Drifter
Footballguy
Where do you think it would get power from? Magic? Most people plug the USB cord into their TV.
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Amazon Fire Stick $19 for Prime (Alt. to Chromecast/Roku) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter cstu
- Start date
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I thought HDMI could put out some power similar to USB. My HDMI switch doesn't have to be plugged in and that thing was made by some no-names in China.
Drifter
Footballguy
odin33
Footballguy
OK so I'm way late to the game here. I have not purchased any of these new fangled devices but I would LOVE to kick Directv to the curb. Have a laundry list of questions and hoping you guys can help me out:
- Have Amazon Prime membership primarily for the shipping benefit, but have been exploring other stuff.
- have iphones and ipad, and kindle fire but rarely use them for more than phone and apps, exploring streaming on fire.
- no wifi issues anywhere in the house using current devices
- watching local NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX for live sports is fine (root for local teams). Don't mind switching inputs.
- biggest hurdle seems to be (apparent) lack of ESPN, ESPN news, NFLN etc. I don't get a lot of time to watch sports so SportsCenter is my go to.
- we watch a lot of DIY, HGTV, discovery channel type programming, movies would be nice but not required.
Considering any of the available choices including pairing some together to get what I want. Hate monthly expenses, but realize some are unavoidable. Currently pay about $110/mo for Directv plus the annual Prime membership.
1. Does SportsCenter or like programming exist on any? My understanding is some of the devices allow you to watch yesterday's programming (Roku maybe) so it really comes down to sports highlight shows.
2. Is there a quick cheatsheet somewhere as to what all of them offer?
3. Which have monthly subscriptions?
4. Which have a per device/tv purchase? are any buy one central unit (I understand subscription based ones- netflix are log in and done)
5. Do all tvs need to be internet ready? Can an old school tube/projection tv be used? For inet ready, assuming I need device still if you guys are ordering multiples.
6. Should I expect download times and buffering?
7. Apple fanboys- WTF is the cloud? I know it's 'online' storage vs old school RAM but are only apple devices able to access? Assuming it's only apple stuff.
- Have Amazon Prime membership primarily for the shipping benefit, but have been exploring other stuff.
- have iphones and ipad, and kindle fire but rarely use them for more than phone and apps, exploring streaming on fire.
- no wifi issues anywhere in the house using current devices
- watching local NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX for live sports is fine (root for local teams). Don't mind switching inputs.
- biggest hurdle seems to be (apparent) lack of ESPN, ESPN news, NFLN etc. I don't get a lot of time to watch sports so SportsCenter is my go to.
- we watch a lot of DIY, HGTV, discovery channel type programming, movies would be nice but not required.
Considering any of the available choices including pairing some together to get what I want. Hate monthly expenses, but realize some are unavoidable. Currently pay about $110/mo for Directv plus the annual Prime membership.
1. Does SportsCenter or like programming exist on any? My understanding is some of the devices allow you to watch yesterday's programming (Roku maybe) so it really comes down to sports highlight shows.
2. Is there a quick cheatsheet somewhere as to what all of them offer?
3. Which have monthly subscriptions?
4. Which have a per device/tv purchase? are any buy one central unit (I understand subscription based ones- netflix are log in and done)
5. Do all tvs need to be internet ready? Can an old school tube/projection tv be used? For inet ready, assuming I need device still if you guys are ordering multiples.
6. Should I expect download times and buffering?
7. Apple fanboys- WTF is the cloud? I know it's 'online' storage vs old school RAM but are only apple devices able to access? Assuming it's only apple stuff.
Works great with Amazon Instant Video (not surprisingly). We were having problems with excessive buffering with our Samsung TV app, and the stick has no issues.
Pretty slick navigation, too.
GoFishTN
Footballguy
I haven't tried youtube, but Prime Video is basically useless for me. Constantly buffering. Netflix works pretty well though. I have an older router, but I've never had issues like this.Weird. I don't know what is causing it. I mean I had my Chromecast plugged into the same TV in the same spot and never had an issue with buffering or video quality, so I don't think it's my router. I may try moving it to a different TV and see what happens.Have not had any of these issues.
We're considering returning it at this point.
psychobillies
Footballguy
Hooked mine up last night. I use amazon cloud storage for photos and music. Nice to have access to all of that on the bedroom TV. Everything else worked great. No buffering, even with my crappy DSL. I tried hooking the power up to a USB on the Directv receiver and it told me that I did not have sufficient power. I need it to be semi portable so i just let the power cord dangle down to the plug. No big deal to me.
rockaction
Footballguy
I like it and set it up, but I'm also getting a flickering green screen. Might have to go back, unfortunately. But it seems like a good product for that kind of price.
eta* Hope this fixes it. Goddang the internet. http://www.reddit.com/r/fireTV/comments/2nbupc/green_flicker_every_15_mins_or_so_with_new_fire/cme2ggb
eta* Hope this fixes it. Goddang the internet. http://www.reddit.com/r/fireTV/comments/2nbupc/green_flicker_every_15_mins_or_so_with_new_fire/cme2ggb
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shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Can't figure out how to set the parental controls. I go to settings, parental controls, then hit select to toggle to on, but nothing happens. Doesn't ask me to set a password or anything.
Also, I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting/staying connected to my wifi. I had to select my network about a dozen times, and then buffering was bad while streaming.
Also, I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting/staying connected to my wifi. I had to select my network about a dozen times, and then buffering was bad while streaming.
MattFancy
Footballguy
Mine was doing that for awhile but has seemed to be okay as of late. Not really sure what changed though.
rockaction
Footballguy
I thought the same thing you did and had the same reaction. I figured it would self-power, too.
Drifter
Footballguy
When you first set it up, it should have asked you if you wanted to set up a Parental Control PIN.
Drifter
Footballguy
I have not gotten mine to work with USB power. Have to have it plugged in to the power adapter.
Drifter
Footballguy
Chromecast also requires power but I have not had a problem with Chromecast working from USB supplied power.
Notorious T.R.E.
Showdown!™ Administrator
I bought a chromecast for my moms, but she has a kindle...wondering if I should return it and get this guy now...
MattFancy
Footballguy
Both have their pros and cons.
Chromecast is great if you have a tablet/phone handy at all times. Seems to generally load faster too.
Fire Stick is nice since it comes with a remote and you don't need a phone/tablet to utilize everything.
can sideload XBMC/Kodi onto the firestick and watch just about any movie or tv show or live sports you want.
works great.
(I didn't see HBOGO as an option on the firestick yet, but it is on chromecast)
works great.
(I didn't see HBOGO as an option on the firestick yet, but it is on chromecast)
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shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
It did. I kept hitting yes, but it wouldn't do anything. So I just selected skip for later. There should be a way to set it up now.
Mr.Pack
Footballguy
Can you unpack this please?
Explain it to me like I'm GM trying to install Netflix
I'd recommend googling it, but it's pretty awesome.
http://liliputing.com/2014/11/install-xbmckodi-amazon-fire-tv-stick.html
http://kodi.tv/about/
tons of add ons for Kodi that let you watch tv shows, movies, sports, etc.
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JoeSteeler
Footballguy
HBO GO coming soon
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Spent about three hours yesterday trying to figure out how to get a browser working on the Fire Stick. Man, Amazon really goes out of their way to keep you from leaving their commerce sphere.
MattFancy
Footballguy
I was having connection problems when I had it hooked up to my TV in the family room, our router is in the basement. When I moved it to the TV in the basement, all the connection problems went away. I'm guessing it was just too far from the router. Which is weird because my Chromecast was hooked up in the family room and never had any connection problems. So try moving it to a different TV and see what happens.
sbonomo
Footballguy
Mr.Pack
Footballguy
Brady Marino
Footballguy
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
what are some good, free lesser known apps for fire stick? Mostly interested in streaming tv/movies
SacramentoBob
Footballguy
I have 2 fire sticks and one fire TV. Their sole purpose is to run Kodi (and occasionally Hulu and Netflix). We completely cut the cord a few months ago and don't miss cable TV one bit.
cstu
Footballguy
New Amazon Fire Stick is available for pre-order. $40 but comes with the Alexa-enabled microphone remote and a $10 video credit if you activate by October 31.
Wingnut
Footballguy
New Fire Stick dongle. $70.
All-New Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and Alexa Voice Remote | Streaming Media Player
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N32NCPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_E2kZzb8JH8KDQ
No word on the new box/cube yet but it's expected around xmas.
All-New Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and Alexa Voice Remote | Streaming Media Player
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N32NCPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_E2kZzb8JH8KDQ
No word on the new box/cube yet but it's expected around xmas.
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MattFancy
Footballguy
RUSF18
Footballguy
MattFancy
Footballguy
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I've got to say, my Firestick sucks. Freezes all the time despite being about 30 feet from my wireless router. I complained to Amazon about it but they blamed the apps.
Wingnut
Footballguy
Hmmm. By freeze do you mean buffer? I had one in a bedroom about 50 feet away from the router in my living room and it worked fine.
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Warrior
Footballguy
Nope. Same issue here. About once per day, sometimes when FF or Rewinding, it'll completely freeze. It's in the same room as my router and my internet speed is very high. No other cause other than a faulty device. It's pretty frustrating, a lot of fire stick owners have the same problem and their customer service has no resolution whatsoever...I think they just know that a bunch of them have this flaw.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Exactly. Freezing. I get buffering a lot too, but can live stream 10 feet beyond where it sits all day long and no issues. Customer service told me to update my apps and clear cache which is the streaming equivalent to asking someone to reboot a PC and say a prayer to resolve an issue, but having no plan B. Plan A is not working and now I barely use it. I grab one of the wireless cable boxes from inside and connect it to the TV on the deck.
Wingnut
Footballguy
If I were you guys I'd get a Fire TV box to replace the stick. It's so much better and faster it's silly. Once I got one (used but like new on eBay for $70) all my stick issues disappeared. Just make sure you get the Gen 2 with the longer remote w/alexa built in or wait for the new box/cube to drop around xmas.
I only use my stick for traveling now.
I only use my stick for traveling now.
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AhrnCityPahnder
Yinz-o-riffic
Yep. have Fire TV boxes for all my TVs. 
Although, I'm not happy all the next-gen Fire products are Alexa included without an option.
Although, I'm not happy all the next-gen Fire products are Alexa included without an option.
