How Is The Echo Show Different From The Other Echo Products
The obvious difference is the screen. The Echo, Dot, and Tap are only a speaker with an always-on microphone. The Show has a 7-inch touch sensitive screen and a 5MP always-on front-facing camera.
According to initial reviews, the Show also has a better audio experience than the flagship Echo speaker.
New Video Features To Help You Choose What To Watch
In addition to adding more content, Amazon wants to make it easier than ever to search for your next show or movie. We recently introduced a new video homepage to provide customized recommendations for what to watch nextsimply say, Alexa, open video home. New video detail pages also offer more information on the selected series or movie at a glance. And soon you can say, Alexa, find drama series, to search content options across all services available on your device.
*Subscriptions may be required
Do My Friends And Family Need An Echo Show To Have A Video Chat With Me
Nope! In fact, they don’t need any type of Echo device. All they will need is the free Alexa app on their mobile devices, like an iPhone or iPad. You and your friends will need to register for Alexa calling, which puts your phone number into the database. Then, anyone with your phone number can call you via Alexa, including video chatting.
There have been some privacy concerns about signing up with Alexa’s calling-to-calling feature. When it first launched, you weren’t able to block anyone from calling you. However, Amazon has since added the ability to block contacts.
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Echo Show Video Services
Speaking of YouTube, if you want to search YouTube by voice, its out of bounds – you have to go through the browser. This isnt necessarily Amazons fault , but it is a sad fact. YouTube is also lower resolution than wed like it to be, with the service recognising the Echo Show browser as a mobile device and tuning resolution accordingly.
You can now search Vevo music videos by voice which is great, but other services we would have expected to be onboard – Netflix for example – are inaccessible, even through the browser.
In the UK, BBC iPlayer is available through a web browser, and in the US, there’s support for Hulu, which could make all the difference if you’re thinking about this as a media consumption device.
If youre not in either of these regions, definitely check what content is available to you locally.
Use Your TV As An Echo Show Display With An Amazon Fire TV Stick
A new update is live for the Amazon Fire TV devices that bring enhancement to the user interface. Reportedly, it takes lessons from the Amazon Echo Show and now users can turn their TV into one using the Fire TV Stick.
The new update basically includes what Amazon has coined as visual experiences on Fire TV. It means that any paired Alexa device can make use of the Fire TV and stream content just like the Echo Show.
You will be able to turn your Amazon Fire TV device into a proper Echo Show display. You can also get information on the big screen about music, weather, local search, calendar, smart home cameras, to-do lists, etc.
One good thing about this new update is that now you dont need to purchase a separate smart display device like the Echo Show to get all this information.
The latest update makes use of paired Alexa devices and simply turns your smart TV into an Echo Show display. Pretty neat!
In fact, those who have a common TV placed in the living room can simply make use of this feature, to let everyone know about weather forecasts, calendar, to-do lists, etc. right in the Amazon Fire TV.
Earlier today, it was reported that the Fiit training app is now available on Amazon Fire TV devices. This gives users access to a plethora of workout routines to perform at home and stay safe during the current pandemic.
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Prep Your Silk Settings
Silk is the browser Amazon bundles on most Fire devices. So if you’ll be browsing any websites, make sure Silk is set to do your bidding. Go to Settings > Device Options > Web Options > Browser > Browser Settings. Silk can scale web pages, save passwords, offer safe browsing from dangerous sites, and clear browsing data like history and cookies. Under Advanced, you can also change the search engine used from Bing to Google, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo.
Magnify Your Echo Show’s Screen
This is another accessibility feature. When enabled, the Screen Magnifier will let you enlarge items on your screen to improve readability. To turn on the Screen Magnifier, say, “Alexa, go to settings,” or swipe down from the top of the Echo Show screen and select Settings. From there, select Accessibility and tap Screen Magnifier. Go here for more tips on how to properly use the feature.
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The ‘pursuit Of Love’ Book Is The Perfect Companion To The Amazon Prime Limited Series
Meet the newest addition to the Amazon Echo Show collection. The Echo Show 10 not only comes equipped with a 10.1-inch HD display and hugely upgraded 13-megapixel front-facing camera, but this Alexa voice-controlled, touchscreen smart display rocks. Like, with a built-in motor. It really moves.
In fact, what makes this version of the Echo special is the unique motorized base which allows the camera to follow you around the room nearly 360 degrees. And yes, its more than a little cool.
Price and Availability: The Amazon Echo Show is available now for $250 at and Best Buy.
Why We Chose It: The Echo Show 10 is like two products in one. Its a fully functional 13-megapixel HD Amazon Fire tablet which sits atop a voice-activated speaker. And for the price, you can bet its the most advanced smart display weve seen yet.
But what makes this Echo different than all the others is its motorized rotating base, which can swivel a full 350 degrees. The idea is that the screen will follow as you freely move around, so youll always be able to see it. Thats quite helpful if youre on a video call or watching content from the included streaming apps, like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Primebut you better make sure you have enough counterspace for the moving screen.
Just wake the speaker up with your chosen word and the screen will turn to face you. Other products, like the , have similar features which allow them to pan-and-zoom, but none of them physically move like the Echo 10.
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Can You Cast Without Wifi
doChromecast withoutWiFiChromecastStep 2.Cast your screen from your Android device
Step 2.Cast your screen from your Android device
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Turn Off Hunches On Your Amazon Echo
Over the past two years, has very slowly been ramping up the use of Hunches, those follow-up questions Alexa asks you after you interact. Sometimes these suggestions are helpful, for instance offering to lock your door at night or suggesting a new way to use timers, but they can also be annoying and disruptive when you’re in the middle of a phone call and don’t want to have to tell your voice assistant to stop talking.
To switch off Hunches, open the Alexa app and tap More, then Settings, then Hunches. A simple toggle controls the feature.
You can turn off Hunches using this method in the Alexa app, or by voice. Simply say, “Disable Hunches.”
What Does The Amazon Echo Show Do
The Amazon Echo Show is a smart assistant, just like the Amazon Echo. Alexa is the voice-activated, AI brains behind the device. Alexa can do a huge range of things, from tell you the weather forecast and answer questions to control other devices in your smart home.
The big difference between the Echo Show and Amazons other devices is the Show has a screen. This means you can watch videos and tutorials on it, as well as make video calls.
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Installing Other Streaming Services
NBC, DirectTV, or Dish, the method to enable the services is the same as with Hulu. Select the service provider from the Alexa app, enter your credentials, and connect to the Echo Show. These appear under Video Skills on the device itself and you can log out or disconnect each service from the Settings menu or the Alexa app.
New Ways To Navigate Your Fire TV Hands
- “Alexa, go back” to go back to the previous screen
- “Alexa, go home”
- “Alexa, go to my Watch List” when watching Prime Video
- “Alexa, find comedies” and choose a title by saying “Alexa, select No. 3”
In October, announced it would release the new update in the coming weeks, so if you don’t see it yet, it may not have rolled out to your device. The new features will be available for use on all Fire TV devices, including Fire TV without an Alexa-enabled remote.
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Netflix And New Video Features Available On Echo Show
Customers are turning to their Echo Show devicesnow more than everfor entertainment. And, theyre viewing more than twice as much video content on their Echo Show devices this time of year compared to last year, from streaming services* like Prime Video, Hulu, NBC, and others. Were excited to bring Netflix to Echo Show devices, giving customers even more at-home entertainment choices.
Whether its staying up to date on current events through news channels, or streaming your favorite movie or TV show, Amazon helps make it easy to engage with the content you love.
Wait Did You Say Always
Well … yes. Just like the way the Echo microphone is always listening, the camera is always watching. It doesn’t mean there is someone sitting in a room at Amazon’s headquarters watching you on a surveillance screen. Similar to the way the microphone works, anything you say before or after saying the wake word, which is Alexa by default, is not sent to Amazon’s servers or stored in any way, but things you say when you trigger Alexa, whether intentional or accidental, is sent to Amazon’s servers and stored. Wired has a great article about always listening devices that explains more. If you prefer, you can turn off the microphone and camera feature and instead use a manual button on the device to trigger Alexa.
The Echo Show has one additional feature that takes advantage of the always-on camera, and that’s Drop In. Drop In is a feature that allows you to set up contacts that you can drop in on or can drop in on you without anyone having to accept the video call. It happens automatically.
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Echo Show And Youtube
YouTube isnt just for watching how-to videos. You can also, of course, watch TV shows and full-length movies. But is there a YouTube skill for the Echo Show?
While there technically isnt an Alexa skill for YouTube, there is still seamless integration which eliminates the need for the skill altogether.
Google pulled YouTube from the Alexa platform back in 2017, but using YouTube in Amazons Silk browser works beautifully. Just say:
Alexa, open YouTube!
Alexa will then open the browser and take you directly to the YouTube homepage. You can then navigate through the Youtube homepage to see trending videos or you can use the search bar to look for anything YouTube has to offer.
Can Alexa Play TV Shows
Yes, with the Echo Show, Alexa can play videos, movies and TV shows using many of the same streaming services you might use on your smart TV.
You can view the available streaming services by manually swiping left and selecting Video. You can also simply say Alexa, open Video Home.
With the Video Home Screen open, you can manually review and select your preferred service. Some services may need to be enabled if its your first time using the skill with your Echo Show, but it takes less than a minute to complete.
Editors Note: Enabling a Skill with Alexa is much the same as downloading an app on your smartphone. For more on Alexa Skills and what they do, check out this article also
Alexa, open Video Home!
The current streaming apps natively available as Alexa Skills on the Echo Show include:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Food Network Kitchen
- Red Bull TV
To use one of these streaming services, you will need to be signed in to your account. If you dont have an account, youll have to create one. But once youre signed in to your preferred streaming service, jumping back into your favorite TV show binge is as simple as saying
Alexa, play Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix.
If a TV show is available on more than one of your streaming services, Alexa will ask you which service you want to use.
Dont see the streaming option youre looking for? Thats Ok. Keep reading for some more out-of-the-box options
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Can I Watch TV On The Echo Show
You can watch some TV, yes. But itll depend on which region youre in. For example, if youre in the UK you can watch BBC iPlayer through a web browser on the Show. In the US, there’s support for Hulu.
There are also some Alexa skills dedicated to streaming TV to your Show too, such as the Watch TV with Stream Player skill, but we havent had chance to test these ourselves yet.
Change Echo Show’s Wake Word
When you want to communicate with your Echo show, just say “Alexa,” followed by a command. But you can change this “wake word” to Echo, Amazon, or Computer, if you prefer. Just say, “Alexa, go to settings,” or swipe down from the top of the Echo Show screen and select Settings. Then, tap Device options > Wake word > and select the wake word you want to use instead.
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Users Need To Setup Preface Commands For The New Information To Show Up On The TV
In order for this new visual experience to work on Amazon Fire TV devices, users need to setup preface commands. Like, Alexa, show me.. for the information to come up on TV.
Additionally, you need to pair up your Fire TV devices along with the Alexa speakers at your home in the Alexa application.
This sort of experience would be pretty great to have on the Fire TV interface. Because now, you can simply use the new commands to jump over to your Watchlist or Home tab.
On top of this, you can also control your music via Amazon Music and Spotify using your voice commands from the Amazon Fire TV devices. To do this, users simply need to say something like Alexa, show me albums by Incubus, and itll start streaming tracks from that band.
This idea of turning Amazon Fire TV devices into smart displays is somewhat similar to what Facebook has touted for its Portal TV webcam.
For the unaware, the Portal TV webcam attaches to the TV via HDMI and turns your TV into a smart display. However, the execution was not great, and the thought of letting Facebook sit right in your living room is not a good idea either.
Food Network / Allrecipes / Recipedia
One of the most-used examples of why Alexa benefits from a screen is cooking you can ask for a recipe and have it displayed in front of you.
To use any of the above services just ask, Alexa, show me a recipe for and shell select one for you. If youre particular about which service you like, you can say Alexa, ask Allrecipes for a recipe and itll find one for you.
Echo Show users can also now get a complimentary one-year subscription to Food Network Kitchen, which adds. premium content including live and on-demand cooking classes hosted by chefs including Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Guy Fieri, and more.
To sign up for the free subscription, just say, Alexa, subscribe to Food Network Kitchen.
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How To Watch TV On Echo Show Everything You Need To Know
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The Echo Show is an excellent smart display and smart home companion. Not only is it a great tool though, but its also a small entertainment powerhouse. Yeah, thats right you can even watch TV on Amazons Echo Show.
Alexa has come a long way from her original conception, as has her hardware sibling the Amazon Echo. Topping the list, with the most impressive of models, stands the Echo Show line. This is where Amazon combined its groundbreaking smart speaker with an LCD touchscreen, multiplying the possibilities by infinity.
In this article, well be taking a look at Alexas compatible streaming services. So, if youre looking to binge your favorite TV shows, watch a movie, or even stream Live TV on your Echo Show, this article should cover all your bases.