I honestly feel that IPTV is the future of television. It is possible in the future that every recorded movie and television show will be available at your fingertips. It will be what you want when you want.
Leading the home video revolution has always been the adult industry, from the home video camera to the success to VHS and DVD technology; the adult entertainment industry has been leading the way.
With IPTV the adult industry has again paving the way with new home theater technologies.
I first heard about FyreTV before the Consumer Electronics Show, I saw its specs and was impressed with what I saw. I was happy to see a new player in the adult IPTV market as ITVN / XTV is having issues and may not be around much longer. In addition it’s listing of studios working with FyreTV made it attractive as well.
A number of popular consumer electronics site were playing up the FyreTV service, the sites included Engadget and Gizmodo, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be contacted by FyreTV to be the first person not only to receive a FyreTV box but to do the first review of the FyreTV service.
Now I should note before I begin my review, that this service is still in ALPHA stage, it currently only shows a demo loop video and only currently has one full length adult feature. In addition the software is alpha as is the service as there are times when the service may not be available as they are getting ready to roll it out for all to enjoy.
Imagine my excitement when I got a note from Estefano from FyreTV letting me know that the DHL man just dropped me off a box at home. I couldn't wait to get home and open it up!
When I got home sitting on my counter was a box used to ship envelopes, I knew I was getting an Alpha unit, but I expected to get it in a better box then the one that it came in.
Like a kid in a candy store I tore into the tape of the envelope box and ripped off the well taped cover. What I saw inside surprised me.
A VERY nicely packaged FyreTV box, this box was a classy glossy black box with the FyreTV logo imprinted on it under the logo were the words "The Hottest BoXXX You'll Ever Experience" on the side of the box was a description of the FyreTV service and easy installation instructions.
Inside the slipcover was another black box, I slid the box out of the fancy slipcover and popped open the cover of the main box, inside it I saw the FyreTV IPTV Box, a white box, the remote and cables.
I quickly snapped some pictures then opened things up, the box included:
- The FyreTV IPTV set top receiver
- The FyreTV Remote Control
- 2 AAA Batteries
- Power Adapter
- HDMI Cable
- A/V Cables
I was surprised there was no user manual in the box, but this is an Alpha unit so perhaps the user manual is not done yet.
The next morning I Got the FyreTV... Fyred up! I took the box to my office to hook it up and grab screenshots. To do this I hooked the FyreTV up to a SlingBox Pro with HD Connect adapter. The FyreTV is hooked to the Slingbox Pro via component cables to the HD inputs on the Sliingbox Pro unit.
What I think is cool is that the FyreTV realizes it is using its HD outputs and in the menu screens it fills a 16 x 9 screen. Videos however are shown in 4x3 mode.
Displayed on my computer was a very good near DVD quality image. I was impressed with what I saw. I sat through the demo loop a few times as well as a scene from the one demo adult movie they had online. As many times as I watched I only counted two minor breakups in the picture. I should note that at my office I am on a 3MB/s connection to the Internet.
To access your FyreTV service you need to punch in your private pin number which is provided to you by FyreTV.
As I went through the menus I was impressed with the speed, but had a few issues with the layout of some of the menus. For example from the main home screen the first option is Video, select it and the next option is “Search” select that and it takes you to “Category“ select Category and instead of seeing a Category List you see a bunch of DVD box covers instead of putting you into the Category List. To get to the list you must press the up arrow on the remote which takes you to the Category List where you can select the type of movie your looking for.
Due to the graphic nature of the category listings, these listings are only being made available in our "Back Room" forum which is only available to SatelliteGuys supporters. For more information on becoming a supporter and accessing The Back Room please CLICK HERE!
I should note it took me awhile to compile this complete list, as when I was listing them after awhile I would get blank entries and the only way to get more to show was to power cycle the box, looks like one of those Alpha Bugs. J
I would like to see you go directly into the category list when you select the category search.
You can also search by Title, Star, Series or Studio.
There is a listing of Studios available on FyreTV, however since some of the studios have name of a graphic nature, these listings are only being made available in our "Back Room" forum which is only available to SatelliteGuys supporters. For more information on becoming a supporter and accessing The Back Room please CLICK HERE!
In the search boxes you can also type what your looking for in the search box, to do this is like typing on a cell phone. The FyreTV box features two USB ports but I did not test them to see if you could plug in a USB keyboard to make searching earier.
Back to the main menu, there is an option for Live TV, if you click on it you see an option for TV Guide, if you click it, it does nothing. Under that is a selection marked Help, selecting this just kicks you back to the main menu.
The next selection on the main menu is the “Settings” menu clicking on settings gives you the following options:
Network – Lets you change your network settings. Supports DHCP and Manual settings. There is a “Test Connection” button on the screen, however when you select it you get a message saying “Warning! This functionality is not yet available.”
TV Output – This lets you specify if you are hooked to a 4:3 TV or a newer 16.9 Widescreen TV.
Quality – Offers you 3 bandwidth selections to choose from there is High Quality –750 kbps, Near DVD Quality – 1100 kbps, and DVD Quality which is 1500 kbps.
Help – Again selecting this option kicks you back to the main menu again.
The next selection from the main menu is Account under the account menu are the following selections:
Billing History – (Does Nothing)
Package Info –(Does Nothing)
Change Pin – (Does Nothing)
Help – Back to Main Menu
The final selection choice from the main menu is the “Lock” column.
The only selection under this menu is “Lock Now.” By selecting “Lock Now”, you are taken to the Enter Pin Screen.
The remote is kind of clunk, when you select a movie depending on where you select it from you press the OK button, other times you press the Play/Pause button.
There are some buttons on the remote which I have no clue what they do, these buttons are the Heart Button (which I am guessing is a favorites button) another button with three lines on it (pressing this button takes you to a playlist menu) A + button and a – button, and a FN button. Instructions would help folks know what those buttons are.
In addition the box has no kind of panic button, a button you can press when the kids or someone else walks in where you can press it can clear the screen of what your watching. For an adult product like this you think this kind of button would be standard fare. J (If they add one in future production runs may I suggest they call this feature the “Fyre Extinguisher” J
Because of the lack of material I was unable to use the playlist feature, but basically with the playlist you can make your own playlist from your favorite scenes, then play it back as one big movie.
Each movie is broken down into scenes, and there is a few photos for each scene to help you select if you want to watch it or not.
The remote response was very good, and the FyreTV offered some good rewind and fast forward features to get you to the good parts faster. The Fast Forward Speeds are 6x, 12x, 24x, 48x, 64x and a whopping 128x.
Again the unit played great in my office, however I wish I could say the same at home. At my house a have a 20MB/s connection that is normally flawless. When I plugged the FyreTV in and tried watching the demo loop the screen pixilated ever 6 seconds or so. It was unwatchable. However I do not believe this was a FyreTV issue, I believe it was a problem with my internet, as many sites I visit were very slow to load for me last night, so I will chalk last nights issues up to being an ISP issue and not a FyreTV issue.
The video quality of what I saw was between VHS quality and DVD quality, in the demo loop you could tell that quality is very dependent on the material they get from the studios. Colors on my ISF Calibrate 1080p TV were slightly washed out but not terribly bad.
The audio was very good, I cranked up the Welcome to the Jungle song by Guns and Roses as I watched the loop.
FyreTV looks like its off to a great start, I would make a few minor menu tweaks to make it easier for folks to do what they want. I also understand that I am the only person in the world accessing the services besides FyreTV employees. This is an Alpha and its only going to get better.
I look forward to seeing some more real content being added and menu features being enabled, but I understand Rome was not built in a day. My thanks to Estefano for allowing me to be the first to use and review FyreTV!
But what they have already built is better then any IPTV service I have tested in the past, and that’s saying a lot. When this service going its going to get really hot and it should after all its FyreTV.
As updates to the service happen I will keep you informed of major changes and improvements to the service. If you would like to become a FyreTV beta tester go to FyreTV.com - Disclaimer and apply and use the code SatelliteGuys to go to the front of the beta testing line.
When you get your unit feel free to discuss it here at SatelliteGuys!
Leading the home video revolution has always been the adult industry, from the home video camera to the success to VHS and DVD technology; the adult entertainment industry has been leading the way.
With IPTV the adult industry has again paving the way with new home theater technologies.
I first heard about FyreTV before the Consumer Electronics Show, I saw its specs and was impressed with what I saw. I was happy to see a new player in the adult IPTV market as ITVN / XTV is having issues and may not be around much longer. In addition it’s listing of studios working with FyreTV made it attractive as well.
A number of popular consumer electronics site were playing up the FyreTV service, the sites included Engadget and Gizmodo, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be contacted by FyreTV to be the first person not only to receive a FyreTV box but to do the first review of the FyreTV service.
Now I should note before I begin my review, that this service is still in ALPHA stage, it currently only shows a demo loop video and only currently has one full length adult feature. In addition the software is alpha as is the service as there are times when the service may not be available as they are getting ready to roll it out for all to enjoy.
Imagine my excitement when I got a note from Estefano from FyreTV letting me know that the DHL man just dropped me off a box at home. I couldn't wait to get home and open it up!
When I got home sitting on my counter was a box used to ship envelopes, I knew I was getting an Alpha unit, but I expected to get it in a better box then the one that it came in.
Like a kid in a candy store I tore into the tape of the envelope box and ripped off the well taped cover. What I saw inside surprised me.
A VERY nicely packaged FyreTV box, this box was a classy glossy black box with the FyreTV logo imprinted on it under the logo were the words "The Hottest BoXXX You'll Ever Experience" on the side of the box was a description of the FyreTV service and easy installation instructions.
Inside the slipcover was another black box, I slid the box out of the fancy slipcover and popped open the cover of the main box, inside it I saw the FyreTV IPTV Box, a white box, the remote and cables.
I quickly snapped some pictures then opened things up, the box included:
- The FyreTV IPTV set top receiver
- The FyreTV Remote Control
- 2 AAA Batteries
- Power Adapter
- HDMI Cable
- A/V Cables
I was surprised there was no user manual in the box, but this is an Alpha unit so perhaps the user manual is not done yet.
The next morning I Got the FyreTV... Fyred up! I took the box to my office to hook it up and grab screenshots. To do this I hooked the FyreTV up to a SlingBox Pro with HD Connect adapter. The FyreTV is hooked to the Slingbox Pro via component cables to the HD inputs on the Sliingbox Pro unit.
What I think is cool is that the FyreTV realizes it is using its HD outputs and in the menu screens it fills a 16 x 9 screen. Videos however are shown in 4x3 mode.
Displayed on my computer was a very good near DVD quality image. I was impressed with what I saw. I sat through the demo loop a few times as well as a scene from the one demo adult movie they had online. As many times as I watched I only counted two minor breakups in the picture. I should note that at my office I am on a 3MB/s connection to the Internet.
To access your FyreTV service you need to punch in your private pin number which is provided to you by FyreTV.
As I went through the menus I was impressed with the speed, but had a few issues with the layout of some of the menus. For example from the main home screen the first option is Video, select it and the next option is “Search” select that and it takes you to “Category“ select Category and instead of seeing a Category List you see a bunch of DVD box covers instead of putting you into the Category List. To get to the list you must press the up arrow on the remote which takes you to the Category List where you can select the type of movie your looking for.
Due to the graphic nature of the category listings, these listings are only being made available in our "Back Room" forum which is only available to SatelliteGuys supporters. For more information on becoming a supporter and accessing The Back Room please CLICK HERE!
I should note it took me awhile to compile this complete list, as when I was listing them after awhile I would get blank entries and the only way to get more to show was to power cycle the box, looks like one of those Alpha Bugs. J
I would like to see you go directly into the category list when you select the category search.
You can also search by Title, Star, Series or Studio.
There is a listing of Studios available on FyreTV, however since some of the studios have name of a graphic nature, these listings are only being made available in our "Back Room" forum which is only available to SatelliteGuys supporters. For more information on becoming a supporter and accessing The Back Room please CLICK HERE!
In the search boxes you can also type what your looking for in the search box, to do this is like typing on a cell phone. The FyreTV box features two USB ports but I did not test them to see if you could plug in a USB keyboard to make searching earier.
Back to the main menu, there is an option for Live TV, if you click on it you see an option for TV Guide, if you click it, it does nothing. Under that is a selection marked Help, selecting this just kicks you back to the main menu.
The next selection on the main menu is the “Settings” menu clicking on settings gives you the following options:
Network – Lets you change your network settings. Supports DHCP and Manual settings. There is a “Test Connection” button on the screen, however when you select it you get a message saying “Warning! This functionality is not yet available.”
TV Output – This lets you specify if you are hooked to a 4:3 TV or a newer 16.9 Widescreen TV.
Quality – Offers you 3 bandwidth selections to choose from there is High Quality –750 kbps, Near DVD Quality – 1100 kbps, and DVD Quality which is 1500 kbps.
Help – Again selecting this option kicks you back to the main menu again.
The next selection from the main menu is Account under the account menu are the following selections:
Billing History – (Does Nothing)
Package Info –(Does Nothing)
Change Pin – (Does Nothing)
Help – Back to Main Menu
The final selection choice from the main menu is the “Lock” column.
The only selection under this menu is “Lock Now.” By selecting “Lock Now”, you are taken to the Enter Pin Screen.
The remote is kind of clunk, when you select a movie depending on where you select it from you press the OK button, other times you press the Play/Pause button.
There are some buttons on the remote which I have no clue what they do, these buttons are the Heart Button (which I am guessing is a favorites button) another button with three lines on it (pressing this button takes you to a playlist menu) A + button and a – button, and a FN button. Instructions would help folks know what those buttons are.
In addition the box has no kind of panic button, a button you can press when the kids or someone else walks in where you can press it can clear the screen of what your watching. For an adult product like this you think this kind of button would be standard fare. J (If they add one in future production runs may I suggest they call this feature the “Fyre Extinguisher” J
Because of the lack of material I was unable to use the playlist feature, but basically with the playlist you can make your own playlist from your favorite scenes, then play it back as one big movie.
Each movie is broken down into scenes, and there is a few photos for each scene to help you select if you want to watch it or not.
The remote response was very good, and the FyreTV offered some good rewind and fast forward features to get you to the good parts faster. The Fast Forward Speeds are 6x, 12x, 24x, 48x, 64x and a whopping 128x.
Again the unit played great in my office, however I wish I could say the same at home. At my house a have a 20MB/s connection that is normally flawless. When I plugged the FyreTV in and tried watching the demo loop the screen pixilated ever 6 seconds or so. It was unwatchable. However I do not believe this was a FyreTV issue, I believe it was a problem with my internet, as many sites I visit were very slow to load for me last night, so I will chalk last nights issues up to being an ISP issue and not a FyreTV issue.
The video quality of what I saw was between VHS quality and DVD quality, in the demo loop you could tell that quality is very dependent on the material they get from the studios. Colors on my ISF Calibrate 1080p TV were slightly washed out but not terribly bad.
The audio was very good, I cranked up the Welcome to the Jungle song by Guns and Roses as I watched the loop.
FyreTV looks like its off to a great start, I would make a few minor menu tweaks to make it easier for folks to do what they want. I also understand that I am the only person in the world accessing the services besides FyreTV employees. This is an Alpha and its only going to get better.
I look forward to seeing some more real content being added and menu features being enabled, but I understand Rome was not built in a day. My thanks to Estefano for allowing me to be the first to use and review FyreTV!
But what they have already built is better then any IPTV service I have tested in the past, and that’s saying a lot. When this service going its going to get really hot and it should after all its FyreTV.
As updates to the service happen I will keep you informed of major changes and improvements to the service. If you would like to become a FyreTV beta tester go to FyreTV.com - Disclaimer and apply and use the code SatelliteGuys to go to the front of the beta testing line.
When you get your unit feel free to discuss it here at SatelliteGuys!
