This week on TechHive: Fire TV tricks and tips
After putting together a huge list of Roku tips last week, it only seemed fair to do the same for Fire TV.
My guide over at TechHive is an overhauled version of a story that first ran in 2018, updated to reflect last year’s major Fire TV redesign and some new tricks that have arrived in recent years. It includes faster ways to navigate, settings to tweak, and neat discovery features hidden within Amazon’s somewhat-labyrinthine interface.
One of my favorites: Deep inside the Fire TV settings menu, you’ll find an option to make dialog easier to hear. Just head to Settings > Display & Sounds > Audio > Advanced Audio, then enable the Dialogue Enhancer setting. For more tips like that, read the full column on TechHive.
Weekly rewind
FuboTV’s mandatory quarterly plans: FuboTV is temporarily dropping monthly plans for new subscribers, instead requiring them to sign up for three months at a time. The live TV service, which normally costs $65 per month, will instead cost $195 for a quarter. The Verge reports that Fubo will return to its normal monthly pricing on February 17—after the Super Bowl and a few days before the conclusion of the winter Olympics.
As someone who runs a small subscription business with quarterly and annual pricing, I’m probably not in position to judge Fubo too harshly. It is, however, a bold move given the availability of other live TV streaming options with comparable Super Bowl and Olympics coverage, none of which require a couple hundred bucks up front. Note also that FuboTV lacks Turner channels such as TNT and TBS; those who commit to a three-month subscription find themselves missing a chunk of March Madness coverage come next month.
Super Bowl viewing options: Speaking of the Super Bowl, here’s a quick list of ways to watch big game without cable:
- An antenna will give you the best picture quality and lowest latency if your reception’s good enough, plus it’s free.
- Peacock is streaming the game on its $5 per month Premium tier.
- Live TV streaming services with NBC: YouTube TV ($65/mo.), Hulu + Live TV ($70/mo.), DirecTV Stream ($70/mo.), and FuboTV ($195/quarter), but you’ll have to check your zip code for each to make sure the local station’s available. Sling TV Blue ($35/mo.) carries NBC in 11 major cities only.
- The NFL app will stream the game for free on phones and tablets only. For smart TVs and streaming players, you’ll need to log in with your pay TV provider.
Amazon Prime’s video-only option: While the cost of Amazon Prime will soon increase from $120 to $140 per year, the company confirmed to me that it will still offer a video-only plan for $9 per month. It’s worth considering if you’re dropping Prime, but still want to dip into the video service for a month here and there.
Amazon doesn’t really advertise the video-only option, though, so it can be hard to find unless you know where to look. I’ve got some instructions over at TechHive.
More catch-up
- MSG is planning its own sports streaming service for later this year.
- Google TV may soon get kids watchlists and a “Restricted” mode.
- Regulators approve the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger. Expect live TV price hikes to follow.
Save more money
We’ve got a lot of solid streaming device deals this week, including the Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $30. That’s a $20 discount on Roku’s latest 4K streaming player (read my review here), and it’s on par with Black Friday pricing.
Amazon’s also discounting several Fire TV streamers, most notably the Fire TV Cube for a record-low of $70. (Amazon Prime card holders can also get 25% cash back instead of the usual 5%). The Cube is a few years old now (here’s my review), but it’s still a fairly speedy streaming box, and it supports hands-free Alexa voice commands. You can even plug in a webcam for big-screen video chat.
Meanwhile, the Chromecast with Google TV is on sale for $40, and new HBO Max subscribers can bundle three months of the service for just $15 more. As mentioned in my review, I like the way its home screen emphasizes content over apps.
Finally, if you’re in the market for a new TV, Consumer Reports and TechRadar both have good roundups of Super Bowl-related deals.
Thanks for reading!
As a decade-long resident of Cincinnati, I believe I am contractually obligated to say Who Dey! one more time before Sunday. But even if you’re rooting for the Rams, I hope the streaming and over-the-air TV gods are on your side.
In the meantime, feel free to reach out with any cord cutting questions you’d like me to answer.
Until next week,
Jared
Cord Cutter Weekly is a labor of love by tech journalist Jared Newman. Say hi on Twitter, and spread the word that there’s a better kind of TV out there.