4K Ultra HD Specifications
Not all Fire TV devices support playback of 4K UHD media. Currently, Fire TV (Gen 2, Gen 3), Fire TV Edition 4K models, and Fire TV Stick 4K support 4K HD media. To support 4K playback, you must adhere to the supported output resolutions, DRM systems, and codecs for 4K UHD content.
- Certification and Performance Testing
- Resolution and Refresh Rate
- DRM Systems
- Codecs
- Input/Output Color Formats
- Power Consumption
Certification and Performance Testing
Apps that support Ultra HD video will be certified by Amazon to ensure they meet the required customer experience. Typically, certification takes a couple of weeks.
When you submit your app, add a note that it is 4K-enabled. Most likely in your app's description, you would already highlight to users that your app offers 4K Ultra HD media playback. But adding a manual note will also let Amazon know to apply 4K performance testing on the app during the certification process.
Resolution and Refresh Rate
The following output resolutions are supported:
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - HEVC 4K UHD up to 60 fps - AVC 4K UHD up to 60 fps - VP9 4K UHD up to 60 fps |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - HEVC 4K UHD up to 60 fps - AVC 4K up to 30 fps |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - HEVC 4K UHD up to 60 fps - AVC 4K up to 30 fps |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - 4K UHD at 24 fps - 4K UHD at 25 fps - 4K UHD at 30 fps - Full HD (1080p) up to 60 fps |
Special Notes for Amazon Fire TV (Gen 2)
Amazon Fire TV (Gen 2) is expected to stay mostly in Full HD (1080p) mode at 60 FPS, even on TVs that support 4K UHD format. Fire TV (Gen 2) switches to 4K UHD mode only for 4K UHD content playback.
The following frame rates are recommended when playing content:
- For Full HD (1080p) and HD (720p) content, leave the device in Full HD (1080p) 60 FPS mode and use frame rate conversion from the content’s native frame rate (as in Fire TV - Gen 1).
- For 4K UHD content, switch to the nearest 4K UHD mode before starting playback. For example, switch to 4K UHD at 24 FPS to play 4k UHD content of 24 FPS or 23.97 FPS, switch to 4K UHD at 25 FPS to play content of 25 FPS, and switch to 4K UHD at 30 FPS to play content of 30 FPS or 29.97 FPS.
- Initiate a mode switch only if the user enters the playback window or if the next title in the queue requires a different playback resolution / frame rate.
HDMI Mode switch
By default, Amazon Fire TV (Gen 2) operates at 1080p at 60 FPS mode even when connected to a 4K UHD TV. Hence, in order to play 4K UHD content, you must switch the TV to 4K UHD display mode. This switching between HDMI display modes is referred to as an HDMI Mode switch. The HDMI Mode switch is triggered by the application when it needs to play 4K UHD content. For more details about HDMI Mode switch, see APIs for HDMI Mode Switch (Fire TV (Gen 2) only).
Amazon Extension Library for 4K
Amazon developed an Amazon Extension Library for 4K that provides high level APIs to trigger this HDMI Mode switch and show a user-friendly overlay message before the TV starts switching the display mode. This overlay message improves the overall customer experience.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - 4K UHD up to 60 fps - AVC 4K up to 30 fps |
Special Notes for Fire TV Edition 4K Models
Fire TV Edition 4K's hardware decoder supports playback of 4K @ 60 FPS. To play 4K @ 60 FPS, the timing requirement of media pipeline is aggressive and the app may not be able to render 4K frames at 16 msec interval due to thread and process scheduling limitations of the kernel. This may result into frame drops and a sub-par movie experience. To get the best out of the hardware, use Tunnel Mode playback. For details, see Tunnel Mode Playback.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution and Refresh Rate | - 4K UHD up to 60 fps - AVC 4K up to 30 fps |
Special Notes for Fire TV Edition 4K Models
Fire TV Edition's hardware decoder supports playback of 4K @ 60 FPS. To play 4K @ 60 FPS, the timing requirement of media pipeline is aggressive and the app may not be able to render 4K frames at 16 msec interval due to thread and process scheduling limitations of the kernel. This may result into frame drops and a sub-par movie experience. To get the best out of the hardware, use Tunnel Mode playback. For details, see Tunnel Mode Playback.
DRM Systems
The following DRM solutions are supported:
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 3.0 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 3.0 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 3.0 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 2.5 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 2.5 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
| DRM Feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Playready | PlayReady 2.5 |
| Widevine | Widevine L1/L3 |
| HDCP | HDCP 2.2 |
Codecs
The following codecs are supported:
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps, 35 Mbps, Main 10 Profile Level 5.1, Color space 8-bit and 10-bit input with HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 30fps or 720p @ 60fps, 20 Mbps, High Profile up to Level 4 (?) | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 30fps, 6 Mbps, Profile 0 Level 70 | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Supported up to 1080p 30fps. Baseline profile, non-secure | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Supported | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps "?" | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Up to 1080p @ 30fps, Simple and Advanced Simple Profiles Level 5, non-secure | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels in DSP (16-bit and 24-bit) and software (16-bit) | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | Ogg (.ogg) Matroska (.mkv) |
|
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps, 35 Mbps, Main 10 Profile Level 5.1, Color space 8-bit and 10-bit input with HDR10 support in rendering pipelines. |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p @ 30fps or 1080p @ 60fps, 20 Mbps, High Profile up to Level 4.1. | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Not supported | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Not supported | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 4K@60fps (including skip frames), Profile 2 with HDR10 support in rendering pipelines | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Not supported | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels in DSP (16-bit and 24-bit) and software (16-bit) | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | Ogg (.ogg) Matroska (.mkv) |
|
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps, 35 Mbps, Main 10 Profile Level 5.1, Color space 8-bit and 10-bit input with HDR10 support in rendering pipelines. |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p @ 30fps or 1080p @ 60fps, 20 Mbps, High Profile up to Level 4.1 | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Not supported | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Not supported | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 4K@60fps (including skip frames), Profile 2 with HDR10 support in rendering pipelines | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | ? | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Not supported | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels in DSP (16-bit and 24-bit) and software (16-bit) | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | ||
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 30fps, 25 Mbps, Main 10 Profile Level 5.0, Color space 8-bit and 10-bit input but just 8-bit output. |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 30fps or 720p @ 60fps, 20 Mbps, High Profile up to Level 4 | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Hardware accelerated up to WVGA (800x400) @ 30fps, 6 Mbps, Profile 0 Level 70 | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated, Profile 0 | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to Youtube 4K, Profile 0 | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | ? | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Up to 1080p @ 30fps, 20 Mbps, Advanced Simple Profile Level 5 | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Not supported |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels in DSP (16-bit and 24-bit) and software (16-bit) | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | Ogg (.ogg) Matroska (.mkv) |
|
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps with HDR10 support. Main/Main10 profiles, Main Tier, Level 5.1 Secure and unsecure playback |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p @ 30fps. High profile, level 5.0. Secure and unsecure playback | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p non-secure | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p @ 60fps, Profile 0,2, Secure and non-secure | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Up to 1080p @ 60fps, Advanced Simple Profile Level 5, non-secure | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Not supported |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48HZ, 6 channels, 16-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | 48HZ, 6 channels, 16-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 96 kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | In stereo, up to 48KHz. In CBR/VBR, up to 320kbps | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | Ogg (.ogg) Matroska (.mkv) |
|
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
| Type | Codec | MIME type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | H.265 (HEVC) (High Efficiency Video Coding) |
video/hevc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps. Main/Main10 profiles, High Tier, Level 5.1. DRC within 16msec. |
| H.264 | video/avc | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p @ 60fps. Main/High Profiles with Level up to 5.1. DRC within 16 msec. Secure and unsecure playback | |
| H.263 | video/3gpp | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps, 40 Mbps, non-secure | |
| VP8 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 30fps, Profile 0 | |
| VP9 | video/webm | Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60fps, Profile 0,2, Widevine only | |
| MPEG-2 | video/mp2t | Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 60fps | |
| MPEG-4 | video/mp4v-es | Up to 1080p @ 30fps, 20 Mbps, Advanced Simple Profile Level 5, non-secure | |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC) | audio/eac3 | Not supported |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | audio/ac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) | audio/eac3 | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| AAC-LC | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit | |
| HE-AACv1 (AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit | |
| HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) | audio/mp4a-latm | Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit | |
| FLAC | audio/flac | Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit) | |
| MIDI | N/A | MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody | |
| MP3 | audio/mp3 | Up to 48kHz, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| PCM/Wave | N/A | Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit | |
| Vorbis | audio/vorbis | Ogg (.ogg) Matroska (.mkv) |
|
| AMR-NB | audio/amr-web | Supported | |
| AMR-WB | audio/3gpp | Supported |
Input/Output Color Formats
The following color specs are supported:
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 2020 - Dolby-Vision support for profiles 5, 8 and 9 to max corresponding level. Level 9 for profiles 5 and 8. Level 5 for profile 9. - HDR10+ - HLG |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 2020 |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 10-bit Rec. 2020 |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 (10-bit color input is supported by the codec, but the output does not support 10-bit output.) |
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Input Color Formats / Output Color Formats | - 8-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 709 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 - 10-bit Rec. 2020 (HEVC Main10 profile L5) / 8-bit Rec. 709 (10-bit color input is supported by the codec, but the output does not support 10-bit output.) |
Power Consumption
Power consumption varies by app and device. For example, Fire TV Edition draws most of its power through the screen, and the max power consumption depends on the screen size and brightness. You can calculate out the max power according to size using the formula "Power < 0.12 x Amps + 25 Watts". In general, you can get a good idea of power consumption by looking at the CPU and GPU utilization from System X-Ray in the Developer Tools.
If the power consumption from your app exceeds the limits for the Fire TV device, Fire TV will throttle the performance of your app. If throttling is not enough to reduce the power consumption, Fire TV resets the system.
To measure power consumption on Fire TV Stick, run your app about 10 minutes before taking a measurement. For Fire TV, run the app for at least 30 minutes before taking the power measurement. Your power measurement can continue for 5 minutes.
See Identifying Amazon Fire TV Devices for more details.