[Ned Scott]

That seems to be the big thing for Fire TVs or Apple TVs, etc. In theory, they are all fine machines, but it might just depend on what services or what devices you need in your house, and there's really not a "better".

[GoodCode]

Google Nexus Player is running at about $70 USD and was as low as $50 USD at one point recently, and that has 1080 Netflix with a nice remote-friendly interface.

And no wired connection. I was really excited about the Nexus player, and yes I realize 802.11ac should be "fast enough", but with 4 smartphones and 5 tablets running in my house, I don't want a wireless device where it makes absolutely no sense.

Very interested in the Wetek Core 4K wrxtasy mentioned though. If it actually manages to come in at $120, with Netflix integration & HD Audio then one will very likely end up in my theatre room.

That being said, if Amazon Prime ever comes to Canada (grumble grumble), I'd be back to the Fire TV in a flash. It looks like an really good deal.

[Dhorlo]

Google Nexus Player is running at about $70 USD and was as low as $50 USD at one point recently, and that has 1080 Netflix with a nice remote-friendly interface.

And no wired connection. I was really excited about the Nexus player, and yes I realize 802.11ac should be "fast enough", but with 4 smartphones and 5 tablets running in my house, I don't want a wireless device where it makes absolutely no sense.

I'm with you. I tried to make my FTVs work wirelessly but never got the throughput I needed to stream 1080p from my NAS. I didn't have ethernet throughout my house, but I had coax to all the TVs. So switched to using DTV DECAs to hard-wire my FTVs and HTPC. Plus I think there's a lot of wifi overlap in my dense suburban neighborhood, (I see 10-12 SSIDs on my phone), which may be part of my throughput problem. Now, only truly "mobile" devices, (phones, tablets) are on my wireless.

edit:grammar

[Topken]

Google Nexus Player is running at about $70 USD and was as low as $50 USD at one point recently, and that has 1080 Netflix with a nice remote-friendly interface.

And no wired connection. I was really excited about the Nexus player, and yes I realize 802.11ac should be "fast enough", but with 4 smartphones and 5 tablets running in my house, I don't want a wireless device where it makes absolutely no sense.

I'm with you. I tried to make my FTVs work wirelessly but never got the throughput I needed to stream 1080p from my NAS. I didn't have ethernet throughout my house, but I had coax to all the TVs. So switched to using DTV DECAs to hard-wire my FTVs and HTPC. Plus I think there's a lot of wifi overlap in my dense suburban neighborhood, (I see 10-12 SSIDs on my phone), which may be part of my throughput problem. Now, only truly "mobile" devices, (phones, tablets) are on my wireless.

edit:grammar

If you have an android phone pickup wifi analyzer and check what channels are being used by those 10-12 networks and see if you can get your router on a less crowded channel. It should help your netrwork problems and this goes for anyone else around here.

[Dhorlo]

If you have an android phone pickup wifi analyzer and check what channels are being used by those 10-12 networks and see if you can get your router on a less crowded channel. It should help your netrwork problems and this goes for anyone else around here.

Wifi analyzer is what I used to discover the other wifi routers. I did move to a less crowded channel, but it's still like trying to move to a "less crowded" area of a packed nightclub. You can only do so much to isolate yourself. Thanks though.

[Ned Scott]

And no wired connection.

Which is fixed with a $10 connector. $15 if you also want a hybrid USB hub with an ethernet port. The total price is still great.

However, there are rumors that a new Nexus Player will come out soon, by the end of the month.

[couto27]

big deal is you are buying last years hardware repackaged as this year's tech, hdmi 1.4 is so old why would anyone buy it now!

btw roku 4 supports 4k@60Hz ... they got the idea... no point in doing 4k if you are only going to only support 30Hz or 4:2:0

The new FTV2 its likelly to be Hdmi 2.0 since it supports HDCP 2.2 required for netflix etc etc
But its not Hdmi2.0a since no HDR (high dynamic range) is mention at all..

Hdmi 1.4 its not old, i recently bought some TV LG OLED (1080p) that wipes the floor of any 4K LED with or without streaming 4K


Theres non existence 4K UHD BLURAYS content (movies or TV shows)
There non existence 4K UHD blurays Players for physical disks....(only CES and IFA prototypes)
The OLED 4K and Sony 4K Projectors they need to drop in price, maybe in two years they will have realistic prices for the consumer.

And In Two years time this AFT2 will be obsolete because AFTV3 or 4 probably would come with HDMI 2.0a and HDR.

And don't forget:
Picture quality with 16mbps streaming in 4K is always inferior to 40mbps bluray (1080p)
Streaming audio DD+ or DTS is always inferior to DTS-HD and TrueHD

Streaming is "fast food" content..

[subatomics]

Would the faster processor and GPU possibly confer any advantage for playing Hi10p content? I'm finding I get slightly stuttery playback for some higher-res 10-bit videos with the current Fire TV.

[Lunatixz]

Hdmi 1.4 its not old, i recently bought some TV LG OLED (1080p) that wipes the floor of any 4K LED with or without streaming 4K

Not sure what you consider old for tech hardware... but it's a fact that 1.4 is old.

Any device engineered after 2015 that still includes 1.4 should be considered last year tech...

All your points about streaming, are true... 4k blu ray is already in production, only a matter of time before it's mainstream.

[jjd-uk]

The AFTV2 is HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 the 4K @ 30Hz is simple a limitation of the processing power of the SoC.

[Topken]

I take it you need HDMI 2.0 for HDCP 2.2 but DON"T need HDCP2.2 to have HDMI 2.0?

[Ned Scott]

Would the faster processor and GPU possibly confer any advantage for playing Hi10p content? I'm finding I get slightly stuttery playback for some higher-res 10-bit videos with the current Fire TV.

Very likely. I can't say for sure myself, since I haven't tried it, but there is quite a CPU boost between the two.

[Ned Scott]

Hdmi 1.4 its not old, i recently bought some TV LG OLED (1080p) that wipes the floor of any 4K LED with or without streaming 4K

Not sure what you consider old for tech hardware... but it's a fact that 1.4 is old.

Any device engineered after 2015 that still includes 1.4 should be considered last year tech...

All your points about streaming, are true... 4k blu ray is already in production, only a matter of time before it's mainstream.

Your chart shows that 1.4 is still fine for most people, even those who wants 4k. Sports and 3D get a big benefit from from newer versions that can handle higher refresh rate and/or 3D data, but a lot of people don't really care about that. My own video library, which I sure as heck won't replace right away, is almost entirely 480P and 720P content.

By the time it will be significant to people with established libraries, or be in use by enough streaming services (and not just one or two movies), I think most people would feel they have gotten $100 USD of use out of the box. So even if it's only a matter of time, that really doesn't matter in a world where it's cost effective to replace hardware on-demand, rather than attempt to be future proof.

[the_goon]

I'm in the market for an Android box which has Netflix at HD, and can run Kodi.

Does anyone foresee any problems installing KODI on this NEW Fire TV? I assume they haven't changed anything to stop it?

[luksol]

I am just waiting to see if Kodi would be able to auto adjust framerate on new FireTV. If it does, then I'll buy it.