Amazon Issues Release Detailing Fire TV

Kindle revolutionized reading by making it possible to think ofa book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds. Kindle Fire put the world'slargest selection of movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks,and magazines in the palm of your hand. In each case, Amazon integrates thehardware, software, and the content into an easy-to-use, seamless, end-to-endservice for customers. Today, Amazon is excited to unveil its newestinnovation—Fire TV, a tiny box that plugs into your HDTV for easy and instantaccess to Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, SHOWTIME,low-cost video rentals, and much more. Fire TV also brings photos, music, andgames to the living room. Meet Amazon Fire TV at www.amazon.com/FireTV.“Tiny box, huge specs, tons of content, incredible price—people are going tolove Fire TV,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Voice search thatactually works means no more typing on an alphabet grid. Our exclusive newASAP feature predicts the shows you'll want to watch and gets them ready tostream instantly. And our open approach gives you not just Amazon InstantVideo and Prime Instant Video, but also Netflix, Hulu Plus, and more. On FireTV you can watch Alpha House and House of Cards.”Amazon Fire TV features: * Voice search that actually works—simply speak the name of a movie, TV show, actor, director, or genre into the remote, and you're done. No more hunting and pecking in an alphabet grid. * All the content—instant access to Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, YouTube, and more, plus the largest selection of videos for rent and purchase—over 200,000 movies and TV episodes from Amazon Instant Video. Plus, listen to music with Amazon MP3, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more. * Powerful performance in a tiny form factor—quad-core processor with over 3x the processing power of Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku 3, a dedicated GPU, plus 4x the memory of Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku 3 for exceptional speed and fluidity. Delivers stunning 1080p HD video and immersive Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. All of this comes in an incredibly small package—Fire TV is 0.7” thin and comes with a simple and sleek remote control with a built-in microphone. * Simple and easy to use—arrives pre-registered so you can start watching immediately out of the box. * An exclusive new feature called ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) predicts which movies and TV episodes you'll want to watch and buffers them for playback before you even hit play—instant start. * High-quality, low-cost gaming—games like Minecraft, Monsters University, The Game of Life, The Walking Dead, NBA2K14, Asphalt 8, Riptide GP2, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, and more. The average price of paid games on Fire TV is $1.85. Play using your Fire TV remote, the Fire TV app for smartphones and tablets, or the optional Fire game controller. * Amazon FreeTime revolutionizes parental controls—parents can choose what their kids see and set time limits for types of content and times of day—no more negotiating for one more show before bedtime. Customers who subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited—Amazon's all-you-can-eat content subscription designed for kids ages 3 to 8—will get unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV shows. * X-Ray for movies, TV shows, and music—see information about cast and crew, trivia, goofs, and synchronized lyrics. * See all of your photos and personal videos come alive on your big-screen TV—seamless integration with Amazon's Cloud Drive.Simple and Easy to Use, with Powerful PerformancePowerful Quad-Core Processor and Graphics EngineFire TV features a world-class quad-core processor with 3x the processingpower of Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku 3, and a dedicated Adreno 320 graphicsengine that processes 57 billion floating point instructions per second, forlightning-fast graphics and excellent fluidity. Fire TV comes with 2GB ofmemory, 4x the memory of Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku 3, so content loadsfaster and games run smoother.Streams in High Definition 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus Surround SoundWith dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi, Fire TV streams in up to full-HD 1080p andsupports HDMI and optical audio-out, enabling up to 7.1 Dolby Digital Plussurround sound.Simple and Easy to UseFire TV comes automatically pre-registered so you can immediately get started.No complicated set-up, no hassle—just plug it in and start watching. All ofyour previously purchased movies and TV shows from Amazon, as well aspersonalized recommendations and your Watchlist, will be there waiting for youwhen you turn on Fire TV.Designed to DisappearFire TV is designed to disappear. It is 0.7” thin, so it is easy to hide, andis silent even when running the most demanding applications.Fire TV RemoteFire TV's remote is small, simple, and intuitive, with familiar controls.Search, browse, play, pause, and add titles to your Watchlist with ease. TheFire TV remote uses Bluetooth so there is no “line of sight” required, whichmeans no reaching or struggling to aim your signal at a tiny target—store yourFire TV in a cabinet or behind the TV.Voice Search that Actually WorksGone are the days of searching for a movie or TV show byleft-left-down-right-ing through an on-screen alphabet grid using your remote.Simply speak the name of a movie, TV show, actor, director, genre, app, orgame into the remote, and the results will appear instantly. Voice searchleverages the search data and expertise of Amazon.com and IMDb, and isoptimized to understand Amazon's video, app, and game catalog.The Best Video ExperienceMovies and TV Shows from Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and MoreFire TV comes with instant access to all of the most popular subscriptionvideo services, including Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN,VEVO, SHOWTIME, Crackle, YouTube, and more, with additional services like WWENetwork, MLB.TV, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH ABC, and Twitch coming soon.Prime Instant Video, with Exclusives and Original ShowsFire TV is seamlessly integrated with Prime Instant Video, Amazon'ssubscription streaming service. With tens of thousands of movies and TVepisodes, Prime Instant Video is the exclusive premium subscription streaminghome for thousands of hours of video, including shows like Downton Abbey, TheAmericans, Workaholics, Justified, 24, Hannibal, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob,and more. Prime Instant Video also includes shows from Amazon Studios, theoriginal TV production arm of Amazon, such as Alpha House from Pulitzer-Prizewinner Garry Trudeau and starring John Goodman, which debuted last year andquickly became the most watched show on Amazon since its release. Alpha Houseis now in production for its second season, and Amazon recently greenlightedsix new shows, including The After, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, andTransparent, which will be available starting later this year.The Largest Selection of Videos for Rent or PurchaseRent or purchase over 200,000 movies and TV episodes from Amazon InstantVideo, which has the world's largest selection of videos to rent or buy,including new releases and blockbusters. Amazon is the only nationwide videoservice that offers rental and purchase, as well as a subscription streamingservice, so you can find everything you want in one place—catch up on pastseasons of popular TV shows with Prime Instant Video before purchasing themost recent episode of the show as it's released.Find the Lowest Price—Even if it's Not from AmazonJust like on Amazon.com, Fire TV integrates viewing options on a single pageso you can always choose the lowest price. This is available starting withHulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and Prime Instant Video, and will expand toother content providers so you'll see all of your options in one place.ASAPYou shouldn't have to wait 10 seconds for a video to buffer after you press“Play”—it should start immediately. Based on your Watchlist andrecommendations, the new ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) featurepredicts which movies and TV episodes you'll want to watch and prepares themfor playback before you even hit play. This feature is smart—it ispersonalized based on your viewing habits and adapts as those habits change.The caching predictions get better over time, so ASAP will continuouslyimprove as you use Fire TV.Fling TV Shows and Movies with Second ScreenFling Amazon TV shows and movies from your phone or tablet to your Fire TVusing Second Screen. This turns your TV into the primary screen and frees upyour phone or tablet to provide playback controls, a customized display forX-Ray, or simply a place to email, browse the web, and more, while you watch amovie. Second Screen is available on Kindle Fire HDX and will be availablelater this year from your iPhone or iPad. You can also wirelessly mirror yourtablet display to your Fire TV with Kindle Fire, as well as otherMiracast-enabled phones or tablets starting later this year. Fire TV supportsstandards like DIAL, so app developers can enable multi-screen experiencesbased on open technologies.X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows, Powered by IMDbUsing Second Screen on your Fire HDX and later this year on your iPhone oriPad, you can see X-Ray information as your movie or TV show plays on Fire TV.With X-Ray you can see information about cast and crew, the names of songs asthey play, as well as a list of all music in the movie or TV show, triviaitems in context with the action on the screen, and character backstories soyou can easily remind yourself of the character's history. X-Ray is exclusiveto Amazon and is powered by IMDb.Amazon FreeTime—Revolutionary Parental ControlsNow you don't have to worry about what your kids are watching on the TV—withFreeTime, a parent creates profiles for each child and selects the contentthey can see. Parents can create time limits based on type of content or timeof day. When in FreeTime, the background color and fonts change to akid-friendly design. Kids only see titles that have been selected by theirparents for them, and those who can't yet read can navigate visually tocontent based on favorite characters or topics—for example “Dora theExplorer,” “Princesses,” or “Thomas and Friends.” Parents who have already setup profiles and approved content on Kindle Fire tablets will find the settingsare automatically synchronized on Fire TV, making it simple and seamless toget started.Customers who subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited—Amazon's all-you-can-eat contentsubscription designed just for kids ages 3 to 8—will get unlimited access tothousands of movies and TV shows. FreeTime Unlimited is available for Primemembers to enjoy for a monthly price of $2.99 per child or $6.99 per family.Customers who are not yet Prime members can subscribe to FreeTime Unlimitedfor a monthly price of $4.99 per child or $9.99 per family. Amazon FreeTimeand FreeTime Unlimited will be available on Fire TV starting next month.Your Photos on the Big ScreenFire TV makes it easy to view your photos and personal videos on your TV. Youcan set up and play slide shows, find specific photos, and choose yourfavorite album for the screen-saver on Fire TV. Photos or videos you take onyour phone or tablet can be automatically uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive, sothey appear on your Fire TV within seconds.Music in Your Living RoomMusic from Pandora, Amazon MP3, iHeartRadio, and MoreWith Fire TV, you can listen to music from popular streaming services likePandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, and watch music videos from VEVO. Startingnext month, you can also listen to your full collection of music throughAmazon Cloud Player. Simply upload your music or purchase from Amazon and itwill be stored automatically in your Cloud Player and available on Fire TV aswell as on your phone or tablet.X-Ray for MusicLyrics display and scroll line-by-line automatically as the song plays, so youcan follow along with songs. X-Ray for Music will be available starting nextmonth.Bonus—Great Games at Low PricesGames from Top DevelopersAmazon worked with game developers like EA, Disney, Gameloft, Ubisoft,Telltale, Mojang, 2K, and Sega to bring their games to Fire TV. Gamesavailable starting today include customer favorites like Minecraft, MonstersUniversity, The Game of Life, The Walking Dead, NBA2K14, Asphalt 8, RiptideGP2, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, and more. Over 100 games are availablestarting today and optimized for Fire TV, with thousands of additional gamescoming next month with the Fire TV app, which brings controls fortouch-enabled games. These are great games for such a small box and at suchsurprisingly low prices—the average price of paid games is $1.85.Fire TV also comes with access to Sev Zero, a new game built exclusively forFire TV by Amazon Game Studios. Sev Zero is $6.99 and is available for freewhen you purchase the Fire game controller. Learn more:www.amazon.com/pr/SevZero.Fire TV runs the latest version of Fire OS “Mojito,” which is based onAndroid, so it's simple for developers to port their services and games overto Fire TV.Choose How to Play—Remote, Game Controller, or AppIn addition to using the Fire TV remote and the Fire TV app available startingnext month, you can also choose the Amazon Fire game controller, which enablesmore high-intensity and complex gaming with dual analog sticks and a completeassortment of controls. Simple and comfortable to use for hours, the Fire gamecontroller pairs with Fire TV via Bluetooth. The Fire game controller alsointelligently manages power by automatically going to sleep when not in use,and waking at a touch of a button, so you get up to 55 hours of gaming on apair of AA batteries. You can pair multiple game controllers with a Fire TV sothe whole family can play together in the same room. The integrated GameCirclebutton gives you instant access to leaderboards, achievements and friends witha simple touch of a button from any GameCircle enabled game. The Fire gamecontroller can also be used as a remote, with fast forward, rewind, play andpause, so you can control all your movies and music on Fire TV. The Fire gamecontroller is available today for $39.99, and comes with a free copy of SevZero and 1,000 Amazon Coins (a $10 value) for purchasing games.The Features You Expect from AmazonFire TV is not a gadget—it's a seamlessly integrated service that bringstogether the features customers expect from Amazon, including: * Whispersync—Amazon's Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your video and music library across all of your devices. Start watching a movie on your Kindle Fire or iPhone, and when you get home, pick up where you left off on your Fire TV. For games that support Whispersync, your place in the game will also sync across devices so you can always pick up where you left off. * Watch on over 300 devices—When you buy a movie or TV show on Amazon, you can watch it on over 300 devices. * Worry-Free Archive—Automatically backs up your Amazon digital content in the cloud so you never need to worry about losing your collection. * Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service—When a customer shops on Amazon, buys a Fire TV, or buys digital content from Amazon, they know that they are also getting Amazon's world class customer service. Customers with a Kindle Fire HDX can also use the Mayday button to receive free, live, on-device tech support. * Free Month of Amazon Prime—Amazon continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Prime members new movies, TV shows, and books to enjoy at no additional cost. Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video. Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime when they purchase Fire TV.Pricing & AvailabilityFire TV is available starting today for just $99—order at www.amazon.com/FireTV.Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime whenthey purchase Fire TV.Images of Fire TV are available at www.amazon.com/pr/devicesandcontent.