Amazon has added a new feature to its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick which allow you to access X-Ray from your TV screen, instead of needing a tablet. X-Ray is the Amazon service that gives actor and trivia information about what's happening on screen as you watch.
Previously the service was only available with an Amazon tablet, but now the firm has allowed you to access the information at the press of a button, on your TV. This is a cool addition, and means that you can quickly ask the question "where do I know this guy from?" without the need to pick up a tablet first.
The service works because Amazon bought IMDB in 1998, a service which now contains 180 million pieces of movie and TV related data. There is trivia along with blooper information and detailed breakdowns of both actors and characters. Amazon points out in its release that Jurassic Park holds the record for most trivia stored.
We have used X-Ray on the Kindle Fire 8.9, and we have to say that it's really rather good. The experience is a tiny bit like a DVD commentary, but you can glance at it when it suits you, and without distracting yourself too much from the movie.
That's even more convenient now it can be summoned to your TV screen, but expect grumbles from your spouse, because there's always one person in a room who gets cross about this sort of thing.
Your Fire TV will need an update for this to work. You'll get notified of that, or you can force a check. We tried to get it on our Fire TV Stick, but no dice, sadly.
There's also some other great features included in the update. We've mentioned them in more detail before, but they include: Bluetooth audio support - listen to your Fire TV audio output via Bluetooth headphones. USB storage - you can now put games and other apps on a USB stick to free-up space on your box. Captive portal - which allows you to use webpage protected hotel Wi-Fi, by popping up a box for you to enter login details.
- Read our reviews for the Fire TV and Fire Stick
- Updated with some more of the features from Amazon OS 1.5
