My Kindle Fire Read online

  4. Tap Albums to see recommended albums.

  5. Tap Songs to see recommended songs.

  6. Scroll to view more recommendations.

  7. Tap Search Music Store to search for music.

  8. Tap any item to see details, sample tracks, and purchase music.

  Sampling and Buying Songs

  As you’re browsing through the Music store, you can sample 30 seconds of songs or purchase songs.

  1. Tap Songs to see a list of songs.

  2. Tap a song or tap Play Sample to play a 30-second sample.

  3. Tap the song price to purchase the song.

  4. Tap and hold a song to access further shopping options.

  5. Tap Shop Album to display the album that contains the song.

  6. Tap Shop Artist to see all songs by that artist.

  Sampling and Buying Albums

  If you’re the kind of music lover who prefers to buy albums, you can do that on your Kindle Fire as well.

  1. Tap Albums to see a list of albums.

  2. Tap an album to see details about the album.

  3. Tap a song or tap the play button to play a 30-second sample.

  * * *

  Sampling Multiple Songs

  When a 30-second sample finishes for one song, your Kindle Fire automatically starts playing a 30-second sample of the next song.

  * * *

  4. Tap the price of a song to purchase a single song.

  5. Tap the album price to purchase the entire album.

  6. Tap and hold a song to access more shopping options.

  7. Tap Shop Artist to see all albums by the artist.

  * * *

  Website Only

  Some albums and songs will say “Website Only” instead of allowing you to purchase them. Amazon does this when an album contains extra content that isn’t compatible with your Kindle Fire. For example, if an album comes with a digital booklet of information about the album, the digital booklet displays “Website Only” instead of a price. Because the digital booklet is part of the album, you also won’t be able to purchase the entire album from your Kindle Fire.

  To purchase an album that says “Website Only” visit the Amazon MP3 store using a web browser. You can use Silk on your Kindle Fire if you’d prefer not to get up from the couch.

  * * *

  * * *

  Returning to the Storefront

  While browsing the store, you can tap Music in the upper-left corner of the screen to return to the storefront.

  * * *

  Changing Music Delivery Preference

  When you purchase music, it is automatically added to your Cloud Drive. You can choose to have your music downloaded to your device instead, or you can choose both options.

  1. While in the music store, tap the Menu icon.

  2. Tap Settings.

  3. Tap Delivery Preference.

  4. Choose your preferred delivery method for music.

  5. If you chose to have music added to your Cloud Drive, tap Automatic Downloads to have music that is added to your Cloud Drive automatically downloaded to your device.

  Sideloading Music

  You can sideload music files from your computer to your Kindle Fire. Music files must be in non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, or WAV format before you sideload them.

  Sideloading to Your Kindle Fire

  You should copy music that you sideload to the Music folder.

  1. Plug your Kindle Fire into your computer with a micro-USB cable and open the drive assigned to your Kindle Fire.

  2. Copy your music files from your computer into the Music folder on your Kindle.

  3. Disconnect your Kindle Fire from your computer.

  * * *

  Create Folders in Music

  It’s best to keep your music files in the Music folder organized using subfolders. You can create any folder structure you like in the Music folder.

  * * *

  7. Watching Video

  In this chapter, you learn how to take advantage of the video capabilities of your Kindle Fire and how you can use your device to watch your own videos.

  • Navigating the Video Store

  • Working with Your Video Library

  • Sideloading Videos

  Your Kindle Fire is an excellent device for watching videos. Amazon offers more than 100,000 movies and TV shows that you can watch immediately on your Kindle Fire, and if you’re a Prime member, you can find thousands that you can watch instantly at no charge.

  Navigating the Video Store

  You can rent or purchase movies and TV shows from the Video Store. Amazon synchronizes your playback location automatically, so you can start watching on one device and finish on another.

  If you’re an Amazon Prime member (you get a free 30-day trial with your Kindle Fire), you can instantly watch many movies or TV shows without having to pay any additional money. (Not all videos are available for free Prime streaming.) These videos can only be streamed. You can’t download them to your Kindle Fire, so you can’t watch them if you’re offline. On the other hand, videos that you rent or purchase can be streamed or downloaded to your device for offline watching.

  Keep in mind that even if a video is offered for free streaming as an Amazon Prime member, you can still pay a rental fee (or purchase the video) and download it to your device if you choose.

  * * *

  Video Store or Library

  When you are connected to Wi-Fi, tapping Video on the Home screen launches the Video Store. However, if you aren’t connected to Wi-Fi, tapping Video takes you to your video library.

  * * *

  Browsing the Video Store

  The Video Store is a single tap away from your Home screen.

  1. Tap Video to access the Video Store.

  2. Tap in the Search box to search for videos.

  3. Scroll to view recommended titles.

  4. Tap View All to view all Prime videos, Movies, or TV shows.

  5. When viewing all, tap Movies to view movies or TV to view TV shows.

  6. Tap Prime to view videos eligible for free streaming with a Prime membership or tap All to view all videos.

  7. Scroll to see categories.

  8. Tap a category to refine your view.

  9. Tap Video to return to the Video Storefront.

  Viewing Movie Details

  The movie details screen provides an overview of a movie along with ways to explore additional titles that might interest you.

  1. Tap a movie title in the Video Store.

  2. Tap Watch Trailer to see the movie trailer.

  3. Tap the name of an actor or director to see other movies featuring that person.

  4. Scroll through recommended titles based on what other customers purchased.

  5. Tap Rental & Purchase Details to view information about rental and purchase agreements from Amazon.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Rented Videos Might Expire Sooner Than You Think

  When you rent a video, it typically expires 24 or 48 hours after you start watching it. However, if you initiate a download to your Kindle Fire, that will also start the clock on the expiration of the video. Therefore, if you download a video to your Kindle Fire, you’ll need to pay careful attention to the expiration of the rental.

  When you initiate a download, Amazon displays a notification informing you that you are about to start the rental period and will tell you how many hours you have to watch the movie.

  * * *

  * * *

  Cannot See Review Details

  You can view the review rating and the number of reviews from the movie details screen, but you can’t read reviews on the movie. If you want to read reviews, you have to use a web browser.

  * * *

  Viewing TV Show Details

  The only way to watch television is without the commercials. (My apologies to those of you in the advertising business.) I usually record the shows I want to watch, but even then, I have to fast forward th
rough the ads, and doing so breaks up the continuity of the show I’m watching. A much better way to consume television content is to stream it from a content provider such as Amazon. Not only can you watch your favorite show in HD (and often with 5.1 surround sound), but you can do it without having to ever encounter a pause for advertising.

  Amazon offers the ability to purchase single episodes of TV shows, but you can save a little money by purchasing an entire season. You can purchase a previous season and have access to all episodes immediately. You can also purchase the current season of your favorite show using what Amazon calls a “TV Pass.” When you purchase a TV Pass, you get the season’s episodes that have already aired immediately and new episodes of the season are made available to you usually the day after they air. You can cancel a TV Pass at any time and you aren’t billed for future episodes.

  1. Tap a TV show in the Video Store.

  2. Tap More to read more details about the show.

  3. Scroll to see available seasons.

  4. Tap an episode to see details on that episode.

  5. Tap a name to see more titles featuring that person.

  6. Tap Rental & Purchase Details to see details on Amazon’s purchase agreements.

  7. Scroll to view recommended shows based on what other customers bought.

  8. Tap More Episodes to return to the episode listing.

  * * *

  Networks Are People

  You might notice that the network listed for House is David Shore. Shore is actually the producer of House, but because of the way Amazon’s database is arranged, you will sometimes see strange entries like this.

  * * *

  Renting or Purchasing a Movie

  You can rent or purchase a movie on your Kindle Fire. You can then watch it on your Kindle Fire, on your TV, or another device.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Watching on a TV

  You can’t watch Amazon video that’s on your Kindle Fire on a TV set. In order to watch Amazon TV that you rent or purchase on a TV set, you’ll need to either have an Amazon app built into your TV set or you’ll need to use a settop box such as a Roku box.

  Roku is widely considered to be the best set-top box for watching Amazon video (and other streaming video as well.) You can find out more about Roku boxes at www.roku.com.

  * * *

  Movies that you rent or purchase are available in your video library. I cover watching movies in “Working with Your Video Library” section.

  1. Tap a movie to see movie details.

  2. Tap the price to rent a standard definition (SD) version of the movie.

  3. Tap See All to see all purchase options. This is where you’ll have an option to purchase an HD version if one is available.

  4. Tap a purchase option to complete your purchase or rental.

  * * *

  Changing Your Mind

  If you decide you don’t want to purchase the movie, you can tap Close.

  * * *

  5. If you selected to purchase or rent an HD video, you might see a notification on buying HD videos. Click OK if you want to proceed with the HD purchase or rental.

  6. Tap Confirm to confirm your movie rental or purchase.

  * * *

  Renting HD Videos

  I frequently start watching a video on my TV in HD and then finish watching it on my Kindle Fire. Therefore, I prefer to always rent or purchase videos in HD. Even though your Kindle Fire isn’t HD, it can play HD videos; they’re just in SD.

  In case you were wondering, there isn’t a way to watch videos on your TV that are stored on your Kindle Fire.

  * * *

  Buying TV Shows

  Television shows are only available for purchase. You cannot rent a TV episode. TV shows that you purchase are available in your video library. I cover watching TV shows in the “Working with Your Video Library” section.

  1. Tap a TV show from the Video Store.

  2. Select a season.

  3. Tap the episode you want to purchase.

  4. Tap the price to purchase the episode in SD.

  5. Tap See All to see additional purchase options.

  6. Tap a purchase option.

  7. If you selected an HD version and you see the Buying HD Videos dialog, tap OK.

  8. Tap Confirm to confirm your purchase.

  * * *

  Buying Seasons

  Amazon also offers an option to purchase an entire season of a TV show at a discounted price. However, this option isn’t available in the Video Store on your Kindle Fire. To purchase all episodes in a particular season, visit www.amazon.com/instantvideo on your computer. You can then watch those videos on your Kindle Fire if you want.

  * * *

  Disabling the HD Purchase Warning

  You can disable the warning dialog that appears when you purchase or rent HD videos on your Kindle Fire.

  1. From the video library, tap the Menu icon.

  2. Tap Settings.

  3. Tap Disable HD Purchase Warning to place a check in the box.

  Working with Your Video Library

  Your video library contains video items that you own as well as video rentals from the Video Store. Items that you own will always be available in your video library unless you permanently delete them. Items that you rent appear in your video library only during the rental period, after which time they disappear.

  * * *

  Your Video Library

  You can delete videos from your video library by visiting the Your Video Library page at www.amazon.com/gp/video/library. Simply click on a video and then click the Delete link.

  * * *

  Watching a Movie or TV Show

  You can stream movies and TV episodes from the cloud to your Kindle Fire as long as you have an active Wi-Fi connection. You can also watch videos that you’ve downloaded to your device.

  1. From the Video store, tap Library.

  2. Tap Movies or TV to locate the video you want to watch.

  3. Tap Cloud to see movies in the cloud or tap Device to see videos you’ve downloaded.

  4. Tap By Recent to sort your videos by when they were added to your library.

  5. Tap By Name to sort your videos by name.

  6. Tap a video you’d like to watch.

  7. Tap Watch Now to watch the video. You must remain connected to Wi-Fi while watching.