Amazon's Fire TV Is Powerful, but Voice Search Limitations Hamper User Experience

[IJ Reilly]

A lot of things I want in my fantasy combination box are in direct competition with Apple so I doubt they will ever add those features.

Explain.

I don't see Apple going into competition with themselves, but they could do an awful lot to improve the TV experience, assuming they can talk the providers into playing along. The little bits of info dribbling out suggest that this is exactly what they are attempting to do. Right now, any fantasies you might entertain are in the process of being overwhelmed by a nightmare of fundamentally incompatible delivery methods. Nobody is going to fulfill your fantasies because they are all trying to do essentially the same very limited thing.

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From my experience it has been far, far easier to find something I want to watch on Netflix. YMMV.

So this is the problem. I hear all the time from "cord cutters" that they are as happy as clams without cable. Apparently watching a lot of old, bad movies makes them happy.

 

[jrswizzle]

Not at all. But in this case the negative reviews back up my opinion.

I truly wish I could be more positive about this device. But I can't see any of the huge numbers of Apple TV owners buying into Fire TV. There is no compelling reason to do so.

It's not designed to steal customers....none of these products are.

As an owner of multiple AppleTVs, my reasons for purchasing one are as follows:

-I'm a Prime Member
-I'm intrigued by the gaming aspect
-I travel a lot and like the idea of bringing one with me (would've bought a 4th ATV, but was waiting for the update.....hasn't come yet and this has).
-I think Amazon has created a nice ecosystem - I'm all about the ecosystem

I can also see people like my brother-in-law, who only has Kindle Fires because all he cares about is media on his tablets, buying a couple of these. There are plenty of people out there in the Amazon ecosystem with Prime memberships and Fires, or with multiple TVs.

I don't see this as much of a "let's take ATV customers" product as it is a "lets offer OUR customers a great set-top box" product.

Looking forward to what Apple has up their sleeve as well!

 

[mclld]

I dont see anyone mentioning the miracast support and it will be opened up to more devices later, that is pretty nice

 

[aperry]

XBMC and Plex are already up and running on the Fire TV. Mediabrowser3 is coming soon. That alone beats the pants off the ATV for anyone with local content. The Fire TV already has more streaming options, and support for any apps that people want to contribute.

How is this even a debate? You guys who think the Fire TV has nothing on top of the ATV have neglected that it's capable of installing apps. You can laugh it off as "games and media services" but in reality it's much more than that. If Apple added ATV app support tomorrow then you'd be touting as the biggest technological advance since the iPhone. Of course, Apple's answer to its users' begging for an app store is to make the ATV3 totally immune to jailbreaking. Thanks Apple.

I'm sure Apple will answer when it's good and ready and it'll probably be awesome, but for now the Fire TV is the clear winner and anyone who's being objective knows this. Don't be mad at me, be mad at Apple.

 

[jrswizzle]

So this is the problem. I hear all the time from "cord cutters" that they are as happy as clams without cable. Apparently watching a lot of old, bad movies makes them happy.

You know, Netflix isn't the only service cord-cutters purchase....hell if I could get ESPN on a per month basis, I could likely piece together a grouping of services including Netflix, Hulu and sports packages that would be cheaper than the $65/month I pay DirecTV (which will be going up, I'm sure after my first year with them is over).

Then you just go see movies in theaters, rent them for $1 at RedBox or $3-4 on Prime or iTunes, or purchase them outright and you've pretty much got everything.

I don't watch TV at its scheduled time anyways. Everything is DVR'd.

 

[mclld]

XBMC and Plex are already up and running on the Fire TV.

OMG if true I am buying one. How good is it running? Are video add ons able to be installed?

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So this is the problem. I hear all the time from "cord cutters" that they are as happy as clams without cable. Apparently watching a lot of old, bad movies makes them happy.

I am a cord cutter and can stream any movie or show I want, even current shows with XBMC and the video add ons I use on my Apple TV. Another Plus is all the commercials are edited out, win. The quality is more than good as well, this was last weeks Walking Dead to show an example

I for one am very happy not wasting money on Dish/cable, it is working great for me! Seriously any single show or movie I want to watch I can, it is the best.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Hope it does reasonably well....Apple needs the competition and hopefully we all end up with better products.

 

[RedOrchestra]

How many are the "many of us" you seam to know so much about all the users of Apple TV do let everyone else know how you know so much about every Apple TV user and their likes/dislikes of the device.

Well, out of the 26 people who regularly read and post on MR - 11 agree with me - so far!

 

[aperry]

OMG if true I am buying one. How good is it running? Are video add ons able to be installed?

There's a 12.3 (frodo) build that people are side-loading onto the Fire TV. People say it seems to work well, but I'm sure there are still hiccups to be ironed out. I couldn't tell you about the video add-ons, but there's a long thread on the Hardware forum over at the XBMC site. It's literally been less than 24 hours.

I mention XBMC only as an example of a really useful app that is possible on the Fire TV due to their app store and side-loading ability.

 

[HenryDJP]

That's a total misrepresentation of this forum and you know it. Are there people who intentionally find fault with Apple regardless of the topic? Yes and they are annoying.

I didn't misrepresent anything and you need to calm your tone. I wasn't speaking to you in the first place now was I?

 

[Rogifan]

But why would you have to give up your current ATV to do airplay? Is it throw the baby out with the bathwater if you get another device? Just asking.

True, I could keep my old ATV just for AirPlay. But I prefer having as few boxes as possible. The back of my entertainment center is an ugly mess of cables the way it is. Having to use an ATV plus a competing product, along with my DirecTV is just an inelegant solution for me.

 

[tdmac]

I would think that IF Apple released an updated ATV and IF it added support for Apps and games, it would make sense to announce between now and June. This would enable them to have sessions at WWDC in June. The device might not be avail until the fall though.

 

[GenesisST]

What the heck are you talking about? Siri rocks.

It doesn't for me. I feel it only understands received pronunciation... I someone talk to it like it was "special"...

I guess there are lots of variables at play, which makes it better for some voices and pronunciations that others.

Example: I say "Play something" and it responds with I don't understand "late something"... If I wait a bit (so it can hear the "P"), it times out and shows me examples of what I can ask...

/rant

 

[ucantgetridofme]

Voice is a big deal so it's unfortunate that it doesn't work across all apps. I hope whatever we get from Apple vastly improves the search capability on ATV. Don't bother releasing anything if they haven't been able to improve the UI and search functionality.

Must you reply on every single thread?

 

[VulchR]

So does this thing have a web browser, or have they neutered it like Apple has with its AppleTV?

 

[Apollo 13]

I'm a Prime user and thought about getting the box until I saw that ugly ass Netflix app. It's the same app my Blu-ray player uses and it pisses me off and a mess. The netflix app on the PS4 and ATV are so clean and easy to use and even get enjoyment browsing both of them. What I don't like about the ATV is itunes...the movies are freaking expensive compared to Amazons streaming service. It cost 6 freaking dollars on itunes to rent Frozen and other new releases, and it can be $1 to $2 cheaper else where. I do use airplay on apple TV and game but some games it's useless because of delay. So the amazon box letting u play games is great, but i'm gonna wait and see what Apple releases.

*EDIT* does the amazon box even have a phone app like the ATV and Roku box?

 

[ucantgetridofme]

They won't. There will be people who buy this, but it won't explode like some here seem to think it will. Apple TV is still going to be the go-to for most iPhone/iPad users, and there are a lot more of those than Kindle Fire users and Amazon Phone, oh wait, there's no such thing. There are a few things that the current Kindle Fire TV does better than the current Apple TV, and there's a certain feature that the Apple TV has called AirPlay that has potential to completely negate any features the Kindle Fire TV has for most Apple device users. Dropping in an App Store with some games is not game-changing right now.

And again, whenever Apple does drop a next-generation Apple TV, expect it to raise the bar well past where the Kindle Fire TV is.

And really, who's shocked that the voice search doesn't work very well??? This should not be disappointing or surprising, because you had to imagine it'd be rough going early on at the very least in this department.

If you morons had half a brain you would buy a decent media player for $50 and download all your content for free on to a hard drive from piratebay instead of being Apples litlle beeches. Your stupidity and eagerness to give Apple your money is astounding

 

[Jimmy James]

I personally don't see much value in these boxes for people who have smart tv's. I can stream online content, or from my computer, or play directly from a USB port. We view all of our family pictures & video on the tv now. No extra box needed.

I understand that an Apple TV might perform these functions better, but it's nice not to have to boot and manage another device/remote.

Where I do see value is as a standalone gaming platform or access to other apps my smart tv can't manage. It seems like there's still a long way to go, although this starts to bridge the gap.

I also really like the headphone jack in the Roku remote. I would use that a lot.

 

[69Mustang]

I didn't misrepresent anything and you need to calm your tone. I wasn't speaking to you in the first place now was I?

"That's all this forum does is nitpick Apple when they don't get it perfect every time." That's your quote and it is a total misrepresentation of this forum.
There are some members on both ends of the for/against Apple spectrum, but the vast majority fall well within the category of reasonable. As far as my tone, it was completely calm. No CAPS, no exclamation points!!, or bolded/giant font. Nor was there any insult directed towards you. I even went out of my way to make sure you knew you weren't the annoying poster I mentioned.

Whether you were speaking to me or not is quite immaterial. First, it's an internet forum. Not usually the place for one-on-one conversation. Secondly, it seems a bit hypocritical since Nunyabinez wasn't speaking to you either but you commented. Lastly, it's an internet forum. Does anything we say really matter?

 

[Kariya]

Seems like they're nitpicking to me.

They have to because a lot of people already own a console, apple tv or roku so why is this a must have?

After all there are better options for gaming and cheaper options for streaming.

 

[macs4nw]

2014 with no 802.11ac. Nice. If any Apple product gets launched without it this year... I'm going to be in shock.

Why? The 'n' (or even 'g') is more than fast enough for any streaming purposes, and 'n' has got all that MIMO goodness. What operational benefit do you think you'd get from having 'ac'?

True enough, but if and when the next gen AppleTv is ready, I'm kind of hoping it'll be the rumored, combined Airport Express/AppleTv. It would be nice to kill two birds with one stone, and at the same upgrade an aging 'g' express that keeps conking out whenever someone uses the microwave. Such a combi unit would hopefully have 802.11ac.

 

[aperry]

They have to because a lot of people already own a console, apple tv or roku so why is this a must have?

After all there are better options for gaming and cheaper options for streaming.

It has app support. So as the app store grows you can make it into whatever you want it to be. Can you do that on a console, apple tv or roku?

 

[LordVic]

It has app support. So as the app store grows you can make it into whatever you want it to be. Can you do that on a console, apple tv or roku?

Yes.

Roku has it's own "channel / App" store, that features many popular channels, as well as it's own apps and gaming titles.

The AppleTV, technically should be able to support App's since it is iOS based unit. Apple has just disabled the functionality because... Apple?

 

[aperry]

Yes.

Roku has it's own "channel / App" store, that features many popular channels, as well as it's own apps and gaming titles.

The AppleTV, technically should be able to support App's since it is iOS based unit. Apple has just disabled the functionality because... Apple?

I have a Roku 3, and so let's be honest about it. It has a ton of great media streaming channels, and not much else. I'll admit that Angry Birds with the gyro remote was good fun, but apart from that.....

The Amazon App Store combined with the ability to side-load other Android apps is much more interesting IMO.

 

[LordVic]

I have a Roku 3, and so let's be honest about it. It has a ton of great media streaming channels, and not much else. I'll admit that Angry Birds with the gyro remote was good fun, but apart from that.....

The Amazon App Store combined with the ability to side-load other Android apps is much more interesting IMO.

I didnt say it was WELL done or even had a lot of titles.

just that it DOES exist

Though, I do agree that Fire TV will have a big boost over the others if they can bring in good quality Apps.

now something I dont know and haven't really checked. is the Fire TV google play compatible? or are you limitted to only the Apps that Amazon gives you in their store?