I’m probably not alone in being a bit of a hoarder of cheap TV service boxes. I’ve tried Western Digital’s range with modest success, and even built a Media Centre using a Raspberry Pi running XBMC (with similarly modest success). The first device I really fell in love with was Google’s Chromecast which, in my view, is a marvellously elegant little device which is becoming increasing useful as functionality and app support is added. I also watch on-demand TV services on a PS3, Sony Bluray player and, most recently, Sky’s Now TV box which is, essentially, a cut down Roku providing access to premium Sky services on a piecemeal basis (welcome to the future, Sky!).
So, why am I tempted by the recently announced UK launch of the Amazon Fire TV? After all, when I do buy movies or TV shows, I almost always do so via Google Play since most of my mobile devices run Android.
Novelty
I must confess, up front, that the idea of speaking into the microphone to call up the latest episode of Extant rather than having to fumble through the stodgy interface of the Amazon Instant Video apps on my PS3 or Bluray player certainly appeals. Okay, it only takes perhaps 30 seconds to find the next episode but it will be quicker and much cooler if I can do this by speaking – reports so far suggest this works pretty well.
Prime
I stayed with Prime despite the price hike earlier this year largely because, despite the rise, I worked out we still get excellent value on the “free” shipping alone. I’d previously subscribed to LoveFilm Instant at a reduced rate which added up to a total of £79 per year anyway (and was probably Amazon testing the waters ahead of increasing the subscription). So, whether or not we used Amazon Instant Video, we’d have stuck with Prime. As it happens, we do use Instant Video fairly regularly – although not as often as Netflix, but that’s largely because the Netflix interface is so much better (on PS3) than that of Amazon’s product. Amazon is clearly pushing Prime towards being mainly about digital content consumption and the Fire TV will be the best way to consume it. Furthermore, as a Prime customer, I was able to get the device for £50 which has got to be worth a punt.
Our use, as a family, of Prime Instant Video has increased lately as our use of traditional TV has shrunk – I can almost imagine Fire TV being the only device we need in future, almost.
Games
My 8 year old son and I spend many an hour playing Lego games, Skylanders and Disney Infinity on the PS3 but we also enjoy casual games. To have access to a decent and growing library of converted smartphone/tablet games (I’m told conversion is fairly straightforward so hopefully the library will continue to grow) we get to enjoy some of our favourites on the big screen. Minion Rush is there already but Plants vs Zombies 2 would be a fantastic experience on a TV (yes, I know I can mirror it from my Nexus 7 via the Chromecast but then I end up looking at the tablet anyway as I place plants so there’s little point).
However, there are some risks.
Risks
So far, whilst the Fire TV will ship with Netflix and other apps, there’s no sign of any of the UK broadcasters. Demand 5 is listed as “coming soon” but ITVPlayer, 4OD and, most crucially, BBC iPlayer are notable for their absence. I’m buying the device assuming that iPlayer, at the very least, will be ported across – if not, Fire TV is much less useful.
Also, whilst I am excited by the games, I see two potential problems. Firstly that games simply won’t work well on the remote control and I’m NOT prepared to spend almost as much again on buying the game controller. The second problem is the limited library – in the long run will there be enough top quality games to keep things interesting?
Overall, however, I’m excited by the Fire TV and can’t wait for its arrival at the end of October. Amazon is very good at creating a smooth, integrated experience across its products and I’m looking forward to see how they bring this all together in their first media streaming device.