Fire Chrome Hell This Should be Awesome
Essaysbroadband is a joke / Chromecast / Fire Stick / I hate technology / Tech Sunday22 Comments
I am now the proud possessor of a Kindle Fire Stick and Google’s Chromecast. Both these devices allow you to connect to the respective online media offerings of the vendors and watch them on television and even share/control the viewing with various devices — a smart phone or tablet, for example. In order for this to work you need a wireless network, a television with an HDMI port, an outlet (to provide power to the device), and internet that isn’t a joke. Here at Command Central, we have the television with HDMI. We have the wireless network — two of them actually– we have power outlets. But we do not have internet that isn’t a joke.
I encountered a few other hurdles as well, having to do with remotes with interfaces designed by engineers I can only assume were paid bonuses based on designing a device designed to be frustrating and borderline useless.
The Way This Should Work
Rainbow. Photo by IAMJSON
Shiny new device removed from well designed box. Glance through the instructions. OK. That seems straightforward. Let’s go!
I hum a catchy tune as I plug it into the front facing console/hub that allows the connection of multiple inputs to my collection of devices, including the television. The console/hub recognizes the new device and walks me though the set up and network connection. I’m able to use any keyboard other than the TV’s on-screen keyboard (also designed by an engineer who hates real people) because the console/hub connects to my phone, tablet, or bluetooth keyboard.
Therefore, I enter my complex WEP password without even once thinking about changing the password to “monkeypoo” or leaving it blank. I’m connected to the wireless network and ten seconds later I’m streaming Zoolander and making in-app purchases.
Later, when I want to switch back to regular television viewing for someone else in the household, I do. No one cries or curses.
What Actually Happened
Shiny new device removed from well designed box. I give myself a pep-talk in which I assure myself that this time, I won’t lose two hours of my time trying to follow the instructions. The television has only one HDMI port and it is located at the back of the television which is very close to a wall. I go find a flashlight so I can see what’s plugged into what. Oh. The DVD player is plugged into the single HDMI port. I unplug that and plug in the Fire Stick device. The instructions say to switch the television to the new HDMI input. I have visions of ending up disabling our satellite TV and never getting it set up correctly again. Oh well. I’m not the one who watches TV around here.
Hell Is Shiny
It turns out there are two remotes and no one is sure which one will correctly switch the on-TV HMDI inputs. Cue up a 21st Three Stooges scene crossed with Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First. Two of us stand in front of the TV, each with a remote, pushing buttons while input selections flash on the screen. “Did you do that?” “I don’t know. Did you?” At one point we end up at a screen where the Fire Stick is a listed input but none of the remotes is able to select it.
Stone Eyes. Picture by IAMJSON
At this point, I’m thinking longingly of grain alcohol. But I persevere. Gently, I take the second remote away from my companion and we both take a deep breath. “I’m not giving this remote back to you until you promise you won’t push any buttons until I say so.” Ahem. Button pushing recommences but in a more controlled manner. Neither of us knows how we managed to select the Kindle Fire Stick input but we did.
We have to connect the Fire Stick to one of the two wireless networks (one of them is AT&T, the other is Verizon. Don’t ask.) One of them is a little too close to the data cap for comfort, so I pick the other one. The TV-screen keyboard makes me weep. The network password is complex. This is one of the levels of Hell. I hate you, too, company that was too cheap to hire a real UX designer. What the hell did I ever do to you but pay you money for this device? I had to start over twice and only narrowly avoided resetting EVERYTHING on a screen where “CANCEL” was not an option. FU dude. FU.
At last, the network password got entered. Then we watched a lame introductory video and after that we could navigate around our options for video streaming and games and to be honest it looked totally awesome. But we gave up because the network (Verizon) disconnected every 5 minutes.
I haven’t yet brought myself to try hooking up Chromecast. But maybe next week? Or after the data caps reset.
See, this is me whenever I try some new computer thingie. It’s happened so many times that just the words “It’s easy. All you have to do is …” are enough to induce a look of wide-eyed panic and hyperventilation in me. It generally takes at least two glasses of wine or lots of chocolate to soothe my frazzled nerves and get me out of my fetal curl.
I have chromecast and it worked great when I set it all up (but the DVDs player cannot be plugged in at the same time obviously). Problem is we unplugged it when the kids wanted to watch a dvd and now I never seem to have the option to cast to the tv from a tablet without following some sequence of events so complicated that I have to get my husband to do it before I throw something at the tv and solve all the problems.
It worked so well and now I have no idea what’s going on so ignore it and watch the iPad anyway. I’m glad it was cheap!
I’ve had a roku box forever. Once you get them working its mighty handy. I’m confused svout data caps tho… It’s working on wifi not data right? Roku runs on my wifi connection.
I got my parents a similar box, not roku but like it so they can connect to my Netflix account. They like it. They have no idea what going on but they like it.
I’ve been eying up the chromecast.
I got my parents a roku a few years ago and they love it. It has a very simple, straightforward remote too.
I’m sorry :(
After the access to the first Chromecast was stolen by a YA in the house I purchased two more for other TVs in the house. All were incredibly easy to install, and very fun to get the YA upset. She starts watching a favorite Youtube artist, and I casually change the video while I’m in the kitchen. Mother / daughter bonding at its best!
I bought 2 of the Fire sticks when they were 50% off. I installed them on the TV downstairs and the one in my bedroom with no problems, once I figured out the remote which has no instructions. Who knew you were supposed to click in the middle of the circle from Hell to access anything? Well, I certainly do now. Now, I find it simple and easy to use. Also, my internet does not have caps, so all is good in my world!
Huh. My Fire Stick came with one remote and was so easy to install. My kids used and loved it.
Huh. My Fire Stick came with one remote and was easy to set up. My kids and my parents played with and loved it.
I bought the fire tv box instead of stick because I wasn’t sure whether my wi-fi could handle the streaming. The box gives you the option of an ethernet connection to your modem. However, so far so good with the wi-fi.
Oh thank you. Now I don’t feel bad about not being able to cancel cable so I can take advantage of these less expensive options
@Claire: My fear exactly. But someone was able to switch back to the TV so I guess it wasn’t too hard.
@DLWhite: Well, Command Central is located in a fairly rural area and we do not have cable and no one will give us cable. Our options are these: 1) Dial up 2) Satellite 3) cellular data. 1 and 2 are no go. And that leaves us with cellular which comes with data caps and is $300-400 PER MONTH for a data plan that is realistic for the mass of computers and devices in the household … all of them needing software updates from time to time…. 4G is the best we can do, usually. And so, that was my dilemma. We have two cellular networks because … complicated reasons having to do with ATT not having a functioning cellular dongle for a router and the need for the lights to have a wired connection between the light hub and a router. But also because, as we have discovered more than once, it’s important to have a backup connection. At the moment, the Verizon backup network has issues. When the ATT plan resets or if there’s enough data on the last day, I can try again with the ATT network.
It’s way too complicated.
@Andrea: The actual Fire Stick set up was indeed extremely easy. The hard part for us was getting the TV set to the alternate HDMI and that was a nightmare of horrible TV interfaces and “Who Pressed Menu?” with the remotes. In other words, there was also a lot of user error involved.
LOL…sorry to laugh at your frustration but it all sounds so familiar! Especially the “stop pushing the damn buttons until I tell you you can!” Heh.
I got Chromecast from my sibling for xmas and I’m beginning to realize how lucky I am that when I bought my tv over 5 years ago, I got one that has 4 HDMI connections because 3 are now in use. I never did figure out any of the remotes but am just using my phone to control it instead. I haven’t done anything spectacular with it except binge watch Netflix & HBOgo so far but I’ll play around with it at some point.
I hope you’ll do a comparison review once you get a chance to play around with both.
” I hate you, too, company that was too cheap to hire a real UX designer.”
Thanks JSON, for finally letting me know what to yell in the general direction of companies during set-ups.
@IAM JSON: oh my goodness that IS complicated! Holy cow.
I will no longer complain that my Internet service is sub-par, Json; it is, I just won’t complain about it. You win, sadly.
We purchased a Roku this summer and it has worked great ever since. Well, one time I had to reset the device for some reason, but that’s it. Since our demands over wifi are pretty minimal, our most aggressive binge-watching (I heart you THE HONOURABLE WOMAN and eight seasons of WEST WING) barely registered.
We purchased 2 Chromecast sticks just before the Fire sticks were announced. Then I got 2 Fire sticks at 1/2 off. The Fire stick in the bedroom is plugged into the TV and works like a charm. The TV in the living room has a DVD attached, so hubby purchased an HDMI switch. The Chromecast & DVD player work great on the switch. The Fire Stick, not so much. We first thought it might be a bad stick, so hubby switched sticks between the bedroom & the living room. Fire still has problems in the living room (attached to the HDMI switch). Plex works, however attempts to stream Amazon Video and Netflix produces a “HDCP unauthorized. Content Disabled” message. A google search lead to an Amazon help forum where I learned that using the Fire TV Stick with a receiver or through any device other than the TV itself isn’t currently supported.
So we use Chromecast to stream when we watch TV in the living room. And we use the Fire Stick (love the remote) on the bedroom TV. The problem using Chromecast with Plex app on an Android phone is that sometimes the Chromecast would disconnect. The Fire Stick hasn’t had the same issues.
We had a Chromecast and it worked great and without much drama. Then we got an XBox One and then a smart TV and didn’t need it anymore (by a factor of two.)
I just set up my Fire stick a couple days ago and the set up once it was plugged into the TV was a breeze. My problem was getting the damn thing to go into the HDMI port and opening the frakkin’ remote so I could put the batteries in. I finally had to use a butter knife. Sheesh. But it’s all good now. :)
@Liz (Bugetta): Yes! I was considering using a knife on the remote myself. Then right when I was going to say, oh eff it, the dang thing opened. I’ll probably never get fresh batteries in there again. It’s like that time I was replacing my windshield wipers. One of them took me half an hour. The other one clicked right in the first time. To this day I have no idea how that happened.
@IAM JSON: I actually did a google search on how to open it. I thought for sure that I was missing something obvious, but it’s a problem with a lot of the remotes. So if you do have to replace the batteries, the butter knife seems to be the tool of choice or maybe it will magically open for you again. :)