Amazon Fire TV

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  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    I'll grab plex when I get home. One day I want a NAS drive (synergy) and RIP all my DVDS to it, but just getting the time to do it.
  • D_Mcd4D_Mcd4 Posts: 10,438
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    I'm thinking of getting one and putting XBMC on it. I use that on my PC.
  • Peter the GreatPeter the Great Posts: 14,229
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    Updates maybe or have you got something running like plex etc, stopping it from going to sleep. Mine still goes to sleep, but I noticed the other day that the bleeps had stopped when moving between apps etc.
    Force stopping all of the Amazon apps in applications seems to have done the trick and it is now going to sleep again.
  • billbullockbillbullock Posts: 75
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    I´ve been absent for a long while because I´ve been quite content with my IPTV Mag 250 for streaming UK TV to my main TV from Amsterdam. However, Christmas is coming and I fancy trying an Amazon Fire TV here in Portugal. It would save me a €12.50 a month subscription but it would have to work well to beat the convenience of the Mag 250 box and user-friendly EPG and remote control.

    On my Android devices, I use Hola (free) to get BBC iPlayer in the bedroom and elsewhere in the house. I presume this app could be added to the Amazon Fire TV box and all would be well.

    I use SmartDNSProxy on my Windows computers (19.99 US Dollars a year) to get UK TV and Sky Sports. I presume I could program the DNS of the Amazon box in the usual way. Has anyone done this?

    As an alternative, my spare router is already programed with the DNS values and could be brought into action again.
  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    Changing the DNS on the Fire TV is a bit of a pain, not as straight forward as Apple TV or a PS3/4, but easily do able.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    After the awful MX Android box i got from ebay which is being sent back i've bitten the bullet and ordered a fire tv, it cost £69 from Tesco i pick it up Wednesday :)
  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    ^^ It's a good device, does everything I want. Home screen can get a bit messy, not as clean as the Apple TV. Changing the DNS to Unblock was a bit fiddly, but nothing too bad. Still not got Hulu etc. The voice search is very good, but limited to Prime, apparently they will be making it available to non Prime content.

    I'm certainly using more of Amazon prime streaming, now I don't need to use the Ipad to airplay to Apple TV.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    ^^ It's a good device, does everything I want. Home screen can get a bit messy, not as clean as the Apple TV. Changing the DNS to Unblock was a bit fiddly, but nothing too bad. Still not got Hulu etc. The voice search is very good, but limited to Prime, apparently they will be making it available to non Prime content.

    I'm certainly using more of Amazon prime streaming, now I don't need to use the Ipad to airplay to Apple TV.

    I've been looking around online and it looks like it's very simple to install XMBC onto to which is a huge bonus.
  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    ^Not bothered going down that route as I don't have a vast digital library. I did grab Plex when it was free, for future use, when I get around to transferring all my DVDs to a NAS drive.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    ^Not bothered going down that route as I don't have a vast digital library. I did grab Plex when it was free, for future use, when I get around to transferring all my DVDs to a NAS drive.

    I got plex too when it was free, with XMBC and plex the Amazon fire tv has the potential to be the ultimate tv streaming box.
  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    What does XMBC actually do. I thought it was just another app like plex?
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    What does XMBC actually do. I thought it was just another app like plex?

    It is basically but for someone like me who has access to a friends USA cable online tv services it'll allow me to watch things such as NBCSports live or services like filmon etc via the box.
    Some use it for illegal purposes which i won't discuss.
  • neil79neil79 Posts: 535
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    I purchased the Fire TV for £49 and expected it to be better than it is to be honest.
    I also have a Apple TV and find it far better for reliable streaming even though it is lower spec. I mainly purchased the FTV to stream Amazon prime video which is not currently available on the ATV.

    When I stream Netflix on my ATV it works flawlessly unlike Amazon prime which tends to fall over at peak times even though I have a BT fibre connection of around 57mb. To be fair the FTV does stream Amazon prime better than the Samsung smart hub on my TV but that cant't be hard.
  • cornishcornish Posts: 290
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    I also have fire tv,but have standard bb up to 17mb and have not yet experienced any problems at all.:)
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    ell i picked up my fire tv from Tesco and succesfully side loaded XMBC it is a bit of a disappointment i'm afraid given all the rave reviews however a huge plus is being able to have XMBC,bbciplayer,hulu+ etc all together on one box it is sadly lacking now tv, hbogo, starzplay etc but hopefully these will arrive in due time.
    XMBC runs on it flawlessly too.
  • Philip WalesPhilip Wales Posts: 6,373
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    Not noticed any streaming issues on NF TBH.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    Not noticed any streaming issues on NF TBH.

    I think it may of been iplayer itself last night that was the issue, plex (not online i know lol) work flawlessly and there was no judder either which was something my ROKU suffered a bit off nothing major.
    Also i got itv player installed via plex too only missing 4OD, Nowtv, HBOGO and the starz apps then i'd only need one box connected lol.
    A big bonus i discovered i can use my XBOX360 joypad via the usb port to for games naturally i've grabbed dead trigger as loved that game on my Nexus 7, also i was able to use a mouse via usb port too which made using XMBC a lot easier.
    I still say it isn't all that considering it's hype but it's a very good device none the less, i'm not even going to attempt to navigate around Amazon.de to find Zattoo as i can't read German lol.(Edit solved it Chrome is my friend with translate lol)
    Also i've heard that Verizon. comcast, SKY and Dish are all working on apps for AFTV too if xfinity tv go comes then that would be the icing on the cake for me.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    Last night was issue free watched iplayer no buffering watched a few things on xmbc got buffering on one but afterwards it worked flawlessly thanks to obvg great guide my smart dns is set up on it. It is great having tv player, zattoo, iplayer, hulu+, netflix all on one box itv isn't a issue as i've loaded that into plex and plex works flawlessly on the Atv box, still debating if to sign up to prime or not.
  • ovbgovbg Posts: 1,451
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    Thanks gother :)

    If you are interested in Prime, you can always grab one of their free month trials. But if you don't want the hassle of creating a new Amazon account, you can also subscribe by the month (just for the TV stuff). It is £5.99 per month then, with no commitment, so you could just run one month through and see if you like it.

    Go to this page here: (if you don't see any options, trying logging out of Amazon on your browser) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Instant-Video/b/?node=3280626031&ref=atv_surl_piv&ref_=pe_572741_40935641

    Are you using Zattoo via their free streams, or under a sub? I haven't tested their free streams on the Amazon Fire TV, and it would be interesting to see how they compare to TVPlayer. Under a sub, Zattoo is near HD for the BBC & ITV1, and near SD for the rest of the UK channels.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    ovbg wrote: »
    Thanks gother :)

    If you are interested in Prime, you can always grab one of their free month trials. But if you don't want the hassle of creating a new Amazon account, you can also subscribe by the month (just for the TV stuff). It is £5.99 per month then, with no commitment, so you could just run one month through and see if you like it.

    Go to this page here: (if you don't see any options, trying logging out of Amazon on your browser) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Instant-Video/b/?node=3280626031&ref=atv_surl_piv&ref_=pe_572741_40935641

    Are you using Zattoo via their free streams, or under a sub? I haven't tested their free streams on the Amazon Fire TV, and it would be interesting to see how they compare to TVPlayer. Under a sub, Zattoo is near HD for the BBC & ITV1, and near SD for the rest of the UK channels.
    I've already had a US and UK prime trial can't get another one yet.
    Zattoo i'm using the free stream no recordings show up but the stream quality is on par with tv player.
    On my pc the recordings are showing up on free version of Zattoo.
  • ovbgovbg Posts: 1,451
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    gother wrote: »
    I've already had a US and UK prime trial can't get another one yet.
    Zattoo i'm using the free stream no recordings show up but the stream quality is on par with tv player.
    On my pc the recordings are showing up on free version of Zattoo.

    Year, I guessed that with Prime. The link above will get you access to the UK library at the monthly fee, so you could test it without breaking the bank.

    Interesting about Zattoo free. Even if you paid, you wouldn't get Zattoo's recordings or their amazing Recall function (every programme from every channel automatically recorded for 7 days as soon as they air) as neither of these two features are available on the AFTV Zattoo app - because Prime is not yet available in Switzerland. Germany has laws preventing these features from existing, so until Prime hits Switzerland, Zattoo will be cut-down to fit just to their German customers.
  • frightleverfrightlever Posts: 1,272
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    I have central heating, will I still be able to use this?
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    I have central heating, will I still be able to use this?

    Might want to try a good old blanket too :p
  • gothergother Posts: 14,705
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    ovbg wrote: »
    Year, I guessed that with Prime. The link above will get you access to the UK library at the monthly fee, so you could test it without breaking the bank.

    Interesting about Zattoo free. Even if you paid, you wouldn't get Zattoo's recordings or their amazing Recall function (every programme from every channel automatically recorded for 7 days as soon as they air) as neither of these two features are available on the AFTV Zattoo app - because Prime is not yet available in Switzerland. Germany has laws preventing these features from existing, so until Prime hits Switzerland, Zattoo will be cut-down to fit just to their German customers.
    From info i've gathered a number of networks are getting set to launch their apps on AFTV too those i've noticed are HBO,ITV,CH4,ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,A+E networks, SKY,Comcast and Verizon.
  • ovbgovbg Posts: 1,451
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    gother wrote: »
    From info i've gathered a number of networks are getting set to launch their apps on AFTV too those i've noticed are HBO,ITV,CH4,ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,A+E networks, SKY,Comcast and Verizon.

    Quite true. Actually, A&E are already there (along with their Lifetime and History channels) and they work through OverPlay and Unblock-US already.

    ITV will hopefully be a short step away since they have just announced support for the Amazon Fire Tablet.

    ABC, NBC and FOX are there via Hulu Plus, but of course, any free service will be great. CBS is especially interesting, as they are not on Hulu, and they now have their own OTT service.

    HBO will hopefully add their OTT app when it is finally launched, but no one knows how good that will be when compared to their cable-tied ones.

    Exciting days ahead gother for the Amazon Fire TV box! This is already my favourite STB. Pity it is only set up on my test rig.
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