Latest & Greatest :: The Amazon fireTV

For the past two weeks, the kids and I have been trying out the new “amazon fireTV” courtesy of the folks over at Amazon.

It’s super small. Like tiny. I can grab it and slip it into my purse and take it on vacation with me ‘small’. I like that. I like it. Now you’re probably going “hmm, how small is it”? Let me tell you! It’s just 3/4 of an inch (thick) – it’s a tad smaller than my external backup drive! You can sit that baby anywhere and it blends right in (you may even go where is it … haha)! Ours came in black (only color option) too so when I sat it by my cable box I could not even see it unless the light was on while we were using.

I connected the HDMI cable into it and the other end into the port on our tv. Took the battery connector and plugged it in. Then I took the remote (popped in the batteries) and held down the button near the “amazon fireTV” black-box and “voila” IT.WAS.ON! A little green light emitted on the front (after two orange blip-blips alerting me it had ‘communicated’). I then took the tv remote and clicked the input button over to my HDMI2 channel and my kids looked at me like I was a genius. It was so simple that they could have done it. Seriously. And I let them. Just to prove it to them and you. Next I connected to our wi-fi and we were ready to veg out.

Oh and the remote control. Simple. Sleek. Just a few buttons. Child-friendly. It has: search, browse, play, pause – the usual. All with cute little pictures on them. Like an android phone. At the top, you have the microphone button (it has a microphone pic); under that, you have a ring (dark black with a center of sleek matte dark gray like the remote) this is the left/right/up/down/enter “ring of remote” as I call it. It’s just a very simple navigation circle. Under there, you’ll see three buttons: back (a semi-paperclip left arrow); home (pic of a house); and your menu (≡) where you can set up titles to your watchlist. Then last but not least three more buttons which are your playback controls: rewind (◄◄); play/pause (►║); and fast-forward (►►). There’s no line-of-sight either so you can place the “amazon fireTV” in your cabinet and not worry about sitting right on top of it to point-and-click the remote.

Voice activated. Cool. My kids sure thought so. They each learned how to use properly while holding the microphone button waiting a beat {pause} then speaking {pause} and releasing. Then a menu pops up on the tv screen showing what they “spoke” or giving them options to choose from. I had already gone over the buttons on the remote so they were quickly adept at how to maneuver around and select titles in this manner or searching through the queue.

We downloaded Netflix and huluPLUS [these are called ‘third-party apps’ and there are more]. We looked at apps and games. We talked about purchasing the game controller {$39.99} so they could possibly in the future play them [we’ll know for sure after speaking with the neurologist as my son takes medication for seizures – so I’m not sure how these games compare to regular video games and if they’re a no-no or not … so we’ll hold off on the controller for now … but *awesome*]!

Your amazon account information is pre-registered when you order the “amazon fireTV” (just as it with other devices from amazon). I mean all you have to do is unpack it and plug it in. How simple is that? All previous purchases on movies/tv shows are there when you turn it on. If you don’t have a “Prime membership” you’ll get to try it out for 30 days (in hopes you’ll sign up, and it’s great if you order a lot off of amazon or if you’re planning on watching a lot) as right away you’ll have access to unlimited streaming on thousands of movies and tv shows at no additional cost.

You’re able to set up child controls [parental locks and timer] so the kids are ONLY able to peruse child-friendly material (or for a certain amount of time). I did not use the timer feature, however, the child-friendly setup was a hit and made me more comfortable. They have no idea what security code/number I punched in (so I don’t have to worry if they turn it on while I’m showering). That also means there’s no reason to worry about something scary or inappropriate popping up or flying by while they flip through the gallery of movies and tv shows offered. Isn’t technology fanfreakintabulous?!

Every movie and third-party app that I downloaded went super fast. Blink and you’d miss it. Only once did it buffer and stall out and I believe that had more to do with our weather [thunder-storm] that particular evening. Soon as I tried again it was downloaded in a snap. That took maybe 90 seconds of my life (including the ‘technical stall’). I can handle that.

I did notice that when we used the voice-control feature it was only giving me information from the amazon ‘database’ and not pulling from my downloaded third-party apps. That was a bummer, but I understood. They’re selling their amazon ‘Instant’ and hosting these apps unlike other similar devices that are mainly third-party hosts and shuffle through all channels loaded for you. That was my main drawback and dilemma with the “amazon fireTV“. Easy enough to remedy. If I were looking for a particular movie and not being a “Prime membership” subscriber (or because there was a rental charge) I went to Netflix and checked to see if available there (possibly saving some moola ~ frugal I am) and we would then watch through there (example: the kids wanted to watch “The Croods” and it was $3.99 on “amazon fireTV” and 0/zip/zero on Netflix … you can guess which I chose). Again, no issues and lightning fast.

I love the portability of it. The ease of use and setup. The kid-friendly platform. It’s new for amazon and I can see some changes coming with the way they incorporate certain things from movies/tv shows to games/apps (and have already read most are in the works). I’m excited to find out if I can order the game controller for my little ones (again it is sold on amazon for $39.99). As if I need to play a game from my couch but the kids think that would be “cool” and I’m hoping we’re able to do this (health comes first though).

All-in-all [especially if you’re a “Prime membership” subscriber] and an all things amazon-aholic then this should be your next purchase. Lots of people are chucking their hefty cable subscription costs nowadays and using devices like “amazon fireTV” instead. From watching their favorite basic-cable/regular tv shows or becoming enthralled or on the bandwagon of new-original programming/shows that Netflix has to offer, it’s a great new piece of tech to toy around with and enjoy. If you, have huluPLUS for instance you’re able to catch a lot of the tv shows the day after they air (which is great). I do hope they add to the list of their third-party apps (and I’m sure they will). Currently, they include:Netflix; huluPLUS; Pandora; YouTube, Crackle and a few more [again they’re adding to this and this is their first outing into this market where I feel they’re a pretty strong competitor considering the “Prime membership” subscription advantage].

Oh, lest I forget … you’re able to see your pictures and videos! And even listen to your cloud-stored/based music (not the ‘Prime Music‘ yet). I’m a huge fan of backing any and all I have to my cloud so this is a great plus (just remember not everyone is interested in viewing your gazillion vacation pictures or even ones of your adorable child(ren) but the option is there *squeal*) ~ you can cheat by using them as the “SCREENSAVER” which is a cool option (or use the standard pre-loaded ones ~ the screensaver will start automatically and you’re able to adjust these settings). All pictures and videos you currently have stored on your amazon cloud drive will be there immediately. As you add more pictures and videos via your phone/tablet then within seconds, they appear on the tv screen under ‘photos’ (just select the ‘album’ or video you want and that’s it – super simple).

This slick little box touts a quad-core processor with 3x the processing power of Apple TV, Chromecast or the more well-known Roku. It has an Adreno 320 graphics engine for lightning-fast HD graphics and awesome fluidity. It comes standard with 2GB of memory so the graphics load quick and games run smoothly. Compare all those numbers against the previously mentioned competitors. I could break all that down for you, but most of you are not into that part as much as me. If you purchase one you’ll definitely read about it and you should be excited (I was). I did find the 1080p HD video beautifully stunning (and not changing to 720 as much as it did when I had a previous version of a competitor – not their newest). Dolby Digital Plus surround sound is crystal clear and sounded great (we also have a great sound bar). There was no semi-second lapse between a spoken word and the movement of lips/character on screen. That’s always bothered me. Not on the “amazon fireTV” … nope, didn’t happen ~ no issues.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to my child-free night and finish up watching an ‘original program’ through a third-party app on our “amazon fireTV” … did I mention I’m only halfway through Season 1! *yikes*

Note:  We were provided with the Amazon fireTV for review purposes but this did not affect our opinion in any way.

Order amazon fireTV {regularly $99 ~ Prime price $84}

Order the game controller {39.99}

Shop at amazon

become a Prime member

learn about amazon Cloud Drive

learn about Prime Music

Try Netflix {free for 30 days; price varies depending on monthly plan thereafter}

Try huluPLUS {free for one week; $7.99 month thereafter}