A sharper way to watch online video
Do we really need 4K? Short answer: no. Now, here’s the science. Digital displays are made up of pixels, or colour dots. If the grid of pixels is fine enough, you don’t see the dots, just the picture. What’s enough? That doesn’t just depend on the pixels, it also depends on you. Specifically, how sharp your eyesight is and how far from the screen you are.
Apple came up with the term ‘Retina display’ for a screen that will fool 20:20 vision at a typical distance. A Full HD TV doesn’t have as many pixels as a Retina iPhone or iPad, and it’s much bigger, making the pixels huge. So it should look really rough – but it doesn’t, because you don’t hold your telly up to your face. When you do the maths, a 40in Full HD (1920x1080-pixel) TV is a ‘Retina display’ as long as you sit at least 1.5 metres away. QED.
Yet TV makers want to sell you sets with four times more pixels, and now Amazon has a black box that receives video from its Prime service at this ‘4K’ resolution, where available. In reality very few films or TV shows are available yet in 4K, and you probably don’t have a 4K telly anyway, and unless it’s gigantic you won’t see much difference. Oh, and the Fire TV can only output 4K at 30Hz (cycles per second), not the rock-steady 60Hz of higher-quality systems.
Even normal HD video gets a benefit from the revamped Fire TV, though: it supports a format called HEVC that downloads faster, meaning your favourite programme is less likely to grind to a halt. Services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and Netflix are also supported, and as with Google’s Chromecast you can control video from iOS or Android apps or mirror Android screens. But Amazon takes every chance to sell you its own content, and the Fire TV works best with Prime, which costs £79 a year after the free first month.
The new box can also run some basic games, such as Angry Birds and Grand Theft Auto III, but you need a special £40 controller – yet another way for Amazon to grab your money. As standard, you get a remote control with voice search, just like the new Apple TV, to help find videos you want to watch, although the search features could be more comprehensive.
VERDICT
4K is a gimmick, but the Fire TV is good for people who watch a lot of online video and especially Prime subscribers. If you have Apple devices, the new Apple TV may suit you better.
SPECIFICATIONS
802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 4.1 • 8GB storage • microSD slot • USB 2.0 port • HDMI port • Ethernet port • 4K UHD (requires TV with HDCP 2.2) • Remote with voice • 17.8x115x115mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty