTV to a world of online entertainment. With a huge selection of TV episodes and movies, voice search that really works, plus exclusive features like Amazon FreeTime, it’s the easiest way to enjoy Netflix, Prime Instant Video, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, low-cost movie rentals, music, photos, games, and more.
What’s on Amazon Fire TV?
Amazon Fire TV combines all your favorite subscriptions and streaming services with Amazon’s massive selection of digital content. Watch over 200,000 TV episodes and movies, rent videos from just 99 cents, or kick back with your favorite sports, news, music, and games.
Perfect with Prime
Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free streaming of tens of thousands of popular movies and TV shows including The Hunger Games, Marvel’s The Avengers, Downton Abbey, Justified, Dora the Explorer, and Amazon exclusives like Alpha House at no additional cost. Eligible customers can try Amazon Prime for 30 days for free.
Voice search that actually works
The Amazon Fire TV remote has a built-in mic so you can instantly search TV shows, movies, actors, directors, and genres using just your voice—no more typing with your remote to find what you want.
Powerful performance
1080p HD video, Dolby Digital Plus up to 7.1, smooth gaming, and ultra-fast streaming—everything about Amazon Fire TV is fast and fluid. It’s all thanks to a quad-core processor with 3x the processing power of Apple TV and Roku, a dedicated Adreno 320 graphics engine, and 2 GB of memory—4x that of Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.
Immediate video start with ASAP
The exclusive new ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) feature predicts what movies and TV episodes you’ll want to watch and gets them ready to stream instantly. The more you use Fire TV, the more accurate ASAP becomes, dynamically adapting to your viewing habits.
Easy to set up and use
Amazon Fire TV arrives pre-registered to your Amazon account and sets up in minutes. A user-friendly interface makes it easy to browse popular movies, shows, and personalized recommendations straight from your home screen. Download the Fire TV Remote App to control your Fire TV with your mobile device. The app features voice search, simple navigation, and a keyboard for easy text entry, no more hunting and pecking.
Great for gaming, too
Fire TV is the easiest, most affordable way to game on your HDTV. Play blockbuster titles like Minecraft-Pocket Edition, The Walking Dead, Monsters University, the Amazon exclusive Sev Zero, plus great free games. There are over a hundred titles to explore, with thousands more coming soon. The average price of paid games is only .85.
Music, photos, and video
Stream millions of songs through Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Fire TV also makes it easy to enjoy photos and videos from your smartphone or tablet, so you can share favorite moments on the big screen with family and friends.
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Amazon Fire TV
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Roku 3
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Apple TV
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Google Chromecast
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Features
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| List Price | ||||
| Voice Search |
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HDMI |
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| Certified Dolby Digital Plus surround sound |
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| Optical audio out |
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| Processor |
Quad-core
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Dual-core
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Single-core
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Single-
core |
| Memory |
2 GB
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512 MB
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512 MB
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512 MB
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| Ethernet (wired connectivity) |
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| Wi-Fi |
Dual-
band/ Dual-antenna (MIMO) |
Dual-
band/ Dual-antenna (MIMO) |
Dual-band/
Dual-antenna |
Single-
band |
| Remote with no line of sight required |
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| Popular Services | ||||
| Netflix |
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| Amazon Instant Video |
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| Hulu Plus |
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| Crackle |
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| YouTube |
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| HBO GO |
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| Showtime Anytime |
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| WatchESPN |
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| Bloomberg TV |
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| Vevo |
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| Pandora |
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| MLB.TV |
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| Twitch |
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| Games | ||||
| Number of Games |
Over 400
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Less than 100
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None
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Less than 75
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| Optional dedicated game controller (sold separately) |
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Amazon Fire TV Technical details
- Size and Weight: 4.5″ x 4.5″ x 0.7″ (115 mm x 115 mm x 17.5 mm). 9.9 oz (281 grams)
- SOC Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064
- Processor: Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz
- GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 320
- Storage: 8 GB internal
- Memory: 2 GB LPDDR2 @ 533 MHZ
- Wi-Fi Connectivity: Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 with support for the following profiles: HID, HFP 1.6, SPP
- Cloud Storage: Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
- Ports: 5.5 mm DC Jack, Type A HDMI 1.4b output, w/HDCP, Optical Audio (TOSLINK), 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0 Type A
- Audio: Support for Dolby Digital Plus, 5.1 surround sound, 2ch Stereo and HDMI audio pass through up to 7.1
- Content Formats Supported: Video: H.263, H.264, MPEG4-SP, VC1. Audio: AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, HE-A, PCM, MP3. Photo: JPG, PNG
- Output Resolution Supported: 720p and 1080p up to 60fps
- System Requirements: High-definition television, HDMI cable
- TV Compatibility: Compatible with high-definition TVs with HDMI capable of 1080p or 720p at 60/50Hz, including popular HDCP-compatible models from these manufacturers: Hitachi, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Vizio, Westinghouse
- Warranty and Service: 1-year Limited Warranty and service included.
- Regional Support: Certain services may not be available outside the U.S.
- Included in the Box: Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV remote, 2 AAA batteries, Power Adapter, Quick Start Guide
Fire TV Remote Technical details
- Size and Weight: 1.5″ x 5.5″ x .6″(38.3 mm x 139.9 mm x 16.1 mm). 68 grams or 0.15 lbs with batteries (45.5 grams or 0.10 lbs without batteries)
- Batteries: 2 x AAA (included)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with support for the following profiles: HID, HFP 1.6, SPP
- Voice Search: Dual digital microphones with noise suppression technology integrated
- Buttons: Voice, 5-way Directional, Back, Home, Menu, Rewind, Play/Pause, Fast Forward
List Price: $ 99.00
Price: [wpramaprice asin=”B00CX5P8FC”]
[wpramareviews asin=”B00CX5P8FC”]
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This box is a GAME CHANGER for on demand content! Amazon knocked it out of the park. Refreshed & UPDATED with Tips! and HBO GO!,
I am not a casual user of on-demand content and devices. Having tried smart tv’s from 3 brands, smart dvd/bluray players, Apple TV, WDTV, HTPC, Chromecast and too many other competing products to mention–for streaming content, before this box you really had two options (for a simple to use box that doesn’t require additional items or tweaking):
First is Apple TV which is easy to use (interface) but Apple limits the content you can get greatly (including no Prime Streaming built in) and it lacks a lot in features as well and is slow. The reason for selecting Apple TV is if you have other apple products that unlock features (like Amazon’s content).
The second option you could consider was Roku–which really means a Roku 3 box since it is heads and tails better than past Roku boxes in terms of remote and speed. Now Roku stands out with the most content and the most features of any box with the Roku 3. It is for that reason you will see me address the Roku 3 so often in this review.
I have added quick summaries of other options to make sure everyone knows about the other options out there.
WDTV: Are great for streaming your own content but not very user friendly.
Chromecast: Is very cheap at $35 but requires other items to use (no remote included!), is limited to 16 channels according to their own site with other content broadcast via Chrome’s browser not at the same quality level. This does allow you to browse the internet on your tv and is amazing for the cost but is more of a niche market than FireTV/Roku/Apple TV. But if you can live with the short comings, it is worth a look at 1/3 the price of these devices.
Smart TVs: Most of these are FINE for occasional use but not nearly as pleasant to use daily like separate boxes. Normally you pay $150-$400+ extra for features that are found in these $100 boxes. I have not found a smart tv that is decent and is also a good value for what you are getting. The advantage is that you can use your TV remote to access the content. (and that is about it!)
HTPC: These are desktop computers or Mac Minis or Android Sticks that you load software on to stream video to your TV. These can add content that no normal streaming box can access, without giving up quality but they are only recommended for something comfortable with technology that doesn’t mind fixing the issues that come up from time to time.
Video Game Consoles: Xbox/Playstations can access some of the content that streaming boxes do and have plenty of power to deliver the streams. The downside is the cost (unless you already have one) and the interfaces. These consoles are not designed to stream video exclusively so the interfaces are decent but can be clunky.
(You can use other options but frankly they aren’t worth the hassle for the amount of hair pulling you would do.)
Now this Amazon product has changed everything. It might not be the box for you…but honestly there is a good chance that it SHOULD BE. This is a brand new category for Amazon and they got a lot right, but there are a few shortcomings (at least at launch) as well so read all of this to see what those are.
Amazon’s Fire TV box
Pros:
+ Nothing else is this fast. While Roku 3 impressed the world, this raises the bar dramatically. With a quad core processor and 4 times the memory of any other streaming product, it speeds through menus, boots quicker, starts videos quicker and honestly has the muscle to not struggle with higher end resolutions and surround sound like other boxes can do at times. The best way I can explain it, you will have extra hours at the end of the year because this box is THAT much faster.
+ Voice search is amazing. It really works. Less using a four directional keypad to enter in titles is a real time saver and makes you wonder why this wasn’t done before but it is only for Amazon content and VEVO (music videos) (at least for now). You can not use the voice search with Netflix for example.
+ Ready for gaming, well at least once you spend another $40. The $40 gaming controller feels a bit pricy for this type of gaming and really should be $25 or less in my opinion. That being said, this box has real games you would actually want to play instead of a VERY limited selection on Roku 3 but it is not a “REAL” console at $100 and honestly shouldn’t be compared to them.
+ Better image quality? I know you are thinking I am imagining things or have changed my setup but both myself and my wife have noticed that generally (in different apps) the video is slightly sharper and clearer. We are using the exact same tv, settings, even the same HDMI cable that we used with the Roku 3 until we switched it for the Fire TV box. We have noticed that especially on poor quality feeds that the image quality is noticeably better than under the same feeds with Roku 3. Now I don’t…
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