Amazon Fire Stick vs Fire TV

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

It's Prime Day.

We are beginning the process of dropping cable.

We have "dumb" tvs.

Do I want an Amazon Fire Stick or Fire TV box at 50% off?

[Deleted]

What is the price difference?  I have one dumb TV that is hooked up to a TIVO and PS3 for streaming and one Smart TV.  I prefer the dumb TV with the TIVO.  

eta:  Ok, I just looked it up.  $20 for the Fire Stick wins for me!   Unless you are looking to replace your TVs.  Otherwise I don't see the point of getting a Fire TV instead. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jul 16, 2018 10:59:24 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

What is the price difference?  I have one dumb TV that is hooked up to a TIVO and PS3 for streaming and one Smart TV.  I prefer the dumb TV with the TIVO.  

eta:  Ok, I just looked it up.  $20 for the Fire Stick wins for me!   Unless you are looking to replace your TVs.  Otherwise I don't see the point of getting a Fire TV instead. 

So the name “Amazon Fire TV”is misleading.  It is not a television, but the Fire in a box versus the Fire stick.  The one I am considering also comes with a digital antenna so that I can get local broadcast television.  $39.99for the Fire TV, $19.99 for the stick.  

Anyone use either?  

[Deleted]

Well if it comes with the digital antenna, that's probably worth the extra $20 as that's about as cheap as you're going to get an antenna.   Although, if it's a really crappy antenna and you're a ways from stations or have obstructions, you might end up having to buy one anyhow.  

[chiver78]

those are the prices for Prime Day, I just saw. I think I paid $39.99 for each of my fire sticks. 

you might be okay with a combination antenna unit. check your mileage from the local stations and see if you have any interference. I don't remember your town being the highest elevation moving out from downtown, so you might have some obstructions from clear signals. 

this site was useful for me - DTV reception maps

I'm 60 miles from both Boston and Providence, so I had to go with a heavy duty antenna. mine's an 85 mile range, and I'm not missing many of the local stations in both markets. WHDH gets pixelly in the living room on windy days, and we can't get WSBK at all. durn, no more Phantom Gourmet   the brand got pretty sweet reviews at all ranges, too. 

[justme]

I have the stick but I think it's the old generation. Only complaint is the remotes tend to crap out on it.

[chiver78]

I've found that the remotes eat batteries, really quickly

[Chocolate Lover]

We have a Fire stick, but I never used it before my DH "jailbroke" it so I have no idea if it sucked this much before or if the jailbreaking did it. There are so many menus and all sorts of garbage and DH can never get the channels he wants to use to work. 

I think my kids use it for stuff like Youtube and such but I really couldn't tell you. 

I do know you can use your phone as a remote if you download an app or something. 

How's that for not helpful? 

[chiver78]

so, the fire stick doesn't directly connect you to channels. not like cable, anyway. you still end up having to subscribe to something like Sling, or PlayStation Vue. but, both of those services have options for multiple concurrent logins for the ability to use more than one device. 

GRG - I use PS Vue, it includes NESN for this area. that's huge. neither flavor of Sling had it, and once baseball season started, I was going nuts without it.     $45/month for most local stations, a pretty standard selection of "basic cable" and the all-important NESN. 5 concurrent logins. 

[Chocolate Lover]

Jul 16, 2018 15:49:45 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

so, the fire stick doesn't directly connect you to channels. not like cable, anyway. you still end up having to subscribe to something like Sling, or PlayStation Vue. but, both of those services have options for multiple concurrent logins for the ability to use more than one device. 

GRG - I use PS Vue, it includes NESN for this area. that's huge. neither flavor of Sling had it, and once baseball season started, I was going nuts without it.     $45/month for most local stations, a pretty standard selection of "basic cable" and the all-important NESN. 5 concurrent logins. 

Like I said, I have no idea how it's supposed to work, but in it's jailbroken form, I hate it. I assume that it'll allow you access to most of your apps like Netflix and such, but I don't bother. 

[crazycat]

Well , I just tried to put the fire tv in my cart and it is already sold out. So if you want the fire stick , you better hurry 😀

[Ryan]

I've used Chromecast, but not the Fire.  I found AppleTV to be so much better than Chromecast that I stopped looking.  If you have apple products, I would do AppleTV.  

[toomuchreality]

I use a firestick at my daughter's when I babysit my grand dogs. In order to watch live tv, we had to buy a separate antenna. We have tried a few. Rabbit ears seemed as good, or better than most. The problem with them is that they stick out in the middle of the room and can be dangerous.

About 2 weeks ago, I bought a TVBUDDY for her.. (antenna)

I thought it was going to be something small that plugs into the back of her tv. Instead, it looks like this...

   It is very thin and flat and about 6 x 9 inches (just a guess).

She did have to string it across the room and place it near a window, to get reception, but it does provide a great picture and there's no more concern about running into or getting poked with the rabbit ears.

I did not purchase the amplifier which they also sell. I only bought the antenna.  

I bought mine off the TVBUDDY website for about $40 + shipping.  When I was looking for a picture to post, I noticed Walmart sells them for $22.95 or something like that. I'm not sure how they compare or if they are the same brand.

We use a Roku in her bedroom.

I just found this article:

www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/07/16/amazon-fire-hd-tablets-fire-stick-fire-tv-fire-cube-worth/784396002/

Fire TV Stick
This little gadget delivers big functionality. (Photo: Amazon)

Prime Day price: $19.99 (regularly $39.99)

Pros: Cheap, allows for Alexa through voice remote.

Cons: Lacks support for 4K or HDR found on newer TVs, slower than 4K models.

Fire TV
The all new Amazon Fire TV ($69.99) with 4K Ultra HD

The all new Amazon Fire TV ($69.99) with 4K Ultra HD and HDR (high dynamic range) video. (Photo: Amazon)

Prime Day price: $34.99 (regularly $69.99)

Pros: 4K and HDR 10 support, support for Dolby Atmos sound, Alexa voice remote.

Cons: Needs to be powered by an included wall adapter for the best experience, few apps support 4K HDR content, no support for Dolby Vision.

[chiver78]

Jul 16, 2018 17:10:51 GMT -5 crazycat said:

Well , I just tried to put the fire tv in my cart and it is already sold out. So if you want the fire stick , you better hurry 😀

try again today. the site was having major issues last night. 

[justme]

The deal is coming and going. I ordered it last night and it is backordered.

Damn you for mentioning this deal, I was avoiding upgrading even though I know my old one was going to not have a few apps. But it's a good deal so I can just stick an antenna into my bedroom instead of trying to figure out how to split the living room one.

[wvugurl26]

I see the fire stick listed now under spotlight deals.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I bought both the Fire Stick with Alexa remote ($19.99) AND the Fire TV for 4k plus the digital antenna ($34.99). I had no problem buying them last night around 11:00 p.m. The antenna is being shipped separately and won't arrive until Monday but everything else will be here by Thursday.

I figured for about $55 I could give them a test run and see if they meet my needs. I'll let you know.

[toomuchreality]

Jul 17, 2018 10:28:17 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I bought both the Fire Stick with Alexa remote ($19.99) AND the Fire TV for 4k plus the digital antenna ($34.99). I had no problem buying them last night around 11:00 p.m. The antenna is being shipped separately and won't arrive until Monday but everything else will be here by Thursday.

I figured for about $55 I could give them a test run and see if they meet my needs. I'll let you know.

You got a fabulous deal!  Since you don't know for sure if they are going to work for you or not, and the only way to know is to try them, getting them on sale like you did makes it a whole lot less painful to try them out. They very well may work out very well for you. (I hope!)

My DD1 has saved a LOT of money by not paying for cable/satellite tv, and her set up works for her.  I hope you like yours too!

My biggest complaint with hers is not actually the fault of the antenna or the firestick. It is getting and staying connected to a hotspot. Her building must be made of solid concrete and steel. WiFi reception is horrible inside her condo. But I would put up with it too, to save $150-175 per month!

I'm really curious to know what your think! Don't forget to post an update!

[garion2003]

I got a firestick deal - don't have Alexa so hope that's not a deal breaker. I am thinking the fire stick may be good for my parents but I want to check it out first.

[chiver78]

Jul 19, 2018 11:34:47 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

I got a firestick deal - don't have Alexa so hope that's not a deal breaker. I am thinking the fire stick may be good for my parents but I want to check it out first.

where did you find one without Alexa? by the time I bought my 2nd for my bedroom, all I could find were Alexa-enabled. 

[garion2003]

Jul 19, 2018 12:23:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Jul 19, 2018 11:34:47 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

I got a firestick deal - don't have Alexa so hope that's not a deal breaker. I am thinking the fire stick may be good for my parents but I want to check it out first.

where did you find one without Alexa? by the time I bought my 2nd for my bedroom, all I could find were Alexa-enabled. 

This is where my ignorance comes in - this one is Alexa enabled, so I'm hoping it will still workout it. I read through some of the descriptions and Q&A's - I am hoping the remote still works as a remote! If not, I guess I could return it or try to re sell it!

[chiver78]

Jul 20, 2018 7:55:33 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

Jul 19, 2018 12:23:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

where did you find one without Alexa? by the time I bought my 2nd for my bedroom, all I could find were Alexa-enabled. 

This is where my ignorance comes in - this one is Alexa enabled, so I'm hoping it will still workout it. I read through some of the descriptions and Q&A's - I am hoping the remote still works as a remote! If not, I guess I could return it or try to re sell it!

oh, it works as a fire stick remote, yes. I just haven't figured out how to disable any function of Alexa. if you do, please lmk!