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with 22 posters participatingHey☺ this product is from gearbest if you want to buy it here's the link: http://www.gearbest.com/video-game/pp_197589.html?vip=777383. The 2nd-gen Fire TV game controller will work with 1st-gen Fire TV and Fire TV Stick once those devices get the FIre OS 5 update. I've confirmed it works with the Fire TV Stick voice bundle (which is the same hardware as the non-voice Fire TV Stick) since it ships with Fire OS 5 pre-installed. Driver needed for original Xbox Controller in x64 premium original title: Original Xbox Controller in x64 premium i have been looking everywhere for a correct driver for my xbox controller (the MS mini) ive tried several tips and none have worked. I am running W7 x64 pemium, and it dosent recognize the controller.
We've been smitten with the second-gen Amazon Fire TV streaming-media box ever since its October launch. Its speedy content loads, especially with rewinds and fast forwards, has made it this author's favorite streaming device currently on the market, and its voice search and gaming capabilities are solid, functional bonuses.That being said, we haven't exactly tossed our Xbox One or PlayStation 4 systems to the curb in favor of the 2015 Amazon Fire TV's game selection, but it's a decent Android-based gaming system—thanks in part to Amazon finally landing a few quality TV-minded games on its platform (Shovel Knight, Hotline Miami 2, etc).
The set-top box wasn't the only thing to get an update this year; last year's cheap-feeling, Amazon-branded controller got an update as well, and in our October review of the Fire TV box, we expressed our hopes that the updated, $50 pad would, at the very least, outdo last year's clunker. We finally got a review unit in our hands, and we can confirm that our low expectations have been topped—but is that reason enough to go with Amazon's new pad, and its perks, over compatible options like a wired Xbox 360 pad?
Like an Xbox 360 pad—and that's a good thing
The general shape and feel of this year's controller is pretty similar to last year's—meaning, it's emulating an Xbox 360 pad pretty blatantly. In fact, this year's does so even more, and your hands will be glad for it.
The hand grips are more tapered this time around, meaning they fit far more flush into hands both big and small than last year's. The joysticks have received increased tension; the d-pad sits on a slightly raised ledge; and the bumper and trigger buttons have gotten larger and wider, with more satisfying action upon depression.
After switching back and forth in active gameplay between the Xbox 360 pad and this new Amazon Fire TV Gamepad, we really didn't notice much difference in both comfort and control—with one exception. The first Amazon Fire TV Gamepad we received had serious issues with d-pad performance; taps in every direction were occasionally lost, with rightward taps suffering the most for some reason. Our replacement pad didn't have this issue, but its downward button presses felt a little sticky. This is still a far better d-pad than can be found on most third-party controllers on the market; we'd say it's on par with the 360's wonky d-pad, but PlayStation controllers and the Xbox One pad have it beat.
Last year's all-matte finish has been interrupted with a section of glossy plastic surrounding the buttons and joysticks. Perhaps this decision was made because Amazon thought people's hands and fingers would avoid the glossy parts, and therefore they'd pick up fewer fingerprints, but it only took us 10 minutes of use to make the glossy section all kinds of smudgy. We'd have preferred last year's matte focus, to be honest, but it's not a dealbreaker.
Trigger buttons for volume? Okay...
In a very welcome change, the Fire TV Game Controller has dropped its excessive media-control buttons, and not just for aesthetics. In their place now sits a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack.
That's not because Amazon has begun to support a multiplayer network full of headset chatter; rather, this enables both gamers and media-streamers to redirect their content's audio from TV speakers to their headphones of choice. We wish Amazon had built this polite, don't-disturb-loved-ones feature into the Fire TV's default remote, just like Roku has done with its hardware for the Roku 3 and above, but at least Amazon ecosystem users finally have the option.
When this worked in our test unit, it worked swimmingly. Audio played clearly as we walked around the room, getting a full 20 feet away from our Amazon Fire TV box without any interruption, and the controller's trigger buttons let us adjust volume. We didn't have the option to make audio play on both our TV and our speakers, but we couldn't think of an occasion where that'd prove useful (and in the case of TV sets with processing delays, we'd go nuts with the echo, anyway).
Unfortunately, our first review controller was entirely hit-or-miss in terms of playback performance. Either we'd get a clear signal, or we'd wind up hearing a ton of pauses and some chirps of static, without any in-between wavering between the two extremes. Amazon sent us a replacement controller after we asked about the issue, and our replacement sounded almost entirely clear, even while walking around the house or rapidly rewinding and fast-forwarding—though both units kick up a slight amount of white noise at all times, which is most noticeable during quieter passages of a TV show. Also, volume controls are disabled in video games, since they're tied to the L2 and R2 trigger buttons; if you want to change the volume of a game, you'll have to fully pause it by tapping the 'home' button.
The other major change to this year's Fire TV Game Controller is its inclusion of a dedicated microphone, which both Fire TV remote controls had built in for the sake of Alexa-powered searches. All this really does is save users the trouble of having to put the game controller down to conduct a voice search—but if you're using the controller as a microphone receiver, you'll like having that option closer to your fingers by default.
Wireless Game Controllers For Pc
Like last year's controller, this version has no micro-USB slot, meaning it requires batteries and it doesn't work as a wired controller for other platforms. Unlike last year's, however, the new controller uses a proprietary Wi-Fi connection, meaning you can't trick your PC or other Bluetooth-compatible devices into recognizing it—which is a shame, because we could have otherwise seen this as an easy controller recommendation for people who play on various devices (not to mention hacking types who'd want to access the controller's headphone-out and microphone possibilities).
Amazon's latest Fire TV Game Controller doesn't revolutionize console pads, and we're not impressed with it including a feature that Roku already builds into some of its remotes. But if the new Amazon Fire TV's super-speedy fetching chops have won you over, and you either want to play a few more games or keep those late-night Netflix sessions private to your ears only, then this controller will get the job done.
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