Question Amazon Fire TV / Kindle Fire Questions 2 and 3

Pecker

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
22,825
Reaction score
4,671
Points
4,123
Location
Huddersfield, People's Republic of Yorkshire
Okay, the set up is this - a Kindle Fire Tablet with Amazon Video purchased and downloaded on to it, screen shared with a Fire TV.

I'm specifically talking about films bought and paid for individually, not material you get for free if you're on Amazon Prime.

Okay, I see there are a good number of films available at Amazon USA in HD which are not available at Amazon UK.

I appreciate I can't just buy them in the UK. To purchase content you need a US billing address and a card registered to a US address. But would the following work?

I have friends in the US. The could buy a Kindle Fire and Fire TV, and I could send them the money. They could buy and download the films on to the tablet and post the lot to me.

Would this the work in the UK?

Would the Fire TV and/or tablet realise it was in the wrong country when switched on and refuse to play?

Could new material be downloaded on to the tablet whilst it was in the UK, as long as it was paid for through the Amazon US account, with a US credit card and US billing address?

Would I even need a second Fire TV, or could I stream from my US Kindle Fire to my UK Fire TV? Do the Kindle Fire and Fire TV need to be registered to the same account, or can you screen share from any Kindle Fire with a Fire TV?

Cheers.

Steve W
 
Just out of interest, why are you looking to "buy" movies and TV shows from the US?

If it is to save money, there may be other ways to do this? Personally I find having Netflix with Smart DNS that unblocks all the other regions gives me access to 90% of the movies and TV shows I need to watch. And the rest... well, I don't mind waiting until it comes on one of Netflix's regions as I have so much to keep me going.

Netflix (Global) + Prime UK + Smart DNS will give you such a huge rage of content for so much less money than buying, and a lot less hassle.

There is a guide here that explains it in more detail, and you can test it all out for free. Netflix run a month's free trial, and Getflix (the Smart DNS service mentioned in that guide) offers a two week free trial where you don't even need to hand over your credit card details. It really is amazing!
 
Just read paragraph 3.

There are a few of my favourite films which I have on DVD, but which aren't out on Blu-Ray Disc, which are available in HD from Amazon USA, but either SD only or not at all from Amazon UK.

Steve W
 
I've been looking into this more.

I'm not sure whether it's possible. If I buy a US Fire TV I can use it in the UK, but it looks like I have to register it to the UK. It'll become clearer when my Fire TV arrives.

One possible route forward is that some Kindle Fires have a micro-USB port with which you can use a SlimPort adaptor. Unfortunately the cheap ($40) new Fire doesn't. The not much more expensive HD6 ($70) does, but doesn't have a MicroSD card slot.

Those models with both are several hundred dollars.

Amazon are updating their line up all the time. As soon as there's a model which has a MicroSD card slot and ability for SlimPort, that'll be a good way forward. However, it will involve the US contact downloading all the content whilst the tablet is in the US.

Steve W
 
Okay, another update.

I've found that Second Screen is NOT the way to go. It appears to simply act as a remote control on your Kindle Fire so the Fire TV still streams the content. In my case in poor quality.

The way to go is screen mirroring, and this is possible with the new Kindle Fire HD8 and Fire TV.

So, I'm stuck with a 2015 Kindle Fire HD8 with expandable memory but stuck to 720p, or an older HD 8.9, with limited storage and 1080p.

So, I've gone down an...ahem, 'unofficial' route. I can't specify what exactly, but it may or may not involve a hauppauge hd pvr 2 and a HDMI splitter.

Steve W
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom