Ah I see the one, it's expired. Nevermind
Ooo didn't know it does Plex stuff. Will have to check that out for sure when mine arrives
Amazon Echo - anyone have one?
- Thread starter Kemik
- Start date
Ah I see the one, it's expired. Nevermind
Ooo didn't know it does Plex stuff. Will have to check that out for sure when mine arrives
Soldato
I must admit I still cannot see what the dot does that Cortana (Xbox) / Siri (watch / phone) doesn't already do... for home automation?
Kinect can be used to navigate tv / plex etc and turn on / off the amp and tv. Siri controls all the lights / heating etc.
Everyone seems to be buying dots lately but surely many here have an Xbox and iPhone?!
Kinect can be used to navigate tv / plex etc and turn on / off the amp and tv. Siri controls all the lights / heating etc.
Everyone seems to be buying dots lately but surely many here have an Xbox and iPhone?!
Soldato
Cortana via the Kinect is essentially dead (unbundled from Xbox One SKU's) and apple devices are still expensive - even on contract!
Echo/Dot's are a much cheaper and supported entry points.
Echo/Dot's are a much cheaper and supported entry points.
That was the feature that swung it for me and convinced me to buy one!
I don't have an Xbox or any Apple devices so this was a relatively cheap way of having a play with automation.
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Got my dot yesterday and it so far its been disappointingly poor. It's in the kitchen about 10-12ft from the router and is linked to the Bose soundlink mini and it can't get through a song without stopping and it constantly loses connection or "can't understand right now". I have no issue with any other devices in the house regardless of where they are and it makes no difference if I use the 2g or 5g channel on the router 
Got my dot yesterday and it so far its been disappointingly poor. It's in the kitchen about 10-12ft from the router and is linked to the Bose soundlink mini and it can't get through a song without stopping and it constantly loses connection or "can't understand right now". I have no issue with any other devices in the house regardless of where they are and it makes no difference if I use the 2g or 5g channel on the router
Had my 3 dots for 6 months roughly and never had one problem with any of them.
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Swap?
Soldato
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- 24 Sep 2015
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Got my dot yesterday and it so far its been disappointingly poor. It's in the kitchen about 10-12ft from the router and is linked to the Bose soundlink mini and it can't get through a song without stopping and it constantly loses connection or "can't understand right now". I have no issue with any other devices in the house regardless of where they are and it makes no difference if I use the 2g or 5g channel on the router
Start a live chat session with Amazon and they'll more than likely send you out a replacement straight away.
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Bought two in the Prime sale. Very impressed so far. Intergrated a Hue system (will be using innr bulbs for most of the house) and am looking at SmartThings and Energenie next.
I think it's fantastic, the distance it can hear from and the decentness of the speaker really surprised me.
I think it's fantastic, the distance it can hear from and the decentness of the speaker really surprised me.
Soldato
Struggling to get some podcasts to play - specifically Talk is Jericho via Podcast One - is there something I'm missing?
So got my two dots delivered and the full size Echo.
How well it can pick up your voice is amazing!
Sound from the Echo is surprisingly nice for the size / price. I'd say the dot is only usable for music if you're pairing it with another speaker - it's own speaker is only really good for general stuff (non-music).
Bit torn on which to keep and where to put them... Might go dot for bedroom (where I already have a PC with sound system for music) and Echo in the kitchen or living room.
Would be nice to have the dot playing from the sound system via a bluetooth to optical adapter in my room - but when I switch the optical switch to another input (such as PC) the dot won't realise as the bluetooth connection will likely remain connected (since the bluetooth adapter will still be powered on)
How well it can pick up your voice is amazing!
Sound from the Echo is surprisingly nice for the size / price. I'd say the dot is only usable for music if you're pairing it with another speaker - it's own speaker is only really good for general stuff (non-music).
Bit torn on which to keep and where to put them... Might go dot for bedroom (where I already have a PC with sound system for music) and Echo in the kitchen or living room.
Would be nice to have the dot playing from the sound system via a bluetooth to optical adapter in my room - but when I switch the optical switch to another input (such as PC) the dot won't realise as the bluetooth connection will likely remain connected (since the bluetooth adapter will still be powered on)
So, Prime day suckered me into getting the Echo...and the Echo Dot...and a Firestick while I was at it.
I have the Echo set downstairs, the Dot upstairs. I also bought 2 TP-Link smart plugs which are hooked up to a lamp upstairs and one downstairs - handy for easy timer sets and turning on from afar if I am out later than I expected (but those are just my sensible justifications...I bought them because I wanted Alexa to turn them on and off!). I will get two more plugs for upstairs fans.
There any 'great' skills people cannot live without? Or is there a thread discussing such things? (having only just joined the Alexa bandwagon, I have no clue how to make the most out of her).
Oh, I assume that just because a tv is 'Smart' it cannot be linked to Alexa....or can it? Would love to be able to get the tv from standby to 'on' without the remote (sounds silly, but it is literally the only thing the tv remote is used for and given the other remotes I have around it would be nice to be able to tuck one in a draw and forget about)
I have the Echo set downstairs, the Dot upstairs. I also bought 2 TP-Link smart plugs which are hooked up to a lamp upstairs and one downstairs - handy for easy timer sets and turning on from afar if I am out later than I expected (but those are just my sensible justifications...I bought them because I wanted Alexa to turn them on and off!). I will get two more plugs for upstairs fans.
There any 'great' skills people cannot live without? Or is there a thread discussing such things? (having only just joined the Alexa bandwagon, I have no clue how to make the most out of her).
Oh, I assume that just because a tv is 'Smart' it cannot be linked to Alexa....or can it? Would love to be able to get the tv from standby to 'on' without the remote (sounds silly, but it is literally the only thing the tv remote is used for and given the other remotes I have around it would be nice to be able to tuck one in a draw and forget about)
Soldato
You can get a Harmony remote/hub which works with the Fire TV stick and will turn your TV and Fire TV on via an Alexa skill. I managed to bag one for $69.99 when I was in the US.
Skills I find most useful:
Radioplayer
National Rail
Uber
Skills I find most useful:
Radioplayer
National Rail
Uber
Caporegime
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- 30 Jul 2013
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- 28,886
Soldato
I know price heads-up aren't always welcome, but the Echo is available for £90 + p&p on a TV shopping channel!