What's the 411 on Fire TV stick?

flatbutt · 01-22-2021, 10:41 AM

Anyone have experience with it?

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Whaddaya wanna know? If you're talking the Amazon firestick I have 4 or 5 of them around the house.
Got a Roku Ultra and a firetv box too! And in case you're wondering... I'm a Slinger.

1990C4S · 01-22-2021, 11:00 AM

My friend uses a Firestick to avoid paying for a second TiVo box. He can stream all TV channels through the device. It's like a half a TiVo box I guess, no record/playback.

Zeke · 01-22-2021, 11:19 AM

I have 2 with Prime. All we need, for sure.

ledhedsymbols · 01-22-2021, 11:52 AM

I switched to them and a YouTube TV subscription a couple years ago. It's a great system. We also have Prime Video and Netflix, so it's more content than we reasonably need. I find the interfaces easy to use, and I like having one small simple remote that does everything I need for the most part.

varmint · 01-22-2021, 11:57 AM

one fire stick downstairs. run everything through an xbox in the bedroom.

slight learning curve. and there are constant attempts to chisel money out of you. but still half the cost of dish.

flatbutt · 01-22-2021, 12:05 PM

OK cool so prolly worth my while.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

What do you want to do with it? I mean, if you have a smart tv, you might not even need a firestick.

For $40 you can't go too far wrong. I was using the firetv box out in my workout room to find different workout routines on youtube. My kids use them for Netflix, Prime Video and Sling. You can get PlutoTV and watch a bunch of channels you've never heard of. You can also "jailbreak" it and download a few illegal (or should be) aps to watch a bunch of channels and movies for free..

aschen · 01-22-2021, 12:35 PM

We have one I prefer to use Roku version. All these things are similar if they support the services you use. The ease of use for the UI and the remote are the key differentiators to me.

LakeCleElum · 01-22-2021, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschen

We have one I prefer to use Roku version. All these things are similar if they support the services you use. The ease of use for the UI and the remote are the key differentiators to me.

Same here. Prefer Roku Ultra.....Almost no limit to Free TV and Movies....

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

Firestick in rec room, Roku in living room and google stick in bedroom (tv)

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Same here. Prefer Roku Ultra.....Almost no limit to Free TV and Movies....

Okay... clue me in. I haven't messed around with the Roku much.

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

I have the prime fire stick. Works well. Football I go to the bar and I can scratch and fart, then Lyft it home.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Would help to know what your internet speed is. I have 100mbps up and down. My firesticks will sometimes buffer. My roku Ultra is hard wired and doesn't buffer. If you have the ability to hard wire to the ethernet port on your router, I think I'd go that route if you're planning to stream live tv. The firesticks using wifi will buffer depending on how many devices are connected. I use Sling and an OTA antenna. OTA is mostly so I can get football. I can pull in NBC, ABC, CBS locals from Lima and Ft Wayne so I have options on which games I want to watch.

tdw28210 · tdw28210's Garage

I've had better luck with the Fire TV than stick - at least in tight applications. Stick seems to overheat and shut down occasionally.

flatbutt · 01-23-2021, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabmando

Would help to know what your internet speed is. I have 100mbps up and down. My firesticks will sometimes buffer. My roku Ultra is hard wired and doesn't buffer. If you have the ability to hard wire to the ethernet port on your router, I think I'd go that route if you're planning to stream live tv. The firesticks using wifi will buffer depending on how many devices are connected. I use Sling and an OTA antenna. OTA is mostly so I can get football. I can pull in NBC, ABC, CBS locals from Lima and Ft Wayne so I have options on which games I want to watch.

about 80 mbps. Do I need to be subscribed to my internet providers TV service? I currently stream Netflix and Prime.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

about 80 mbps. Do I need to be subscribed to my internet providers TV service? I currently stream Netflix and Prime.

My ISP doesn't require me to use their TV option. I do need to keep a local landline number in order to get fiberoptic service but that's probably because they were first a phone company. You probably want to call and ask if they have an internet only package and what that cost is. Sometimes they'll subsidize the internet price with the TV package price. You could also surf your ISP's website to see if they offer an internet only option.

greglepore · 01-23-2021, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

about 80 mbps. Do I need to be subscribed to my internet providers TV service? I currently stream Netflix and Prime.

No. Absolutely not.
The world is changing rapidly though. NBC just announced that NBCSN, which has hosted a ton of free sports, including IMSA and Indycar, is going away in favor of Peacock, their pay to stream service. I can hope that b/c I have xfinity it'll be included because of common ownership, but who knows.

I have Roku now and have had firestick. The biggest advantage for me with the firestick was the voice search.

Sooner or later · 01-23-2021, 05:19 AM

When I retired I didn't need too much so I went hard-core. I share Sling from my phone and tablet to my smart TV. No hard line internet or tv.

Peacock won't let me share.

Bob Kontak · Bob Kontak's Garage

A little off topic but I lost my Firestick remote. Downloaded one from the app store for my phone and it takes voice commands as well as provides directional/selection icons.