Fire TV Stick 4K streaming device with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | Dolby Vision

There were two reasons we made the jump to Fire TV, cutting the expensive "cable" to satellite or cable tv and the voice command feature. I'll start with the voice command feature first. We have a blind individual in our household. We needed something simple to use that would get her to content without having a tremendous number of remotes or devices. The firestick fit the bill. It allows her to tune to live tv just by asking Alexa, but she can also access Sirius XM using the same remote. Alexa has excellent voice recognition which makes life much simpler for her. Works beautifully. The remote having just basic functions allows her to easily control volume and power as well - if she doesn't use Alexa directly. I found that we were streaming more and more television. With our prime membership it allowed us to watch a lot of content for free. I was already enjoying originals like Homecoming and Bosch but with the Fire Stick I could also start getting live tv through Hulu. I have a 4k tv but it is a little older so Hulu live was not directly compatible with my tv. The Fire Stick solved the issue. I have found it fun to be able to ask questions of Alexa like where a city is located if I am unfamiliar. When I'm done, Alexa continues the programming directly where I left off. I leave my tv on the Fire Stick as the default because all my services are available through it. I only go to the other inputs when I want to watch a Blu-ray or play on my Wii-U. Cutting the cord saves me $50 per month - I would imagine that others could save even more. A great plus is all the apps available. I use OANN, Netflix, Hulu + Live TV, Amazon Prime, Sirius XM, Pandora. There are many others. I can say that I am watching Amazon Prime and Hulu + Live TV much more than Netflix now. Amazon has upped its game with it's new originals. The remote does work with our Blu-ray but some of the features still need the use of the original remote but that's a minor caveat. Summing up Firestick TV: 1. Allows viewing of content at a much reduced price 2. Has excellent voice command capabilities 3. Has an excellent selection of apps for various capabilities, including shopping if you want to 4. Has the ability to benefit disabled persons, especially the blind 5. Simple remote that has lots of compatibility 6. 4K ability allows 4K televisions to stream 4K content at no extra cost 7. Setup requires plugging into the power source and a HDMI input. Our tv immediately paired and did not require any further setup. Our Blu-ray was also incredibly easy to setup so no complaints there. The only con is that some TVs may still need the use of the original remote for some functions - like settings. The same is true of other devices used with the tv. I highly recommend this device to anyone looking to save money or that has a physical limitation. It works as advertised and actually has surpassed our expectations.

This firestick is great but not perfect. I had this Firestick device for about 6 months and replaced it for my Xbox, which I only used to watch movies and Youtuber LOL. I wanted this Firestick device for streaming and this is super quick access to everything!!! Netflix, Hulu, Premium channel apps (IE: HBO, Cinemax, Crackle), Youtube, all the popular apps are already pre-installed on this stick (expect Kodi). So if you want to plug this into your tv's HDMI port and get started in under 10 minutes, you definitely can. FREE CHANNELS? Although everything is pre-installed, this does NOT include any "free" subscriptions, you have to pay for everything. Unless you have Amazon Prime (where you can watch Prime Video for free), you will not have access to anything "free" unless you go on Youtube or use the free trails some apps offer. My firestick came with a free 3-month trial with SlingTV, live tv subscription, which I did not use so I don't know if that's worth it or not. If you want to install Kodi (VPN protection needed) you can but I would watch a Youtube video on how to install that since I haven't done this. ALEXA VOICE FUNCTION??? Alexa, the digital voice personal assistant, acts "right" most of the time but she does have her glitches LOL. I would say 70% of the time she listens and is accurate but sometimes she is so off it's comical. You press/hold-in the mic button at the top of the control to reach Alexa. Alexa is only able to find/play music and movies (that are usually included in Amazon's Prime Video or Paid Music services), open the pre-installed apps or authorized apps (Amazon has approved). So you can ask Alexa to open downloaded games, Youtube, play a song, find a movie, search the internet (in Amazon's own internet browser called "silk), order/find stuff on Amazon.com, do basic task (close, open a program, turn off, go to sleep, etc) and ask her questions like you can with Google (Example: Who, what, when, where, and why questions). However, she can do anything too advance like open settings, provide too many additional options for your questions, or make any phone calls or turn on/off lights (but you can buy other Alexa operated devices that do so you can do them from this Firestick device too). THE CONTROLLER The controller is the most glitchy of it all. Sometimes it freezes and some buttons simply don't work until you unplug to reset the Firestick device. I had the Firestick for 2 weeks before I had problems with the controller and had issues with the Firestick device not connecting (remote to the device). So there was a lot of unplugging to reset the device, which only required you to disconnect the device not literally reprogram the remote/device again (I only had to program the remote once in 6 months). The batteries (two AAA) included have NOT died in the remote yet... so yeah LOL. THE BLUETOOTH CONNECTION??? Every single time, you have to reconnect/repair your Bluetooth devices (if you turn them off) to the Firestick device. This is super annoying but only takes a few seconds to do. However, there ARE times that the Bluetooth devices (IE: wireless headphones) do NOT want to connect until you unplug the Firestick device. Again you only have to unplug for a few seconds and replug then you are good. Once you replug the firestick, magically the Bluetooth device reconnects WITHOUT having to pair it again.... STRANGE. The Bluetooth connection stays connected until your device turns off, so there is a strong connection WHEN connected. THE WIFI CONNECTION???? I have this Firestick device connected to a WiFi modem and have NO ISSUES AT ALL with a lost internet connection. I've had more issues with my Xbox losing its wireless internet connection than this Firestick. So I would rate the wifi connection great. THE SET-UP / WIRING So the Firestick needs to be plugged into your tv directly via an HDMI port. Then the other end of the connected Firestick device needs to be plugged into the wall for power. You have a decent amount of cord but you want to put this directly into the wall and not into a cheap extension cord (power surge also will work). Obviously, you need to have your tv plugged in and then the Firestick plugged into the wall to work properly. Then you need to connect your wifi, sign in to your Amazon account, connect your remote, and you're basically done. This was easy to do, self-explanatory and you don't need the manual as its all prompted step-by-step on your tv screen. OVERALL I would recommend this Firestick device as you're getting a lot for $50 (even though cheaper during black Friday and on Prime Day), especially conveniences and a space-saving device. This makes your tv's color quality significantly better (especially if you don't already have a 4k tv) and it makes you want to watch all your movies on this device (instead of your computer). It's a lot more simply than streaming from your computer and takes up a lot less energy/space. This device is for the beginner too and it's not hard to set up. The Bluetooth is descent (paired with Sony headphones) and the wireless connection is strong. I would reorder again if need be, especially if they have better remote control and an upgrade to Alexa (which are glitchy). I'm not a tech person (I'm a female but so what LOL) but I think this is a great product and better than the $400 RVEAL device I bought in the past. I would recommend $50 without question. I hope this helps :)

I did a lot a LOT of research on this before purchasing as well as the new one and the Ruko as well. Reasons for the purchase: - We are Amazon Prime members. So it would go great with this service and others we already had. - It was between this one and the other newer one. But this one had a discount on it. But still did everything we needed. - For Our Needs and the features it had were better than those of the Ruko. - Also we LOVE LOVE LOVE the Amazing Customer Service we KNOW we get from Amazon. So that in it self had me leaning towards the Amazon Fire Stick. - It would go not only with services we already have but also future ones we plan on getting in the future. - Quality we can trust. I have purchased other Amazon Label products from Fire Tablets to Trash Bags and all have been just great and even more so for the price as well. Now other things since our purchase. One reason I so so LOVE it is that it solved a couple serious problems we were having. #1 We were having issues with our remote working very well that came with our VIZIO Tv that my nephew helped me pick out because I know nothing about smart TVs. I wanted good quality. But didn't get totally what I wanted from a TV (which isn't much because I don't watch TV myself on the TV, more of on my laptop). I would have to point the remote directly at the lower left hand corner of the TV with the remote the TV came with and even then I would have issues. I did contact them about this and even questioned on the Q&A area. and pretty much I was told I could purchase a new remote that would work with the TV but i would have the same issue. Also even if I bought the VIZIO in 2019 but it was a 2015 model there would be no upgrade in the Apps. So we would have to find another way of hooking up Disney+ to the TV. Which was me having to take my Laptop and using a HDMI cord and hookign it up and watching it from the browser. Which is what we did for nearly 3 months. Because the Company VIZIO from what I read online was only going to be updating the apps from the TVs that were 2016 or newer and not until this past January. Which maybe they did. MAn I spent alot on the TV and they not going to send out a update of the apps including Disney + but had the Hulu and ESPN. :0( very heart breaking. So the Amazon Fire Stick fixed both of these issues for us. I dont' have to give up my Laptop to the kids to watch Disney + on the Big TV as a Family even. But also i tested out the Fire stick and i can even point it at the ceiling and it STILL works. I can have the remote backwards as well and still USE IT!!!!! When you got munchkins this is a plus. Or Boys that want to be Monkey Butts. no matter if one of them stands or sits in front of the lower left corner of the TV the channel or volume can still be adjusted. and with these 2 sticker butts there is less arguments of them wanting the other one to move out of the way. hehehehe For this Momma with 2 Handful Boys this is a LOVE LOVE LOVE. Now also I dont' have to give up my Laptop. and can go back to multi tasking alot better. I use my laptop a LOT for Business, but also we are Homeschoolers and I also have my own classes I take online as well. So the Fire Stick came to the rescue to free up my laptop a bit. O.k. nothing is perfect. So there is only one thing I have a issue with but it is workable even if it can be a pain in the butt. and that is the parental control on there so no purchases are made. I keep having to punch in the code just to switch from say Amazon to HULU to Disney + even if we are not trying to purchase any thing. But Also some times even in the same app to go back to the home screen or something. Like Disney +. I'm so worried that i might get so use to just punching the code in so many dang times that I might end up just do it for one of the boys and not knowing and end up purchasing a movie or TV series i totally did not want to pay of it and over withdraw my bank account and get fees or something or a bill might not get paid. This totally needs to be fixed.

I originally bought the Fire TV stick to watch HBO Max without streaming it from my phone - I have a Roku TV (TCL) and HBO Max was not available on Roku at that time (it is now available). However, I have now switched almost all of my streaming apps to the Fire TV stick instead of directly on the Roku TV. The main reason for this was the Fire TV remote - I was able to set it up so that pressing the ON button on the Fire TV remote turns on the TV, my sound bar, the Fire TV stick, AND switches the input on my TV to HDMI 1 (where Fire TV stick is connected), so basically I can now use just one remote. Somehow the Roku remote wasn't able to turn ON the sound bar - but was able to change the volume if the sound bar was already ON. The Fire TV remote is also intuitive for the sound bar - if the sound bar is off, and I press the volume + button, the sound bar turns on. I also like that the remote has voice search. Staying on the Home screen and using the remote to say "Alexa, play <title>" works fine in most cases. Staying on the Search screen and just saying the name of the title (without "Alexa, play") also works fine - it shows the top search result. There were some quirks - saying "Alexa, play <title> on HBO Max" did in fact start playing the correct title - but from Episode 1 (even though I had paused midway in Episode 4). However, "Alexa, continue playing <title>" did work (it resumed where I had paused). Other Alexa searches on the Fire TV remote ("Alexa, what is the weather like today?") also worked great. It is not as natural as using my Echo Dot (have to keep the voice button on the remote pressed down while you speak), but it works well. Setting up new apps was confusing. I went to the Apps screen assuming I would see all apps I had installed, and a way to add more apps. Instead, there was an endless list of apps with no obvious way to quickly locate the app I wanted. I had to go to the Search screen, search for the App, and then add it (Using the Home screen, scrolling down to Your Apps, scrolling all the way to the right, and clicking Add more Channels brings up the same endless list) I find the Home screen very cluttered (compared to the minimalist Roku Home screen), but I don't go beyond the first two rows (Recent & Your Apps). Using it this way, it is nice to quickly get back to the App or show you were watching earlier. The Fire TV stick is very quick and responsive. The picture quality is also great (especially with shows which have Dolby Vision) - I basically don't notice any difference in terms of lag or quality watching on the Fire TV stick connected to my TV v/s using the in-built Roku function on the TV. The initial setup was also quick (the Fire TV stick did not fit directly into the HDMI port on my TV, but using the adapter that came in the box worked just fine). Overall, I think the Fire TV stick is a great value for money (especially at the discounted Black Friday price) - the remote alone is worth the price. I am using the Fire TV stick way more than I had planned to (except for Peacock and Apple TV+ which are not on Fire TV - still use Roku for that). Because of how some apps are only found on some of the streaming platforms (Roku, Fire TV, Google TV) but not all - having multiple options (like a Roku TV with a Fire TV stick) is good "insurance" for flexibility in the future.

UPDATED 2020-01-25: Someone on AVS forum posted a solution to the long-standing video freezing issue with the Fire TV Stick 4K and certain channels like ESPN using the AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) app. Go to the Fire TV's settings, then display and audio, then surround sound, and select "best available." This fixed it for me. If you're still experiencing video freezing with AT&T TV with "best available" audio selected, then you have a different issue unrelated to this bug. UPDATE 2019-06-28: VIDEO STILL FREEZES WITH THIS DEVICE AND LATEST VERSION OF DIRECTV NOW APP. ESPN CHANNELS AFFECTED. SOME OTHER CHANNELS AFFECTED DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS ONLY. DIRECTV NOW APP WORKS FINE ON OLDER FIRE TV DEVICES AND ROKU. 2019-03-29 VIDEO STILL FREEZING ON ONLY CERTAIN CHANNELS WITH DIRECTV NOW APP. Have since discovered that the ESPN channels' video freezes up regularly. Can't watch more than a minute or 2 without the video freezing for about 30 seconds before resuming. Happens repeatedly. Most channels stream just fine. Other apps stream just fine. So it's not the internet or wifi connection that's the cause. 2019-03-06 UPDATE ON THE FREEZING ISSUE: The stream freezing has gotten worse. On channels like MSNBC and CNN, it happens during almost every commercial break. Each time the stream freezes it takes almost 30 seconds before it resumes. Stream also freezes when the main program resumes from a commercial break, so we miss almost 30 seconds of each segment of the main program. It's been months and still no fix. Strange that this doesn't happen on any other streaming device we own (Fire TV box, Roku). Also tried a second Fire TV Stick 4K and same issue. ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW: I bought my Fire TV Stick 4K not from Amazon, but a local store. It replaced a Fire TV 4K box from 2016. Connected to LG OLED TV using high speed HDMI cable and to the internet over Wi-Fi. I purchased the 4K stick because it supports HDR, whereas the 4K box does not. Overall, the 4K stick works very well. It's a bit slower, at least with Directv Now app, than the 4K box, but it's much faster than the older non-4K Fire stick I had connected to a bedroom TV. The only real issue I've noticed so far, is that with the DirecTV Now app, especially on the MSNBC channel, the video will freeze for about 10-15 seconds and then resume. This happens about every 10-15 minutes or so, and it usually happens during a commercial and when the main program resumes from a commercial break. Very strange, indeed. I've also observed this behavior on some other channels, but not as often. The Directv Now app works just fine on the older 4K box, and on my Roku as well, so I know it's not my internet connection to blame. Also, Netflix, and other apps, stream just fine on this new 4K stick. Something about the combination of this 4K stick and the DirecTV Now app causes this issue. Hope they figure out the bugs soon, because it's a very good device otherwise. HDR is awesome!

I bought an Apple TV a couple years ago in hopes of enjoying online streaming. While the device is a nice piece of equipment, in my opinion it lost out to the Fire Stick. Setup for the Fire Stick was easy. I installed the stick next to another HDMI input, and the one thing I noticed about my Sony is that they certainly didn't plan for wide HDMI plugs. I was able to find 'slim' HDMI cables on Amazon which I included with the order. Unboxed, well prepared. Quality packaging. Instructions were top shelf and an 800 number is included because you have to call in to activate your Fire Stick. The serial number is attached to your order number. The whole activation only took 10 minutes. It was so easy to login to our wi-fi router then Amazon Prime. This opened up a whole new world of new apps that I didn't have on our Apple TV. We bought the stick mainly to try out Disney Plus. D+ loaded quickly. I started watching a Disney tv series and compared it to the 2 year old Apple TV. Compared to the Apple, the Fire stick was lightning fast. And it was excellent at displaying the action scenes. On the Apple TV, some action scenes started to pixilate and blur compared to the Amazon stick-- which kept up and played the movies perfectly. About remotes: The Apple TV remote has been uncooperative to say the least. It's hard to apply a light touch to get the commands you want. And if you slide the touchpad too quickly you'll jump through a bunch of apps or movies then have to back up. The Fire Stick uses a round navigation button that goes 4 ways with an enter button in the middle. It is very instinctive to use. I like that when I say "Alexa HDMI 1" she changes the input to HDMI1. On the Apple TV I said SIRI HDMI1 and it said, "sorry we aren't able to process your request at this time." The Fire Stick was affordable yet very well made, packaged, and thought out. Amazon is doing a lot of things right and this is one of their excellent examples. Today, after comparing the Apple to the Fire stick I ordered another Fire stick and will send the Apple TV down to one of the kids who use Apple. I'm sold on the Fire Stick! Highly recommended!

When service for my older Roku ended a couple months ago, I had no idea which way to go with a new streaming device. I went into my typical research mode and was still undecided, but a couple perks suddenly made it easy to choose the 4K Firestick. As a Prime member, I love the convenient integration of all the subscription premium channels that Amazon offers, as well as being able to choose the standalone apps that were on Roku. Even though I don't yet (or may never) have a 4K TV because no one is currently broadcasting in 4K so why bother, it seemed a no-brainer to get the most updated version and streaming quality of picture afforded by the 4K stick, so the choice was easy and I've not regretted it. However, the stick comes with VERY MINIMAL INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. I'm one of those users who likes to familiarize myself thoroughly with a device and its capabilities before installation, and the 3 steps in the enclosed installation manual left me more than puzzled about customizing the settings. So, I did what I encourage all of you to do -- call $K tech support and have them walk you through ALL THE STEPS. You'll be glad you did. Some things (that I didn't want) were turned on as defaults on the stick, and frankly, it wasn't clear what certain settings even meant or what would be optimal for me. Even going through the entire setup process onscreen doesn't explain many of the choices that can be tweaked. For instance: 1) The remote comes preset to turn on your TV and the Firestick app automatically. I didn't want that. I turn on the TV separately from wanting to stream, and also use my sound bar for all my fine-tuned sound and volume preferences. In fact, I prefer using all my individual remotes. In particular, my TV settings for sound and my sound bar would have been in conflict with the 4K remote default setting, and caused so many more ridiculous steps to turn the TV on or off, the app on or off, or make any volume choices. If you don't mind this default feature then there's nothing to change, but it wouldn't bothered me right out of the gate. 2) I only bought one Firestick because my other TV has built-in apps that are still being maintained by the manufacturer. However, they're two different manufacturers. You cannot use the Firestick interchangeably between different brands (say a Sony and a Samsung) without going through setup each time you switch because setup requires brand selection and only holds one in memory at a time. Plugging the stick into a different maker requires setup EACH TIME you switch from one TV to another, which would be a nuisance. There's a workaround that I learned only from the tech support guy who guided me through setup. During setup, I selected a TV brand that is neither of my two TVs. Therefore, I can easily switch the stick from TV to TV without setting it up each time. No matter how many TVs you have, the trick is to choose a brand that is none of your TVs. Works like a charm, but if I hadn't done setup with tech help, I would never have known that I could switch the stick between TVs and would have just left it on one TV. 3) Some reviewers complain about buffering issues and dropped signal only happening with the stick, and not other devices in their homes. Well, once in awhile I've had a dropped signal, but it comes right back and I've never had buffering issues. Maybe less than 1/2% of the time has this happened, so not a problem, and once the signal is restored it never drops again during the duration of current use. 4) The streaming and picture are spectacular. 5) I waited to get this stick until Google and Amazon ironed out their differences at the end of 2019 so that the YouTube TV app (the best streaming app out there) is now downloadable on the stick. There's a reason for these issues that the tech explained to me: 4K takes ALOT OF INTERNET. It doesn't matter if you have 200 Mb speed, you may encounter buffering and dropped signal frequently, depending on how many other devices in use at the time. Ironically enough, I have a ridiculously slow internet speed that I've never upgraded because I have absolutely no problem running TVs, laptop, tablets, phone, streaming all at the same time here in LA. But, the key here is how much internet you're using at the same time when using 4K ANYTHING, not your speed. I think many of these critical reviewers have 4K TV, plus the stick, plus run alot of stuff at the same time because they have max speed, but they can actually have problems for using too much internet at once, while I have no problems. So bear that mind. I'll admit I haven't yet used the stick's Alexa feature yet because it doesn't matter to me for watching TV, and I have my Echo Dot anyway for other things. I love this 4K stick over any other device, am so glad I went through a formal installation process because (AGAIN) I tweaked even more settings than mentioned here during the process that I wouldn't have known to do or not, plus I have no issues with buffering and dropped signal that affect my use of the device. I intend to buy another stick soon, so I don't have to switch back and forth between TVs if I want, rather than use my pre-installed individual apps. It's so convenient to go in and out of NetFlix, Prime, premium movie channels, Vudu on the stick rather the individual apps, but I have the option of doing it either way..

I have to say: I'm pretty impressed with the new FireStick. I previously owned a FireTV 2nd edition, which to this day no other Fire TV seems to hold a candle to, so I have to admit I wasn't expecting much out of this device. I've pretty much tested it into the ground at this point but I'm still no where near complete as I don't have some of the necessary features like Dolby Atmos and an HDR tv to really see what it can do. Even with that being said, I can attest that it does hit the 4k resolution as promised. I unfortunately could not connect this directly to my receiver(a pioneer vsx 520) as it would not pick up the 4k resolution. I opted to use the ARC function available, and that at least gave me some functionality though it doesn't quite seem to work well with anything other than the regular dolby digital 5.1 format. A few times I found it dropping the ARC connection from the TV but I honestly don't know how much of a role the stick is playing in this occurrence. I was pretty surprised how well the Wifi handles on this device. At close distances it was able to use all of my 300mbit connection down but for some reason it split the upload speed in half. Going much further out, about 40 ft, I definitely saw a huge drop in the connection showing about 40mbit down and up which was still good enough for streaming much of my media. I own an HDHomeRun Connect OTA which ran fine after an update. I'm a big KODI user, and though Amazon doesn't support the application, I found it pretty easy to get around this and install it using the Downloader app. This allowed me to test most of my personal media. Initially, I was having issues playing my DVD iso's but after updating KODI to 18.1 RC1, things started to work. I did, however, have to take off the hardware codec as the movies were choppy for some reason. Apparently, this has been an ongoing issue. If your not into DVD menu's like myself, you can just use the MKV format with the mpeg-2 codec and things will run fine. I also tried a few Blu-Rays as well. The H.264 codec with the MP4 format worked without a problem but using the MKV format with the VC1 had stuttering issues. If you have a good media server, than I just recommend transcoding with Plex or Emby as converting can take forever. The device did a great job with switching resolutions and frame rates for 24fps mode so if you have a TV that has these functions available, breath easy. Lastly I tested out some games. The FireStick unfortunately only supports three controllers at this time the Xbox One, PlayStation 4(ver 2), and the Matricom(I specifically used G-PAD BX). I grabbed RetroArch, a great multi emulation application. It would seem the PlayStation is far as you are going to get for good performance on 3D accelerated games. I tried out the Run-Ahead feature for latency reduction on some of the older titles and it worked pretty well baring a few issues with certain games. I do believe that some N64 and PSP games can work with the FireStick but it is recommend you use the separate emulators rather than RetroArch to run them. I'm no where near done with trying things out but as you can see, the FireStick 4K does hold up pretty well for the price. The interface is snappy and integration seems to be pretty painless so if you're looking for a budget media player you can use for the mean time or for a secondary room this is definitely the one I recommend.