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[Somnid]

This has been coming out the last week or two, first noticed by blogger Mike Zatz. At this point it seems substantial enough to post. Basically Amazon has a habit of using shell companies to file their FCC documentation and they are often easy to spot if you know what to look for. While it's not 100% guaranteed it's Amazon the timing (Amazon has announced their fall devices in September the past few years), the patterns linking them and the types of devices provide reasonable evidence that it is.

To start a new FireTV:

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=XAhXaBWdtUB7BWcOWI9XkA==&fcc_id=2ADU5-4902

Gleaned from this is that it supports 802.11ac, has a MicroSD slot and 4K support. It's probably a full-size FireTV due to the inclusion of an ethernet port.

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=fq16zguDqy/KfVldVrQjgw==&fcc_id=2ADU7-5487

Next is a new Remote for FireTV. The interesting thing here aside from it being new is that it's using 802.11g versus bluetooth from last year. This probably means they switched to Wifi Direct much like the Xbox One controller. Benefits are greater range or significantly greater throughput while being a bit less battery efficent. The only immediate use that comes to mind would streaming high quality audio to a headphone jack, though that is purely speculation, other features are not mentioned. AFTVNews notes that the FireOS 5 beta strangely creates a persistent wifi hotspot with FireTV and this could explain it.

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=OzHckRUq2AZt9ANTqZbFSQ==&fcc_id=2ADU7-5487

Along with the controller is an updated FireTV game controller. Same deal as above, it's using wifi instead of bluetooth.

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=oMN2TnidNzmOSPwAmpVA6Q==&fcc_id=2AETF-1013

Here we have tablet that supports only the 802.11n. This is probably the cheap tablet the Wall Street Journal eluded to. Interestingly it has a MicroSD slot.

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=Yip6qEoYJBLLag6G2pI0Ig==&fcc_id=2ACBF-6708

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...id=HyywUDGraRC9qlUtQi2RLQ==&fcc_id=2ADU6-8274

The next 2 are both tablets, they support 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 so they are likely the 8" and 10" models from the Wall Street Journal article. They also have MicroSD support.

This may not be everything, and it's possible that the configurations were specific to FCC testing (ie it's possible though unlikely SD cards were specific to debug units). There were also leaked benchmarks for what appeared to be a FireTV stick a while back but they have not shown up in the FCC database, nor have new Kindle models so far but this gives an idea of what's coming. I'd honestly expect an announcement in the next couple weeks.

 

[Somnid]

Looks like we have leaked specs to go along with it:

Fire TV:
https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+AFTS&testgroup=info
According to AFTVNews, the codename fished out of FireOS 5 beta for the new FireTV is "Sloane." Given the current version is AFTB (Bueller) this is likely a new box because it pairs nicely with the FCC leak. Along with that they found the existence of 2 new peripherals, likely the wifi remote and controller as well as screens for Alexa integration.

6" tablet:
https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+KFFOWI&testgroup=info

SoC: MediaTek MT8127
RAM: 1GB RAM
Screen: 1024x600 6.7"
Storage: 8GB

8" tablet:
https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+KFMEWI&testgroup=info

SoC: MediaTek MT8135
RAM: 1GB
Screen: 1280x800 8"
Storage: 16GB

10" tablet:
https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+KFTBWI&testgroup=info

SoC: MediaTek MT8135
RAM: 1GB
Screen: 1280x800 10"
Storage: 16GB

These benchmarks found today reconfirm that there are 3 tablets: 6, 8 and 10". Interestingly all of these are budget devices and probably targeted to be dirt cheap (WSJ thinks prices will start at $50). This may indicate a possible change in strategy to go all in on the budget side or it's possible that other devices might launch later in the year and have not surfaced yet.

 

[Nabs]

I'm down for a new Fire TV as long as it's priced at $100 or less. I love my FTV.

 

[Raistlin]

Sounding good.


Really hope the Fire TV is using the recent Android kernel that allows apps to activate hardware MPEG 2 decoding (and that they pass the capability through to their Fire OS API). Obviously they must also use an SoC that has good MPEG 2 deinterlacing / decoding. If so, this could be big for people that use network tuners and DVR's. Would be great with Silicon Dust's new HD HomeRun DVR if that software pans out. Could finally get people off of WMC.



Some other hopes:

1) HDMI 2.0a / HDCP 2.2 - so we get all of the UHD online streaming services.

2) They continue to allow app-to-app launching. If so, this will be the go to Kodi platform.

3) They didn't break 24p playback.

4) Alexa matures to offer similar filtering a la what Apple demoed for Siri in tvOS.

5) Global setting to turn on subtitles during 'replay' window.


Further down the line:

Open up the Fire TV act as a home automation hub. Beyond the built-in Alexa voice commands, the move to WiFi removes could include connecting Echo's as secondary 'remotes' so you can issue home automation commands from anywhere on your network. Given Echo's are always on, this could be HUGE for home automation.

 

[CloudyTuba]

I've been thinking about getting a cheap bedroom TV with one of these streaming sticks and had decided on the Amazon one. However I heard rumors of new products and decided to hold off a bit just to see if anything better for me pops up. Hopefully this means an official reveal soon so I can take a good look and decide.

 

[Somnid]

Sounding good.


Really hope the Fire TV is using the recent Android kernel that allows apps to activate hardware MPEG 2 decoding (and that they pass the capability through to their Fire OS API). Obviously they must also use an SoC that has good MPEG 2 deinterlacing / decoding. If so, this could be big for people that use network tuners and DVR's. Would be great with Silicon Dust's new HD HomeRun DVR if that software pans out. Could finally get people off of WMC.



Some other hopes:

1) HDMI 2.0a / HDCP 2.2 - so we get all of the UHD online streaming services.

2) They continue to allow app-to-app launching. If so, this will be the go to Kodi platform.

3) They didn't break 24p playback.

4) Alexa matures to offer similar filtering a la what Apple demoed for Siri in tvOS.



Further down the line:

Open up the Fire TV act as a home automation hub. Beyond the built-in Alexa voice commands, the move to WiFi removes could include connecting Echo's as secondary 'remotes' so you can issue home automation commands from anywhere on your network. Given Echo's are always on, this could be HUGE for home automation.

FireOS 5 for FireTV contains new modes for 24Hz, 25Hz and 30Hz. The underlying Android version is 5.1. The SoC they listed seems to support at 4K@30Hz.

 

[Raistlin]

FireOS 5 for FireTV contains new modes for 24Hz, 25Hz and 30Hz. The underlying Android version is 5.1. The SoC they listed seems to support at 4K@30Hz.

Sounds good.


Let's just hope they actually license MPEG 2. I'm under the impression that is required to activate it (legally).

 

[Marty Chinn]

Please be rootable, please be rootable, please be rootable....

 

[giga]

Are they going to update the stick? HBO Go is the slowest, most god awful app on the stick that I'm not sure if it's a lack of hardware power or terrible code.

 

[Jzero]

I don't know if i want to replace my TV Stick just yet.

 

[Somnid]

Are they going to update the stick? HBO Go is the slowest, most god awful app on the stick that I'm not sure if it's a lack of hardware power or terrible code.

It seems like they might not in this upcoming event or whatever it turns out to be but given that it's probably one of their most successful pieces of hardware I'd imagine it's in the works. At the very least it'll get the software update to FireOS5 and probably be compatible with new peripherals, though I don't think any of that will fix HBO's app. Is it the same for HBO Now?

 

[rbenchley]

Are they going to update the stick? HBO Go is the slowest, most god awful app on the stick that I'm not sure if it's a lack of hardware power or terrible code.

Probably not the most efficiently coded app. I have the stick on my bedroom TV (full FireTV in the living room) and Hulu, Netflix, WWE, Plex and MLB apps all work fine.

 

[giga]

It seems like they might not in this upcoming event or whatever it turns out to be but given that it's probably one of their most successful pieces of hardware I'd imagine it's in the works. At the very least it'll get the software update to FireOS5 and probably be compatible with new peripherals, though I don't think any of that will fix HBO's app. Is it the same for HBO Now?

Not sure haven't used Now. Yesterday I was trying to watch John Oliver with Go and it was just constant UI lag.

 

[Nabs]

It looks like Alexa may be coming to the Fire TV: http://www.aftvnews.com/exclusive-amazons-alexa-voice-assistant-coming-to-amazon-fire-tv/

 

[ZeroFate]

Ugh my Fire TV is barely a month old.

Off to EBay I go... *grumbles*

 

[Raistlin]

Ugh my Fire TV is barely a month old.

Off to EBay I go... *grumbles*

If you have a secondary TV, might as well move it there? Can't imagine you have multiple 4K sets already?

 

[ZeroFate]

If you have a secondary TV, might as well move it there? Can't imagine you have multiple 4K sets already?

No secondary TV. I'm mainly in if the SD card slot is true. 4K addition is no biggie to me also since the content just isn't there yet.

 

[Raistlin]

No secondary TV. I'm mainly in if the SD card slot is true. 4K addition is no biggie to me also since the content just isn't there yet.

Kind of an odd reason to upgrade IMO, given you can already use USB storage on the existing model.

 

[giga]

Kind of an odd reason to upgrade IMO, given you can already use USB storage on the existing model.

Maybe she wants Alexa.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Maybe she wants Alexa.

The post specifically mentions the SD card functionality though. Also, I wouldn't rule out Alexa from being available on the current one either.

 

[outunderthestars]

Are they going to update the stick? HBO Go is the slowest, most god awful app on the stick that I'm not sure if it's a lack of hardware power or terrible code.

HBO Go shits the bed on my Roku 3 running on an ethernet connection as well. I think HBO is just terrible at making apps.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Ha, if this thing supports UHD, it would definitely make me look twice at the new AppleTV. ...Or hopefully put pressure on Apple to roll out UHD in the next year or so.

 

[Somnid]

Ha, if this thing supports UHD, it would definitely make me look twice at the new AppleTV. ...Or hopefully put pressure on Apple to roll out UHD in the next year or so.

Amazon specifically has reason to push for the latest and greatest because they compete on the content side as well and their shows are shot in 4K HDR. They simply have much more invested than Apple does so I'd expect them to push harder.

 

[SimleuqiR]

HBO Go shits the bed on my Roku 3 running on an ethernet connection as well. I think HBO is just terrible at making apps.

I don't thin HBO makes their own apps. I believe they outsource that work.

Here: http://www.adweek.com/lostremote/meet-the-team-that-created-hbo-go/35092

 

[a secret-boss]

where mah Kindle update at

 

[plainr_]

Gigabit and HEVC support please.

 

[metalslimer]

where mah Kindle update at

There really isn't a need for one? I mean what more do you want outside of the voyage

 

[neogaffer1]

too bad amazon jumped on the locking bootloaders camp real hard, though i don't blame them after the og kindle fire where people were bricking them when rooting and then amazon would still accept them as warranty replacements cuz they don't want to look bad in the eyes of the consumer.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Gigabit and HEVC support please.

Gigabit would be pointless on a device like this. It's like wishing the Amazon Echo had a gigabit port too.

 

[Persona7]

My original controller is starting to not function correctly so a new one would be cool.

 

[Jafku]

Wait for this or apple tv? My FireTV stick is so slow....

 

[Somnid]

Gigabit would be pointless on a device like this. It's like wishing the Amazon Echo had a gigabit port too.

I don't think so. I mean if you are streaming 4K that's a very good use case for high bandwidth connections especially if interference is high (not uncommon if sat next to a TV or on a shelf with 3 other wifi devices).

 

[ana]

Where's the new Voyage.. :-/

 

[plainr_]

Gigabit would be pointless on a device like this. It's like wishing the Amazon Echo had a gigabit port too.

Weird comparison.

Obviously, the Amazon Echo has no reason to stream gigabytes of data. But the FireTV does, especially if I'm going to stream 4K content in the future. My 1080p movies are already at 20GB minimum each so I can't imagine how big a full length 4K movie will be when I start ripping those too. Also, seeking is already slow as is. Having a gigabit connection should help immensely on that.

 

[tuco11]

Amazon Fire TV/Stick + KODI = Heaven.

 

[Somnid]

Image of 10" from @evleaks:

Looks like they went much more traditional with design, and FireOS got a big UI update to look much closer to stock.

 

[Van Owen]

Looks like the new Fire TV should be shipping by the end of the month.
http://www.aftvnews.com/new-amazon-...w-september-17th-and-arriving-september-30th/

 

[Bowler]

Ha, if this thing supports UHD, it would definitely make me look twice at the new AppleTV. ...Or hopefully put pressure on Apple to roll out UHD in the next year or so.

.

 

[this_guy]

Still wish Vudu support and Disney Movies Anywhere would come to the FireTV.

 

[Somnid]

Still wish Vudu support and Disney Movies Anywhere would come to the FireTV.

Disney Movies Anywhere supports Amazon Video. Was announced a week or two ago.

 

[this_guy]

Disney Movies Anywhere supports Amazon Video. Was announced a week or two ago.

Nice I missed that.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Are they still making phones or is that a failed experiment?

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Disney Movies Anywhere supports Amazon Video. Was announced a week or two ago.

Yup. Saw the app just the other day.

 

[Raistlin]

Gigabit would be pointless on a device like this. It's like wishing the Amazon Echo had a gigabit port too.

Someone made a similar request in the Apple TV thread and I had a similar response. I just don't get it. What would you be doing with a device like this that gigabit would be helpful? You're streaming A/V content from either your LAN or online services, not transferring files?


Only think I can think of would be if you run a BitTorrent client maybe? But even then, how often would that saturate 100Base-T?

I don't think so. I mean if you are streaming 4K that's a very good use case for high bandwidth connections especially if interference is high (not uncommon if sat next to a TV or on a shelf with 3 other wifi devices).

What does WiFi have to do with Ethernet?

On a box like this, you're basically only doing one thing at a time over the network ... streaming A/V data. Even if you have an eventual full bit-rate UHD BD it peaks at 82 Mbit/s, which should be fine over 100Base-T.

I think people are confusing their network back-end with what is needed at the device level. Now if your actual back-end is 100Base-T and you're streaming a UHD BD while doing other stuff, you could definitely see problems. However if your back-end is Gigabit but on one of your switches you connect a 100Base-T device like this, as long as the device doesn't require more than 100 Mbit/s nominal, you should not have problems.

 

[Marty Chinn]

You guys don't seem to know what the numbers are.

I don't think so. I mean if you are streaming 4K that's a very good use case for high bandwidth connections especially if interference is high (not uncommon if sat next to a TV or on a shelf with 3 other wifi devices).

A 4K stream from Netflix needs a minimum of a 15mbit connection and a recommended 25mbit connection. That's a far cry from maxing out the 100mbit port. Plus, you have to keep in mind that streaming has bandwidth limitations from people's ISPs in mind. You're not going to need a gigabit connection for streaming.

Weird comparison.

Obviously, the Amazon Echo has no reason to stream gigabytes of data. But the FireTV does, especially if I'm going to stream 4K content in the future. My 1080p movies are already at 20GB minimum each so I can't imagine how big a full length 4K movie will be when I start ripping those too. Also, seeking is already slow as is. Having a gigabit connection should help immensely on that.

It's a comparison to point out it's overkill. Both don't need it. 4K Blu Rays use a different codec which gives a much better compression ratio than 2K Blu Rays which means you'll get 4K high quality video without dramatically increasing the size. The new format has a capacity of 66GB for dual layer discs. So you'll be able to stream even full rips over a 100mbit connection still.

I don't think it's going to be an issue and I say this as someone who wired his whole house with cat6e and has a networked media server dishing out full Blu Ray rips.

Someone made a similar request in the Apple TV thread and I had a similar response. I just don't get it. What would you be doing with a device like this that gigabit would be helpful? You're streaming A/V content from either your LAN or online services, not transferring files?


Only think I can think of would be if you run a BitTorrent client maybe? But even then, how often would that saturate 100BASE-T?

Even if they were running a BitTorrent client, they would still need an ISP offering them a bandwidth that exceeds 100mbit in order to utilize it. I know some people do exceed that with like Google's gigabit Internet, but a vast majority don't. So ya, I'm not sure I understand either why it's deemed important other than it sounds better.

 

[Van Owen]

Still wish Vudu support and Disney Movies Anywhere would come to the FireTV.

I doubt Vudu will come since Amazon wants you to buy movies from them. There was rumors they might join UV though.

 

[Raistlin]

Weird comparison.

Obviously, the Amazon Echo has no reason to stream gigabytes of data. But the FireTV does, especially if I'm going to stream 4K content in the future. My 1080p movies are already at 20GB minimum each so I can't imagine how big a full length 4K movie will be when I start ripping those too. Also, seeking is already slow as is. Having a gigabit connection should help immensely on that.

UHD BluRay doesn't require more than 100Base-T at the client level, and that's far in excess of the bandwidth any of the streaming UHD services will require.

 

[Raistlin]

Even if they were running a BitTorrent client, they would still need an ISP offering them a bandwidth that exceeds 100mbit in order to utilize it. I know some people do exceed that with like Google's gigabit Internet, but a vast majority don't. So ya, I'm not sure I understand either why it's deemed important other than it sounds better.

I only bring that up because of the quote I was referencing in the Apple TV thread.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=178575530&postcount=223

They mentioned their internet speed, so I'm referencing the one and only area where saturation could possibly occur. Certainly for actual A/V streaming (whether local or online), they will never saturate.

I doubt Vudu will come since Amazon wants you to buy movies from them. There was rumors they might join UV though.

The lack of Vudu is really the only reason I may not bite onto this.

 

[Somnid]

You won't actually get the full throughput even under ideal conditions, 100Mbps is just the max. It's also typically dependent on the whole of the network as most switches and routers will force the whole network to downgrade in the presence of a 100BaseT device but also share bandwidth among the devices.

I have gigabit service available to me and it will become much more common. This gives opportunities to increase bitrate or run more simultaneous streams through the network. It would be unfortunate to be throttled by cheap network adaptor. In the end, this has been the standard on PC networking for many years, so it should be made available.

Vudu is never coming. It's a Walmart company.

 

[Somnid]

http://www.aftvnews.com/these-are-likely-amazons-4-new-tablets/

AFTVNews found some images on Amazon's servers of the new tablets. It seems like there might be 4(!) different sizes. This would go along with my idea that there's a higher-end one that will launch later, perhaps 13" since that's the new hawtness.