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The explosion of video calling is still being felt, even as the global pandemic is less intense than last year. Amazon just announced the ability to make two-way video calls using the “biggest screen in your home” with the Fire TV Cube 2nd gen. This news comes straight from the Amazon Fire TV blog.
The Fire TV Cube will be able to make video calls from the Zoom app
It’s really important for messaging platforms to have robust video calling capabilities. Telegram just announced the ability to screen share while video calling on its app. Zoom has seen rapid growth with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. It’s become sort of the default video calling agent.
This is what most likely prompted Amazon to make the service compatible with its hardware. What’s important to note is that you will need the 2nd generation Fire TV Cube to use Zoom. You will also need to download the Zoom app from the Fire TV app store.
Setting up the Zoom calls is pretty straightforward. For hardware, all you will need is a capable webcam and a Micro USB to USB adaptor. You will use this to plug the webcam into the Fire Cube. On the software side, you will need the latest Zoom app and the latest version of the Fire TV software.
You won’t be able to use just any webcam
There are certain hardware requirements for the webcam. They aren’t too high-bar, and you should be able to use any decent webcam from Walmart. Just know that you can’t use just any old webcam.
For starters, the resolution will have to be at least 720p, with 1080p being the best option. Amazon does not recommend 4K webcams. It will also need to be at least 30fps. The recommended field of view is 60-90 degrees at 6-10 feet. The blog post has a shortlist of recommended webcams.
Joining calls is easy, especially with Alexa
Once you have everything set up, you will have to follow some on-screen instructions to finalize everything. You will have the option to join calls as a guest, which is good for those who don’t want to bother signing in. All you would need to do is use your remote to input the meeting ID and passcode.
If using the remote is too archaic for your tastes, then there’s always Alexa. All you have to do is simply summon Alexa and say “Join my Zoom meeting.” From there, you will then give the meeting ID and passcode. This is all available today to set up, so you can use it for your very next Zoom meeting.