Amazon Fire TV Unboxing and Day One Impressions

First impression: "This looks tiny"

Confirmed, it's smaller than a Nintendo DS game case

The contents inside of the box were the Fire TV, a remote control, batteries for the control, power cord and the instructions. The only thing missing for me to set it up was an HDMI cable which I had laying around the house.

Shot of the main screen.

The setup was as simple as plug the power cord into an electrical outlet and the back of the Fire TV, then plug an HDMI cable into the Fire TV as well as your television. After powering on the Fire TV you are directed to connect the device to a  network and then you are shown a tutorial video.

Voice command seemed to work really well except for the one show I was trying to watch, I used the control to manually navigate and found the show easily.

I again tried the voice navigation to search for the one mobile game I waste a decent amount of time on, The Simpsons Tapped Out...points for trying?

So they don't have the game I was really wanting to play, at least I can try Minecraft...or not. Though I could not play Minecraft I should note that it downloaded rather quickly.








So, after one night I am not overly convinced that this will replace anything currently in my entertainment center but my mind could be changed over the next month. I will update at the end of this week.

Amazon Fire TV Free for 30 Days

Amazon sent me an e-mail telling me that I could get a Fire TV free for 30 days, I figured why not give it a try. I do not consider myself to be an Amazon fanboy in any sense but I do have an Amazon store card; own two Kindle Fire HD's; buy most if not all of my electronics from them. With that being said, I don't know if it was my status with them or mere coincidence that got me this offer and I'm not sure that everyone didn't get this exact same offer extended to them. The Fire TV is currently priced at $99 with free shipping, the offer gave you 30 days to decide if you wanted to keep it before you are charged.

I already have a setup where I don't feel that I'm in need of a standalone streaming device as I already own an Xbox 360, Xbox One and a PS3 all of which do what the Fire TV does. I do however recognize that not everybody wants video games as the centerpiece of their device and for them a Fire HD may be able to help cut the cable cord. I am set to receive the device tomorrow and I will post my experiences with the Fire TV starting with its unboxing.

How I Cut Cable, Without Using Torrents or International Streaming Sites.

There are plenty of free sites that you can use to keep up with your favorite shows, start with the actual network sites. Content will most likely be limited to a few most recent episodes and they are usually available the same night that they air, if not the next morning.

• ABC
• CBS
• FOX
• NBC
• CW
• Nickelodeon
• Comedy Central
• MTV

Keeping with free options we should add:

• Free Movie Database - Not Hollywood blockbuster's but free nonetheless.
• South Park - Every episode
• Whose Line Is It Anyway - Every episode
• Crackle - Movies and television with some original content.
• Combat Sports - MMA, K-1 and Boxing, highlights and full fights
• NBC Sports LIVE Stream NBC Sports.

Now on to pay services:

• Netflix - I pay around $8 a month for Netflix and I think they are they best bargain for pay services. Netflix has a large library of TV shows and Movies and have their own original content not available elsewhere like House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange Is The New Black. Netflix e-mailed me the other day letting me know their price would be going up but since I was an existing customer my increase would not take effect for two years.
• Hulu + - Hulu offers a free and pay version, neither is overly impressive. I have been sent a free month of Hulu + at least three times in the past year and I never extend the service, I cannot get on board with paying them to watch commercials. Most options on Hulu can be watched elsewhere.
• Amazon - Amazon offers streaming when you subscribe to their Amazon Prime which was recently raised to around $100 a year, or around $8.33 a month. Amazon has a decent library including some content not available on Netflix and they are moving towards creating more of the own exclusive shows. Amazon has officially partnered with HBO bringing more content not available with Hulu or Netflix.

Finally don't forget Youtube and other popular video sharing sites.