ImageTagInstance gallery-3f14bb5e-9406-4e83-a575-e871ea54e18e IntroductionThere is no shortage of streaming media players competing for space below your TV these days. Just a few short years ago these devices were the domain of tech-savvy users and often weren’t the most user friendly offerings. Roku arguably offered the first painless solution that your mom could use, and since then major players such as Google and Apple have released popular offerings. Amazon has decided to jump into this increasingly crowded market with the newly launched FireTV. The FireTV uses industry leading hardware to deliver Prime streaming service coupled with digital downloads and rentals from Amazon, but also includes essential providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus, ESPN, Pandora, iHeartRadio and others. The FireTV further sets itself apart by offering casual gaming and a bit more with the optional game controller. Read on to find out if FireTV can follow-through on Amazon’s plan to take over your TV. /1242607...

Impressive performance at a low price; Broad HDR format support, plus HDR menus and SDR-to-HDR conversion; Increasingly useful Alexa voice controls;

The menu system is still too bloated; Genre searches are Alexa's weak spot; No support for YouTube TV, our favorite live TV streaming service;

They might be subtle improvements, but the new Amazon Fire Stick is all the better for having them

Faster and more stable; Alexa voice commands work well; Much-improved interface; Well priced

Aimed heavily at Prime users; Some Alexa results could be better

A great streaming media player, but Amazon is a little heavy-handed

Speedy operation; Voice search; Good performance and build quality

Voice search is not universal; Amazon features strongly prioritised; No bundled HDMI cable; No USB playback

Amazon's stick-sized version of the Fire TV media hub is less than half the price and offers all of the same appealing features, save for sheer speed.

Inexpensive; Feature-rich; Lots of content and services available, especially for Amazon Prime members.

Not as quick as the Fire TV; Interface is curated primarily around Amazon content.

Faster than an Apple TV and thinner than a Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV streaming player is a little box with big appeal. It’s so good in fact, that it might make Prime Instant Video subscribers out of all of us. The Bluetooth zapper is the star of the show.

Fast, attractive user interface; excellent voice search; high-quality video streaming (broadband permitting); deep integration with other Amazon music and photo services

Limited catch-up; media streaming functionality dependent upon apps

Powerful, flexible and user-friendly, Amazon’s box has staked a spot among the streaming elite

Simple setup and UI; Good AV performance; Compact; tidy design

Voice search limited to Amazon content; Occasional remote lag

In use you get the impression there is plenty of promise here. Fire TV is a neat and well-specified device. On this score it easily beats Apple TV, Roku 3 or Google Chromecast in memory and processor.

“After all of Amazon’s chest beating, The FireTV might feel disappointing in some regards, but it’s still a great little streaming media box with a snappy, intuitive interface and plenty of promise.”

Slick hardware look and feel; Voice recognition works well; Snappy; easily navigable user interface; Great remote; Gaming is better than expected

Voice search is not universal; Apps not pre-installed; App load times are no faster than competition; Game controller feels cheap; Drawn out setup process

The Fire TV streaming-media box is an impressive living room debut for Amazon, with standout features like voice search, gaming, and superfast video streaming, but it falls short of being an elite streamer -- at least for now.

The Amazon Fire TV is best way to watch Amazon Instant movies and TV yet, and Prime subscribers can stream thousands of titles for no additional charge; Voice-search feature is cool and works well; The interface is zippy, and Amazon content streams lightning-fast.

The user interface strongly favors Amazon Instant content over other services, and the voice-search feature doesn't comb through Netflix or most other non-Amazon apps; Some major apps are missing, including HBO Go and Spotify.