Amazon Fire TV
What is Amazon Fire TV Stick? Amazon fire TV stick can mean
many things but before we discuss about the amazon fire TV stick, did you knowthat amazon fire TV gave birth to amazon Fire TV stick? if so, we will have to
know what is amazon fire TV before will can get a clear meaning of amazon fire
TV stick.
Amazon Fire TV refers to two generations of digital mediaplayers and microconsoles developed by Amazon.com. It is a small network
appliance and entertainment device designed to stream digital audio/video
content to a high-definition television.
The device also allows users to play
video games with the included remote, via a mobile app, or with an optional
game controller. The first-generation device featured 2 GB of RAM, MIMOdual-band Wi-Fi, and a Bluetooth remote control with a microphone for voice search.
It supported 1080p streaming and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound but was
dependent on internet bandwidth of the user.
The Amazon Fire TV offers HDMI and optical audio,
with support for Dolby Digital Plus and 7.1 surround sound pass-through, along
with an Ethernet port and a USB 2.0 port. According to Amazon, the Fire TV isdesigned to outpace competitors like the Apple TV and Roku in performance: The
0.7-inch-thick box features a 1.7 GHz quad-core CPU, 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of
internal storage, along with a dual-band wireless radio for 1080p streaming
over 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The Fire TV now supports 4K Ultra High Definitionstreaming quality when used with compatible 4K Ultra HD TVs. The company said
that it does not intend the Fire TV to compete with gaming consoles; instead,
its gaming capabilities are geared toward people who don't already own a
console but may play games on a
smartphone or tablet. It has a dedicated controller accessory.
As i said earlier,
amazon fire TV gave birth to amazon fire tv stick and this is when it came
about. On November 19, 2014, Amazon released a smaller version of the Fire TVcalled the Fire TV Stick. It is a HDMI-port plug-in device that replicates much
of the functionality of the larger Fire TV. Its hardware is slightly different,
it has 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, weighs 0.9 oz. (25.1g) and it uses a
BCM28145 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. The Fire TV Stick is bundled with a TV
remote, a model with voice search on the remote and one without.
This device initially ran on Fire OS
3.0, based on Android Jelly Bean 4.2. According to Amazon, that made it
"simple for developers to port their services and games over to Fire TV.
2015 UPDATES
On March 24, 2015, Amazon announced an update to the Fire TVsoftware to provide the following additional features which address some of the
concerns raised in early reviews:
2016 UPDATES
The Amazon Fire TV Stick is even better in 2016, with a more
powerful internal processor for faster streaming and less time buffering, and
an upgraded 802.11a/b/g/n Dual-Band Wi-Fi antenna.
1. Both models support 1080p HD
resolution. The Fire TV box also supports 4K Ultra HD.
3. The box is faster and has more
memory. It also has a port for connecting it to your router with an Ethernet
cable and a USB port and microSD slot to provide additional storage, none of
which the stick has.
4. The remote for the box has
voice-search capability; the latest version of the stick, released in the fall
of 2015, comes with a voice remote as well, but you can also get it with a
non-voice remote for $10 less.
5. The Fire TV box has a bigger library
of supported apps.
Like most stick-shaped media devices, the Fire TV Stick$39.99at Amazon is nondescript and unobtrusive. It's a matte black bar the
approximate size and shape of a pack of gum that plugs directly into your
HDTV's HDMI port. If there isn't enough room around the port, Amazon includes a
short extender cable to add some wiggle room. A micro USB port on the side of
the stick powers everything through the included lengthy cable and wall
adapter. Don't count on your HDTV's USB ports to provide enough juice for theFire Stick; you'll probably have to plug it into the wall for it toconsistently work.
You can also use voice search with your iOS or Android
smartphone or tablet if you install the free Fire TV Remote app. It adds full
control over the Fire TV Stick, including text input and menu navigation.
If you choose the former, you'll get a warning when you boot
the system up for the first time. It'll tell you that it can't draw enough
power from the USB port to provide the ideal experience. I opted for the power
via a wall socket.
This means you can't expect as smooth a gaming experience with
the Fire TV Stick. In tests, Sonic CD felt noticeably slower on the Fire TV
Stick than it is on the Fire TV. That said, we can't recommend relying on any
media hub for serious gaming.
Fire OS
and Features, Apps and games
Fire OS and Features
The third-party app selection is generous for a media hub,
with dozens of online media services and a few hundred games. All of the other
major movie and music services are available, including Netflix, Hulu Plus,
YouTube, Sling TV, Twitch, and the just-added HBO Go. About half of the gameson the Fire TV Stick can work with the included remote, but the really goodtitles like Sonic CD and Terraria require the optional $39.99 Fire GameController, or another compatible Bluetooth gamepad. However, those games
aren't recommended on the Fire TV Stick, since it's notably slower than the
Fire TV.
Nor are you likely to spot Grand Theft Auto here anytime
soon. That doesn't seem to be due to any fault of the hardware – the system
boasts the right specs for those higher-end games – the content simply isn't
there.
The lack of games doesn't necessarily hurt the system,
however. If you want to have a streaming system that's jam-packed with gaming
goodness, consider the full-size Amazon Fire TV or Nexus Player. Both have a
dedicated gamepad sold separately and have a great selection of titles.
The launch line-up of apps is as strong as it's going to be
outside of a Roku product, and though I wish it were a little more AAA
game-oriented and much more platform-agnostic (searches only return Amazon
content. Also, a shared Google Play library would more than make up for any
shortcomings in selection). That said, this is still a fairly balanced
ecosystem.
Remote
If you're a Fire TV owner you'll notice that this remote
doesn't come with the built-in mic and voice-search button. The functionalitystill exists if you use the accompanying Fire TV app, but it doesn't exist on
the pack-in peripheral.
If you really need it, though, Amazon sells the full-size
remote separately or allows you to sync your old Fire TV remote to the Stick
without much of a problem. It just goes to show how much this functionality
costs - but we didn't think it detracted too much from the viewing experience.
The remote also works over Bluetooth, which means it won't
need direct line of sight to the Stick itself – a handy feature considering 95%
of users will want to keep the Fire TV out of sight behind the television. In
my testing, it was in the back of my television so having Bluetooth was essential.
It may not win the award for "most durable remote", but the remote is
exactly like the Stick: simple and efficient.
AMAZON FIRE TV STICK .PRICE: $39.99
REFERENCE:
TECHRADAR, TECHFORLUDDITES, PCMG, BESTBUY
