Amazon working on Single Sign-On for cable network app activation on the Fire TV

Posted by Elias Saba on May 3, 2017 — 2 Comments

During my digging through the guts of the latest 5.2.4.1 software update for the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, I’ve found indication that Amazon is working to add a single sign-on option to their devices. Single sign-on, a feature first available on the Apple TV last year, allows those with cable subscriptions to login once with their credentials, and then have the operating system handle activating individual cable network apps. This prevents the need for activation codes in every individual streaming app that must be manually entered into activation web pages. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Digging, Single Sign On

Fire TV update 5.2.4.1 causing poor 24p video playback in MrMC, Kodi, and SPMC

Posted by Elias Saba on April 22, 2017 — 43 Comments

If your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick has received the 5.2.4.1 software update, you may be experiencing poor video playback within MrMC, Kodi, and SPMC. The developer of MrMC has emailed me letting me know that the updated version of Fire OS does not handle switching the video output to a 24Hz refresh rate correctly. This is a feature videophiles use to achieve perfect 1-to-1 synchronization between the frames in a video and the rate at which the display updates, but with software version 5.2.4.1, it results in jerky stuttering video. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Kodi, MrMC, SPMC, Update

Alexa added to all Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models in the UK and Germany

Posted by Elias Saba on April 5, 2017 — 14 Comments

Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick owners in the US have had access to Alexa on their devices for over a year, but the voice assistant hasn’t made an appearance on Fire TV devices overseas yet. That has finally changed with the new 5.2.4.1 software update currently rolling out to all Fire TV models globally. In addition to bringing the new Fire TV user interface to older 1st-generation models, as well as a few other new features, the update adds Alexa to all UK and German Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Alexa, Germany, UK, Update

Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick now support Voice Search for YouTube

Posted by Elias Saba on April 5, 2017 — 9 Comments

If the uncovered Silk browser for Fire TV is any indication, Amazon will enable voice input for Fire TV apps in the future. That might still be a long time away, so in the mean time, Amazon has made voice search possible for one of the most popular apps. With the new 5.2.4.1 software update, you can now use voice search to search YouTube on the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Search, Search In Apps, Update, Voice Search, YouTube

You can now select from 3 video quality settings on the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Posted by Elias Saba on April 5, 2017 — 42 Comments

The Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick 5.2.4.1 software update adds a set of new data monitoring options that let you keep track of how much data your device is using. In addition to data monitoring, the new feature adds the option to select from 3 video quality settings, in order to reduce data usage while watching Amazon Video. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Update

Amazon Fire TV & Stick can now monitor data usage and alert you when you’ve reached a data cap

Posted by Elias Saba on April 5, 2017 — 13 Comments

The new 5.2.4.1 software update has just started rolling out to all Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models and, apart from bringing the new interface to older devices, it adds a new option to monitor data usage on the device. In the Preferences section of the device settings is a new Data Monitoring menu that displays the system wide data usage, as well as data usage by app. You can set a data cap value to be alerted when it’s reached and a day of the month when your data monitoring should be reset. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Update

Software update 5.2.4.1 rolling out to all Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models — Adds new interface to 1st-gen devices

Posted by Elias Saba on April 5, 2017

A new 5.2.4.1 software update has just started rolling out to all Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models. This is the update that 1st-generation Fire TV and Fire TV Stick owners have long been waiting for because this update finally adds the all new Fire TV interface to those older devices. The new “cinematic interface” was released to 2nd-gen devices at the end of last year, and now it is finally coming to the Fire TV 1 and Fire TV Stick 1. Read more ›

Posted in Article Tagged with: 5.2.4.1, Update