Amazon Echo Club

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I have a Fire TV Stick 1 and rarely use it.

Originally Posted by jswinden

I have a FireTV and I use it occasionally. The video quality is excellent.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I have a Fire Stick whose main reason for living is to enable me to access Netflix.
And after cutting a monthly check to Netflix, I the choir says, "Amen!"

I have both, actually. A FireTV Stick that I take with me when I travel, and the newer model FireTV that is permanently connected to the main TV.

We watch a LOT of stuff on the FireTV, combining Prime, Acorn (HIGHLY recommended) and Starz (Which we'll likely drop.) And Netflix. And Hulu. In fact, just about the only thing we watch on our regular DVR is The National (CBC News) and sporting events.

I love that the Echo Dot in the Kitchen (within audio range of the Living Room where the TV and FireTV are) can now start and control shows and movies on the FireTV. "Alexa, play the next episode of The Heart Guy" and it's done. No fumbling for the right remote, it's just done. It's always seemed brain dead that the Dot and Alexa couldn't be used to control the FireTV, so this just makes sense.

I also have a 1st generation Fire Stick, but it is total garbage. The stupid thing will not allow HDMI control access to my TV/entertainment system after control is given to the Stick. In other words, once I change the input to the TV to be the Stick, it keeps control and refuses to allow the TV to change inputs. So every time I used the Stick, I had to get up and physically unplug it from its HDMI input port to regain control of my TV. PITA, and that little Stick went back into its box to collect dust. I got it during the initial offering for $20 I think, so I kept it hoping a FW update would fix it. I haven't tried it in a year or two, but the last time I used it it was still being a PITA. The FireTV box works very well though. I really like it.

The main issue with FireTV, AppleTV, or any other streaming device and/or service is the availability of material one wants to watch. For a lot of people, they seem to find happiness in services like Netflix, Hulu, Acorn, etc. There are a boat load of these services today. But for me, they don't come close to providing the programming I enjoy to watch, nor the channels I like to watch. They all have a lot of gotchas. I've tried many/most of them over the years, and they are always disappointing to me. Netflix never seems to be able to stream the movies/shows I want, but for another monthly fee they will gladly mail me a DVD. Arrgh! Same with with Hulu and the rest--they rarely have much content I care to watch. I already have Amazon Prime, so I get their video streaming for free. Otherwise I wouldn't pay for it as they have little interesting content. The problem with these services is they seem good for the first week or month, but soon you run out of decent programming and they become a boat anchor to your pocket book. And by the time I pay for high speed internet service along with three or four streaming services, I'm up to nearly the same I amount I pay for cable, but I won't have many of my favorite channels nor will I have DVR ability. Like I said, this works for some people, but I've never been able to make it work for me. Sadly I still have to be stuck with my cable.

In a perfect world we would be able to purchase any single channel we wanted for delivery via streaming or cable or satellite, and pay a small monthly fee. Then we could build our dream stream system with just the few channels we wanted rather than paying for 5 channels just to get 1 we want. But we all know that perfect world will never exist. Big cable/satellite/streaming will never go along with that as they would not be able to sell most of their garbage channels without packaging. And the owners of the channels will never agree to sell the rights to cable/satellite/streaming without getting a huge profit. And Congress will never correct their attitudes because of the powerful lobbyists. To make it work would require a huge amount of regulation and price control, and that will never happen.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I also have a 1st generation Fire Stick, but it is total garbage. The stupid thing will not allow HDMI control access to my TV/entertainment system after control is given to the Stick. In other words, once I change the input to the TV to be the Stick, it keeps control and refuses to allow the TV to change inputs. So every time I used the Stick, I had to get up and physically unplug it from its HDMI input port to regain control of my TV. PITA, and that little Stick went back into its box to collect dust. I got it during the initial offering for $20 I think, so I kept it hoping a FW update would fix it. I haven't tried it in a year or two, but the last time I used it it was still being a PITA. The FireTV box works very well though. I really like it.

The main issue with FireTV, AppleTV, or any other streaming device and/or service is the availability of material one wants to watch. For a lot of people, they seem to find happiness in services like Netflix, Hulu, Acorn, etc. There are a boat load of these services today. But for me, they don't come close to providing the programming I enjoy to watch, nor the channels I like to watch. They all have a lot of gotchas. I've tried many/most of them over the years, and they are always disappointing to me. Netflix never seems to be able to stream the movies/shows I want, but for another monthly fee they will gladly mail me a DVD. Arrgh! Same with with Hulu and the rest--they rarely have much content I care to watch. I already have Amazon Prime, so I get their video streaming for free. Otherwise I wouldn't pay for it as they have little interesting content. The problem with these services is they seem good for the first week or month, but soon you run out of decent programming and they become a boat anchor to your pocket book. And by the time I pay for high speed internet service along with three or four streaming services, I'm up to nearly the same I amount I pay for cable, but I won't have many of my favorite channels nor will I have DVR ability. Like I said, this works for some people, but I've never been able to make it work for me. Sadly I still have to be stuck with my cable.

In a perfect world we would be able to purchase any single channel we wanted for delivery via streaming or cable or satellite, and pay a small monthly fee. Then we could build our dream stream system with just the few channels we wanted rather than paying for 5 channels just to get 1 we want. But we all know that perfect world will never exist. Big cable/satellite/streaming will never go along with that as they would not be able to sell most of their garbage channels without packaging. And the owners of the channels will never agree to sell the rights to cable/satellite/streaming without getting a huge profit. And Congress will never correct their attitudes because of the powerful lobbyists. To make it work would require a huge amount of regulation and price control, and that will never happen.

In a perfect world every Tom Harry Dick would not have their own show.
If you don't like streaming/cable/satellite, you can always buy a cheap antenna and watch broadcast TV. Or have you looked on you tube. They have pretty good videos sometime.
Oh and by the way, DISH changed up their programming packages where I do pay for the channels I watch and not for the ones I didn't.
I have no premium channels,and cutting out the kid tv and the science channel dropped my bill by $50.
I don't count my internet bill as part of my TV service since I use the Internet for so much more than streaming. Yes, they are separate.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

In a perfect world every Tom Harry Dick would not have their own show.
If you don't like streaming/cable/satellite, you can always buy a cheap antenna and watch broadcast TV. Or have you looked on you tube. They have pretty good videos sometime.
Oh and by the way, DISH changed up their programming packages where I do pay for the channels I watch and not for the ones I didn't.
I have no premium channels,and cutting out the kid tv and the science channel dropped my bill by $50.
I don't count my internet bill as part of my TV service since I use the Internet for so much more than streaming. Yes, they are separate.

Really no need to get upset about my opinions on streaming. I am what I am, you are what you are. Leave at that. I was merely stating how I look at streaming in its current state.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Oh and by the way, DISH changed up their programming packages where I do pay for the channels I watch and not for the ones I didn't.

I don't believe any carrier offers true a la carte channel selection.
Are you referring to the Dish "channel packs," and just that you happen to like the channels in the pack(s) you get?

And Jack, don't go blaming just the carriers. They can't license just the channels people want because the content providers demand they contract for a package with a bunch of garbage channels too.

In the more publicized contract disputes between carriers and content providers, it's hard to tell who's position is more unreasonable, but I suspect many cable companies would be HAPPY to sell customers only what they want IF they could pay the content providers for only those channels, and not all the others along with it.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ApK

I don't believe any carrier offers true a la carte channel selection.
Are you referring to the Dish "channel packs," and just that you happen to like the channels in the pack(s) you get?

And Jack, don't go blaming just the carriers. They can't license just the channels people want because the content providers demand they contract for a package with a bunch of garbage channels too.

In the more publicized contract disputes between carriers and content providers, it's hard to tell who's position is more unreasonable, but I suspect many cable companies would be HAPPY to sell customers only what they want IF they could pay the content providers for only those channels, and not all the others along with it.

I am referring to their new flex packs where yes you are still stuck with all the basic cable channels but now I don't have to pay for BRAT Tv. Oh and yes I did keep the sports/action pack for $10 of which I do watch 90% of those channels.
The only channel I now wish I could get rid of is the whiny victim channel. It is easy enough to avoid.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Really no need to get upset about my opinions on streaming. I am what I am, you are what you are. Leave at that. I was merely stating how I look at streaming in its current state.

And I was merely stating what seems to be on regular tv lately. Add punctuation as you see fit to my first sentence in my previous post to you.

[wodin]

I bought a Roku box specifically to watch "Outlander" in Starz. Other than that I rarely use it as NETFLIX is native to my UHD TV. I'm currently on my second reading of it on Kindle, and am a bit bummed that the Starz series is so far behind the print version.

[wodin]

Amazon’s Alexa can now play music for ‘hooking up’ and ‘baby-making’

[dandelioncottage]

Best Buy has the 2nd generation Echo Dot on sale for $34.99. I'm tempted, but am not sure what I'd use it for besides playing music. I'm not interested in the smart home features.

I have all iOS devices and rarely use Siri, which I assume is similar???

What else do you use your Echo Dot for?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by dandelioncottage

Best Buy has the 2nd generation Echo Dot on sale for $34.99. I'm tempted, but am not sure what I'd use it for besides playing music. I'm not interested in the smart home features.

I have all iOS devices and rarely use Siri, which I assume is similar???

What else do you use your Echo Dot for?

Our Dot is in the kitchen, and kitchen tasks are her primary use.
We use the shopping list, set timers, do measurement conversion.
And the kids play music during their kitchen chores.
Since she's in earshot of the dining room, we'll sometimes ask reference questions that come up over dinner. (The hacked Google skill makes her a bit more useful for that one.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by dandelioncottage

Best Buy has the 2nd generation Echo Dot on sale for $34.99. I'm tempted, but am not sure what I'd use it for besides playing music. I'm not interested in the smart home features.

I have all iOS devices and rarely use Siri, which I assume is similar???

What else do you use your Echo Dot for?

Yes, buy one

$35 is the lowest price it's been (not counting promo discounts for specific customers).

I have 4 Dots and use them for music, audiobooks, FM radio, old time radio, podcasts, weather, and an occasional question or two. My favorite apps are Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, and Audible.

I don't use my Dots for smart home features. I have no interest in that whatsoever.

Alexa is similar to Siri and OK Google, but her database is very weak compared to the other two. That's why I rarely ask her any questions; she's severely lacking in knowledge.

Edit: I use my Dots on a daily basis and almost always use the built-in speaker. Occasionally, I'll pair them with a bluetooth speaker.
.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by dandelioncottage

Best Buy has the 2nd generation Echo Dot on sale for $34.99. I'm tempted, but am not sure what I'd use it for besides playing music. I'm not interested in the smart home features.

I have all iOS devices and rarely use Siri, which I assume is similar???

What else do you use your Echo Dot for?

When I use my Dot, it's mostly for music. It's nice to be able to tell Alexa to "Play classical music" or "Play Sinatra" or whatever--I use it with my home stereo speakers. Sometimes I ask for the weather report or a baseball score. I feel like someday maybe I will use smart home features, but I haven't yet.

I'm glad I didn't shell out for the Echo, but I like the Dot. For the price (I paid $40), even though I rarely use it, I'm happy with it.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by dandelioncottage

Best Buy has the 2nd generation Echo Dot on sale for $34.99. I'm tempted, but am not sure what I'd use it for besides playing music. I'm not interested in the smart home features.

I have all iOS devices and rarely use Siri, which I assume is similar???

What else do you use your Echo Dot for?

All I use mine for is music from tunein radio. I have four currently in use and use them as replacements for the old roku soundbridge devices that were dying. At $35 the dots are great price for music. We had the soundbridges hooked up to stereos so we already had speakers.

[Tarana]

Dandielion, I have several Dots. In bedroom, I use it for music and nighttime white noise (usually ocean waves), alarm clock, timer (eye meds). I have tinnitus and a cpap and that helps me sleep. I have since replaced that Dot with a new Echo picked up during Prime Day. My sis uses a Dot when she visits also for the white noise because street traffic woke her up (she lives in a rural area).

In the kitchen, use it all the time for timers, alarm clocks, music, text-to-speech, exercise (there is a 7 minute exercise skill), occasional jokes, weather and news updates before I go out the door. Also use it for reminders - new feature that I love because Echo will tell you what you are being reminded of. Also, after telling Echo it was my birthday, I had her sing me happy birthday song.

I don't like using the Dot so much for audiobooks because you have to turn the sound way up. I don't have that problem with the Echo. It's not the speaker - I have 3 different ones and have the same problem with most audiobooks. I found using my IOS set to bluetooth through a Dot worked fine, so I just do that then.

Echo and Dots have been less helpful for my Mom who is hearing impaired and keeps moving from room to room. I have also been unsuccessful getting ONE home device to work. I just want it to turn a single light on and can't get it to do that. Haven't given up, but just set it aside for now.