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Amazon FireTV Announced and Released [$99 box, $40 controller, game capable STB]

Jamix012

Member
stolen from me:

I found a chewed up GBA cartridge in the parking lot of where my dad worked. The label had been torn off so I couldn't tell what it was. I showed it to my dad and he said to toss it out since it had to be broken.

I forced it into my GBA SP and it worked! Turned out to be Golden Sun and the only save had like an hour-and-a-half playtime. I ended up playing that for about 40 hours and tracked down the sequel.

ha, nice post but I'm fairly sure this is the wrong thread.
 

tensuke

Member
stolen from me:

I found a chewed up GBA cartridge in the parking lot of where my dad worked. The label had been torn off so I couldn't tell what it was. I showed it to my dad and he said to toss it out since it had to be broken.

I forced it into my GBA SP and it worked! Turned out to be Golden Sun and the only save had like an hour-and-a-half playtime. I ended up playing that for about 40 hours and tracked down the sequel.

Hey, the FireTV isn't a thing you find tossed out on the street quite yet! :p (wrong thread haha)

For those that have FireTV, how does it compare to Roku3?

I got one for my gf so she would stop using my PS3 for her shows. Only thing holding me back is that I wished FireTV allowed use of Google Play aps, since it's all android based, but from what I've read in this thread, Google Play aps won't work on FireTV.

The Roku 3 has a better interface imo. Not only does it have themes, but you can easily see what you have installed and navigate to them quickly. On the FireTV, want to use an app you have installed? Either go to the home screen, and choose 'recent' and scroll left and right through stuff to find it, or go to 'Apps' then 'your app library' and once again scroll left and right to find it. Same with games. However, you can also use voice search to just say an app/game's name, it (should) appear first in the list, then just hit enter to open it. In that regard, it's easier to navigate to stuff than on a Roku. Just using the remote/controller however, you will have a harder time finding things.

The same goes with the store, it's in the same boat and similarly hard to use very well. I really do love the Roku grid for navigation on a TV. Universal search on the FireTV only searches Amazon Instant video and I think Hulu Plus maybe? It's one other, I can't remember. The idea is that you can search for something and it will show you the cheapest version available. Like on the Roku universal search (and you can search actors, movies, tv shows, etc.). It includes games/apps, too, which is a nice touch. However, unlike the Roku, it doesn't search if the thing is on Netflix, or most other video apps. Hopefully they add that in later.

The Roku has MGo built-in to the interface which services movies and tv, just as the FireTV has its Instant Video service integrated. Just go to 'Movies' or 'TV' (or your watchlist, or your own video library of bought stuff). For those who make extensive use of Amazon's video services, that integration must be great.

Haven't tested sideloading apps quite yet. Connected to it through adb, just downloading some apks now to test. So far, honestly, the Amazon Instant integration and voice search are the biggest things it has over Roku if you're just looking for a set top box for (mainly) watching videos. The gaming, extra horsepower, and android parts definitely set it apart if that interests you, because gaming on the Roku is pretty flimsy. Sideloading your own apps (and possibly one day a more open OS) are great for the future of this device, and give it more hope than the Roku 3 for the future, even if it is a bit limited today.
 
Nightly XBMC loads but videos are flashing green ... So it'll be a bit before it's ready.

Totally other note .. The ASAP on Prime videos is wild.
 

Prototype

Member
@tensuke

thanks for the reply, I will keep my eyes on FireTV developments.

I'm hoping one day, a device will allow those Google Play aps to be usable via a device like this, as there are some games that are only available on android os, but would love to play them on a TV as opposed to a phone.

Once this happens, I will certainly pick one up. features like this is why I'm interested in Sony's Vita TV, being able to play Vita/psp games on TV is worth the price of admission alone imo.
 

Backlogger

Member
I was interested in replacing my Roku or Apple TV with this, but after seeing it doesn't have HBO Go I kinda lost excitement for it. I am assuming they will get it eventually. I also assume this could partially be the fault of HBO?
 

Grief.exe

Member
Yup, over ethernet/wifi rather than usb. Just gotta
Code:
adb connect fire.tv.ip.here
then you can start sideloading stuff.

And get the dedicated IP of the Fire TV from my router? Or will it be listed in the settings of the Fire?

Can't wait to much around with this thing.
 

ViciousDS

Banned
the firmware update was 5 minutes over my wi-fi 5Ghz signal....wasn't as slow as what I thought some people were saying. Watching the opening video now
 

Grief.exe

Member
I'm happy with how open the Fire TV has been so far.

I was interested in replacing my Roku or Apple TV with this, but after seeing it doesn't have HBO Go I kinda lost excitement for it. I am assuming they will get it eventually. I also assume this could partially be the fault of HBO?

Possibly licensing issues, or HBO getting the app ready for Amazon Fire TV use. I would imagine they would want to get it up and running sooner rather than later.
 

ViciousDS

Banned
I ran plex with my anime and they are mkv's and it does subtitles perfect.......and it does full 1080p with the option of even DTS...unreal, you can also change the subtitle size between tiny, small, normal, large and HUGE.......also Plex will transcode unsupported subtitles as well on the FireTV.....there is also Direct Play as well.
 

Backlogger

Member
I ran plex with my anime and they are mkv's and it does subtitles perfect.......and it does full 1080p with the option of even DTS...unreal, you can also change the subtitle size between tiny, small, normal, large and HUGE.......also Plex will transcode unsupported subtitles as well on the FireTV.....there is also Direct Play as well.

Plex is awesome. Would be one of my primary reasons for getting this. The ability to play some mobile games with a gamepad is an added bonus
 

tensuke

Member
the firmware update was 5 minutes over my wi-fi 5Ghz signal....wasn't as slow as what I thought some people were saying. Watching the opening video now

My school wifi is very slowed and messed up at times. D:

Glad to hear you're enjoying Plex though! It's very worth it for what it does.
 
I ran plex with my anime and they are mkv's and it does subtitles perfect.......and it does full 1080p with the option of even DTS...unreal, you can also change the subtitle size between tiny, small, normal, large and HUGE.......also Plex will transcode unsupported subtitles as well on the FireTV.....there is also Direct Play as well.

Were you able to actually get DTS to play correctly? Many users on the Plex forums have reported that no 5.1 surround sound is playing correctly as it is transcoding down to non-surround 2.0 audio. The devs said they are looking into it on retail FireTV units, so it sounds like they are acknowledging that there are issues. I'm asking because one of the biggest reasons I'd buy a FireTV is for Plex as I'm not a big fan of the Roku Streaming Stick I purchased and I'm planning on returning it ans replacing with a FireTV (assuming the 5.1 issue gets corrected, that's a deal breaker for me).
 

ViciousDS

Banned
My school wifi is very slowed and messed up at times. D:

Glad to hear you're enjoying Plex though! It's very worth it for what it does.

yes plex runs flawless.....might have to actually get a NAS for it lol....use a computer atm

EDIT: hm, awkward it won't even output sound at all if its a DTS rip I did.....Yes, Got the Shakes it sounds like a bug
 
yes plex runs flawless.....might have to actually get a NAS for it lol....use a computer atm

EDIT: hm, awkward it won't even output sound at all if its a DTS rip I did.....Yes, Got the Shakes it sounds like a bug

That sounds in line with what others have been reporting. You either get 2.0 audio or no sound at all. Like I said, a Plex dev has already responded today about it, so I'm sure it's something that will be fixed soon.
 
Well, porting Love to the Fire TV was easier than getting it working on the Ouya.
BkVB21mCIAAdUH_.png:large


Also I sideloaded Super Crate Box from the Ouya version, and it worked flawlessly. I hope Vlambeer releases it on Amazon too.
 

Remark

Banned
Well, porting Love to the Fire TV was easier than getting it working on the Ouya.
BkVB21mCIAAdUH_.png:large


Also I sideloaded Super Crate Box from the Ouya version, and it worked flawlessly. I hope Vlambeer releases it on Amazon too.
Loving how easy sideloading is.

Seriously considering getting one now.
 

Koren

Member
Most of the new logitech remotes support bluetooth as well, so I would prefer it not being IR in fact.
"Most" is misleading, I'd say. AFAIK, 1 out of the 3 current remotes, and the RF-enabled one is $350.

There's also the box that turn your smartphone in a remote (and there's a basic remote for the box, so there's a second, cheaper, solution for RF).


And unfortunately, like the current One, the original One does not support RF, at least without a repeater, and I'm not sure you can still find one. I really don't like the new remotes, I find touch screen controls awful for remotes (I even bought two spare harmony Ones, although I got those for 50€ probably because of a pricing mistake).


That being said, RF is often more convenient, but having both is nicer. Especially when there's also many devices that can use IR blasters to command other devices (the XBox One can control others devices using the Kinect as an IR blasters, no?). It's also easier to develop your own custom IR solutions.
 
I love that sideloading is supported - that's one of the best things about the OUYA, and since DraStic works perfectly on that, it should work fine on this too.
 

tensuke

Member
Ugh, my wifi and my FireTV do NOT want to mix for some reason. Ended up connecting it to my PC over ethernet and sharing the connection, it was the only way...-_-

Anyway, now that that hassle is over, I've tried a couple of things and more on the way. Twitch app worked, I could view streams and log in to see my followed streams. They're fullscreen and either at high or source quality it looks like, I couldn't find a way to change it so streaming was kind of janky on my connection. Also no way I could see to chat. But, just the viewing of streams is awesome! Installed a file manager, works flawlessly and I can poke around the system. USB drives still don't show up as working though. :(

Chrome opened for a second then closed. Firefox let me do a bit, I even loaded GAF but I couldn't actually navigate around the page so I could just look at it. Dolphin doesn't work great, Opera, Opera Mini, none of those. Will try other browsers later. Spotify = nope as well, you can get to the log in screen but can't select anything.

Dropbox, eh, had some trouble but managed it. First of all, some apps will load sideways and all fucked up sometimes. To fix you just have to back out of it to the app selection menu, then open it up again. Sometimes you'll get it fullscreen right side up, sometimes it won't get fixed. Dropbox did get fixed. Next step is to log in. You can choose to make a new account, but can't choose to log in. Ugh! Luckily, if you go to make a new account, and enter your existing username and password, it will actually log you in. Very handy. :D So I already had some SNES games on DB, might as well try them out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puo2IeO7hKw

I recorded with my phone in one hand, controller in the other. I use headphones, so there's no audio, and my button presses were uber loud because I was just mashing them with my left hand. But otherwise, it seems to work well. :D




ninja not really edit: Will have to try a mouse for Firefox and the other browsers, and also other apps where you can't just select with the d-pad. That might make a lot of things more useful!
 
I ran plex with my anime and they are mkv's and it does subtitles perfect.......and it does full 1080p with the option of even DTS...unreal, you can also change the subtitle size between tiny, small, normal, large and HUGE.......also Plex will transcode unsupported subtitles as well on the FireTV.....there is also Direct Play as well.

Anyone try 10bit videos yet?
 
Just a warning: while Crazy Taxi is a great port, with full original soundtrack, it lacks analogue steering, which sucks, and gas/brake are on shoulders, not the more comfortable triggers
 
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