The 3rd generation Amazon Fire TV is on sale for $49.99 at Amazon for today only. This price matches the lowest price that the Fire TV has ever been, which occurred only once before during a similar one day only sale. If you’ve been thinking about picking up the new Fire TV, there’s no better time than now because it is very unlikely it will ever be priced lower than this anytime soon. Other Amazon hardware, such as Echo devices and Fire tablets, are also on sale.
I wonder how well this version of FTV has been selling. It is rated quite a bit lower than the stick. I really hope Amazon has a new/better device coming soon.
By my estimates, the Fire TV Stick has always outsold the Fire TV (regardless of generation) by about 5 to 1, so you can’t really compare their sales figures directly.
I agree. I’m waiting for that cube version, if it actually materializes.
The big problem I have with this one if I’m considering on replacing earlier versions, is the lack of an Ethernet port, and the fact that this just hangs off your HDMI port.
By the time you’ve plugged an HDMI cable and the Ethernet adapter into this thing, you’re really going to want some strain relief. This is just such a poor design in that respect.
I had the same concern with strain relief, but the FTV 3 is very light….even with the Ethernet adapter.
I have a gen 1 Fire TV box that I want to upgrade to handle live TV deinterlacing better (via Kodi and hdhomerun) but I am just not sure that the Fire TV 3 is really an upgrade to the gen 1 in any way.
Each device has its advantages and disadvantages. The Fire TV 3 gives you 4K, HDR, H265, and deinterlacing. While the Fire TV 1 gives you external storage, optical audio, and built-in ethernet (as opposed to the $15 adapter for the Fire TV 3). The Fire TV 1 edges out slightly when it comes to the GPU for gaming, but CPU power is about the same between the two.
Can someone please a few links to official specs talking about re Deinterlacing mpeg2? The Channels dev is the only person I’ve ever seen mention it in any officialish capacity.
Btw found below, apparently the 950Z chipset has pretty bad Hardware Deinterlacing, the folks at the kodi forum have nothing good to say about it. Really big shame as I guess the Shield might continue to be the only Android based device with useable Hardware Deinterlacing.
Any other first hand experience from anyone here?
This extra Ethernet adapter is such a bad idea.
Amazon should have a “real” Fire TV box, fully equipped with interfaces.
I was in same boat, ended up buying a refurbished Gen 2 box. No regrets.
$49.99 should be the everyday price. It is just an updated stick.
This. This is a 2yo SoC, and the specs $25 chinese boxes had a year ago. I don’t know why Amazon is listing this at $70. It should be $40ish.
Have you been able to find any info about the SoC in the Fire TV 3? I know the S905 family is 2 years old, but the S905Z variant in the Fire TV 3 is brand new. I still can’t find any info about what differentiates the S905Z from the other chips in the S905 family.
I believe it has also been mentioned the FTV variant has a lessor GPU than the others, like the one in the Mi Box.
The MiBox is $70-100 and has basically the same hardware. And it doesn’t get software updates anywhere near as often as the Fire TV. You might as well just ask for a free one while you’re being so unreasonable. Every article about the third gen FTV has the same stupid comments at the bottom by people arrogantly talking about how it should cost $5 or something equally stupid. Keep dreaming.
If you are paying $70-$100 for a Mi Box you are [removed by AFTVnews]. It’s been regularly available at walmart for $69 with free 2 day shipping. Also, while the Mi Box may not get as many updates as the FTV3, it does have access to the full Google Play Store, are able to install Kodi without jumping through hoops, and it includes a usb port, and a faster GPU. So it does come with some PROS along with it’s CONS.
The MiBox is the redheaded step child of the line up. I can not get Google TV or the Amazon app on it. It has not been updated in forever. It is functional but I would not buy another one.
The nVidia Shield is too expensive and except for a built in TV client you can get a an Android TV except for the MiBox which almost seems unsupported at this point. Google really needs to come out with an affordable stick to make the platform viable.
The new FireTV seems like a downgrade to my exiting ones with built in Ethernet and faster cpu. Also: I am unlikly to buy another device until the YouTube issue is resolved. As I have started using YouTube TV as well that is also another requirement.
I have one Roku stick I got late last year and although it is my least favorite interface it is cheap at $40 and has built in TV controls for Power and Volume making it more functional than the Fire or Android offering. You can also get 4k versions now as well. Roku seems to get better overall app support from all the vendors as it is not seen as a provider of content for the most part which may be a problem for both Amazon and Google going forward.
I wasn’t trying to sell people on the Mi Box. I actually just sold mine a week ago, and now only have FTV2s and Shields. I was just countering what the other dude said about them, as it isn’t a terrible device.
I have had zero problems with my MiBox. I also own FTV’s, I find neither one inferior nor superior to the other, of course every time I mention the Mibox as a viable alternative on this forum I get heckled, so I’ll shut up now, my MiBox is calling me!
We have a Stick2 and a FTV3 and the Stick is much better. The FTV3 is very buggy and requires frequent restarts. Hulu also runs lousy on it. I have the same apps on our Stick and it runs flawlessly. I really regret buying the FTV3.
Poor reviews from people familiar with past FTV devices have not moved Amazon much on pricing or producing a product we would buy. It absolutely seems to be an upgrade (of sorts) for the stick and is not something Amazon can taut as innovative or something to really be proud of. Except for options to side load apps, I think AppleTV and Roku are eating FTV’s lunch.
Amazon created a real hole in their product line that customers want filled. When the FTV3 gets discounted every other week and you stop selling the FTV2 and it appears as a refurb on ebay at twice the previous full retail cost you have missed the mark with your new product.
Then you have a defective Fire TV, [removed by AFTVnews]. You’re silly if you think they all do that. The 3rd gen is faster than your 2nd gen Stick.
Are you connecting your 2016 Stick to Ethernet? I can imagine a stick working pretty well with the benefit of Ethernet. I owned one once and was able to get an “excellent” level connection in the right spot and I was surprised how well it worked. I considered buying one of the Ethernet adapter options, but never did and sold it.
I found the FTV3 yesterday in abundance for 49.99 at my local BestBuy. It was tempting, but I wouldn’t trade for my FTV2’s.
For whatever the reason, KODI does not work work well on the Fire TV 3, so don’t consider it if your intention is to add KODI. I keep waiting for the magic update that “fixes” things… but I’m still waiting 4 months later.
What is the issue with Kodi ? cause mine works like a charm (and I have an AFTV2 -box-) too.
The FTV3 is a bit slower (menu, etc, but can’t complain overall (had some issue in the past which were fix with the updates.
The FTV3 is tiny and light, and I love taking it with me while traveling (work).
I have yet to be able to get a live stream — USTVNOW for example — to play without issues: Voice continually out of sync… with intermittent freezing. Video stutters and plays in halting fashion. This, again, is intermittent, but these issues NEVER appear on either my Stick, Fire TV 1 and Fire TV 2, or on all the Amazon tablets I own. Friends who own this version of the Fire TV ALL echo my concerns. Your opinion seems to be an outlier but I’m happy to see that there are satisfied KODI users who own it.
For the price I decided to pull the trigger. It will replace a 1st Gen Fire TV and sit along side my Shield TV.
Will this direct stream h264 10-bit and h265 video files in Plex?
Who needs 4K when both main sources for the Fire TV line, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, have only a tiny selection of 4K and no HDR content.
Plus, don’t most of you guys overseas have these data caps? 4K gulps data, HDR even much so.
This is totally missing what people really need and can make use of, when at the same time features are removed and overall computing power is lower than with the second generation box.
It is not even cheap. Back when the Fire TV came up it was sold on sale for 50€ by Amazon, had optical outlet, sd card slot, Ethernet and the superior first generation remote.
Since then the calculators and controlers of the business department seem to have been taking over. Slashing specs while raising profits.
I would even dare to say that the current FTV3 as the introduction of the Fire TV line wouldn’t have intrigued you enough to start this webpage and would have failed with the customers just as badly as the Fire Phone.
Hackfleisch You are mistaken about “No HDR content”. Many Netflix and Amazon originals are 4K HDR (Stranger Things, all the Marvel shows on Netflix, Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle, The Grand tour, etc). Yes, the selection is tiny….but it is growing steady as it seams most new shows are being released in 4K HDR. This scenario reminds me of when HD TV’s became available. Very little content at first….
The biggest gap I see is in purchasable movies. iTunes (Apple TV) and Vudu (Roku) have a much larger selection of 4K HDR movies for purchase. Even some newer releases like Wonder Woman aren’t available in this quality through Amazon. So while the Amazon Fire TV is capable of 4K with HDR, for some reason Amazon isn’t selling the content. It actually made me choose Roku (at least for now) over the Fire TV. If I know I can purchase the better quality movie (often for the same price as HD) on another platform, why wouldn’t I? Amazon seems to be lagging behind in this area.
Which just proves my point.
Plus, again, I heard friends from the US moan about data caps. They are highly unusual here in Europe, at least with landline broadband. But with just streaming HD via Fire TV und some Spotify, no filesharing or gaming, me and my husband easily excess 1 tb of traffic every month, way beyond your usual data caps. Since Amazon will design its products first of all for its domestic home market it seems even more so missing, what the mass of people really need – while not giving the device Ethernet, which would be always the first thing to do – connect it via Ethernet – when yoh live in a crowded urban area with overcrowded WiFi. Something people really need quite often!
The FTV 3 is like a weird and wrong mix of the former box and the stick, not really making anyone happy. Casual users would rather get a cheaper Fire TV stick, more demanding users would get the box, hook it up via Ethernet, extend storage via sc card, connect a wireless keyboard or game pad via the USB port… the box was a real “multi-talent”.
Sorry, I thought your point was who needs 4K when Amazon Prime and Netflix, the two main sources, only have a tiny bit of 4K content and No HDR. Which isn’t true, both have 4K HDR content.
As for data caps, I live in the US and don’t have a data cap. I suppose it depends on where you live and who you are using for internet. I count myself lucky for the time being.
I do agree that the FTV3 is the wrong mix of the former box and Stick. I wish they had just updated FTV2 to 4K HDR at 60 fps. I did pick up the FTV3 yesterday, but I did so mostly for Prime 4K HDR content, NBC Sports and CW app. The Prime Video app on the Shield is horrible (no way to manage watchlist) and NBC Sports and CW aren’t available unless I side load the apps. Even then it’s a horrible experience. If the FTV3 has no issues with 4K Prime and Netflix content, it will make a nice companion to my Shield TV.
I missed this. I would have bought it for sure.
So the FTV 3 arrived and it’s all set up. Don’t really notice a difference in performance when navigating the menus compared to my FTV 2, and the 4k HDR runs without issue. The only real downside is that PS Vue is capped at 30 fps. From what I’ve read this happened with the update that brought the Alexa skill to PS Vue. To get the 60 fps people were side loading an earlier version, but that no longer works….being forced to update the PS Vuec app. If I didn’t have a Shield I would send this back.
I’ve put off trying the FTV3, as I own two FTV2’s, but I wandered back into BestBuy today and found a rack with several 3’s still on sale for 49.99. Turns out somebody forgot to change the price, but they sold one to me at 49.99 no questions asked. I just wanted to finally bring one home and test it out. If I decide I want to keep this I will order the Amazon brand Ethernet adapter, but I have to say the player performs much better than what I expected, based on reviews. I didn’t manage an excellent level wireless connection but I did get very good on the 5 GHz WiFi. I’ve had lots of experience with gen 1 and 2 and the 3 is just as quick as either of these. The 1080P picture is just as good and I can only assume a wired connection will tweak it just a little more. I have only played with it for a short time, but I can see a very positive review coming from me on Amazon.
Charlie – I’m seeing virtually identical internet speeds using the Ethernet adapter vs 5GHz with a very good signal. Maybe get the Ethernet adapter because wired is more stable.
Having used the FTV3 for the past few days, I agree it seems just as quick as my 2 when going through the menus. However, there is no question this thing is under powered. The PS Vue app on my 2 that is Alexa enabled can do 60 fps, but the 3 is capped at 30 fps. I can only assume it’s a processor limitation of some sort.
I am surprise why AFTVNews didnt post that it is possible to buy the new Firetv for $35 using directv now. I think it is great that paying for a month of DTVN service you received the new firetv for free.