With its entry into India, late in 2016, Amazon’s Prime Video service was often criticised to be lacking on one key parameter – the ability to stream Prime Video content onto the big screen in our living rooms.
It lacked apps for smart TVs and Apple TVs, and didn't even offer Chromecast support, despite running a variant of Android OS 5.0…and you’d have to either hook up your laptop to your TV via HDMI cable or use AirPlay on an Apple TV, both of which were clunky solutions at best.
Amazon’s new and improved solution is for you to buy its recently launched Fire TV stick (Rs. 3,999) streaming media and apps dongle. But does it do enough to earn a coveted HDMI port behind your TV?
Pros:
- Good selection of apps for streaming services and multimedia playback
- Strong parental and data monitoring controls
- Ease to use remote and UI
- Capable hardware, though storage is limited (8GB)
Cons:
- Voice search is limited
- No universal search across apps
- No Alexa voice assistant
- Poor experience in many third party apps
What’s Good?
The design is not new – it looks like a large USB flash drive with an HDMI connector on one end, and a micro USB socket on the side – but for something that spends its life hidden behind your TV, Amazon’s functional design (say over a funky looking Chromecast) works just fine.
Just keep in mind that you have to use the included wall adapter to power the stick, especially if you have an older TV set that doesn't supply sufficient power over USB.
Set up takes a bit of time – it’s easier if you’ve bought the Fire TV stick directly from your own Amazon account since it comes provisioned with your account out of the box. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of clicks on the included Bluetooth remote and you’re ready to go.
The only downside is that Amazon chose an A-Z instead of a QWERTY keyboard for the setup process, which is a real nightmare to type in complex usernames and passwords, but you can install the Fire TV remote app for iOS and Android, which is much less tedious.
There’s the provision to set up Parental Controls if you share your Prime Video connection with kids in the house, and a much needed data monitor to keep an eye on data consumption and set limits so you don’t blow past your monthly quota after a night of binge-watching!
Using the Fire TV stick is a smooth and snappy exercise, and the device isn’t plagued by stutters and slowdowns, the one associates with a number of media streaming dongles. The Fire TV UI naturally gives ‘prime’ importance to Amazon’s own streaming service, and shows you different tabs for Movies and TV shows.
But you’re not limited to just Prime Video – there’s a wide selection of apps to choose from, including Netflix, Airtel Movies, Voot, Eros Now, Gaana etc to name a few streaming services.
If your media is largely local to your own wireless network, there are apps like Plex and VLC, and the adventurous can even download apps using the respective APK files. There are some games as well, but bear in mind, you only get about 6GB free on the built-in 8GB.
The remote, which is voice enabled, is one of the nicest things about the Fire TV stick, it’s easy to use and doesn’t force you to have your smartphone handy at all times à la the Chromecast.
You can even use the voice search (there’s a dedicated button on the remote) to search for actors, directors and movies within Prime Video, so you can say “Aamir Khan” and it will show you movies and TV shows featuring his work. Works quite well with Indian names and accents, but it doesn’t retrieve results across different apps, just Prime Video, which is a pity.
What’s Bad?
If you’re hoping to use the Fire TV stick to get acquainted with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-based assistant, that’s not happening. No Alexa, at least not for now. So all those fancy Alexa voice-based integrations will just have to wait.
Search capabilities are seriously hobbled too, and Amazon’s only indexing the stuff inside the Prime Video catalogue, so you need to open each individual app to search for a title within them.
It’s a minor point, but I sorely missed having a volume control handy when using the Fire TV stick, and its exclusion on a remote makes no sense – to me, at least.
And while some of the 3rd party apps are a pleasure to use (thank you, Netflix!) – apps like Hotstar’s are terribly executed, with jumpy scrolling and inconsistent navigation, and a pretty nightmarish experience if you want to scrub to a particular point in a video. Maybe it’s just Amazon rushing partners into pushing out apps for the launch, ready or not.
Why Buy It?
None of the Fire TV stick’s issues are permanent, and can be fixed in software by Amazon if they want to. Even so, the Fire TV stick represents a good option for online streaming enthusiasts, especially those who prefer their content on the big screen.
And since it is the only one to support the reasonably priced Prime Video service (and run Netflix quite well too!), this is the one media streaming dongle to rule them all!
(Tushar Kanwar is a technology columnist and commentator and has been contributing for the past 15 years to India’s leading newspapers and magazines. He can be reached on Twitter @2shar.)
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