Amazon Fire TV Cube 2nd gen now supports Zoom video calls

There are some people already complaining about what has been dubbed as "Zoom fatigue," but it seems there is really no end in sight for video meetings. In fact, some companies are pushing that old-new communication medium even further, integrating video conferencing software anywhere they see fit. The latest to do so is Amazon, which is announcing support for Zoom on its Fire TV Cube to bring those meetings to an even larger screen if your laptop isn't big enough for that.

Amazon brought two-way video calls to its Fire TV platform last year, at a time when it became clear that video meetings and calls will be the primary way people connect for work and social gatherings in the months to come. That support, however, was limited to a Fire TV Cube calling any other Alexa device that has a camera, like an Echo Show, for example. This time, Amazon is opening its doors to the platform that has become the household name in video meetings.

A software update to the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube brings Zoom to the Fire TV platform. Of course, you'll need more than just the device and a connected TV to actually use Zoom since the box doesn't have its own camera. Amazon doesn't mention anything about TVs that have built-in webcams and advocates the use of external webcams instead.

Amazon does have a list of recommended webcams you can from Amazon (of course), but any webcam that supports USB Video Class (UVC) will do. You might need a Micro USB to USB adapter, depending on what the webcam uses. Amazon recommends at least a 720p webcam, but 1080p would be ideal. A 4K webcam isn't recommended, probably because the resolution isn't really supported anyway.

Once everything is connected, and the Zoom app is installed, a simple "Alexa, join my meeting" command will get things started. Optionally, you can link your calendar to Alexa so that the same command will list the meetings you might have on your calendar for that day.