Is a Firestick 4K any good

afterburnt
afterburnt Posts: 7,892
in Going Digital
I hate Amazon but I can get one off em for 5 bucks. Should I get it, do yooz have one, do yooz like it, what's good about it, does it listen to you?
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  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    Get it. It's nice, I like mine a lot.

    It does have a mic in the remote but just burn that sucker and use the phone app. =P
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

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  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    @codycatalist , hey, wait, that damn phone has been listening to me for years!
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    Shield TV is where it's at but you can't beat $5.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,192
    For $5 who cares if it's good or not, worth trying out.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    Thing is I don't have 4K horsepower on my connection. I suppose I will in a few months.
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  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    Oh, and it's five bucks because a credit that could be spent on better stuff.
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  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,830
    afterburnt wrote: »
    Thing is I don't have 4K horsepower on my connection. I suppose I will in a few months.
    Whatcha got?
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
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  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    polrbehr wrote: »
    afterburnt wrote: »
    Thing is I don't have 4K horsepower on my connection. I suppose I will in a few months.
    Whatcha got?

    Hot spot here on my phone and 2.5 in Satan Carnitas where I don't need it.
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  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,830
    edited January 2020
    afterburnt wrote: »
    polrbehr wrote: »
    afterburnt wrote: »
    Thing is I don't have 4K horsepower on my connection. I suppose I will in a few months.
    Whatcha got?

    Hot spot here on my phone and 2.5 in Satan Carnitas where I don't need it.

    OK, then, maybe that five bucks could be better spent after all. I would suggest some type of cable-based internet with 50 Mbps download speed. But if you can attain that, I would say that the 4K Firestick is worth it.
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    Just bought a firestick for $24.99 for a TV that wasn't "smart." I love it. Excellent picture, tons of available apps, etc, etc.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,995
    Broose, I think it might detect the connection speed, and play the best quality it can with that connection.

    It could just display a middle finger.
    In 4k, though.
    I disabled signatures.
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  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    msg wrote: »
    Broose, I think it might detect the connection speed, and play the best quality it can with that connection.

    It could just display a middle finger.
    In 4k, though.

    I don't have to watch TV to get that.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2020
    We have been trial'ing youtubetv for a week, and we're SOLD. Canceled DirecTV this morning. I ordered a Firestick 4k for the 65" Vizio (I don't like smartcast, AT ALL).

    $50/mo vs $175/mo is a no-brainer. We're cutting the cord.

    Firestick will allow me to run my Amazon HD Music account for the patio/pool rig and my shop rig---BONUS.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,007
    Good grief, Steve. What in the hell did you order? We have 2 DVR's and two TV's with a package that has most everything but HBO type add on crap including insurance on all equipment. We only pay $84/mo.

    At $175, I would have cut the cord a long time ago. I don't even think we pay that much for ALL of the services the family has (Tidal, Disney Plus, Netfix, etc...). That's almost a small car payment.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Kex
    Kex Posts: 5,176
    edited February 2020
    What are the commercials like on YouTube TV? They’re already so annoying just streaming regular internet content that they now interrupt videos to force you to watch a commercial (unless you sign up and pay for a premium account, so you can pay for them to track you, and better target advertising at you).
    Alea jacta est!
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  • Kex
    Kex Posts: 5,176
    edited February 2020
    P.S. Cut the cord about ten years ago. Would never go back to forcibly watching commercials.
    Alea jacta est!
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,007
    That's why we have the DVR's. We don't do commercials either.

    One thing I do not like about the online services is that when you are forced to watch a commercial? It's seemingly the same damned commercial EVERY SINGLE time and there is no way to bypass them. I don't watch it often enough to pay for any "premium" services.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2020
    YouTube TV is LIVE so commercials are there--just like regular TV. It includes a non-limited DVR, but data begins to be removed after 9 months; in order of recording.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • aprazer402
    aprazer402 Posts: 3,145
    I won an Amazon FireStick 4K at a drawing in November.

    I installed it last Friday on my year old Samsung 32" TV in my home office. The install was very easy, it auto downloaded and installed updates quickly.

    I really need to learn more about downloading channels, good vs. not so good, as for now I just downloaded YouTube TV, Sling TV, Pluto TV and Spotify. I did NOT subscribe to any of them yet, just want to see what free programs they offer.

    I did type in my Amazon account info. I don't have a Prime account or Amazon music. But I do see an Amazon music app. on my Droid phone (preloaded?), not sure what it does. I get probably 25 OTA HD channels already. The TV is just to be on in the office in case of breaking news, weather... It seems really neat. Go for it Bruce!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2020
    PlutoTV is a good, free tv app. Check it out. YoutubeTV has a 2 week free offer. We love it.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    steveinaz wrote: »
    PlutoTV is a good, free tv app. Check it out. YoutubeTV has a 2 week free offer. We love it.

    Yep we’ve been doing YTTV for at least a year after doing PlayStation vue for at least a year and trying Hulu live. YTTV is the best because you have live pause and rewind and like Steve said an unlimited DVR. I literally have it set to record ALL college football and basketball games, no limits. Can’t be it for the $ and convenience....
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
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    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2020
    The CONS to YoutubeTV are that Hallmark channels are missing, and my Outdoors/Sportsman channels are not there, but we're gonna fix that by streaming them on their own apps.

    From what I have read, Hallmark hasn't agreed to any streaming service providers yet, though they offer their own streaming service for $5.99/mo. This is a must-have for Bev.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,130
    I also cut the cord on dtv and tried streaming. After a month of streaming hulu and youtube tv I had enough and went back to standard cable tv. Neither the wife or I liked scrolling to find what we wanted. Yes I'll have to pay a bit more but instant access to any channel (especially local channels) is now worth it to me having gone without it for the past month
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    It is strange that they don't assign channel numbers.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,130
    Yes it is aggravating to say the least and God forbid you press the wrong button which would bring things back to square one. My wife hated streaming from day one but I was adamant we're staying with it as it's so much cheaper. Then one morning with a storm on the horizon all I wanted to do was watch the local news and weather. An hour later I was on the phone getting a time set up to have cable re-installed.
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,581
    My Samsung 4k ultra is linked to my wifi. It automatically set me up with a ton of free channels. 24 Local channels come from my roof antenna and other than having to pay for internet and a subscription to Netflix I'm loaded with options. Thinking about getting a TiVo though so I can record but so far I can live with what I have.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
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    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
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  • aprazer402
    aprazer402 Posts: 3,145
    I have Cox Communication for one land line phone, internet and now ex-cable. Other than DirecTV or DISH Network, there are only two other local major TV providers, Cox and CenturyLink.

    Cox has very poor services and poor cust. service. CenturyLink I've heard is also not good as before, they market Direct TV. Both barely earn their one star reviews on line.

    I'll see how this goes without the cable. So far very good.

    But at two homes both internet connections are very intermittent (latency) even though they (Cox) won't admit it. I've talked to my neighbors and they all have experienced similar lags in internet connections. All Cox says to do is unplug your modem to reset it. Tried it, which does nothing.

    I took back their junk supplied modem about a year ago at the house without their landline and installed an Arris modem which works much better but still has the latency issues.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    We use Cox cable for our internet only, and have the Ultimate 150 plan (mid-level connection speeds). We haven't experienced any issues with service, so far.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2020
    I purchased live "FrndlyTV" ($9.99/mo*) to fill in the gaps with YoutubeTV. Bev gets all of her Hallmark channels now, and I get my Outdoors/Sportsman/Fishing channels, as well as a few others on FrndlyTV. Total cost for streaming, $60 bucks!

    * 3 tiers are available; $5.99/$7.99/$9.99
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,130
    I've given up on streaming and have now gone back to a package deal on cable-internet services. Extended plus tv with tivo and 120 mb internet for $150.25 a month with a 2 year price lock. This is 30 mb faster than my present internet provider and cheaper and I hope I notice a difference.

    I figure if the price goes up more than I'm comfortable with at the end of the 2 years I'll start the same process all over again. I'm loyal only to the service providers with the best prices
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