The Amazon Fire Stick is an HDMI dongle device that plugs into your TV’s HDMI port. It streams content from sites like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Pandora and many other services to your TV through a Wi-Fi connection.
Watching your favorite shows and music videos from your favorite websites on TV is really an amazing experience. Especially if you have a big HD screen and surround sound. It’s really easy to start viewing videos from the web. You just need to plug-in the Fire Stick, and you start streaming in minutes. The included Alexa Voice Remote gives you a better control over 100’s of channels and apps. Streaming is also smooth as the Fire TV is equipped with the fastest Wi-Fi interface.
Apart from just streaming, the Amazon Fire Stick is also loaded with a lot of extra features like games, apps and also gives you access to the Amazon’s cloud service. This allows you to store your personal pictures and videos on the cloud and also later view them on your big screen. But one problem we faced is that connecting your smartphone and syncing takes more time than accessing Amazon Prime Instant video or streaming from channels like YouTube, Netflix or HBO Go, which was really quick and smooth.
What is an Amazon Fire Stick?
- The Amazon Fire Stick is one the best streaming media player that costs just under $50.
- The intelligent Alexa Voice Remote Control is the highlight of the Fire Stick, as you control through voice commands. Say “play recent music videos” and a list of recently released music videos will be displayed in front of you.
- With Fire Stick at your disposal, you can enjoy over 7000 games and apps and also videos from popular video channels like Hulu, HBO NOW, YouTube, Amazon Video, NBC, WatchESPN, Disney, and more.
- You don’t need an expensive cable subscription if you have an Amazon Fire Stick. You can watch your favorite shows and videos from your favorite channels.
- The universal search feature helps you to find the videos you want quickly and easily.
- People subscribed to Amazon Prime will get unlimited access to Amazon Prime Instant video with thousands of movies and TV shows, ad-free. You also get one month free subscription to Amazon prime, when you buy an Amazon fire Stick.
- You can easily resume a movie from the point you stopped before.
- Setup is very simple as you just need to plug your Fire Stick into the HDMI port, connect the Wi-Fi and you are ready to watch your favorite videos.
Take Your TV with You
The Amazon Fire Stick is just an amazing streaming media player that never lets you feel bored. Not only can you watch your favorite shows at your house. You can carry it wherever you go. Take it to your friend’s house to watch your favorite sports game or your favorite sci-fi movie. Or take it along with you when you are traveling and enjoy movies, music or sports videos in your hotel room if you have access to an HDMI TV and a Wi-Fi connection.
Intelligent Voice Control Remote
The Alexa Voice Remote is one intelligent piece of hardware. It lets you control the Fire Stick with your voice. Say, for example, you want to watch some funny videos. Just press the microphone button and say “Find funny videos” and it instantly presents you with a list of funny videos from YouTube, Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Video or Hulu channels. Or, you have just started watching a movie and you want to skip the titles or opening credits. Just say “Fast forward a minute” and the movie gets forwarded a minute and starts playing. Alexa Voice Remote control is really fun as you can even order a pizza through Alexa.
The interface is also slick, smooth and visually appealing. It feels a lot more polished than other streaming devices. Also, with the Amazon Fire Stick, you can even play games on your TV. Simply use the Alexa remote to control the game. Alternatively, you may also use the Amazon Fire Controller as your game controller, if you have one.
Prime Membership
When you subscribe to the Amazon Prime membership, you have instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows along with the Amazon Original Series. Also, you can enjoy over 2 million songs with Amazon Music. You get access to special channels like HBO and Showtime channels and if you want to test it out, there is always a free trial of 15-30 days.
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But you only pay for the channels you watch and the prices are also very low when compared to other services, as you only pay as low as $2.90 per month. With Amazon Prime, you get access to some of the most popular and award-winning series like the Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle and also kids shows like Tumble Leaf and Creative Galaxy etc.
How to Setup the Fire Stick?
It’s really simple to have your Amazon Fire Stick setup with your TV. Open the package and get the Fire Stick out, connect your USB cable to the Fire Stick. The cord is not so long, so you need to make sure that a power outlet is nearby. Now simply plug the Fire Stick into your TV’s HDMI port and you are done!
You can start watching videos within seconds with the Fire Stick. The first time you load the Fire Stick, Amazon plays an intro video that tells you how to use the Fire Stick and also how to stream videos from the web.
Amazon Fire Stick – Specifications
| Feature | Description |
|---|
| Size | 3.4" x 1.2" x 0.5" (85.9 mm x 30.0 mm x 12.6 mm) |
| Weight | 1.1 oz. (32.0 g) |
| Processor | MediaTek Quad-core ARM 1.3 GHz |
| Storage | 8 GB internal |
| Memory | 1 GB |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Wi-Fi | Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi supports 2x2 MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Voice Support | With the Intelligent Alexa Voice Remote Control, you can control the Fire Stick with your voice commands |
| Game Controller Support | You can use the Alexa Voice Remote as the game controller or an Amazon Fire TV Controller. Most of the games are also compatible with other Bluetooth game controllers. |
| Cloud Storage | Free cloud storage for all Amazon content |
| Ports | HDMI output, Micro USB for power only |
| Audio Support | Dolby 5.1 surround sound and 2 channel stereo and HDMI audio |
| Content Formats Supported | Video: H.264 1080p30H.265 1080p30
Audio: AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (eAAC+), AC3 (Dolby Digital), eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MIDI, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis, AMR-NB, AMR-WB
Photo: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP |
| Output Resolution Supported | 720p and 1080p up to 60fps |
| Warranty | 90-day Limited Warranty and service included. Optional 2-year and 3-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. |
Amazon Fire Stick – System Requirements
- High-definition television with available HDMI input
- Internet connection via Wi-Fi
- Power outlet
What’s in the box?
Amazon Fire Stick- Alexa Voice Remote
- USB cable and power adapter
- HDMI extender
- AAA batteries
- Quick Start Guide
Other Streaming TV Sticks
Other than the Amazon Fire Stick, there are also some other popular streaming TV sticks available in the market including the famous Chromecast and Roku.
Chromecast
The Chromecast was one of the first streaming TV sticks introduced in the market by Google and it instantly captured quite a lot of attention. The Chromecast is not a stand-alone device. It uses your mobile phone as the content source. Using your mobile device, you can access thousands of videos from Netflix, YouTube or several other channels and display them on your TV.
Roku Streaming Stick
The Roku Streaming Stick sports a powerful quad-core processor to stream your videos quickly and smoothly over the internet onto your TV. Responsive navigation and quick launch of channels is an added advantage to Roku.
Slow Streams or Buffering?
Are your streams loading too slow? Getting constant buffering? Not able to stream at full resolution? Check out these tips to improve your streaming experience:
- Use a modern Router that has advanced features like QoS to prioritize video content. Check out our recommended Routers for Streaming.
- If you are using a Wifi connection, be sure to check out our 9 easy steps to improve your Wifi for Streaming.
- Some Internet Service Providers throttle video streaming traffic without telling their customers. A VPN encrypts all your traffic and circumvents throttling, blocking and geographical restrictions.
Contrary to the Chromecast, the Roku is a standalone device and comes with a remote. It is arguably a more convenient device, as you don’t need your mobile phone or PC to stream content.
Conclusion
The new and improved Amazon Fire Stick stands out amongst its competitors in terms of pricing and advanced interface along with an intelligent voice control remote control, Alexa. It is the low pricing and the advanced features that make the Amazon Fire Stick push past Google Chromecast and Roku.
Even though you need a subscription to Amazon Prime to enjoy the full features of Amazon Fire Stick, for less than $40 you can get killer features and superb streaming capabilities. The Amazon Fire Stick is still the best bet for streaming media on your TV.
Last update on 2024-11-16 at 10:19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
