Alessandra Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 This was introduced today http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX5P8FC/ref=amb_link_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=1651VFS1RMSQM28FJKZ2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1770217382&pf_rd_i=507846 I'll be interested to see reviews, especially from WTMers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We have an Apple TV. We have a Roku. And yet... I. Want. This. (We barely even watch the TV. There is no reason for me to want this. I will now repeat that to myself 100 times.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We have an Apple TV. We have a Roku. And yet... I. Want. This. (We barely even watch the TV. There is no reason for me to want this. I will now repeat that to myself 100 times.) We also have Apple TV, Google tv thing, and Roku. I want this too. We will probably get this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Serious question...if you already have other similar devices, why would you want/need this one? What am I missing? I love my Amazon Prime, and stream shows through our Xbox and Kindles. I know that the Xbox does not offer near the number of channel apps as the Roku...but we get the main ones (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.) Is there a reason I NEED this? I am asking...because the part of me in love with anything Amazon Prime thinks maybe we do need it...but then I can't come up with a reason why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Serious question...if you already have other similar devices, why would you want/need this one? What am I missing? I love my Amazon Prime, and stream shows through our Xbox and Kindles. I know that the Xbox does not offer near the number of channel apps as the Roku...but we get the main ones (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.) Is there a reason I NEED this? I am asking...because the part of me in love with anything Amazon Prime thinks maybe we do need it...but then I can't come up with a reason why. I am wondering this also. It looks just like a Roku to me and my Roku was only $49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polgara Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 My husband couldn't resist this today so I guess we'll find out shortly how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hmm, this is something to think about! We have lots of Apple products, but two of our kids (ages 7 and 9) both have Kindle Fires. And we do have Prime. So this may be something to think about! I like where it talks about kids only being able to view approved television shows. I wish Netflix would do that! I hate that my 2 year old chooses Barbie Life In The Dreamhouse and there's nothing I can do to deter that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Oh yeah, our new Roku does have a restriction for shows. But the catch is once you set it, you cannot get around the setting unless you change it again. Like you can't bypass one show. It's all or nothing. My son tried to watch some Garfield show or movie and I guess it had no rating or didn't fall in the age category I selected for him so it prevented him from watching it. Mostly I like the setting, though. Since you do not have any media player this may be a good one to look into. I just don't see a point for someone that already owns one. That happened to us with Duck Soup. I couldn't put it in the age restricted Netflix queue, so I did away with the age restriction. We only have one TV and neither child likes to watch movies on their tablets, so it's not a big deal for us. As far as I can tell, the Amazon box wouldn't give us anything we need that don't already have access to between the Chromecast (primarily to "throw" YouTube videos/playlists/queues and Google Play Music or Movies) and the "smart" TV (Netflix, Amazon, Pandora). We have a Roku, but haven't used it in months... it's one of the old ones that doesn't officially support YouTube or the new fancy interface. The last thing I want is the kids playing Minecraft on the TV. How would I ever get to the end of Breaking Bad if I couldn't make sure they'd stay occupied elsewhere for 46 minutes an episode? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 We have an Apple TV. We have a Roku. And yet... I. Want. This. (We barely even watch the TV. There is no reason for me to want this. I will now repeat that to myself 100 times.) We also have Apple TV, Google tv thing, and Roku. I want this too. We will probably get this. We have basic Roku, which works fine, and Apple TV, which we use for mirroring and you tube. We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Aereo. We hardly watch tv, except news. I should not even be looking at the Amazon, lol. Even ds is not tempted, because he says (rightly) that I would restrict his use of game control. But I love seeing all these new devices, so tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Doesn't look like it has anything worth upgrading to from my Roku 3. I'll take the headphone jack in the Roku remote over Fire TV's voice search any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Doesn't look like it has anything worth upgrading to from my Roku 3. I'll take the headphone jack in the Roku remote over Fire TV's voice search any day. I covet your headphone jack, but I can't justify the $ at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I covet your headphone jack, but I can't justify the $ at the moment. We couldn't really either, but as soon as dh found out that if he bought me the Roku he'd never have to listen to another six episodes of Supernatural in a row on his nights off, well, it found it's way under the Christmas tree pretty quickly. ;) Plus my hearing is completely shot and it saves me from having to fiddle with the sound settings for fifteen minutes at the start of everything I watch to get it to where I can understand everything. Really, it basically keeps me from annoying everyone else to death with my tv shows, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We couldn't really either, but as soon as dh found out that if he bought me the Roku he'd never have to listen to another six episodes of Supernatural in a row on his nights off, well, it found it's way under the Christmas tree pretty quickly. ;) Plus my hearing is completely shot and it saves me from having to fiddle with the sound settings for fifteen minutes at the start of everything I watch to get it to where I can understand everything. Really, it basically keeps me from annoying everyone else to death with my tv shows, lol. Oh Em Gee!! We need that...for the exact same show! DD is a huge Supernatural fan - she always has the sound cranked right up so DS and I can barely think. Or, I could ban Supernatural from the tv and make her watch it in her iPad, with headphones. Since she already owns that, it's the more economical option. LOL I did just shell out 35 bucks for a new charger cord for her a couple hours ago so she can actually use the iPad again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I looked at the channels list for FireTv and they don't have all the ones I watch. There are several on Roku that Amazon doesn't have. While we mostly watch Amazon, Netflix, and HuluPlus, there are others. Eventually Amazon might have more, but for now I'm happy with Roku. We do have an older one that we plan to replace some time this year, and I might have considered FireTv, but I think we'll stick with Roku. ETA: Amazon might be going after those who don't yet have a set top box, rather than trying to convert those of us who do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 The NY Times felt that eventually Apple and Amazon would win the set top box market, because they both produce content, while Roku does not. Also, there had been talk for years that Apple will come out with an actual television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I have decided to wait for reviews before I buy the new Amazon thingie. Our most-used device is the Roku, although we have the other options as well, and I'm not sure the Amazon thing is offering anything we don't already have. I don't care about the voice control option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I currently watch Netflix through my Tivo, but that's starting to die. I am glad to have a 3rd option to consider once it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 The NY Times felt that eventually Apple and Amazon would win the set top box market, because they both produce content, while Roku does not. Also, there had been talk for years that Apple will come out with an actual television. There's a lot of speculation at this point. (Fox Business link. Yes, me linking to Fox LOL). One thing that's almost certain is that the way we watch tv is rapidly changing. Cable and satellite companies will need to evolve if they want to survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 There's a lot of speculation at this point. (Fox Business link. Yes, me linking to Fox LOL). One thing that's almost certain is that the way we watch tv is rapidly changing. Cable and satellite companies will need to evolve if they want to survive. Fascinating article. I enjoyed reading about Anthony Wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I have decided to wait for reviews before I buy the new Amazon thingie. Our most-used device is the Roku, although we have the other options as well, and I'm not sure the Amazon thing is offering anything we don't already have. I don't care about the voice control option. The roku app has some voice control options anyway, and inputting text for search is far easier on a smartphone or tablet than on the TV no matter the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I currently watch Netflix through my Tivo, but that's starting to die. I am glad to have a 3rd option to consider once it does. A $35 Chromecast will give you Netflix. A $50 Roku stick will give you Netflix, Amazon Instant, and pretty much every channel Amazon offers and more. Before you know it Google or Roku or someone else will have their tech already in the TV and you won't need a box. Sure there are smart TVs now, but they are painfully slow and with poor interfaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Before you know it Google or Roku or someone else will have their tech already in the TV and you won't need a box. Sure there are smart TVs now, but they are painfully slow and with poor interfaces. I almost linked to this article in my previous post. That's just what Anthony Wood wants to do with Roku. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Well I have one. :001_tt2: I got a Roku 3 around Christmas time but had to return it when I realized it was creating a wifi hotspot and giving me headaches. I liked it a LOT and was very disappointed as I knew the streaming through a blu ray player wasn't going to be as good. When I realized amazon was coming out with a box, I decided to wait. The new amazon fire tv is AMAZING. It's SO much faster than the roku 3 was. The voice commands are STUNNING. It loads so fast it will BLOW YOUR MIND. Roku 3 is just archaic compared to this. I walk up to the remote, push the mic button and say Star Trek, confirm that it got the right thing by clicking the button on my remote, and all the options show up. I scroll over one, and bam it's playing. We're talking like *2 seconds* from the moment my hand touches the remote till the moment it's playing on my tv, and I DON'T pay for the fastest streaming. And I think my dd was sky ping (using up bandwidth) while I was doing that! I think you can get a separate device to play your audio to headphones, or stick with your roku if that's essential. I'm just saying if somebody is choosing between Roku 3 and the Amazon Fire tv, once they use it the choice won't be hard. I'm sure anybody who made channels and apps for Roku will have them for the FireTV soon too. It's just too big a market to suppose they won't. The Fire does gaming, which means to get equivalent function you'll see a new Roku coming out soon. It's AWESOME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 We have a blu-ray player which plays prime, netflix, hulu, youtube etc, nearly everything listed on the FireTv so I cannot see a big reason to switch for content. I was interested due to the fast loading and voice search both of which can be PITB. I HATE searching with the bluray player. However, I was looking at the ChromeCast due to the ability to send anything from online onto the TV, which I don't think Fire does or at least it doesn't seem to based on the info I've read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I don't see PBS or a number of the other channels I like, on FireTv. I imagine they'll have them eventually but I don't know about the History/Discoveyr channel apps considering that Amazon and Discovery recently broke up their relationship. Speed isn't an issue for me. I don't need to have my shows load instantaneously. We don't play the games so no enticement there. And from what I understand, the voice controller only brings you results from Amazon. So if a show is available for purchase on Amazon but free on Netflix, you wouldn't know that by using the voice search. No. I will stick with Roku for now. The general consensus (reviews on the internet) seems to be that Roku has more but FireTv has better. In my case, this is a rare instance where more is actually better, despite the popular saying. That doesn't mean we'll never make the switch, but it won't happen anytime soon. I say this as someone who is deeply involved in the Amazon ecosystem (Prime member, Kindle Fire owner, 3 e-ink Kindles in our household), so it's not as though I have anything against Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Doesn't look like it has anything worth upgrading to from my Roku 3. I'll take the headphone jack in the Roku remote over Fire TV's voice search any day. Our Roku doesn't have the headphone jack but if I needed a new box there is no way I would buy one without the headphone jack. That is an awesome feature and I can't believe amazon left it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I covet your headphone jack, but I can't justify the $ at the moment. Check Woot. We got a refurbed Roku 3 for $60 a couple of months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Speed is sometimes a concern of mine, but honestly I don't know if it has to do with my device or just HuluPlus being stupid sometimes. Also, depending on how many people are using up bandwidth at the same time (dh plays a game on the internet, kiddo uses the other PC at the same time while I'm watching a show sometimes). That is nice to know there is speed. The idea of voice search being limited to only Amazon titles would not be ideal, though. As for channels... I'm a little ignorant on this but sometimes you can add channels, right? We added Daily Burn to our Roku recently. Could you get Kindle Fire TV and just add PBS? I guess it depends what is available in the device's channel store?? Or what apps are compatible? I was wondering about this too. It is android based, right? So does that mean you can add apps from the android marketplace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 As for channels... I'm a little ignorant on this but sometimes you can add channels, right? We added Daily Burn to our Roku recently. Could you get Kindle Fire TV and just add PBS? I guess it depends what is available in the device's channel store?? Or what apps are compatible? If you are talking to me (since I did mention PBS), we already have 3 Roku boxes that get PBS, so it's not an issue unless we ended up switching to FireTv. We don't plan to, so we will still get PBS. Ds is a gamer and that does sometimes slow us down, but the only fix for that would be to get a faster level of road runner (which we might actually do). And oh yes, HuluPlus can really be a pain, but it's probably like that no matter the device. I have a love/hate relationship with HuluPlus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I was wondering about this too. It is android based, right? So does that mean you can add apps from the android marketplace? I think they listed all the games/apps currently compatible, but no matter what, they'd only be able to download apps from Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Something to chew on... What Roku Matters More Than Ever http://gizmodo.com/why-roku-matters-more-than-ever-1558433873 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Very timely thread for me! I don't know anything about streaming and was just looking for a box to get. We aren't big tv watchers but we do watch movies from amazon occasionally. Just bought fire. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 We need another roku or apple tv or something. Does anyone know if this device will stream PlayOn? I know Apple TV won't. I don't use it much, but I do use it some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Does anyone know if this device will stream PlayOn? Not currently, but if it's at all possible the folks at PlayOn will make it happen. Here is a list of supported devices. http://www.playon.tv/supported-devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 when someone gets it please report back! I want to know if the interface is as easy as a roku. We have a Tivo that will do Amazon and Netflix but I hate the interface so I don't use it for streaming unless i have to (it doesn't save my place and tell me what episode I am on so I have to know and scroll to it, etc....) We also have a Wii but it is lousy for streaming. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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