• About Geek Beat
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Geek Beat

One of the world’s most recognizable technology news brands, delivering daily tech news, tips, and reviews.

  • News
    • Apple
    • CES
    • Editor’s Choice
    • Google
    • How To’s
    • Microsoft
    • Music
    • Mobility
    • NABShow
    • Photography
  • Episodes
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Connect With Us
    • Chat Rooms
    • DropCams
    • Geek Beat Live!
    • Product Review Submissions
Home > News > Amazon Launches Fire TV Streaming Set Top Box

Amazon Launches Fire TV Streaming Set Top Box

April 2, 2014 by Benjamin J. Roethig

The area where Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV play just got a little more crowded. Amazon has announced its new Fire TV streaming set top box. The Fire TV looks to have a very similar feature set to the Apple TV and Roku, but adds new features like voice search and gaming to the mix. Let’s take a look.

The Fire TV

Amazon-Fire-TV-diagram
The form factor for the Fire TV is about what you’d expect. It’s a plain, small, black 4.5″ square that’s 0.7″ high. Considering it’s based on what’s effectively cellular phone hardware, that’s not surprising. On the back, you get power, an HDMI port, TOSlink optical audio, ethernet, and a USB 2.0 port. You have to wonder if that’s for some kind of future expansion. Audio support is up to 7.1. The remote is also pretty similar for these types of devices. It’s got the navigation/select ring, menu/home/back buttons below that, and RWD/Pause/FWD buttons for media on the bottom. Basic, but functional. The button up top is what has me interested: voice search. People have talked about Apple TV getting this since Siri launched. Amazon beat them to it. Hopefully this works and is not just a gimmick.

When it comes to power, the Fire TV has it. The Roku 3 and Apple TV are based on cellphone-type hardware that is about two years out of date. With Apple TV, it’s a single core version of the A5 from the iPhone 4S, with the Roku 3, it’s dual core. Both have 512MB of RAM. The Fire TV is much more modern and powerful. Powering this rig is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064, a member of the Snapdragon 600 series. The Krait 300 CPU is quad-core 1.7GHz and there is an Ardeno 320 GPU. It’s not top of the line, but it’s similar to what you’d see in the Nexus 7 tablet or a GS4. The RAM is quadrupled compared to other boxes to 2GB and you have 8GB of internal storage. That’s probably just for streaming though. The good news is all your Amazon stuff gets free cloud storage. For getting to your networks there is 802.11N support with dual antenna MIMO. Sadly, no AC. Rounding out the specs is Bluetooth 4.0.

Features & Content

Fire-TV-Interface
For those of you scared that this would be restricted to Amazon’s Prime, your fears are unfounded. It’ll bring you your Amazon content, but Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube, Showtime Anywhere, Plex, Flixter, WatchESPN, and pretty much everything else you can think of. Amazon has made this competitive from a content standpoint. So far there are 69 entries in the Fire TV app store. The app store gives away one of the Fire TV’s secrets – it’s also built on an Android fork, just like the Fire tablet line.

The interface looks to be very similar to other set top boxes, if you use the controller to scroll through to find things. However, you don’t have to do that. Just press the voice search button on the remote and tell the Fire TV what you want, and it’ll launch it for you. If this works, voice could be a game changer. For your videos, the Fire TV features ASAP support. It guesses what you’d like and prepares those videos to be watched. In English, that means they’ll play almost instantly. The Fire TV has access to streaming audio services as well and can access your photos through the cloud. There is an AirPlay-like streaming mode, but for now that’s limited to the Kindle Fire line. It’s expanded with a 2nd screen mode called X-Ray TV. Once again, it’s Kindle Fire only.

FreeTime for Kids

For Parents, there is FreeTime. This mode transforms the Fire TV into a kid friendly platform that can be easily controlled by your youngins. There are games, movies, TV shows, and they can search based on their characters. FreeTime can be programed with profiles for up to 4 children. Don’t worry about them getting out and into the full-featured interface. It’s password protected. And if you think you’re using it too much, you as their guardian can set time limits. If you want more FreeTime content, Amazon is adding a $2.99/mo subscription called FreeTime Unlimited.

Gaming

Fire-TV-Gaming
Did I say it’s going after the Apple TV and Roku? Add the Ouya and other Android micro-consoles to the mix. There is an optional Fire Game Controller. Yes, it’s the only component that leaked on the internet. You’ll feel right at home with it if you’re used to the Xbox 360 controller. They are very similar in configuration with the addition of a couple Fire TV extras. The Fire TV games, which are almost certainly Android ports, can use up to 4 of the controllers. Most of the major mobile titles are there, like Minecraft, Asphalt 8, and NBA 2K14. Many are free, many $0.99, and Amazon gives you the equivalent to $10.00 in Amazon Coins with purchase of the controller.

What they’re also giving you is Sev Zero, the first title from Amazon Studios, Amazon’s first party game division. Sev Zero is a Halo-esque first person shooter with tower defense elements. It’ll be interesting to see if this and later games show up on Android and iOS as well. Amazon is also bringing its own gaming service called GameCircle.

Pricing and Availability

The Fire TV is $99 and available right now. The game controllers are $39 a piece.

Final Thoughts

When the Kindle Fire launched, it was a low priced tablet designed to lock users into Amazon services. That isn’t what Fire TV is. Sure, it has Amazon’s DNA built into every aspect of the device, but it genuinely seems to be a better device than what the competition offers while being competitively priced. We’ll have one later this week, and we’ll let you know what we think about it. If you’re looking at a Chromecast or Roku right now, this looks compelling enough that you should wait. Based on specs, The Fire TV blows those out of the water.

Source: Amazon 1, 2

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon Prime, Fire TV, hdtv, netflix

About Benjamin J. Roethig

Ben is an external Associate Editor at Geek Beat. He can be described connoisseur of things technological. Ben's hobbies include reading up on Military, Naval, and Aeronautical history, playing around with his Macs and iDevices, exploring the mountainous bluffs of Dubuque, IA and Galena, IL, and proving that 15+ years of practice does not make perfect on his guitars. If you want to find him Ben can be found on Twitter (@benroethig), Google (gplus.to/benroethig), and as an occasional guest on Apple related podcasts.

Comments

  1. Randall Lind says

    April 3, 2014 at 9:25 am

    It has Revision 3 Endgadget had a full list of apps and it like 100. I am still not sure if it is worth it.

  2. Gary says

    April 2, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    Will this box get TWIT,REVISION3 and Weather apps?

    Can we install custom and/or personal apps for on-line or computers/tablets?

    It has PLEX, so, somewhat configurable..:-)

  3. Christopher Withers says

    April 2, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    This it coming to the UK

    • Benjamin J. Roethig says

      April 2, 2014 at 4:51 pm

      I Would assume at one point, but international content rights are tricky.

Popular Posts

  • How to Use Your Own Router with AT&T U-verse by Chris Bramble | posted on February 17, 2014 | under News, Tutorial
  • How To Keep A Constant In Excel And Other Spreadsheets by Scott Ellis | posted on April 19, 2012 | under News, Tutorial
  • Complete Sci-Fi Spaceship Size Comparison Chart by giovanni | posted on September 19, 2014 | under News
  • How To: Setting up the QNAP TVS-463 NAS by Robert Albury | posted on August 12, 2015 | under Tutorial
  • How To Add Sound and Voice to Your Photos by giovanni | posted on July 22, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How Much Money Will Fit in a Briefcase? by John P. | posted on September 26, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How to Access Advanced Boot Options in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 by Robert Albury | posted on September 10, 2014 | under Tutorial
  • Up, Down, Left, Right, Click! by Jenn Castillo | posted on August 10, 2010 | under News
  • GSM, CDMA and LTE: A Guide to Mobile Network Standards by Benjamin J. Roethig | posted on March 4, 2013 | under News
  • How To Scan and Convert Film Negatives to Digital for FREE! by Mark Zamora | posted on April 12, 2012 | under News, Tutorial

Recent Posts

  • Go Mic Mobile Wireless System for Mobile Filmmakers
  • A RAY OF LIGHT
  • Keep Devices Charged Anywhere in the World with the Twist Plus World Charging Station
  • Final Leaked iPhone 7 Details Before The Big Event
  • Should Snapchat Be A Part of Your Digital Strategy?

Recent Comments

  • Ricardo Garza on Streambox Announces 360 Live Video Streaming to YouTube
  • Sunbya on Review: Blue Lola Headphones bring unparalleled quality
  • Jay Anderson on CES2016 – Autel Robotics X-Star Quadcopters
  • Scott Ellis on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone
  • Ricardo Garza on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone

Tags

3D Amazon Apple apps audio bluetooth business CE Line Shows 2013 CES computers fitness gadgets games gaming geek geek beat GeekBeat geek house Google health how-to ios john p. kickstarter Microsoft mobile Mobility Music nabshow new building Other photography Reviews robots Samsung social media speakers storage tech technology travel Tutorial vehicles video vlog

Copyright © 2019 · Geek Media on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in