Thoroughly successful set-top box - a detailed description with hints, tips and experiences

Thoroughly successful set-top box - a detailed description with hints, tips and experiences

Amazon Fire TV (Electronics)

Customer Review

Introduction let me say that I have gained some experience with all kinds of TV-connectable equipment.
This goes beyond HTPC, Apple TV, WD TV, Raspberry Pi, to name but a few.
The focus was always to create an easy-to-use media center solution.
As the Fire TV was announced in Germany and was pre-ordered, of course I could not get past the technology affine Spielkind.
Be part of this review is to give my first impressions in the use of the small box again in order to offer the reader a possible decision support.
Finally, are personal impressions, as in almost everything else in life is always subjective and depends on personal preferences.
Let's start with ...

Packaging and presentation:

The package follows the design and the "functionality" the now well-established scheme Amazon own devices.
Valuable and noble, in a slipcase with interlaced (pun!) Inside.
The package itself contains next to the device itself, the remote control, 2 x AA batteries, AC adapter and a quick start guide and warranty terms.
Unfortunately a required HDMI cable to connect to AV equipment is missing and needs to be if necessary, hinzugekauft.

Hardware:

The Fire TV is as big as a double-CD case in about, acting as a unified whole,
without screws and can not hide a certain resemblance to the competition from the Cupertino-Edelobst forged.

The same applies at least visually for the auto switch.
The controls give a good tactile feedback when operating, the housing is, unfortunately, to my chagrin,
provided with the typical velvety rubber, as known from other devices here already.
Haptic certainly a flatterer, this will, however, certainly partially dissolve over time through the use and expose bare spots.
In my view therefore rather suboptimal, but also Geschmackssache.Die time will tell.
The power supply cable is sufficiently long with about 150 cm.

Terminal side expect in Power, HDMI, optical digital output (TOS-Link) and a USB input.
The USB input is (so far) only for the connection of Perepheriegeräten, such as a keyboard.
Without serious intervention in the software the connection of storage media is not possible!

Connection and initial setup:

Connection and setup is very simple.
Making HDMI connection, plug (in my case) network cable, connect power adapter, TV switch, done.

NB !: Before the Fire TV comes to the power, in any case was only the batteries into the remote Insert for any problems connecting FireTV / remote control to avoid.
Furthermore, it is advisable to keep etc. ready for entering passwords for the wireless USB keyboard or even insert.

If the Box via WLAN to access the Internet, the available networks are displayed.
Then select the appropriate, enter encryption password and you're done.

NB !: If the wireless router is configured to unknown devices are denied access (MAC address filtering), the settings must first be adapted to the router so that even an unknown device access is granted.
Those who want to enter the MAC address of the Fire TV to the exception list, look literally in the tube, as it (deliberately?) Amazon here has failed, the MAC address of the wireless adapter on the packaging and / or print the device!
Who uses home static IP addresses, the network can also be set manually in this step of the device.

After switching on a firmware update is initially recorded, which takes a few moments to complete.
Here, the serial number of the device is first checked against the Amazon servers and also recorded the Amazon account data of the user in the course of the update.
This is done by the way of all directly through Amazon purchased Amazon devices so.
Best way to avoid that, you have to look around at the electronics store.
Many reviewers think this behavior to see a security risk, which is not personally for me to understand.
Such "behavior" is common and consistently in other areas, eg with cable Germany.

During the initial set-up is also offered to activate the child lock.
Here I would have liked that the function and its impact on the operation in the course of the mechanism will be explained a little more clearly.

A decision on the Parental Control, an additional pin is set, the following will always be asked if:

- The settings in certain fields are to be changed.
- App or In-App Purchases will be made / are.
- Rated 18 featured content to be reproduced.
- In certain areas that have been set in the settings.

If the initial setup completed, a short animated film is played, explaining the most basic functions.
Following this, you are in the main screen (Home), and off you go.

Use, content and performance:

To configure: The unit is working on a 42 "LG TV in Full HD (1080p), the seat distance from the screen is about 2.5 m, Internet via network cable (100 Mbit / s).

NB !: It is recommended to start first go through the settings alone and configure everything according to his wishes!

The FireTV currently working with FireOS 3, a Android derivative (also "Fork"), and based on Android 4.2.2.
This also means that apps are available exclusively through the Amazon Appstore.

NB !: If you are already Android users in the Google world, his already acquired in PlayStore Apps can not migrate or use!
Existing ways of doing this is (keyword: sideloading) should not be the subject of this review.
This is basically a matter of operating the unit on delivery!

The home screen presents itself amazon typical in orange / yellow / dark color and corresponds from the menu forth the "Fire" concept, as we know it from the Kindle Tablets ago.
In a left, right narrow gaps each area (video, apps, photos, settings) to choose and the right part of the screen, which takes up the majority, then scroll through the appropriate category, focusing quite clearly on Amazon's Instant Video property is located.
For Instant Video alone there are five menu items when the library of purchased content involving.

The top row of the home screen contains the term "News" media recently used, regardless of their nature (similar to the "carousel" of Fire tablets).
In the lines below or "strip" program currently located movies and series are then available.
It should be noted here in general that is not separated between the fee and the (for Prime members) "free" content!

NB !: It is here by no means be ruled out that involuntarily a film or series episode / squadron is booked a fee if you click just start.
Provided the child safety device is deactivated and / or the purchases are hedged over the settings via the Parental Control and "1-Click" for purchases is already in Amazon account activated!
By this time you should think seriously about setting up Parental Control if you have it skipped during initial setup.
Especially important when children have access to the remote control!

The presentation of the offer made for my taste a bit strange and not quite as intuitive as suspects.
If you want, for example by genre filter, you have to first scroll through various lines to land there ultimately.
Overall, the degenerate into a quite a clicking but if there was not this little button on the remote control would ...

Via a separate button with the microphone symbol on the remote control, a voice search enabled.
Amazon is great prizes as a feature, it actually works.
Who now however believes he can "fully talk" his remote control all day long and the FireTV does what he is told, is literally on the wrong track.
The device responds to keywords such as "Dexter," "Robert Redford", "Comedy" or "YouTube" etc.
In practice, this means: press button, note the screen, purely talking, release.
The result will then be displayed and must be selected with the remote a click confirms (in case of multiple hits) or.
That's about it. Practically, however, in my view now is not very spectacular.
What, for example, are not working things like "Dexter Season 3 Episode 4". Here I end up simply in Dexter.
Despite everything, of course, a feature and unique selling point for the FireTV!

The remote control does not require a mandatory sight to the device, since it communicates via Bluetooth with the FireTV.
This also allows the concealed up the FireTV or the mounting eg behind the TV set.
How this affects the battery life of the remote control compared to conventional IR signal transmitters to be seen.

Let's talk about performance:

Who looks at the technical specifications, which can already guess what to expect!
Without exaggeration I can say that the FireTV is clearly discernible in its segment and competes with AppleTV and Co.
Everything runs absolutely smoothly and without any perceptible delay.
The term "Instant Video" receives here a completely new dimension, it starts namely actually immediately.
Even apps and games are started immediately.
Here the FireTV clearly benefits from the combination of Qualcomm's quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.
It's really a pleasure to deal with it.

Games run extremely liquid, are (depending on the game, such as Riptide GP 2) an eye candy in FullHD and can also control the remote FireTV well.
The range of FireTV-compatible games is not (yet?) Quite clearly.
Load times go afloat by equip.

However, the flip side of the medal is the lean in my view internal memory.
Here the users of 8 GB are still 5.5 GB.
Basically like that to be sufficient or negligible for the primary purpose of FireTV.
However, if the device is used herein as a games console, is quickly reached the storage limit for appropriate utilization.
Who toying example with the racing game "Asphalt 8", has almost 1.3 GB of memory, "schedule", which are recharged after installing the game client.
With another chunk of this type is then quickly concluded with Lustig, what could possibly also lead to problems with future firmware updates, since the relevant data for installation can not be outsourced.
If Amazon has reserved a "hidden reserve" in the ROM here, all right. unless ...
Here would (probably available with 11 GB) stood much better to face the FireTV 16GB!
In particular, since the Amazon game console quality of the hardware by the separately sold Amazon Fire Games Controller, incl. Free games download (currently) "Castle of Illusion" and the FireTV-exclusive "Sev Zero" underscores marketing perspective.
Only 8GB of memory are in this context just do not timely.

The playback quality of Instant Video Content I find very good.

Similar to the sound, as well as the visual perception of quality is of course always pronounced differently and subjectively.
What some refer to as a sharp razor, see others as mushy pixels pile with muddy resolution.

In addition to the setter of course is also the player, ie the television is decisive for the image quality.
Moreover also rehearsed material. An upscaled to 1080p DVD from the eighties is qualitatively different act, as a high resolution digitally produced animation film of modern times.
Regarding the FireTV not least the available Internet bandwidth and type of connection (cable / wireless) influence on the display quality.

One example is the children's series "Mia & Me", this is displayed in Full HD 1080p.
According to my Fritzbox monitor go into the first nearly two minutes in peak just over 45 Mbit / s through the line.
After that, the whole stabilized at around 15 Mbit / s.
The picture here is knackscharf both in the real film and the animation sequences and also earned the designation "Full HD" and rightly so.

But also material in Standard Definition is displayed properly.
There is a sufficient detailiertes image generated compression artifacts remain from. At best on large areas of single color are in parts somewhat coarser gradients perceived.
Overall, a decent image is displayed for SD ratios.

Acoustically many contents are reproduced in stereo.
Inexplicably, this also applies to films where I would have expected otherwise.
For example, "Spider-Man 2 (Raimi)", in which my decoder at best Dolby Surround Prologic II may reflect, therefore, only exists in stereo.
The long-term use will show whether this is dependent on the current server load by Amazon and / or whether there may be differences between the "Free" content for Prime members and purchased movies.
But even Dolby Digital is on offer and works accordingly.
DTS sound, however, is not offered, and its hardware is not also specified for the FireTV.

To save bandwidth, the German language versions contain only the German soundtrack.
For those who prefer the original sound, this must be looking separately from the offer.
Here you have the opportunity to choose (subject to availability) between "OV" (Original version without subtitles) and "OV" (original version with subtitles).

Who calls a Kindle Fire Tablet his own (I use a HDX 7), has access to additional features, assuming both devices are on the same network and are online.
Some films and series are marked with the suffix "XRay".
This additional information will be displayed during playback on the tablet. The content will change this part SCENE.
It is then in each case indicates which actors appear in this scene or what song in the scene from the movie just droning radio. Also, one can get on the tablet in the field Soundtrack of all songs played an overview.
Here, of course, out of shopping in the Amazon Music Store is also possible.
Also you can jump from the soundtrack list by top Click in the corresponding scene of the film, in this track is then heard. Cool!

Furthermore, runtime and audio format and a progress bar is displayed, which can be also pre- and rewound.
Overall, the XRay feature is a real enrichment for movie fans but also depends heavily on the supply and the support.

In addition, is possible with the tablet a "flip-over".
By pressing a button the current program can be done by FireTV on the tablet and continue to be seen there.
The same works in reverse.

Igendwann of movie night is actually even over and you want to turn off.

Anyone who has seen the device exactly when unpacking, will have noticed that it does not have a switch.
Furthermore is neither the menu nor in the settings, a power down or standby function.

The help of Amazon says in this regard that the unit automatically goes into standby after 30 minutes.
This is partly true my observation after only.
The FireTV goes off after 30 minutes in a "Display Timeout" and turns off video output.
Documented on the device, this is indicated by the extinction of the white power LED.
Another indication is the power consumption, which is in "standby" in measured 6 watts, as much as the so-called FireTV in. "Idle" consumption, ie it is in the home screen or in screensaver and nothing is done.

Under load (playing content in 1080p or graphically demanding games) consumption increases only imperceptibly to 8 watts.
Furthermore, I show my Fritzbox that FireTV is still connected (in vermeindlichen standby) present on the network and to the Internet.
Pressing a button on the remote, the Home screen appears immediately.
The device is thus for me not really in standby.
Otherwise, the remote would not work, because in the real stand-by would be no Bluetooth connection.
Unlike in the case AppleTV, the video unit is not really off.
This can be seen (with me) because my LG TV does not complain about the fact that the connected HDMI input no signal (more) bears!
For devices that are in a standby, I know it differently.
In total, the FireTV turns standby moderate as not just energy efficient and on top of that "always on".
On the other hand, this behavior is also explained, seen here as technically and conceptually a mobile phone (or tablet) is in the casing of a set-top box.

If you want to change this behavior, which does not come around it simply to pull the plug.

A comfortable solution is to use a power strip with master / slave function here.
In this case the unit polls all the slaves (slave) switches off with the maximum power (Master).
This makes it possible to switch off and by simply switching on and off the TV at the same time example FireTV, Bluray player, soundbar and cable receivers.
Single device in standby would be in this case the television and all the rest would be from actually because normally.
Whether this or similar is useful, everyone should decide for themselves.

Anyone who has kept up here, now gets the

Conclusion:

Amazon has at least clearly referenced with the FireTV, despite minor shortcomings, its competitors in the technical barriers!
It integrates, as was to be expected, seamlessly into the Amazon ecosystem and has tremendous power under the hood.
Also as far as the operating system and its handling, Amazon has done many things right.
Operation of the user interface is good for my taste but not always particularly intuitive, partly not quite as clearly, providing more room for improvement.
Certain elements are due to the contrast and the display size on large screens are not always readable and well recognizable.
The performance in conjunction with Amazon Instant Video is impressive and unprecedented.
Games are also a very good impression and move partly to console level.
Who nutz the game extensively opportunity, however, will quickly come up against the limits of the internal memory, but the significantly undersized appear but even with 5.5 (actually available) GB.
The creation of larger collections Games omitted here.
The remote control works perfectly, even without line of sight.
The content system is strongly aligned with Instant Video.
Who is not a Prime member, many functions can be used here only to a limited and then rely on the Content to rent or to buy.
Who uses Prime however gets the FireTV the full package!
The lack of standby functionality, also with regard to the supposed automatic standby, unfortunately, falls on negative.

Despite minor shortcomings a very strong buy recommendation on my part!

Quick Overview for Down Scroller:

+ Most powerful hardware in this segment
+ Very good picture and sound quality
+ Remote control to Bluetooth-based
+ In particular, in conjunction with Amazon Instant Video unprecedented performance
+ Voice Search on the remote control (the kids will love it!)

o User Interface used to and sometimes confusing (subjectively)
o Lack of information on the MAC address (WLAN) on the device or the packaging, thus may have problems in setting up

- Not a true standby possible
- 8 GB of internal memory, of which only 5.5 GB are available are too short

Thanks for reading!

I feel good! 1 Rank: 3/5
May 25
The best Buggles Rank: 5/5
March 30
perfect 1 9104 Rank: 5/5
December 18
good product but 111 Rank: 4/5
March 29

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