Most people are probably looking for a legit and easy-to-use Kodi Box. The Amazon Fire TV has a ton of great features and specs are a great price.
Let us show you where you buy it and all of the information you need to know about Amazon’s line of media boxes. They are aimed at helping users cut the cord and still stream any TV show and movie.
Before we learn:
Right now, the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Cube are both on sale for 25% off! The stick only $30, while the Cube is only $90.
Buy the Amazon Fire Stick on sale here
Buy the Amazon Fire Cube on sale here
Now, let’s get back to the guide.
First off..
The Amazon Fire TV is a line of media boxes created, manufactured, and distributed by Amazon. It ie designed to help you stream TV shows and movies through the use of apps that are installed onto the system.
Compared to Android TV boxes which come in many brands and firmware options, the Amazon Fire TV is optimized with a single FireOS setup by Amazon which processes video very well.
The Amazon Fire TV is currently available in three different models:
- Dongle
- Stick
- Cube
In our guide below, we will walk through the following important Amazon Fire TV information such as:
- Fire TV Specs
- Where Can You Buy the Amazon Fire Boxes?
- Amazon Fire Features
- Amazon Fire Setup Guide
- How to Install Kodi on the Amazon Fire TV
Let’s get started.
Amazon Fire TV Specs – The Blah Blah Blah stuff
The Amazon Fire TV Stick has an older 1.3GHz Quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and an 8 GB hard drive. It does not support 4K video or HDR and has limited ports installed due to its small form factor. It plugs directly into the HDMI port in the back of your TV, with a small mini-USB to AC power adapter and remote included with it.
For the very basic of media users, it is a great starter box. If you are looking to do some live video streaming, the 1 GB of ROM is not sufficient from our testing.
The other big drawback of the Amazon Fire TV Stick is that it contains no Ethernet port by default, so you need to buy an attachment if you want hardwired Ethernet support.
The Amazon Fire TV Dongle version includes a better 1.5 GHz Quad-Core processor with 4K and HDR video support. Also, it has 2GB of RAM which is better for live video streaming. Otherwise, the device is essentially the same as the Fire TV Stick. It has no hardwired Ethernet port, an 8 GB hard drive
The brand new Amazon Fire TV Cube includes the same processor and RAM as the dongle. However, storage is doubled to be 16 GB. As well, it has a built-in speaker and 8 microphones so that you can control it from afar with Alexa controls.
A hard-wired Ethernet port is included so that you can get maximum speed out of your internet connection. The basic Amazon Echo retails for $100 and the Amazon Fire TV Dongle is $70, so the Fire TV Cube saves you $50 and combines the functionality of both devices.
Amazon Fire TV Dongle
BOTTOM LINE:
The more expensive the Amazon Fire TV, the better specs it has. If you aren’t a techy person, this is all you need to know.
Where Can You Buy the Amazon Fire TV?
The Amazon Fire TV is only officially available through the Amazon website. The Dongle and Cube hardware is only available to USA customers, but will work to international customers as long as you can get your hands on one.
A spinoff of the Fire TV Stick is available worldwide as a starter device in over 50 countries. To purchase any one of the Amazon Fire boxes, refer to the links below:
Key Amazon Fire TV Features
With the Amazon Fire, you can perform a bunch of basic and advanced media streaming and functionality. Each box comes preloaded with the Amazon Operating System, a TV-optimized grid interface similar to Android TV or the Apple TV. Preloaded on the Amazon Fire by default are a number of apps, including Amazon Video, Prime, and Music.
The Amazon Fire also comes with an Appstore, which can be used to download a bunch of approved Amazon addons including:
- Netflix
- Youtube
- Downloader – Sideload APK files off of the internet onto the Amazon Fire TV
- ES File Explorer – Browse through directories and files inside of the Amazon Fire TV.
- IPVanish (Kodi VPN)
- VLC Player
Third party Amazon apps can be side-loaded onto the device using a number of methods such as moving the APK file onto the device via USB or using special programs such as Downloader listed above.
Sideloading apps are more advanced, but we have tutorial guides on our website to help users load some of the most popular applications. Some examples of third-party apps you can load onto the Amazon Fire TV hardware include:
- Kodi
- Plex
- Mouse Toggle (adds a mouse point for those apps without Android TV support!)
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Amazon Fire TV Setup Guide
Setting up the Amazon Fire TV is insanely easy.
To start, simply connect your Fire TV to your TV. The Fire Stick and Dongle directly plug into your TV’s HDMI port. The cube version requires the included HDMI cable to run from the Cube into the TV.
Power up the Fire TV by plugging the AC adapter into the wall and the other end into the back of the box.
That’s it! When you power up the box for the first time, it will appear on your TV and the on-screen steps will walk you through setup of the device
Amazon Fire TV Home Screen
How to Install Kodi on the Amazon Fire TV
- Allow your Amazon box to install apps from unknown sources. If you have the new Fire Stick interface, this is found through Settings > Device > Developer Options. If you have the old interface, this is found through Settings > System > Developer options.
- Launch the Amazon Appstore and search for the app Downloader and install this onto your device.
- Launch the Downloader App and click on Settings and click on Enable Javascript. Click Yes when the warning message pops up.
- Go back to the Home screen in the Downloader app and click on the http:// address bar and enter in the following URL: http://kodi.tv/download and click Go.
- A Javascript disabled warning may come up, just click OK.
- Scroll down the Kodi website that opens up and click Android and then scroll down and click on ARMV7A (32 bit)
- Wait for your version of Kodi to finish downloading. Once it is done, scroll down and click Install to install Kodi on Fire Stick.
That’s it! Kodi will now be in the apps folder of your Amazon Fire device
What Next?
Check out our home page for guides and information on how to configure Kodi after you have it installed on to your system. You may want to setup a Kodi VPN on the Amazon Fire TV, which you can do by clicking here. If you need to sign up for a VPN, refer to the information below.
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