Google Is Pulling YouTube off the Fire TV and Echo Show

Megalith

Megalith

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Google and Amazon are going to war over streaming services. Starting January 1st, Amazon Fire TV owners will no longer be able to access YouTube. Google is also cutting access for a second time to Amazon's Echo Show video device.

"We've been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other's products and services," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "But Amazon doesn't carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn't make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest's latest products.
 
I think Google is doing the right thing here. The whole point in these devices are that they are just a simple endpoint device, it's the service you're paying for. I should be able to use a single device of my choosing to access ALL services that I pay for, instead of needing 3-4 different devices.
 
Krixon said:
As much as my Roku infuriates me sometimes, it seems to be the only reasonable option for an all-in-one streamer box - aside from setting up your own HTPC of course.
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Bought my mom a TV with ROKU built in, she loves it
 
With the American and World Wide Public being raped and gang-banged by greedy lying Government officials working in unison and on the behalf of big businesses it's only going to get more profoundly interesting when they take away Net Neutrality.

Trust me, if Amazon could charge Youtube for fastlanes ... they absolutely fucking would. And trust me, Verizon, ATT, Comcast, etc etc will be charging Youtube and Netflix for access to their lines.

It's not going to get better it's going to get much much much worse.

I really hope all of you are signing those petitions that are all over the web. Easy to do.
 
I am mostly joking, but also worried about the attitude you just described. "Hey, if we can define it as better for everyone, it's ok to force some folks to do some things. In fact, it's absolutely virtuous!"
 
I feel like this will affect kids 7-14 more than anything, who surprisingly have a lot more buying power than they get credit for.
 
Glad i went with roku now too. When net neutrality hits, im planning on dropping most of the services. Maybe most people will pony up the money, it would be nice if they saw a drop in revenue when people quit using facebook, youtube, netflix, etc.
 
buttons said:
Glad i went with roku now too. When net neutrality hits, im planning on dropping most of the services. Maybe most people will pony up the money, it would be nice if they saw a drop in revenue when people quit using facebook, youtube, netflix, etc.
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I went with ChannelMaster DVR+ to avoid the coming internet morphing to a 21st century cable TV. I refuse to pay a dime to an ISP to access a website they have blocked. If they block most or all the sites I visit, then I have no need for their services. With the demise of NN, the ISPs will kill the internet.
 
jlbenedict said:
Amazon.. so ridiculous with their blatant hypocritical stance toward Google products... Hey dumb asses.. your Fire TV's are Google based Android under the hood ..
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What's ironic is that, apart from Home versus Echo, Google's devices don't really compete with Amazon's Fire devices. For example, Chromecast is limited in that it requires an outside device with Cast-capable apps to work properly and Google exited the low-price tablet market a long time ago. Roku's devices are actual competitors to the Fire TV devices and are actually much, much better because they're service agnostic, yet Amazon goes ahead and sells them.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Google are the good guys here. They are fighting for their services to be provided by Amazon in an equal exchange.

I bet Amazon could solve this problem overnight if they provided Prime for Google devices, didn't refuse to sell Best devices, etc. etc.
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Remember windows phone? You know... where google specifically wouldn't make any apps and when microsoft made a youtube app they forced a take down? And remember when google maps and youtube were pulled from the iphone... because google wanted more personal information than apple was willing to give google wouldn't let apple have vector maps and turn by turn. And they wanted more prominent branding and ads...

I don't have much sympathy for google on this one, they've done the same thing to others.

And predictably.... it's the customer who suffers.
 
I can't install an Amazon app and send Amazon TV/Movies to my Chromecast because Amazon wants me to buy their firestick, some stupid little device that I don't care what it does because all I want to do is open an app and tell it to cast. Because Amazon doesn't support this simple feature I do not buy any TV shows or movies from Amazon. If they want my money they can start supporting Chromecast. Google should go all out war and force Amazon to play ball. There is no reason for this nonsense. If the firestick was better, or if Amazon tablets were the best out there then sure, corner the market. I'm not going to buy inferior devices to consume your content, anything should be able to consume your content.
 
andrewaggb said:
Remember windows phone? You know... where google specifically wouldn't make any apps and when microsoft made a youtube app they forced a take down?
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There's some revisionist history. Google was hardly alone in their lack of obligation or interest to devoting time and resources into propping up Microsoft's dead platform. They saw the writing on the wall like everyone else. Nobody was ever truly interested in making windows phone apps - not even Microsoft was ever fully committed.

And when Microsoft slopped together a knockoff Youtube app - complete with the trademarked Youtube logo and that circumvented advertisements, well no shit a takedown was ordered. Just like Microsoft does when people create knockoffs of their software, or try to create hacks or workarounds to circumvent their revenue streams. Historically when Microsoft has enjoyed the dominant position they've acted the same or worse.
 
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I hope the two companies get it sorted out.

I love my FireTV and one of the most frequent apps I use on it is YouTube
 
DPI said:
There's some revisionist history. Google was hardly alone in their lack of obligation or interest to devoting time and resources into propping up Microsoft's dead platform. They saw the writing on the wall like everyone else. Nobody was ever truly interested in making windows phone apps - not even Microsoft was ever fully committed.

And when Microsoft slopped together a knockoff Youtube app - complete with the trademarked Youtube logo and that circumvented advertisements, well no shit a takedown was ordered. Just like Microsoft does when people create knockoffs of their software, or try to create hacks or workarounds to circumvent their revenue streams. Historically when Microsoft has enjoyed the dominant position they've acted the same or worse.
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Speaking of revisionist history... :eyeroll:
 
Amazon just recently played nice with Apple to get on the Apple TV. Amazon and Apple don't seem to be very friendly though - pretty sure Amazon only carries a small selection of Apple products. Not sure if it is Apple not selling or Amazon not carrying the devices. AFAIK, you can't watch iTunes content on any device except an Apple TV. (Note: I have a newer Apple TV as I develop software for them. My favorite device is a Roku - own three of their products now.)
How many alternative platforms are there to YouTube? Vimeo - sort of. I wouldn't mind have alternatives - problem is, YouTube has the majority of the content...be hard to build it up to match them (plus the cost of running a service like that).
 
"Nobody wants to acknowledge that Google has grown big and bad, but it has. Schmidt’s tenure as CEO saw Google integrate with the shadiest of U.S. power structures as it expanded into a geographically invasive megacorporation"
-Julian Asange

"A monopoly both in search and advertising, Google, unfortunately, shows that they are not able to resist the misuse of power. I am saddened by this makeover of a geeky, positive company into the bully they are in 2017. I feel blocking competitors on thin reasoning lends credence to claims of their anti-competitive practices. It is also fair to say that Google is now in a position where regulation is needed."
-Jon von Tetzchner

To love Google, you have to be a little bit of a monarchist, you have to have faith in the way people traditionally felt about the king."
-Tim Wu, Columbia law professor.
 
Since some of you chimed in on the Roku I will 2nd and 3rd that. I have always been a huge media streamer starting with the WD Home Theater 10 years ago. Finally bought a Roku about a year ago, the Premier model and I absolutely love it. Pro tip. Get you a cheap read / write Micro SDHC memory card and put it in the Roku. Everything loads up incredibly fast. It's a good update to your Roku if haven't done so yet. Don't get cheap, you need a 90MB/s read / write card to see the difference.

My Roku handles 4K MKV's exceptionally well. Plex front-end has no problem with 3,300+ MKV's.

I do wish there was built in voice commands as well as a magic pointer to navigate Youtube faster.
 
I have never watched youtube on my tv using either of them, and I own both. If I had to choose one over the other prime video wins every time over youtube
 
DracoDan said:
Not sure if you're joking, but this has absolutely nothing to do with net neutrality. Amazon and Google have no obligation to carry each others service, but doing so would benefit the end user while expanding their target audience for their services.
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Its the same concept, why do you want to force your ISP to carry content?
 
I have been frustrated by Amazon's refusal to support casting, or indeed, even to sell Chromecast devices on their website. I don't blame Google at all. Amazon is wanting a free ride for their products using Google's content, but they wont reciprocate and are actively hostile towards Google's devices using their content. You can't have it both ways!
 
Dan UCF said:
I can't install an Amazon app and send Amazon TV/Movies to my Chromecast because Amazon wants me to buy their firestick, some stupid little device that I don't care what it does because all I want to do is open an app and tell it to cast. Because Amazon doesn't support this simple feature I do not buy any TV shows or movies from Amazon. If they want my money they can start supporting Chromecast. Google should go all out war and force Amazon to play ball. There is no reason for this nonsense. If the firestick was better, or if Amazon tablets were the best out there then sure, corner the market. I'm not going to buy inferior devices to consume your content, anything should be able to consume your content.
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They even have it blocked so that if you cast your phone's screen while playing video from amazon it shows up black on your TV. They (amazon) have gone above and beyond with their desire to screw over chromecast customers. I spend tons of money with Amazon, if I want to use the little streaming stick I already have to access the content I pay them for I should be able to do that without buying being forced to buy another device.

I can just use one of our old PS3s but it would be so much easier if it just worked with chromecast like everything else did.
 
steakman1971 said:
Amazon just recently played nice with Apple to get on the Apple TV. Amazon and Apple don't seem to be very friendly though - pretty sure Amazon only carries a small selection of Apple products. Not sure if it is Apple not selling or Amazon not carrying the devices. AFAIK, you can't watch iTunes content on any device except an Apple TV. (Note: I have a newer Apple TV as I develop software for them. My favorite device is a Roku - own three of their products now.)
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One reason Amazon might not carry (I don't shop Apple much the past couple years, so I don't know what they currently carry, and in what quantities) all Apple products is that they have very small profit margins for retailers. That's why sales on Apple products are rare and the discounts small. Amazon relies on respectable profit margins to help subsidize their free/low-price delivery.
 
DPI said:
There's some revisionist history. Google was hardly alone in their lack of obligation or interest to devoting time and resources into propping up Microsoft's dead platform. They saw the writing on the wall like everyone else. Nobody was ever truly interested in making windows phone apps - not even Microsoft was ever fully committed.
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Yeah, there is a HUGE difference between not supporting a platform because it has all of 12 users (seriously, I have never seen anyone use or ever met anyone who owned a Windows phone) and intentionally blocking a platform because you have the market dominance in the field and want to force your competitors out.

Amazon is the one in the wrong here. Plain and simple.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Yeah, there is a HUGE difference between not supporting a platform because it has all of 12 users (seriously, I have never seen anyone use or ever met anyone who owned a Windows phone) and intentionally blocking a platform because you have the market dominance in the field and want to force your competitors out.

Amazon is the one in the wrong here. Plain and simple.
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I had a windows phone...
 
When corporate ego trips have a complete two year old style meltdown....you get...this.

Honestly, every person, corporate entity, or government that has ever obtained a complete market dominance does this kind of stuff. That's why competition is so important.

Personally, I have almost completely stopped shopping at Amazon. Other than Windows 10 I will not buy a Microsoft product. I have never owned an Apple product. Other than search with Google, which I'd love to find an alternative that, you know, works, I really don't want to use Google products anymore either.

And all of my decisions about this stuff has been solely because large companies always do stuff like this. I'm sick of it.
 
Even Roku isn't immune to this kind of crap. The Twitch channel/app on Roku is no longer supported or available. (why? Because Amazon owns Twitch now). Something will change on Twitch at some point (probably related to streaming/codecs) that will render the Twitch channel useless on Roku for those of us with the app still loaded.
Amazon wants you to buy their streaming device.
Google wants you to buy their streaming device.
I was hoping Roku would be able to be the Swiss version of a streaming device (neutral to all), but no.
Fuck all their greedy asses to hell.
 
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