Amazon Fire TV?
Amazon announced today their Amazon's TV set top box. It appears to be a decent competitor for another IP streaming box, assuming one has a strong Internet connection.
Forum Discussion
docj wrote:was_butnotnow wrote:
I'm wondering why these companies are bringing out all these Internet access devices. They are for TVs that don't have internet access built in. Don't most TVs that are sold today have this already? It seems to me these devices will be useless as people buy new TVs. So it seems a loosing market down the road. What am I not seeing.
Most internet-ready TV's have built-in capabilities for a specific set of content providers and are rarely updated after purchase. We found it much more cost effective to buy a "dumb" TV with no internet connectivity and to purchase a Roku for <$100. The TV manufacturers charge several hundred dollars more for the same TV in a smart version. The Roku's firmware is continuously being updated and there are hundreds of channels available, far more than are built into "smart" TV's.
I'm finding the same for streaming functions in BluRay players. After a year or two, there is no longer support, although capabilities have been extended in newer models from the same vendor. Whatever the function, these are computers, software support is important.
Good to know that Roku keeps up.
