Scott's Amazon 4K FireTV Review

[Scott Greczkowski]

I got mine last night and couldn't wait to hook it up.

Hooked it up and the first thing I checked out was 4K content from Amazon Prime. My home internet connection is 150 MB/s.

Checked out a few of the 4K Prime offerings and found that the picture was software and in some ways out of focus. Also noticed watching a few videos that if the camera panned left or right I would get video jutter and skipping of frames. I did not find any way of getting on screen stats to see how fast the video was being downloaded or the true resolution being received on the FireTV box.

I checked out Netflix and played a few 4K videos on there as well and again I was disappointed with the video quality being displayed. I also noticed that the Netflix App had no 3D shelf for 3D movies. However searching for 3D did bring up a number of movies. Selecting two different 3D movies it was shown on the Netflix box that the movie may be displayed in 3D on compatible devices. So played the movies and it did not pass through 3D, instead only a 2D Version was shown.

I went in the built in Amazon and Netflix apps built into my TV and tried watching the same videos I watched in my tests on the FireTV and the picture quality was much better and more lifelike. The 3D movies immediately switched my TV into 3D mode. This showed me that the Internet was not causing any of the PQ issues I was seeing through the FireTV box. It also showed me that the FireTV can not passthrough 3D correctly to the TV.

My FireTV was hooked up directly to my TV (via the Samsung SEK-3500 Evolution box) so I did not test surround sound. Initial reports are that while the FireTV does pass through Dolby Digital 5.1 from Prime Movies it does not pass through DD5.1 from Netflix.

I went back to testing the FireTV and loaded up PlutoTV and tuned to the 4K channel... now this looked like 4K to me. But since there is no way to get information on the screen of what you are viewing I can not say for sure it was 4K or just really good 1080p. However just like the other 4K content I viewed on the FireTV motion was jerky.

Went in and tested out YouTube and was disappointed to see that it only supported HD videos and could not output 4K resolution. This is one of my favorite features of my SEK-3500 Evolution box on my Samsung 8550, being able to watch 4K content in 4K.

The FireTV interface is still a mess and there are tons of things on my home screen that I would like to get rid of. Voice search works well, however you can not search Netflix.

I hate to say it but I think I may be sending this FireTV back. The box may say it's 4K but from what I saw it was 4K lite.

 

[Foxbat]

Hopefully it's something that can be fixed in the FireTV's firmware and it isn't a failing of the internal hardware architecture. Next!

 

[Bruce]

Scott read this

The reason: The new Amazon Fire TV uses the old HDMI 1.4 standard instead of HDMI 2.0a.

Ironically, the Amazon Prime video streaming service is one of the few that actually offers HDR content, specifically in two of the company's original series: "Transparent" and "Mozart in the Jungle." That means Amazon Fire TV doesn't support Amazon's own HDR videos, much less the HDR content we're likely to get from 4K streaming services such as Netflix, M-Go, and Vudu.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...on-fire-tv-doesn-t-support-4k-videos-with-hdr

http://4k.com/news/amazon-fire-4k-tv-box-doesnt-support-hdr-or-hdmi-2-9836/

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Well Comments and Ratings just went live on Amazon.com for this box, and so far 50 reviews most of them negative. The box has a 3 star rating now.

 

[KE4EST]

Glad I held off.

 

[Ronnie-]

Scott, there is a button on the Samsung remote that will show you the resolution info. I do not have mine in front of me at the moment to tell you which it is.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yes the samsung does that but you can't see what the FireTV is receiving data at and sending video out as. I want to see the actual bitrate of Prime and Netflix.

 

[Tampa8]

Scott, there is a button on the Samsung remote that will show you the resolution info. I do not have mine in front of me at the moment to tell you which it is.

The TV only tells you what the device is set at. As an example if my Roku is set to 1080P even the worst possible picture at SD quality shows as being 1080P. Same with a DISH receiver, set it to 1080I and that is what the TV will report even if you are watching ABC or ESPN which are broadcast in 720P or an SD channel. OTA will report correctly.

 

[Ronnie-]

The TV only tells you what the device is set at. As an example if my Roku is set to 1080P even the worst possible picture at SD quality shows as being 1080P. Same with a DISH receiver, set it to 1080I and that is what the TV will report even if you are watching ABC or ESPN which are broadcast in 720P or an SD channel. OTA will report correctly.

Hmm, I guess I only really checked it using the built in Netflix app when running 4k.

 

[Tampa8]

I would think the built in app would report correctly, similar to OTA.

 

[Foxbat]

Hopefully it's something that can be fixed in the FireTV's firmware and it isn't a failing of the internal hardware architecture.

The reason: The new Amazon Fire TV uses the old HDMI 1.4 standard instead of HDMI 2.0a.

Ugh. I guess we should expect as much from a company cranking out $50 7" Fire Tablets.

Next up, Roku 4.

 

[T134]

Scott,

Try sideloading something like this to get a look at your rough U/D speeds when streaming: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.kfsoft.android.TrafficIndicator

Of course the first thing I'd look to do with any Android device is to root it. If that can be done you might be able to ditch some of the Apps Amazon put on there in exchange for normal Android ones that might perform better. Since I don't touch Amazon's stuff I don't know if they are different but it wouldn't surprise me. Of course rooting opens up some tweaking and cleanup options that might get your performance up as well. Might be great hardware being bogged down with some crap settings and bloatware.

 

[tigerfan33]

It's the 4K 30fps that's causing the judder.
Send it back.
The Roku 4 will be able to to do 4K 60fps.
No judder allowed

The new Roku doesn't support HDR either. Reports are they will add it later when HDR standards smoke clears.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Noticed today on Amazon that it only has a 2 and a half star rating... and that they dropped the price $20 overnight.

Silly part is all the new 4K being put on Amazon is only available in HDR and this box does not support HDR. What was Amazon thinking?

 

[KE4EST]

I would say it is a case of the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing.

 

[Ramy]

Hopefully by the time I get a 4K tv they will have a better version out.

 

[harshness]

From the "stealing our thunder" department:

https://info.roku.com/t/effbbDZHtQA...rXfny.ijo&jZ=q.Wtnhc_hjrXfny.ijo&q=89g&2=&m=#

It claims a quad core processor, TOSLINK and HDCP 2.2.

 

[king3pj]

It's the 4K 30fps that's causing the judder.
Send it back.
The Roku 4 will be able to to do 4K 60fps.
No judder allowed

The new Roku doesn't support HDR either. Reports are they will add it later when HDR standards smoke clears.

The problem with that is that most movies and TV are filmed at 24fps. That is why I have always had judder on my TV during panning shots from every Netflix device I have tried. Roku, Apple TV, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and the Sony Blu-ray player I tested all output streaming services like Netflix and Amazon at 60fps even though many of those devices are capable of outputing the correct 24fps for blu-ray content. The conversion from 24fps to 60fps is what causes the judder. There are lots of conversations about this over at AVS Forums.

Luckily I have a Tivo Roamio now. Tivo is the only streaming device I know of that will automatically output streaming content from Netflix and Amazon in 24fps if that's what it was filmed in. Since my TV supports 24fps playback this completely eliminates judder for me. Out of all the streaming devices I have tried my Tivo Roamio is the best.

 

[harshness]

The problem with that is that most movies and TV are filmed at 24fps.

While many movies were filmed at 24fps, more and more they are being video recorded at 48fps.

I suspect that modern TV content is NEVER recorded at 24fps. It is likely recorded at ~30fps or ~60fps. Even back in the day film resident movies had to be put on a "film chain" to convert them to the different frame rate for recording and playback.

 

[Tampa8]

Good to know, just bought one at the special on Amazon. 4K aside and the new Fire TV, I do use my original Fire Stick very often, more than my Roku now. Hopefully Amazon will fix what is wrong I just don't get releasing the product with the problems it has. (Audio and 4K)