Amazon FireTV Stick announced

[rollei]

There should be some good deals for TV this Black Friday

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Catlady

A couple of years back, Vizio was basically saying its TVs were unrepairable. So if the set had a problem out of warranty, you were stuck with needing to buy a new set (in warranty, it would be replaced). I don't know if this has changed, but it might be something to consider, especially for the higher-priced models.

I had a Vizio with an extended warranty that was unrepairable last year; the extended warranty company replaced it with a different brand.

I would not be surprised if most inexpensive electronics of that type are considered "unrepairable." It's likely that the cost of a component-level electronic technician's time just to open one up and diagnose a problem is more than the manufacturing costs. I suspect the sets are therefore manufactured to be easier to recycle than to work on.

A shame. I think lots of stuff has gotten cheaper for the wrong reasons. But I digress....

[wizwor]

It's a tax policy problem. If you want manufacturers to make things which are more likely to be repaired, you need to change the tax structure. For instance, eliminate the income tax in favor of a sales tax with used items exempt. That created a huge incentive to buy used and/or repair. Recoup 100% of the recycle cost as the point of sale.

Originally Posted by ApK

I would not be surprised if most inexpensive electronics of that type are considered "unrepairable." It's likely that the cost of a component-level electronic technician's time just to open one up and diagnose a problem is more than the manufacturing costs. I suspect the sets are therefore manufactured to be easier to recycle than to work on.

A shame. I think lots of stuff has gotten cheaper for the wrong reasons. But I digress....

[ApK]

Originally Posted by wizwor

It's a tax policy problem. If you want manufacturers to make things which are more likely to be repaired, you need to change the tax structure. For instance, eliminate the income tax in favor of a sales tax with used items exempt. That created a huge incentive to buy used and/or repair. Recoup 100% of the recycle cost as the point of sale.

This is probably getting too far off topic, and deviling perilously close to politics, so feel free to reply privately, but I think the idea of shifting all the tax burden to a sales tax on new goods is antithetical to the idea of making goods repairable, so they last longer, so you don't have to buy new ones nearly as often.

Yes, it would keep stuff out of landfills, and give people the choice of old, cheap, but working stuff rather than new, cheap, poor quality stuff, but that would depend on the buyers of the new stuff ever-more frequently upgrading and replacing their stuff.

I guess it depends on the goal.

[silverraven]

Just a vote in favor of Vizio. I have 4, my sister has 2, my parents have 1 and my in-laws have 1. Not a lick of trouble out of any of them! It is my go-to brand for TVs.
S

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Just a vote in favor of Vizio. I have 4, my sister has 2, my parents have 1 and my in-laws have 1. Not a lick of trouble out of any of them! It is my go-to brand for TVs.
S

Not critical for a FireTV owner, but their SmartTV apps are good and reliable.
Their E-Series offers unusually good picture quality for the price. Not the cheapest but pretty good buys.

My mother has two. Nary a gripe.
(She'll be getting one of my two sticks.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

1- General rule of thumb for first-time HDTV buyers: whatever size you think will suit you, kick it up two notches. If you're thinking 27-32 in, look at 40-42 in. It's mostly a matter of viewing distance

Thanks, but the TV has to fit on my computer desk and the viewing distance is 4~5 feet. I watch videos and most shows in the bedroom. Even though my living room TV is the old fashion picture tube type, it still functions quite nicely; so no need to replace it.

[fjtorres]

CNET has a detailed review.
They like it, warts and all.
Four Stars.

http://www.cnet.com/products/amazon-fire-tv-stick/

The Good The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a bargain at $40. It provides the best way to watch Amazon Instant movies and TV yet, and Prime subscribers can stream thousands of titles for no additional charge. The interface is zippy, and Amazon content streams lightning-fast. Supported third-party apps include Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Watch ESPN, Spotify and Pandora, as well as hundreds of games. Amazon also offers flexible parental controls, and setup is incredibly simple.

The Bad HBO Go and an iOS control app are promised soon, but still a no-show. The user interface strongly favors Amazon Instant content over other services, and the search feature doesn't comb through Netflix or most other non-Amazon apps. You really need a Prime subscription to get the most out of the device.

The Bottom Line While it doesn't match the app selection or search capabilities of Roku, Amazon's Fire TV Stick's solid performance and mastery of Amazon content make it easily worth the $40 price.

And that is at full list.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Even though my living room TV is the old fashion picture tube type, it still functions quite nicely; so no need to replace it.

Our living room set is a CRT also. Aside from working well and not being our primary set anyway, it has the advantage of being able to play our PlayStation light gun games.

However if it was our primary set, I'd probably want something with more 16:9 viewing room, and a modern set probably consumes 1/10 the power, which can be significant if the set is on a lot.


ApK

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by ApK

Our living room set is a CRT also. Aside from working well and not being our primary set anyway, it has the advantage of being able to play our PlayStation light gun games.

However if it was our primary set, I'd probably want something with more 16:9 viewing room, and a modern set probably consumes 1/10 the power, which can be significant if the set is on a lot.


ApK

We have a 32 inch CRT in the bedroom - that thing is heavy! It is HD though.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Thanks, but the TV has to fit on my computer desk and the viewing distance is 4~5 feet. I watch videos and most shows in the bedroom. Even though my living room TV is the old fashion picture tube type, it still functions quite nicely; so no need to replace it.

You need a bigger desk. Could easily fit a 72-inch on mine if I wanted to. And STILL have room for everything else.

I bought two Vizio sets a few years ago. The only problem with their lowend models is that they have horrible viewing angles. They work fine when you're sat in front of them though.

I use mine as my computer monitor since I run my MacBook Pro in clamshell mode, but I find that it's kinda harsh on the eyes. It's too vivid and I can't really fix it without impacting something else.

Remote and menus are very nice though. A lot of TV companies are lame at those two things.

[zebradude]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

It'll warm up in my hand while I'm plugging it into my TV.

Seriously, you guys have a designated warmup period?

and Jessica lives in Texas!

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by ApK

Our living room set is a CRT also. Aside from working well and not being our primary set anyway, it has the advantage of being able to play our PlayStation light gun games.

We have a 36" Sony CRT in the basement. It was our primary set until we got a PS3 which looked like crap. Can't part with it. Need it for the light gun for my atari. Also, OK for the WII.

Originally Posted by ApK

However if it was our primary set, I'd probably want something with more 16:9 viewing room, and a modern set probably consumes 1/10 the power, which can be significant if the set is on a lot.

Meh on the power. My primary set (60" plasma) warms the room. Looks great, though.

[Shane R]

Amazon just sent me an email with an updated shipping date for my Fire stick.

It was originally January 6th-January 8th. Now they've moved it to just before the new year. I canceled the no rush shipping and requested my two-day Prime shipping, and now it's set to arrive on Christmas eve.

[delph]

I got my email yesterday letting me know that my Fire stick shipped. My original delivery date was 12/2. It'll actually arrive on 11/28, since Thursday is a holiday.