Amazon FireTV Stick announced

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Blossom

You can plug it into a usb port for power as well? I didn't know that!

It's not recommended as most TVs have USB ports that only supply 0.5A, but the stick has a 1A power supply.

Note: It is recommended that you use the power adapter and plug it into a power outlet. Although some TVs have USB ports, there may not be enough power for Fire TV Stick to work properly.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=201634480

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by twowheels

It's not recommended as most TVs have USB ports that only supply 0.5A, but the stick has a 1A power supply.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=201634480

Ah okay. I got mine plugged in with the power supply. No Heat issues but I use the Extender cable to keep it away from the TV which is always hot.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I believe that you're confusing USB and HDMI. The question was about HDMI. If I remember correctly, the HDMI spec doesn't include power, that would be MHL.

I also think that you messed up the current spec as 0.05A is nothing. The basic USB spec allows for 0.5A (except for some newer extended specs like USB PD).

Take it up with Wikipedia:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

Pin 18 in the diagram, elsewhere in the text.
And yes, 0.05A is peanuts.
But it is enough for what the spec writers wanted.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Take it up with Wikipedia:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

Pin 18 in the diagram, elsewhere in the text.
And yes, 0.05A is peanuts.
But it is enough for what the spec writers wanted.

Ah. You are correct. Probably just enough to carry the signal, not intended to power devices.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by twowheels

USB standard is 0.5A and the fire stick probably draws closer to 1A. Not that your USB port is underpowered, but that the stick (and many other devices) draws more than the standard allows.

USB 2.0 is 1A at 5V. Not all hosts/hubs can provide this and the spec allows for negotiation on the power draw. If a device needs more power than the host can provide it's supposed to shut down. The power extensions allow higher than that.

I'm buried in the middle of getting USB up on a new board that's using a brand new processor, so I just looked at this. We're a self powered device, but we have to get the settings right for self powered or the host and device won't talk to each other.

Greg

[wizwor]

For all you new Fire TV owners, today is a great day to build up your app library as Amazon has reduced some 'must have apps' to free. Here are some links and recommendations...

http://www.aftvnews.com/ (everything int he right margin)
free apps sorted by rating

at least get...

Plex, Sonic, TuneIn, Tetris, Terraria, and angry birds space

For people with kids, I see the Living Books being added pretty quickly. These are not free, but at <$5, they are much cheaper than I paid for the PC versions when my kids were small.

I got my Fire TV Stick in the last week or two. I consider it to be a piece of junk.

• Resolution is terrible. It is closer to looking like standard definition than high definition. Very low quality.
• Once plugged in to my Sony Bravia TV and activated it takes over all control of the TV. TV and cable remotes no longer function and so I can no longer control volume or any TV settings. It will not allow me to change HDMI inputs to return to TV or BluRay player. I have to physically unplug the stick to regain control of my TV. I have no other plug-in device that takes over the TV like this one. All my other devices work well, but this one does not play nice at all.
• Seems rather slow and clunky to use. I have a very fast high speed internet via U-Verse, but the Fire TV Stick cannot seem to get a smooth video playback.
• Interface is not very good at all.

I much prefer my Apple TV over this piece of junk. I sent it back and gave it a 1-star rating on Amazon.com.

[Atunah]

Wow, that sounds like a nightmare. I don't have any of these issues though. We keep it plugged in along with the Roku we already had and I even still have a Google TV hooked up for use of browser there. My remotes all work fine and I can switch input like usually from TV, roku, Fire stick, GTV, etc.

Wonder what is causing those issue. For me it acts like like any other streaming device. I didn't really need it as I have a Roku hooked up, but thought for the price and for travelling.

I don't see a difference in streaming quality between the Roku3 and the stick. I watched some of the same movies and switched back and forth to see.
Prime instant starts very fast though on the Stick.

Overall though I like the interface and the search for programs better on the Roku. And I like that they are finally listing if something is 0.00 with prime, it didn't used to say that.

So I enjoy the stick right now for the prime music as that is not on the Roku and I can switch back and forth to whatever device I want to use with inputs.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by Atunah

Wonder what is causing those issue.

iPad Mini 2, iPhone 5, Apple TV

It's possible there is some kind of interference between the BT radio on the stick and other rf technologies that OP has installed, but, I agree, the described symptoms are not typical. In fact, unusual...maybe unique. OP, if you are powering the stick off a usb port, try switching to the wall wart.

Just the same, for others who may be having similar issues...

- Resolution is terrible. Make sure your TV and device are set to the same resolution. Upscaling and downscaling can cause problems. It could be your source or network. Most streaming services scale their content to network capability. Poor, latent network performance will result in a standard def stream. If you have an android tab (OP does), install a free wireless network tool to see what is going on. Netflix also has streams designed to troubleshoot network issues.

- Unexpected behavior. If you are using a USB port on your TV to power the device, switch to the wall wart to ensure you have proper power to support the device. Switch to another hdmi port or even another hdmi device to see if the problem follows the device or stays with the television.

- stuttering playback. Check your network (first bullet).

Happy streaming!

[fjtorres]

No issues here.
Works perfect connected direcg to my SHARP tv and also plugged into the XBOX HDMI in. No lag or image degradation in the latter case but it does properly pause when I switch the XBOX away to a game or app. (Nice that it does; the TV's four ports are already in use.
Most of the functionality is redundant for me except for the PRIME music but even the video streaming works fine.

In my case, though, the router is a lightly loaded dual band Wi-Fi N barely two feet away and I have few neighbors nearby to suck away at the cable modem bandwidth so there is no reason for any video degradation or interference.

And yes, I power it straight from the included adapter.
Plenty of outlets among the rat's nest of wiring behind the TV.

[Blossom]

I love my Fire TV Stick. I think it has better video quality than the Roku 2 I own. I have no problems whatsoever with mine. It plays video beautifully and I use it for music too. I have a cheap $40 router and no problems with stuttering or buffering. My TV is a Sony Bravia 40"

[shalym]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I got my Fire TV Stick in the last week or two. I consider it to be a piece of junk.

• Resolution is terrible. It is closer to looking like standard definition than high definition. Very low quality.
• Once plugged in to my Sony Bravia TV and activated it takes over all control of the TV. TV and cable remotes no longer function and so I can no longer control volume or any TV settings. It will not allow me to change HDMI inputs to return to TV or BluRay player. I have to physically unplug the stick to regain control of my TV. I have no other plug-in device that takes over the TV like this one. All my other devices work well, but this one does not play nice at all.
• Seems rather slow and clunky to use. I have a very fast high speed internet via U-Verse, but the Fire TV Stick cannot seem to get a smooth video playback.
• Interface is not very good at all.

I much prefer my Apple TV over this piece of junk. I sent it back and gave it a 1-star rating on Amazon.com.

Hmmm...is there any Amazon product that you've ordered that you've been happy with? It seems, based on what you've said on MR, that you consider everything you've bought from Amazon to be "junk"...which causes me to wonder why in the world you keep buying Amazon products?

Shari

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I love my Fire TV Stick. I think it has better video quality than the Roku 2 I own. I have no problems whatsoever with mine. It plays video beautifully and I use it for music too. I have a cheap $40 router and no problems with stuttering or buffering. My TV is a Sony Bravia 40"

I'm with you, Blossom. We picked up our FireTV Stick a couple of weeks ago, and have been using it a LOT ever since. Simple remote (and the app on our Kindle Fires means either of us can control it with them as well), extremely good video quality, and a fast and responsive interface. Ours is on a 55" Samsung, and our video is streamed over a VPN connection. We have been very impressed. No stuttering, no pauses, and excellent quality. (We _do_ have it plugged in to external power, though it likely wouldn't need it with this scenario, but it's easy to do so why not?)

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm with you, Blossom. We picked up our FireTV Stick a couple of weeks ago, and have been using it a LOT ever since. Simple remote (and the app on our Kindle Fires means either of us can control it with them as well), extremely good video quality, and a fast and responsive interface. Ours is on a 55" Samsung, and our video is streamed over a VPN connection. We have been very impressed. No stuttering, no pauses, and excellent quality. (We _do_ have it plugged in to external power, though it likely wouldn't need it with this scenario, but it's easy to do so why not?)

Mine is plugged in too and I am using the extender cable that came with it to keep it from getting hot from the heat coming off the TV. Those HDTV get plenty warm! I once plugged in my thumbdrive to see some pics and when I went to remove it. It nearly burned me. So I knew to use the Extender cable from the get go to keep it cool.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by CRussel

We picked up our FireTV Stick a couple of weeks ago, and have been using it a LOT ever since. Simple remote (and the app on our Kindle Fires means either of us can control it with them as well), extremely good video quality, and a fast and responsive interface. Ours is on a 55" Samsung, and our video is streamed over a VPN connection. We have been very impressed. No stuttering, no pauses, and excellent quality.

How are you streaming over VPN? I gifted one outside the US and could not make the stick work with Hide My Ass VPN, even after going into the advanced network settings. Maybe we did something wrong there?