SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon today announced new Alexa features for Fire TV that make it even easier to control your movies, TV shows, and more using just your voice. You will be able to pair any Fire TV with any Echo device and easily control your Fire TV—just ask, and Alexa will start a show, help you find a good movie to watch, control playback, and more. In addition, you will soon be able to view live video feeds from your supported smart home camera right from your Fire TV.
“Alexa is built in the cloud and always getting smarter, and these new Fire TV features are the latest way that Alexa is making it simple for you to enjoy and control your living room entertainment,” said Marc Whitten, Vice President, Amazon Fire TV. “Simply ask Alexa to play your favorite show, or keep an eye on your kids’ playroom during movie night, right from the comfort of your couch. This is just the beginning and we’ll continue to create new ways to simplify the way you interact with your TV—we can’t wait to see what customers think.”
Far-Field Control of Fire TV
You can now pair any of your Echo devices with your Fire TV for easy control of your entertainment experience using Alexa.
Getting started is easy: if you have only one Fire TV, your Echo device will pair as soon as you ask Alexa a question that includes Fire TV, for example “Alexa, watch The Grand Tour on Fire TV” or “Alexa, show me comedies on Fire TV.” If you have more than one Fire TV, use the Alexa app to pair your devices. Then, simply ask, and Alexa will launch apps, play movies or TV shows by title, actor or genre, and control video playback with commands such as "Alexa, play," "Alexa, pause," and "Alexa, fast forward." Here are some of the other things you can say to control your Fire TV hands-free:
- “Alexa, watch Bosch”
- “Alexa, show me action movies”
- “Alexa, go home”
- “Alexa, open Hulu”
Far-Field Control of Fire TV Edition Smart TV
In addition to playing shows and movies, launching apps, and controlling video playback, you can also pair your Echo device with your Fire TV Edition smart TV and control TV settings including volume and input switching. When connected to an HD antenna, you can also change the channel, pause and resume over-the-air live TV playback, and launch the on-screen channel guide with voice commands including:
- “Alexa, turn on Fire TV”
- “Alexa, tune to FOX”
- “Alexa, tune to NBC”
- “Alexa, switch to HDMI one”
- “Alexa, mute the volume on Fire TV”
Smart Home Camera Support
Coming soon, Amazon will also enable you to use your Fire TV to view live video feeds via Alexa from your compatible smart home cameras by simply saying “Alexa, show my kitchen camera.”
You will be able to see who’s at the front door or check on a sleeping baby in the nursery. Smart home camera support on Fire TV works with a range of devices from companies including Ring, Arlo, Nest, EZVIZ, Vivint Smart Home, Amcrest, Logitech, and August.
Alexa Is Always Getting Smarter
Today’s announcement is the latest example of Alexa always getting smarter and adding new capabilities for home entertainment. Last month, Amazon introduced new entertainment capabilities as part of the Smart Home Skill API, allowing developers to create skills that connect home audio and video devices directly to Alexa entertainment capabilities. Sony Electronics and Logitech Harmony are the first to take advantage of these capabilities, which give customers ultimate voice control over their entertainment systems.
Amazon also last month introduced the Video Skill API, which lets developers build experiences that allow customers to easily find and consume video content using their Amazon Echo or other Alexa devices. Companies like DISH, Netgem, and YouView are already working on integrating their services directly to Alexa video capabilities so that customers can control their content using just their voice.
Availability
Far-field control of Fire TV is available starting today for customers in the U.S. on all generations of Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. Customers in the U.S. with the new Fire TV Edition smart TVs will have far-field control within the coming week. Smart home camera support is coming soon on all Fire TVs and second generation Fire TV Sticks in the U.S.
For more information, please visit www.amazon.com/firetv.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
