Fire Stick

Blog 16 – 2.6 Challenge – 26 blog posts over 26 days…

The weather has changed and lockdown continues. For me this means spending less time in the garden listening to audio books and more time in the house watching TV. This post will talk about the Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote 2nd generation. We have only had it for around a month so I am still learning all about its features. Forgive me if you know some of what I write is inaccurate. It is just my experience to date. Prior to purchasing the device I was completely clueless about what it could do and its accessibility. Perhaps there are others out there like me and for whom this post will be enlightening.

So what is it?
In a nutshell a Fire Stick allows you to stream programmes on your TV and access services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime and catch up TV. You can also listen to music, play games and interact with Alexa. You will need a compatible TV and an internet connection.

Accessibility
My sighted partner set it up so I can’t comment on how easy that part is to do when you are visually impaired. However, the Fire Stick comes with a built in screen reader called Voice View. There are options for high contrast and magnification too. Voice View allows you to navigate around the main screen and select the item you want. Unfortunately each app is independent of the screen reader. Therefore, like Voice Over on IOS devices accessibility of apps will vary.

On a positive note I have found the popular streaming services of Netflix and Disney Plus to be highly accessible with Voice View. I don’t have Amazon Prime but would assume that works fine as the Fire Stick is made by Amazon. Both Netflix and Disney Plus have some audio described content which is a bonus. At first the menus appear hard to navigate. With practice it becomes easier. The menus show in grid view and thus you find yourself scrolling left and right along rows to discover the content.

This might be me doing something wrong, apologies if that is the case. Catch up services including BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 OD seem inaccessible. Voice View will work to an extent within the apps and then suddenly cease to speak. I have found it possible to play content from the services from the main Fire Stick screen. I am not entirely sure if audio description can be enabled or not. In the past I have accessed catch up TV from my iPhone where I know the apps are accessible and audio description can be activated.

Alexa
Until I got a Fire Stick I didn’t really know what all the fuss was about with Alexa. She is somewhat cool. Voice View is useful but Alexa can speed the process up when it comes to finding an app or playing a show. There is a button on the remote that you press to interact with her.

There are lots of games that you can play with Alexa including a variety of quizzes. You can also ask her to play music. I like to tell her to launch the Body Coach. Joe Wicks has become pretty popular of late and his 15 minute work outs on Alexa are great. I do have a good understanding of most circuit style exercises but I think he describes them really well. If fitness isn’t your thing you could ask Alexa to burp or fart instead!

Overall the Amazon Fire TV Stick 2nd generation gets a thumbs up from me. I know there is still a vast amount of content on it that I am yet to discover and look forward to doing so, right after I have finished watching series 4 of Riverdale.

I am taking part in the 2.6 Challenge to help save our UK charities. If you enjoyed my blog post or are feeling generous please consider donating as little as £1 to support my chosen charities: The Norrie Disease Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Look UK, RNIB and Girl Guiding UK. You can find my fundraising page by clicking here

Thank you and stay safe x