Question on new Amazon Fire TV

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hahler2

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 14, 2005
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Ashton, SD
So I see that Amazon released the new Fire TV that supports 4k and HDR. I have the older generation of Fire TV that is 4k. Will the older one do HDR on Netflix or does it not support HDR at all? It sounds like the new box only adds HDR on Amazon content but I can't really find any good information on what each of the boxes does or doesn't support.
 
Will the older one do HDR on Netflix or does it not support HDR at all?
A mystery for the ages.

Amazon claims that the HDMI port is v2.2 so the bandwidth is there but they're not bragging about it so I'd assume it doesn't support DoVi.

My understanding is that Netflix is using DoVi masters and from them can also send HDR10.

Netflix Talks Dolby Vision and HDR10 - Streaming Media Magazine

Amazon's own page says that the Gen 2 Fire TV supports only SDR and doesn't list any Amazon devices in the HDR camp.

Amazon.com Help: Video Quality & Formats
 
If the $130 price difference doesn't scare you away, Apple TV still doesn't support Amazon's video services.

On the other side of the coin, FireTV doesn't support iTunes but neither do most (if not all) of the non-Apple streamers.
 
Remember the 4K Apple TV only streams 4K video it does not play it off the hard drive. So if you buy a 4K movie every time you want to watch that movie you need to stream it again. And they say you need a 25 mb connection to stream in 4K with it.
 
Remember the 4K Apple TV only streams 4K video it does not play it off the hard drive.
What is this "hard drive" of which you speak?

Like most Apple devices, the Apple TV 4K has no expansion capability and nothing that resembles (or acts like) mass storage is built in. What flash memory it has is for saving configuration information, credentials and game data.
 
I will most likely be going with the new Apple TV. Mostly because all my other devices are Apple. So I will get access to my iTunes movie collection and airplay for all my ipads and iphones. Plus it sounds like it will be getting access to Amazon content soon.
 
Unlike previous AppleTVs, the 4K model has ventilation needs, namely openings on the bottom of the case where the internal fan vents. Also, as mentioned, no Amazon Video (coming Soon! {yeah, we've heard this before}) and no support for 4K YouTube videos.

If you're not in the Apple Eco-System there's not much draw for the AppleTV. I doubt my 4K Apple TV will provide actual 4K given the size of my U-verse connection.
 
I can’t speak to your ability to get 4K, but my ATV4K is doing it just fine for me. As to Amazon Prime coming to the ATV4/4K, well yes, there were rumors in the past, but both Apple and Amazon have officially said it will be coming this year.
 
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What is this "hard drive" of which you speak?

Like most Apple devices, the Apple TV 4K has no expansion capability and nothing that resembles (or acts like) mass storage is built in. What flash memory it has is for saving configuration information, credentials and game data.

All of the AppleTVs have had some local storage for what you describe as well as buffering/caching. It is pretty transparent to the user. The original had a 40GB or 160GB HDD which you could actually sync to from iTunes. The later ones had 8GB, 32GB, or 64GB or flash storage.
 
The later ones had 8GB, 32GB, or 64GB or flash storage.
As Scott pointed out, you can't store music or videos locally on the AppleTV. The new device is quite a bit less flexible than the original even though it has a considerably more powerful SoC.

Apple seems to be trying to appeal to content providers by promising that their users have no facility to store content. Apple is clearly following Roku's lead in this space.
 
I believe the reference to "storing locally" referred to downloading and storing iTunes movies on your iTunes computer (PC or Mac) and playing them over your local LAN. I used to do that before I upgraded to U-verse and was able to directly stream HD iTubes content. That option doesn't work with the 4K movies, probably part of the deal that Apple inked with the Movie studios to provide 4K content at the same price as HD.
 
I have looked up and down for an answer to my question but I am still stuck.

I have the new Fire 4K streaming device but I cannot get it to work with my AVR. It isn't 4K but even I adjust the Fire to 1080P, I cannot get it to work. It works fine on my non 4K TV and my other devices, Apple and Roku work fine on my AVR. I have my AVR as a pass through but I still cannot get it to work.

Any suggestions?
 
I suggest that you return the Fire TV and use the equipment you already have. UHD source devices are likely to prefer to work with UHD aware equipment and you don't seem to have it where it counts.
 
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