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Amazon Fire TV

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Re: Amazon Fire TV

#351

Post by Crito »

nkozyra wrote: post #345
Crito wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe there is something more nuanced going on with Chromecast "casting" performance. Netflix is fast obviously because you are just telling the chromecast to stream netflix itself, not "casting" it to chromecast. Same goes with youtube. However "casting" performance for me is even worse than the described .3fps on my Chromebook Pixel that isn't running ChromeOS. And my LAN is fast enough to use mplayer over ssh/…

I find the critique confusing, too, because I streamed a 1080p movie to my Chromecast by dragging it into Chrome and then casting from Chrome itself. No problems. It played fine.

Is Chrome actually decoding the file then reencoding it / pushing raw video frames, or is it just streaming the file to the Chromecast? I suspect the later.

Maybe I'll try that myself later.

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#352

Post by sib »

dataminded wrote: post #294

How many remotes will this support? If I can hook up 2-4 controllers to it then it will be in my house soon.

It supports a total of seven controllers and remotes:

"Amazon Fire TV allows up to 7 remotes and game controllers to be connected at one time. Each game controller can be associated with a player ID, opening up multi-player gaming in the living room. Games can even use different combinations of input types (remotes and game controllers) to make multi-player gaming easy for everyone."

https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/devices/fire-t...

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#353

Post by [deleted] »

lukifer wrote: post #319
WoodenChair wrote: post #45

I'm really not that impressed. This is just Apple TV for the Amazon eco-system with gaming lopped on. The majority of people don't care about the specs of their set-top box since that really doesn't affect the performance of streaming an HD video in this day and age. So the two differentiating features are: - Voice Search - Gaming Are those enough of a value proposition? Probably not to make converts. I suspect the m…

> This is just Apple TV for the Amazon eco-system with gaming lopped on. I hate the word "just". The iPad is "just" a big iPod Touch. The new feature the client wants is "just" a simple checkbox. Etc. Not only does that single word abstract away hundreds of person-years of work; it ignores the fact that products often gain market traction despite being "just" $existingThing + $minorChange, whether by reaching a tippi…

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#354

Post by mrkd »

spinchange wrote: post #172
untog wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and no. Chromecast requires you having another device to use with it. Grabbing my phone, opening the Netflix app, choosing to Chromecast, searching for a show, hitting play then waiting ~30 seconds for the Chromecast to actually play is not a good user experience. I use my Roku almost exclusively now.

Your Chromecast takes 30 seconds to load content? In our house someone pretty much always has either their phone, tablet, or laptop nearby and with the HDMI-CEC, you don't even have to find the TV remote to switch inputs, you just queue up want you to want to watch and it plays. And then people can take turns with their respective devices (if you're watching YouTube videos or playing music, etc.) We also have a Roku…

Has anyone confirmed if Fire TV has HDMI-CEC?

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#355

Post by lovemenot »

WoodenChair wrote: post #45

I'm really not that impressed. This is just Apple TV for the Amazon eco-system with gaming lopped on. The majority of people don't care about the specs of their set-top box since that really doesn't affect the performance of streaming an HD video in this day and age. So the two differentiating features are: - Voice Search - Gaming Are those enough of a value proposition? Probably not to make converts. I suspect the m…

Voice Search integrated with e-commerce could be the killer feature. Imagine saying "OK Amazon buy those shoes" that are currently displayed on your TV. One or two more steps to confirm the transaction orally and it's on its way. You've already got Prime and you trust that you'll get a competitive price from Amazon. So why not just buy right away?

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#356

Post by cageface »

zemo wrote: post #184
paulyg wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look back at the timetable, Google realized the Chromecast was a better direction then Google TV and but all efforts into Chromecast. That's why I'm really disappointed Amazon choose to create yet another platform for companies to develop apps and games for instead of building on one already in place. Games work just fine on my phone and tablet. So does searching for content. I say that as a parent that has be…

it's just an android sdk add-on: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/overview-gs.html that's not quite the same as a whole new platform.

This is why I think Android is going to be an increasingly important platform going forward. It's a logical foundation for almost any new consumer electronics device.

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#357

Post by [deleted] »

alttab wrote: post #103
jauer wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but not on non-Amazon Android.

Interesting. I went to look it up because I thought you were wrong. You can get the Amazon Appstore on non-Amazon android devices, but it seems you are correct about AIV. Wonder if its a DRM issue, or other hardware security issue for Android devices.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#358

Post by jonathansizz »

laxatives wrote: post #192
ambler0 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lag is terrible with mirroring. Apple TV won't be viable for gaming until the game is played on the box itself and there is a low-latency controller.

Similarly, I've never understood the purpose of ChromeCast. The lag makes it completely unusable for video (I'm getting ~1 frame / 3 seconds), making it a glorified radio with cellphone/laptop remotes.

Have you tried the 'Videostream' app for the Chrome browser? Works flawlessly for me for playing local videos (although only mp4 right now). They also have an Android app so you can use your phone/tablet as a remote control.

Re: Amazon Fire TV

#360

Post by guiambros »

esrauch wrote: post #330
twoodfin wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Amazon wants to make money on the blades (content), not the razor.

Except they are now selling a razor that "works best" with their own blades.

Don't get confused: Amazon will always sell you both razors and blades. They're not in the business of winning one specific category: they want to win everything.

That's why you can use the Kindle app on your iOS, or Android, or web browser. Or Amazon Prime on PS3/4, Xbox One/360, Roku, iOS.

They don't have to kill the iPad; they just have to win every book reader.

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