Amazon adds IMDb-fueled X-Ray for Movies to Fire TV
Amazon's X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows feature is great when you're trying to figure out the name of the actor on your screen. Today that feature is hitting Amazon Instant Video on the Fire TV, which is frankly where it should have been since the set-top box's launch. The IMDb-powered X-Ray feature brings many of the same attributes found on the Fire tablet to your television. To activate it, viewers can either pause what they are watching or press up on the remote's directional button to see the names of the actors and music playing in the current scene. Pressing up a second time drops the viewer into the full X-Ray environment with access to information about the actors, characters, music and IMDb's user-submitted trivia.
X-Ray on the Fire TV also features the ability to jump directly to scenes and musical numbers in a movie or TV show. If you really want to only listen to the songs from Frozen, it can be done even if it means angering everyone within a half-block radius. Unfortunately, when you select a song or soundtrack from the X-Ray screen, you can't launch Amazon Music to purchase or listen to the album. Amazon says that it's working on implementing that feature in the future.
Amazon isn't the only streaming service that surfaces actor information. Hulu's Face Match brings up an actor's name and bio when you hover over their face. Google Play Movies and TV uses info cards to display an actor's name and bio when you tap on their face. Starting today though, only Amazon's feature works with a set-top box without casting.
If you have a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, the X-Ray update will be rolling out to both devices by the end of the day.
