A lot of people are getting rid of cable, or their pricey satellite dish.
Now the Fire TV Cube has become a pretty powerful option for replacing your old cable or satellite box.
In this video, I’m going to show you how you can get a lot of free live television
and use low-cost options for networks such as History and A&E just by cutting the cord.
You can put together a solid alternative to cable or satellite TV with a few key Fire TV apps
or additional hardware.
This video is a follow-up to my review on the Fire TV Cube, and my guide on the best
Fire TV apps for live TV and music. You can read the review and guide at my website
cordcuttingreport.com.
So I’ve owned just about every Fire TV device dating back to 2016. At the end of this
video, I’ll share some thoughts on which Fire TV device to buy.
The Fire TV Cube’s biggest perk is the hands-free voice commands. You essentially have an Amazon Echo
built into your streaming device.
Want to turn off the TV or change the volume on your sound bar? Just tell the Cube … and
she’ll handle it without you having to pick up the remote.
One of the most compelling reasons for a Fire TV Cube is that you can build your own customized channel lineup.
The channel guide now combines both free streaming services like Pluto TV, cable alternatives
like PlayStation Vue, and even low-cost options such as Philo.
Philo carries 58 networks such as A&E, HGTV, Discovery Channel and MTV for $20 per month.
So let’s say you just wanted some cable channels like A&E and History from Philo.
If you put that together with Pluto TV's huge channel lineup, you’re going to have a pretty
robust selection of movies, news and live music from both of those platforms.
The channel guide is also a really attractive option if you use a TV antenna. Connect your
antenna to a Fire TV Recast and you can add all your local channels such as NBC, CBS,
PBS and FOX. The Fire TV Cube might be the only streaming
device where you can channel surf through over-the-air channels using your voice.
You will need a Fire TV Recast for this option.
But if you're already getting local OTA channels through your TV antenna, try telling Alexa
to tune to NBC or CBS. Your TV will power on and go the live channel being pulled in
from the TV antenna.
Based on my testing, you even have voice commands for the free streaming platform Pluto TV,
and Philo. The voice commands for Philo weren’t perfect, but I could turn on the
TV and get to a number of networks without any problems.
The Recast is a DVR for those local over-the-air channels and I’ve made another video on all its features
that I’ll link to in the description below. So just to give you an idea of how I have
things set up in my channel guide: Pluto TV is giving me about 100 free channels and a
big on-demand movie library. Philo adds 58 channels of entertainment networks like A&E, History and
Discovery for $20 per month. That comes with unlimited Cloud DVR and a pretty big on-demand section.
And after I added a Recast DVR to the mix.
That pulled in another 50 channels from my TV antenna.
So, I’m putting together about 200 channels right there without a huge cable bill.
This is only a small example of what’s available for live TV content.
Aside from the channel guide, Fire TV devices now also have a LiveTV section at the top of the menu.
There are other free streaming platforms like Red Bull TV.
And if you subscribe to Prime Video Channels ...
for HBO, Showtime or MLB.TV, you'll see all the live feeds coming into your channel guide and the Live TV section.
Even if live TV isn’t that important to you, there are plenty of Fire TV apps that you’ll
want to try out. The first is IMDB TV, which used to be called Freedive. You should already
see this on your Fire TV, but if you don’t, it’s easy to download. Amazon launched this
app, which has a huge library of free movies. This is an ad-supported platform, so you will
have to tolerate some commercials. Just deal with it. Hit the mute button. You'll be fine.
You should also check in with your local library to see if it subscribes to Kanopy.
If it does, then you’re really lucky. This is one of the best
Fire TV apps because you are getting movies from The Criterion Collection, classics from
Paramount Pictures, documentaries and other hits from around the globe. You will only
get about 5 to 10 movie rentals a month. But the children’s section has no per-month rental limit.
And when I say rental limit, you're not paying for these movies.
The library allots you a certain amount of movies that you can watch per month.
At no charge at all. So with Kanopy, there’s no commercials. And it’s all free.
The software hub Plex allows you to tap into
all the movies you have ripped to a PC, and watch them on a Fire TV or Fire Stick.
And that's free, too. I’ve been digitizing my Blu-Ray collection with a Pioneer Slim Blu Ray burner.
I also have WD MyBook 4TB external hard drive. I can have my entire movie collection
on my Fire TV device. It’s kind of like having your personal Netflix service without the monthly fee.
So there are 10 live TV streaming platforms that support the Fire TV Cube and other Fire
TV devices. But the one thing that people rarely talk about is that you can use a Fire
TV without an Amazon Prime subscription.
That's how I started out when I cut the cord a few years ago.
If you’re trying to figure out which Fire TV will be best for your television...
here's a couple of things to keep in mind.
The Fire TV Stick is the most basic streaming player that streams up to 1080p That's Full HD.
It comes with an Alexa voice remote. But if your TV is more than a few years old,
it's better to get a Fire TV device that supports 4K so you won’t have to upgrade your streaming
device when you get a new TV set. The Fire TV Stick 4K supports 4K Ultra HD
with HDR10, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ Dolby Atmos.
And take note: This is the only Fire TV with Dolby Vision. It comes also with an Alexa voice remote.
The Fire TV Cube is the only Fire TV device that has hands-free voice commands.
I never thought have hands free voice commands was going to be a big deal.
But you know, when you're walking out of the room with your arms full...
maybe you're carrying one of your kids,
having a hands-free ability to shut off your television
it's a pretty good option, and you won't want to give it up once you have it.
The Cube supports 4K Ultra HD and HDR
and accepts voice commands to turn on or off your TVs, A/V receivers
and sound bars. You can dim the lights with your voice. And there are also voice commands
for changing live cable or satellite channels -- if you’re into that sort of thing.
Right now, I like the Fire TV Cube the best
among the current lineup of Fire TV devices because of its hands-free voice commands.
And you can customize the type of channels you want to pull together into a single menu.
So I hope this video was helpful. Please consider giving it a like, and subscribing to the channel
for more videos like this. Check out the links in the description below
for more ways to customize a Fire TV. Sign up for my free monthly newsletter for latest
cord cutting news. Thanks and I'll see you next time.