Far-field voice control has come to Amazon Fire TV in the UK today, allowing customers to use an Amazon Echo with the device.
The Fire TV can be paired with any Echo device, which enables users to ask Alexa to play a movie, launch an app, control playback, or show live video from compatible smart home cameras.
Automatically pairing with Fire TV one you ask Alexa a question that includes Fire TV, the new feature makes the whole experience hands-free. If you have more than one Fire TV, you can use the Alexa App to pair your devices.
Once paired you can ask Alexa to search by title, actor or genre, control video playback and launch apps, as well as start apps or popular content available on Fire TV such as Amazon Video, Netflix, UKTV and more.
Some of the things users can say to control their Fire TV are:
“Alexa, watch Bad Moms”
“Alexa, pause”
“Alexa, fast forward 2 minutes”
“Alexa, go back 1 minute”
“Alexa, show me dramas with Titus Welliver”
“Alexa, go home”
“Alexa, open Netflix”
“Alexa, open UKTV on Fire TV”
“Alexa, show my front door camera”
“Alexa is built in the cloud and always getting smarter, and this new Fire TV feature is the latest way that Alexa is making it simple for customers in the UK to enjoy and control their living room entertainment,” said Eric Saarnio, Head of Amazon Devices EU. “Simply ask Alexa to watch a favourite show, or check on the nursery during movie night, right from the comfort of your couch. This is still 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 is available in the UK on all generations of Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.
Other recent Alexa features and capabilities include lyric search for music, music alarms, reminders, named timers, local search and movie show times, multi-room music, short term memory, and more.
To celebrate the rollout of far-field voice control of Fire TV via Alexa, Amazon is offering its first ever bundle on a Fire TV Stick with an Echo Dot, allowing customers to get £20 off when they buy both products together.
