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- First reviewOctober 8, 2015
- Last reviewOctober 8, 2015
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tvans's Reviews
Amazon Fire TV (2015 Model): With Amazon Fire TV, you can access thousands of movies and TV shows instantly. Find favorites quickly or access weather and sports updates using the Alexa voice search function. Ultra HD support and a dedicated graphics engine deliver stunning clarity for your favorite entertainment.
Customer Rating
2
For dedicated Amazon Prime users only
on October 8, 2015
Posted by: tvans
Pros:
- Amazon Prime works on it.
- You can still sideload apps, like Kodi.
- Amazon Prime works on it.
- You can still sideload apps, like Kodi.
Cons:
- Not a good upgrade over the original Fire TV, is worse in some aspects.
- Remote buttons are hard to press (compared to original Fire TV)
- Remote loses connection frequently and takes several button presses or removing of the remote batteries to fix
- Interface isn't as snappy as the original Fire TV
- Same interface as the original Fire TV: There's still no good way to sort your apps or locate the Prime content that you want.
- Voice search seems about the same as the original Fire TV. Alexa adds nothing significant. You still can't use it to search in 3rd party apps, like Youtube.
- As for video decoding in Kodi, performance isn't much better than the original Fire TV. You will be able to play HEVC content at 1080p with no problem, but 1080p .264 hi10p (software-decoded) does not play well. There's simply not enough power. 4k decoding is hit-and miss. It needs to be specifically coded for this Fire TV (low bitrate, low fps) to work properly.
- Overall system performance is bad. When sitting idle, the CPUs spike up to 60% usage and memory is at 60% usage. The OS is not well-optimized.
- Not a good upgrade over the original Fire TV, is worse in some aspects.
- Remote buttons are hard to press (compared to original Fire TV)
- Remote loses connection frequently and takes several button presses or removing of the remote batteries to fix
- Interface isn't as snappy as the original Fire TV
- Same interface as the original Fire TV: There's still no good way to sort your apps or locate the Prime content that you want.
- Voice search seems about the same as the original Fire TV. Alexa adds nothing significant. You still can't use it to search in 3rd party apps, like Youtube.
- As for video decoding in Kodi, performance isn't much better than the original Fire TV. You will be able to play HEVC content at 1080p with no problem, but 1080p .264 hi10p (software-decoded) does not play well. There's simply not enough power. 4k decoding is hit-and miss. It needs to be specifically coded for this Fire TV (low bitrate, low fps) to work properly.
- Overall system performance is bad. When sitting idle, the CPUs spike up to 60% usage and memory is at 60% usage. The OS is not well-optimized.
I'm not confident that Amazon can fix these issues in a timely manner and their competitors are releasing their media players soon, so I'll likely return this while I still can.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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tvans's Answers
Amazon Fire TV (2015 Model): With Amazon Fire TV, you can access thousands of movies and TV shows instantly. Find favorites quickly or access weather and sports updates using the Alexa voice search function. Ultra HD support and a dedicated graphics engine deliver stunning clarity for your favorite entertainment.
Can I stream video content from my laptop? If yes, which formats?
Yes, but not with the default software. There's several solutions for this on the Amazon App Store. Plex is a popular one.
The fan-favorite is Kodi, which can only be side-loaded See http://kodi.tv/
The fan-favorite is Kodi, which can only be side-loaded See http://kodi.tv/
8 years, 6 months ago
by
tvans
Amazon Fire TV (2015 Model): With Amazon Fire TV, you can access thousands of movies and TV shows instantly. Find favorites quickly or access weather and sports updates using the Alexa voice search function. Ultra HD support and a dedicated graphics engine deliver stunning clarity for your favorite entertainment.
Do I need a box for each tv, I have 2?
I have several Questions. I have 2 TV's and need to know if I need a box for each TV?
If I want to do additional down loads for streaming service do I need the Micro SD Card?
My internet connection is wireless. Do I still need the HDMI cord for both TV's?
Thanks for your input, Kathie
If I want to do additional down loads for streaming service do I need the Micro SD Card?
My internet connection is wireless. Do I still need the HDMI cord for both TV's?
Thanks for your input, Kathie
Need a new box for each TV, unless you want to move it each time you move to a new TV.
SD card isn't required for streaming or downloads. It's primary function appears to be for storing apps.
You need to buy a separate HDMI cord for each Fire TV you buy
SD card isn't required for streaming or downloads. It's primary function appears to be for storing apps.
You need to buy a separate HDMI cord for each Fire TV you buy
8 years, 6 months ago
by
tvans