Here's a quick look at a little accessory that could make your Amazon Fire TV experience a little bit better. One hangup for folks when it comes to HDMI dongles is that they often still require an external power source. So you've got this little magic wonder box tucked behind your TV, out of sight, but there's still a cord running down the back of the thing. It's the home theater equivalent of having your fly open, basically.
If you're lucky, the USB port on your TV puts out enough consistent juice to power said dongle. That's the case with every one of my TVs. But if your sets a little older, you might be out of luck. And that's where the $20 Mission Cables USB Power Cable for Fire TV (or anything else that takes Micro-USB) comes in.
It's a simple little thing — basically just a battery in a box. Your TV trickle charges the 2,000 mAh battery that's inside, and the box then gives your Fire TV dongle consistent power.
And, uh, that's it. There's nothing else to it. No lights. No switches. Just plug it into your TV, and the other end goes into your Amazon Fire TV dongle. It's about the same overall size as the Fire TV itself, and I'd recommend also getting something with which you can stick all of this to the back of your TV — you don't want to put any stress on the cables or ports themselves.
