Amazon Fire TV devices get two big headphone updates for family streaming

• Amazon’s flagship Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series will now support dual audio.
• This feature will allow you to stream sound to a compatible hearing aid and through the TV’s speakers.
• An embossed QR code with access to setup instructions is included in the package of select Amazon devices.

Amazon has had a pretty busy few months, including new Kindles, an update to the Fire TV Stick, and an entry into Mini LED TVs, and now it’s introducing a new accessibility feature, expanding another, and highlighting an accessible addition to some product packaging. .

A variety of Fire TV devices already support the ability to stream audio directly to hearing aids thanks to support for the Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) protocol. However, Amazon’s latest move is called “Dual Audio” and is exclusive to the Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series for now; With this, you can send audio using ASHA to a hearing aid and audio through the TV speakers.

This is the first time a Fire TV device can send audio in two streams. This way, if you use a hearing aid, you can watch TV with your family and make it a community experience without delays. It’s exciting to see this launch of the Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series, but I hope Amazon can expand it to other Fire TV devices as well, whether it’s a Fire TV Series 4 model or a streaming device.

A software update will be required to enable this and will begin rolling out to the Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series in the “coming weeks.” Once installed, you can activate ‘Dual Audio’ in Settings under Accessibility. You will pair a compatible headset with the TV to start the process and then with it, you can have audio through the headset and the TV speakers. After that first setup, you can also use quick settings to turn the feature on and off.

More broadly, beyond the Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series, Amazon is expanding the types of headphones that can be paired with its Fire TV family of devices. Widex Moment Behind-The-Ear (BTE) and Receiver-In-Canal (RIC) hearing aids are now supported via the hearing aid audio transmission protocol. The BTE and RIC hearing aids will be compatible with all ASHA-enabled Fire TV devices, such as the Omni TV line, Fire TV Cube, and Fire TV series 2 and 4 models.

Beyond support for more types of headphones and dual audio on the Fire TV Omni Mini LED TV series, Amazon has also added an embossed QR code with tactical markings within the bundle of select devices. The QR code, which features raised dots, is designed to help low vision or blind customers easily access quick setup guides and other support documents. You will scan the QR code and access them; The embossed QR code is located on the “upper left corner of the back panel of the device Quick Start Guide” inside the package.