Amazon Press Event - 02 Apr

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I'm thinking of getting the Roku stick. It's half the price of the Roku 3 or the Amazon box, and I don't really need the games.

Got mine last Friday. Love it! (We also have Roku 3, Roku HD, Roku LT and I think a 1st gen Roku in the house). The stick is great. Streams Amazon video, and all the other things we have accounts for. Comes with a remote, and can also be controlled with my tablets! I wonder if it would work with a blue tooth keyboard, since they say Fire TV does.

I got a 2 year warranty from square trade for $4. Although I don't expect anything to go wrong, that was certainly cheap enough to spring for it.

The bad thing is, now other people (like my husband) have an excuse to sprawl out on my bed and watch my TV instead of going to their own rooms. (And he is the one with the Roku 3)! The stick is slower than the R3 but I guess he doesn't care!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by wizwor

They're all interesting. Lots of choice all of a sudden. All have shortcomings. For me, the biggest flaw in the Channels streamer is the lack of a DVR. If the idea is to not leave the Mohu interface, then one is probably going to want to record and playback shows. I like the Simple DVR, but there is now a Tablo alternative, and MediaMall has PlayLater. One of these would be a big plus.

I picked up Playlater when they had a sale but haven't had a chance to try it yet.
I may need to upgrade ghe desktop to use it the way I'd prefer.

Basically there is a media player STB bubble inflating right now with a zillion players aiming for the living room, blithely ignoring that at least half the market already belongs to Microsoft and Sony.

All bubbles pop and this is about a year away from popping.

[QuantumIguana]

Right now, Roku is the leader in streaming set to boxes, and Amazon is aiming at them with this box. You can stream content with the Sony and Microsoft game consoles, but it's kind of a bother. I have a PS3 at home, but I don't care to use it for Netflix. I'd rather just have the Roku box that is always on with a more convenient controller than the PS3 controller.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Basically there is a media player STB bubble inflating right now with a zillion players aiming for the living room, blithely ignoring that at least half the market already belongs to Microsoft and Sony.

All bubbles pop and this is about a year away from popping.

First, get going with PlayLater. It is simply awesome. Hope you got the HD plugins.

This isn't a bubble. It's a transition. Amazon will sell more Fire TVs in a year than Apple and Roku put together. Apple will exit the market because they don't sell hardware at cost and Roku will leave because they are still running on venture capital and no one will invest in Roku now that Amazon and Google have decided to enter the market.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by wizwor

First, get going with PlayLater. It is simply awesome. Hope you got the HD plugins.

This isn't a bubble. It's a transition. Amazon will sell more Fire TVs in a year than Apple and Roku put together. Apple will exit the market because they don't sell hardware at cost and Roku will leave because they are still running on venture capital and no one will invest in Roku now that Amazon and Google have decided to enter the market.

I got the HD versions--that's why I need to upgrade the hardware.

As to the oh-so-bold prediction...
We'll see, but I think you underestimate the power of the incumbents.
Amazon might outsell Apple and Roku but 80 Million console owners and another horde of BluRay players aren't going to replace their perfectly capable streamers (that can already Amazon's own service) for a less capable device.

Unlike ebooks in 2007, living room streaming isn't untapped virgin territory; well over half US households already have a streaming device in place and a good portion of the rest don't have unlimited broadband or aren't interested. That is why I expect the bubble to pop early next year.

[tubemonkey]

The vast majority of my streaming is done on the computer in my bedroom. What little that I do on the TV in the living room gets done with a Roku HD 2500 that I picked up during a Black Friday sale. I use it mostly for Netflix. I do even less streaming on the bedroom TV. For that, I have a Chromecast. It gets Netflix, so that's enough for me.

Given the fact that I have little need for streaming boxes, I'll just get TVs with Netflix built-in when it's time to replace my current models.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Amazon might outsell Apple and Roku but 80 Million console owners and another horde of BluRay players aren't going to replace their perfectly capable streamers (that can already Amazon's own service) for a less capable device.

No, they won't. But when people want to watch Netflix in another room, they will choose a Fire TV over the alternatives because it is less expensive, very capable, and supported by Amazon.

Some interesting anecdotal information: I do not know anyone who watches Netflix on a console, BD player, or smart TV. Supporting statistical date: Netflix then YouTube chew up most of the internet by themselves and most people who consume YT or Netflix do it on a PC.

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by wizwor

...Some interesting anecdotal information: I do not know anyone who watches Netflix on a console, BD player, or smart TV. ...

[emphasis mine] You know me! even if only online. And I watch Netflix through my bd player...

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

[emphasis mine] You know me! even if only online. And I watch Netflix through my bd player...

Thanks for messing up my anecdote. Seriously, though, I have a lot of streaming devices from Insignia BD players to SMP-N200s to Rokus. I loan them out to the unindoctrinated.

My sister asked to borrow a 25' hdmi cable to plug a laptop into her new television. I obediently brought her one, but when I realized she wanted to watch YouTube and Netflix, I checked and her TV supported both natively. She also had a BD player that supported Netflix and both would accept files on a usb disk. She had no idea, "Didn't this come with an instruction manual?" Blank stare.

Unless there is a Netflix button on the remote, most people do not know it's in the box. Even those who do, are reluctant to use a credit card over the internet. I think Netflix could add a lot of customers if they sold gift cards at retail stores.

[fjtorres]

Well, my anecdote is that I know 12 people with Xboxes and they all stream Netflix and Hulu and two stream Crunchyroll, too. All adult households where the Xbox resides in the living room--two are serious gamers of the game-a-month variety, the rest use the consoles for video first and gaming second.
Different strokes and all that.

Keep in mind that both the 360 and the PS3 will stay on the market at least 3 more years, steadily dropping in price. Xbox already runs between $149-179 and will likely drop to $149 by summer. Rumor has it MS already has a driveless 360 "mini" to sell at $99-$129, with gaming controller included. Sony has similar plans.

Anecdote for anecdote, spec for spec, Amazon has a rough road ahead in the living room.
The only declared major player with a rougher road ahead is Google.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by wizwor

Some interesting anecdotal information: I do not know anyone who watches Netflix on a console

I watch netflix on TV through the PS3. or on my smartphone

[JAcheson]

Well, the Amazon Fire TV has sold out all of their available units inside of a week. The actual number sold was not disclosed.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/04/fir...not-disclosed/

So either Amazon knew what they were doing, or Amazon didn't have enough stock on hand. Either way, it seems like good news for the Fire TV.

I watch Netflix and Amazon Prime video through my PS3 and my computer, so this is just an item of interest for me.

I wonder if this will have an impact on Sony's plans to possibly bring the Playstation Vita TV over to North America? On the one hand, Vita TV probably has a much better game lineup than the Fire TV. But on the other hand, Sony now has a powerful and entrenched rival in the North American settop/gaming arena.

[carpetmojo]

pardon ignorance, & fact that have to type one handed [and the "wrong" one at that!] due to "surgical intervention" [] .......... lots in UK think that Chromecast is the bee's knees, and was thinking of investing in one - it has the important feature of being as cheap as chips/French fries ...........

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

pardon ignorance, & fact that have to type one handed [and the "wrong" one at that!] due to "surgical intervention" [] .......... lots in UK think that Chromecast is the bee's knees, and was thinking of investing in one - it has the important feature of being as cheap as chips/French fries ...........

I have a Chromecast. I like it, but I don't use it much. If you watch tv sitting at a computer or with a tablet in your lap, it's fine. If you would rather kick back in a recliner with a remote, move along.

[fjtorres]

TechRepublic has a teardown of the FIRE TV.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/...ntegrated-gpu/

Good news: easy to open.
Not quite as good: Integrated GPU, not terribly special for games.