FIRE vs TABLET

[covfam]

Digital copywrite licenses only allow for recording of purchases for archival purposes not the distribution of said media to other people therefore negating to pay the artists/studios for the work that was done.

Illegally making copies of porducts someone else purchased would be no different than if blossom purchased a book and then left alinkie here of said book for everyone on mobile reads to download said book without every paying for it. (im not saying you do that blossom)

So you cannot justify the legality of using other peoples media "because they already bought them" for one most all end user legal agrements say that you do not own said piece of media but are indefinatly leasing said media on certain listed conditions and breaking said conditions open yourself to legal or financial penalties.

[Jessica Lares]

Content Formats Supported Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

In saying that, I don't think they'll be supporting your own videos sadly. Just the Amazon Instant content. You've all failed to also see:

On-device Storage 8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content). That's enough for 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.

80 apps = 12.8MB each = 1GB. 10 Amazon Instant Video Videos = 500MB each (as per their listed portable versions) = 5GB. Even this screenshot suggests so:

And one last thing...

Q: Can you load your own files through the USB?

A: Yes, you can connect it to a PC. We don't think people are going to do it very often; we haven't optimized for that use.

But if you plug it into a PC or Mac, folders will show up and you can drag files onto it.

Most of the people who are buying the Kindle Fire aren't going to have digital movies sitting on their hard drive. At least ones that are not DRM protected. Most people who are buying it also don't have computers that can even handle video efficiently, it's one of the reasons why Netflix and YouTube are so big - Because things like Flash offer better playback than AVI, WMV, and the rest. Not all of us have huge hard drives either.

MP4/VP8 are the only supported file extensions on that list for video.

[gweminence]

You're completely ignoring (or just not thinking about) the ability to use 3rd-party android players to play whatever you like. There's quite a few of those on Amazon market. But besides that, mp4 is apple's version of video, isn't it? For that reason alone, I'm sure it can't be the only video format supported out of the box -- I've never heard of vp8.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by gweminence

You're completely ignoring (or just not thinking about) the ability to use 3rd-party android players to play whatever you like. There's quite a few of those on Amazon market. But besides that, mp4 is apple's version of video, isn't it? For that reason alone, I'm sure it can't be the only video format supported out of the box -- I've never heard of vp8.

VP8 Looks like an Android format maybe.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by gweminence

You're completely ignoring (or just not thinking about) the ability to use 3rd-party android players to play whatever you like. There's quite a few of those on Amazon market. But besides that, mp4 is apple's version of video, isn't it? For that reason alone, I'm sure it can't be the only video format supported out of the box -- I've never heard of vp8.

Oh of course, definitely! But you're also assuming that the USB connection will be fast enough for that. You know? Just because the one in your current Kindle is fast to upload 10MB in books, doesn't mean it'll be fast enough for a 500MB movie you upload yourself. It's not JUST an external hard drive after all.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

In saying that, I don't think they'll be supporting your own videos sadly. Just the Amazon Instant content.

I don't see why your reaching for that conclusion. As far as "That's enough for 80 apps, plus 10 movies", that's just an example. It's not an iron-clad rule on what you can put on your device.

I really don't see any basis at all for the idea that the Fire will only supported Amazon content, especially given that Amazon has said repeatedly that they won't do anything to stop people from sideloading apps or rooting the device.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Oh of course, definitely! But you're also assuming that the USB connection will be fast enough for that. You know? Just because the one in your current Kindle is fast to upload 10MB in books, doesn't mean it'll be fast enough for a 500MB movie you upload yourself. It's not JUST an external hard drive after all.

Transferring large video files to my Android phone isn't too bad, and I expect the Kindle Fire to be a little faster still. It'll still take some time, but I don't think it'll be anything horrendous.

[Jessica Lares]

They've given you an exact answer though, unlike other tablet makers *Cough* Apple *Cough* who wouldn't tell you that only 6GB is the actual usable space.

And sideloading apps/rooting is completely different to obtaining and loading illegally distributed tv episodes and movies.

[gweminence]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

But you're also assuming that the USB connection will be fast enough for that.

Well, firstly, USB transfer speeds are standardized through the electronics industry. Currently, USB 2.0 and 3.0 are available. I'm reasonably sure that the fire is 2.0 (They would make a big deal of it being 3.0 if it was), which means that sideloading apps across that connection will be just as fast as any other 2.0 device, such as a usb stick, flash drive, etc etc.

But beyond that, what's to stop you from streaming (or 'sideloading')it wirelessly, just like you would a movie coming from amazon's server? There's plenty of ways for doing that, most of which are also on the amazon app store.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, Jess -- just pointing out that you're making some assumptions that I'm reasonably sure are not correct. That doesn't say anything bad about you, not everyone is a techie!

[Barbara1955]

My friend has Apple ...guess thats why he did them in MP4 format. & As I have said I am Non-Techy so I dont Root! It has to work right out of the box for me or forgetaboutit LOL On the 16 gig Falsh I can get 13-14 movies. AWWWW son just told me cause only has 14 gig space LOL No AVSI format....thats what the other is!

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by gweminence

Well, firstly, USB transfer speeds are standardized through the electronics industry. Currently, USB 2.0 and 3.0 are available. I'm reasonably sure that the fire is 2.0 (They would make a big deal of it being 3.0 if it was), which means that sideloading apps across that connection will be just as fast as any other 2.0 device, such as a usb stick, flash drive, etc etc.

But beyond that, what's to stop you from streaming (or 'sideloading')it wirelessly, just like you would a movie coming from amazon's server? There's plenty of ways for doing that, most of which are also on the amazon app store.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, Jess -- just pointing out that you're making some assumptions that I'm reasonably sure are not correct. That doesn't say anything bad about you, not everyone is a techie!

Yeah, I know about that. But, I have 2.0 flashdrives and they are pretty crappy at transferring, unlike the external I have. The same is true about the multiple devices I have.

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by gweminence

How do I know?

Perhaps because Amazon has officially said so? Or maybe I could glean it from the 'YOU CAN NOW USE HULU AND NETFLIX APPS' announcement. OFFICIAL announcement. Or maybe I figured it out when an Amazonian VP announced that they are doing nothing to prevent rooting? Or perhaps...

Well. You get the picture. I hope. There's been so many official announcements on this topic that I begin to wonder if some of you ever visit any other sites, watch the news, or listen to others.

The Hulu and Netflix applications have their own embedded codecs. The OP has stated that the video in question are in AVI and MP4. What about FLV, DIVX, WMV and the many other formats. There has been no mention anywhere as to which codecs, if any, the Fire will support. For instance, the Amazon App Store does not include MX Video Player which will play AVI and MP4 videos. In fact I can't find any video players, on the Amazon App Store, that plays AVI (the preferred bootleg format).

How difficult will it be for the average owner to root the Fire. This may be the only way to gain access to other video players.

These are some of the unknowns and that is why I canceled my order for the Fire.

Regards - John

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Jabby

The Hulu and Netflix applications have their own embedded codecs. The OP has stated that the video in question are in AVI and MP4. What about FLV, DIVX, WMV and the many other formats. There has been no mention anywhere as to which codecs, if any, the Fire will support. For instance, the Amazon App Store does not include MX Video Player which will play AVI and MP4 videos. In fact I can't find any video players, on the Amazon App Store, that plays AVI (the preferred bootleg format).

How difficult will it be for the average owner to root the Fire. This may be the only way to gain access to other video players.

These are some of the unknowns and that is why I canceled my order for the Fire.

Regards - John

You will be able to sideload apps. This has been confirm by Suntimes and another reviewer. There is a setting you have to check for it but you can use the browser to download apk files. so now it's just making sure it works okay on the Fire. It's going to be trial and error but at least we have that option.

Also Mantano will work on the Fire so we do have epub support!

I am reading these hands on reviews as fast as they come in when I should be sleeping.

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by Blossom

You will be able to sideload apps. This has been confirm by Suntimes and another reviewer. There is a setting you have to check for it but you can use the browser to download apk files.

You can sideload or download apps if you can find the APK. That's really tough for paid apps.

I have a rather large library of home videos mostly in AVI, MOV or DIVX. The only video player that plays all these is MX Video Player with added codecs. Where to get these codecs, other than the Andriod Market, is unknown to me.

Now if I could put all these home videos in the cloud and stream them to a Fire, I would be one happy camper.

Until some of these question are answered, I will hold my Fire order in abeyance (I wanted to say; hold my fire on the Fire order. Over the top?). I have enough useless tablets cluttering up my place already.

Regards - John

[Dr. Drib]

I think when the Fire is actually released, the "arguments" and "counter-arguments" detailing what is and is not available for the Fire will become a moot point, and exclamation marks will no longer be necessary to convey excitement and/or information (or even perceived "misinformation").

We can then hope that everyone will be happy, whatever it is one chooses to do with the Fire and whether or not it satisfies one's hunger for whatever it is that one is looking for (or not looking for).

Of course, for any individual who is not happy, perhaps a new thread that specifically details the reasons for this unhappiness - and using rhetorical devices to communicate this unhappiness in a gentler fashion (one can only hope) - will be appreciated by the majority of participating members of this thread.






Don