

Fire TV Stick - vidyesh
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GDQ0RMG

======
incision
Ordered one with the benefit of the Prime discount, don't think I would have
done it for $39. At the higher price I'd be inclined to spend twice as much
and get another Roku 3.

I'll hook it up to the one display that doesn't currently have a Roku
attached. The discount price of $19 seems worth never using the horrible
built-in apps on that display again.

That said, my expectations are low - even at $19. Amazon impresses me as
uneven and lazy when it comes to everything but their core business.

It's stuff like the original Kindle Fire launching with the awful combination
of no parental controls + one-click ordering or the Android Kindle app lacking
basic display settings for ages and still lacking a consistent store
experience.

Given that, plugging this stick in to find that it too lacks parental controls
or runs some outdated or incomplete version of popular app like Netflix or
YouTube would not surprise me in the slightest.

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antihero
Looks interesting. Prime Instant Video I've had simply poor experiences with -
paying for the privilege of paying to rent out things that are free on
Netflix. Brilliant.

If it supports the Chromecast protocol so things that stream to it anyway work
nicely.

Another plus would be if it supports ac.3 and MKV formats, so I could play to
it from Plex without transcoding.

That would make me consider it.

 _Edit: Ah, looking
here[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GDQ0RMG#tech](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GDQ0RMG#tech)
it lists AC3 as a supported codec! This is actually great, because it means
that you can play scene standard content (AC3/H264/MKV) without needing to
transcode! I think what this really comes down to if it can do what the
Chromecast can do but __better_ _, then._

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NoNotTheDuo
If you have Prime already, you can order it for $19 today and tomorrow. Will
be released on 11/19/2014.

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Kaedon
I'm not sure I understand the value proposition over using the Chromecast.
What's the main difference? It looks like the specs are better, it supports
Amazon's streaming service and does not support HBO Go, and it has the
potential for games. To me, none of those are convincing enough to choose this
over the Chromecast that I already have, even at the discounted price. Am I
missing something?

~~~
SifJar
If you already have and use Prime, and want to be able to watch Prime (and
non-Prime, rented/purchased media) on your TV, it's a relatively cheap way to
do so (especially at the discounted $19). Plus it offers a bunch of other
services into the bundle (Netflix, Hulu etc.). If you already have and use a
Chromecast, not much use really except for Amazon content, which doesn't work
with Chromecast (presently, at least; no idea if they plan to make it work or
not, they may wish to restrict their services to their own hardware). If you
currently have neither, Fire Stick might be a bit cheaper (with the Prime
deal; non-Prime users can apparently take out a free trial and get the reduced
price too), has a remote instead of relying on another device
(phone/tablet/PC) like Chromecast does, supports different services (most
notably Amazon's own service for Fire, HBO Go for Chromecast), has an actual
interface and on-device apps, rather than again relying on external devices
for these. Of course, if you have a Chromecast on your TV(s) already, none of
these are probably enticing reasons.

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mikestew
Even at $19 pre-order for Prime members, of which I am one, I can't even make
this an impulse buy. I have an Xbox One and an Apple TV already, and all I see
with this thing is "one more remote". (It doesn't help that my ancient Panny
plasma only has one HDMI port, but I have a switch box.) Now it's possible I'm
just not the target market, that being "I don't have a streaming box already".

I skimmed the list, though, and...nah. Music? Gawd, I've got more music
options these days than I'll ever listen to. Video content, I've got video
content. Hate to be the cranky old man here, but most TV content is crap (as
it has always been), and of the non-crap stuff I just get it from iTunes or I
can watch on Amazon Prime via the Xbox. Games? Did I mention I have an Xbox?

I'm not saying this is the next Fire Phone, but I do wonder who will be buying
this. Not me, and I was _looking_ for an excuse to spend $19 on a new gadget.

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doughj3
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8515343](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8515343)

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thrownaway2424
A suggestion of features these stick-makers could implement so their products
wouldn't be so retarded:

1) MHL port so I don't always need the power brick 2) Audio output from the
remote control so my gf can watch her junk without me having to listen.

Oh wait Roku has both of these things.

~~~
VLM
"Oh wait Roku has both of these things."

I greatly enjoy the wired ethernet on my Roku because nothing wireless
interferes with my streaming.

Wireless + streaming = bad experience. Oh sure, plenty of marketing, and
plenty of wishful thinking that it would be really nice if it weren't true.
I've had my rec room roku hooked up wireless and wired and I'll never
voluntarily stream wireless again as long as I can plug in a cable. Just
better / faster / no interruptions ever.

~~~
thrownaway2424
I agree. What would be perfect would be if devices with ethernet ports could
bridge the network to hdmi-attached devices. I think this is technically a
feature of hdmi, and would be a matter of programming for a device maker like
oppo to integrate.

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dillius
Primary reason I will be ordering two of these:

"Dual band/Dual antenna (MIMO)"

So tired of having to do the channel dance to avoid my neighbor's routers
interfering with my Chromecasts.

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fatbat
I don't like how none of the pictures display the FireTV Stick with power cord
vs Chromecast which does not require one. In fact, only 2 subtle note even
alludes to a power cord.

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new299
I'm guessing it's Android based?

I wonder how much Google cares about this stuff. It feels like they are really
just interested in controlling the platform (Chrome, Android etc.) than making
profit in these areas.

Seems to come very much from Microsoft's playbook (except in a much more
tolerable form). All these free technologies protect their core platform where
they make the profit (Search etc). In much the same way that Internet Explorer
was designed to protect Windows.

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phazmatis
Maybe they won'the be actively hostile to DIY hacking like Google is with
chromecast.

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ElijahLynn
Hooray for competition!!!

