Post by Tim on Jan 8, 2015 12:58:32 GMT
Amazon Fire TV
Every now and again a bit of new technolgy comes along which really impresses me, the Amazon Fire TV is one such device. Smaller overall (but thicker) than a CD case, very well built and very unobtrusive with just a small white LED to show its operating - it goes to sleep when not in use and the LED goes out. You wake it up by pushing any button on the remote.
It couldn't be simpler to set-up, guiding you through once you power it up and if you buy it via Amazon it comes pre-configured with your Amazon account details, so there's nothing more to do other than hook it up to a TV via HDMI, power it and either plug in an Ethernet cable or if using it wirelessly, enter you router password. It really is an absolute doddle and I bought it last week on offer at £64.00 (normally £79.00). A really neat feature is the 'voice activated' search function, just push and hold the mic button on the remote, say what you are looking for and up it pops, so far its worked every time. It works flawlessly either hard wired or wirelessly, but I have a reasonably fast internet connection (17 Mb/s) and the router is in the same room about 15 feet away, so if your router is located elsewhere it might be better wired? I use it wirelessly and it hasn't skipped a beat yet.
It has Netflix, the BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, Spotify, Vimeo, BBC/SKY News, BBC Sport and lots of other apps, but I only use it for Amazon Prime Video, but you can also use it to play anything in your Amazon Music account and if you install the Plex app, it's a fully fledged DLNA home media player. For 64 quid its a bargain and this small black slab has a Quad Core 1.7GHz CPU, 8GB internal storage and 2GB RAM, so its no slouch performance wise. The remote is really well thought out, nicely weighted in the hand, ergonomic, simple to use and with a rubberised finish its very tactile. Check the full specs here: www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-CL1130-Fire-TV/dp/B00KQEJBSW. You can also mirror it with a tablet, as well as control via a tablet remote app, but I haven't tested these functions yet and to be honest I like the remote, so don't really want or need to control it via my tablet. I intend to test it with Plex in the future, so will report back when I have, but don't hold your breath as I have all the media capabilities I need at the moment with a DLNA Smart TV and JRiver used as a network media server for movies and my custom built JRiver/FLAC media player for music.
Being an Amazon Prime member I now get free next day delivery, a free Kindle book to read each month from the lending library, unlimited online photo storage and access to over 15,000 titles to stream, plus access to virtually any film or Box set I may want, either by renting or buying for keeps - impressive. HD picture quality is superb and hooked up via optical to my Rega DAC, the sound is very good too. One feature I really like is the film synopsis also gives it's IMDB rating, very useful indeed. I have not had a TV licence for nearly 2 years now and this together with my Netflix account costs me a few quid (£150.88) a year more than a licence, but unlike the TV I can actually find something good to watch anytime I want, without any annoying adverts, soaps or reality/game shows. I'm a total convert and with the iPlayer currently still free (rumoured to change to subscription in the future), I have no need at all for a licence and for the first time in many years I actually enjoy sitting down to watch something in the evening - I'm totally spoilt for choice actually.
I like it . . . a lot
Every now and again a bit of new technolgy comes along which really impresses me, the Amazon Fire TV is one such device. Smaller overall (but thicker) than a CD case, very well built and very unobtrusive with just a small white LED to show its operating - it goes to sleep when not in use and the LED goes out. You wake it up by pushing any button on the remote.
It couldn't be simpler to set-up, guiding you through once you power it up and if you buy it via Amazon it comes pre-configured with your Amazon account details, so there's nothing more to do other than hook it up to a TV via HDMI, power it and either plug in an Ethernet cable or if using it wirelessly, enter you router password. It really is an absolute doddle and I bought it last week on offer at £64.00 (normally £79.00). A really neat feature is the 'voice activated' search function, just push and hold the mic button on the remote, say what you are looking for and up it pops, so far its worked every time. It works flawlessly either hard wired or wirelessly, but I have a reasonably fast internet connection (17 Mb/s) and the router is in the same room about 15 feet away, so if your router is located elsewhere it might be better wired? I use it wirelessly and it hasn't skipped a beat yet.
It has Netflix, the BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, Spotify, Vimeo, BBC/SKY News, BBC Sport and lots of other apps, but I only use it for Amazon Prime Video, but you can also use it to play anything in your Amazon Music account and if you install the Plex app, it's a fully fledged DLNA home media player. For 64 quid its a bargain and this small black slab has a Quad Core 1.7GHz CPU, 8GB internal storage and 2GB RAM, so its no slouch performance wise. The remote is really well thought out, nicely weighted in the hand, ergonomic, simple to use and with a rubberised finish its very tactile. Check the full specs here: www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-CL1130-Fire-TV/dp/B00KQEJBSW. You can also mirror it with a tablet, as well as control via a tablet remote app, but I haven't tested these functions yet and to be honest I like the remote, so don't really want or need to control it via my tablet. I intend to test it with Plex in the future, so will report back when I have, but don't hold your breath as I have all the media capabilities I need at the moment with a DLNA Smart TV and JRiver used as a network media server for movies and my custom built JRiver/FLAC media player for music.
Being an Amazon Prime member I now get free next day delivery, a free Kindle book to read each month from the lending library, unlimited online photo storage and access to over 15,000 titles to stream, plus access to virtually any film or Box set I may want, either by renting or buying for keeps - impressive. HD picture quality is superb and hooked up via optical to my Rega DAC, the sound is very good too. One feature I really like is the film synopsis also gives it's IMDB rating, very useful indeed. I have not had a TV licence for nearly 2 years now and this together with my Netflix account costs me a few quid (£150.88) a year more than a licence, but unlike the TV I can actually find something good to watch anytime I want, without any annoying adverts, soaps or reality/game shows. I'm a total convert and with the iPlayer currently still free (rumoured to change to subscription in the future), I have no need at all for a licence and for the first time in many years I actually enjoy sitting down to watch something in the evening - I'm totally spoilt for choice actually.
I like it . . . a lot