Amazon Fire TV Stick, sharp picture quality, fast streaming, free & live TV, Alexa Voice Remote with TV controls

4 reviews for Amazon Fire TV Stick, sharp picture quality, fast streaming, free & live TV, Alexa Voice Remote with TV controls

1. 

   Nathan – January 3, 2025

   Great for streaming
   I have had Firesticks for several years now and they are a very good option for streaming. The first few sticks I had didn’t last as long as the newer versions but that is likely due to advances in technology. It comes with all the things you need to get it up and running immediately, even batteries for the remote.The OS is user friendly and works very well. It makes sense how its laid out is easy to navigate. Something else I like about it is that it is an android based OS so there are developer options which allow you more opportunity for customizing your experience.In the past the most common issues Ive had with it are the OS slowing down. There is 5gb of internal storage on it and it can get bogged down if you have a lot going on. Over time I notice there is a delay in the responsiveness to remote commands. Resetting the device does improve the lagging for a short period of time but it isn’t a permanent fix and it never goes back to how it ran when it was brand new…just a little less lag.In my experience these devices will last several years before needing to be replaced. In my opinion, that is a great bang for your buck. Something else great about them is that you can find them on sale all throughout the year on amazon. There are also numerous areas for support on the amazon site as well as live customer service to help if you need it. I have used other streaming devices before but keep coming back to these.One side note….we have phillps hue ecosystem for our lights and use the hue sync box to control the lights to match the colors on the screen. We bought the 4k stick and it wasn’t compatible with the hue sync box. Our sync box is several years old so perhaps the newer ones have a patch that fixes the issue but we weren’t able to use the 4k stick with our hue sync box. The HD stick works just fine with our setup. I will say that there was a noticeable picture and audio quality difference with the 4k stick, but not being able to work with our lights was a deal breaker for me.Overall I would recommend this device for anyone. It’s affordable and works great for all of our needs.

2. 

   Lotus54 – January 3, 2025

   Should Have Bought This Years Ago
   This is so easy to setup and use, I wish I got this years ago. I’ll be honest, and I feel a bit foolish admitting this, but: Despite hearing about the Fire TV stick’s existence for years, I never considered it because I thought there was a monthly fee! I didn’t want to pay for anything beyond my subscriptions, so I never even read the details. I put my television in a box in the attic when I ‘cut the cord’ with my cable company in 2012 and it’s been there ever since. I’ve been watching ‘TV’ on my desktop PC or on my Kindle.This worked well enough for years, but during the pandemic I began spending a lot more time streaming shows and despite replacing my desk chair with a more comfortable chair, it just wasn’t ergonomic and became more and more uncomfortable, so I needed to reconsider my TV setup. Enter the Fire Stick! This time I read the details – and then re-read them, and then Youtubed videos about it, because I couldn’t believe it really didn’t cost anything per month! You just buy the stick and plug it in and that’s it?! Yep!So here’s a few noteworthy points: First, it does not use USB; I saw this pop up in the questions for this product quite a bit. Technically the wall adapter plugs into the included USB cord – just like your kindle charger, etc. But there’s no USB needed for the actual television end, it uses an HDMI port and that’s it. Interestingly, I almost didn’t get it because I was sure the TV I bought back in 2009 wouldn’t have an HDMI port, but I finally went up to the attic to check and sure enough, it has one! So be sure your TV has an HDMI port, that’s required.Setup was ridiculously easy. Just attach the items in the box together and plug it into the HDMI port on the back of your TV and then plug the other end into a wall outlet. That’s it! Then turn the TV on and the setup will walk you through the rest, signing you into your Amazon account, calibrating the included remote control, updating (several times), choosing streaming apps to start with, etc. It’s all very simple.If you want to watch paid streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, etc you must have a paid subscription to them. But there’s other services/apps such as Pluto TV and others that are totally free and have a decent variety of ad-supported content, both shows and movies as well as news. And Amazon’s apps are of course there, like Amazon Music and Prime Video (if you subscribe to Prime Video). I only have Hulu and Prime Video currently as paid subscriptions, but there’s plenty of free content to supplement. In fact, I even have my local news which surprised me (they must stream on a live app and I never realized it).So basically, it aggregates various paid and free streaming apps to one place and this little stick presents them all in one nice looking interface, letting you use your remote to choose programming, just like TV. To be clear, the Fire TV stick runs off your wifi signal, so be sure you have wifi at home. On one hand it doesn’t give you anything you can’t get without it, but on the other hand, the convenience of having it all accessible in one place is fantastic and makes it feel like I’m getting all kinds of new content. Some of the apps I’ve never even heard of, so there is new-to-me content in that regard.The interface is excellent and fairly intuitive, and the remote works great. I am super glad I opted for the Fire TV stick option that comes with the remote that also has TV controls like volume and mute, so I can do it all with the remote that came with it. Now I can sit in my living room like a normal person and watch TV (streaming services) comfortably from my couch; I should have got this years ago.Just be sure you have:1. A TV with an HDMI port2. Wifi at home3. OPTIONAL: Paid services if you want to watch Hulu, Netflix, etc. Otherwise you can still use this to access free content.

3. 

   Gregory R – January 3, 2025

   Works Well for my Streaming Needs
   I bought this to replace an older fire stick that was no longer seen by the TV. I am not sure of the expected life on these but when on sale they are cheap enough to replace. This works well and is easy to configure and is my preferred streaming device.

4. 

   Sloth – January 3, 2025

   Great as always
   I’ve had multiple Firesticks. They’ve all functioned great. Very portable and easy to install and move from tv to tv when traveling. To be able to go on vacation and have the streaming capability of my home tv, using something I just pulled out of my pocket, is awesome. Generally no issues with the speed, but we all know that depends on your area and internet speeds. It also has more than enough memory to hold all of your tv apps.