What's the point of a Firestick 4K on a smart 4K TV?

afterburnt
afterburnt Posts: 7,892
in Electronics
I got an old Firestick that I use on a Dumb TV but what advantage does the 4K Firestick have with sn already overloaded Smart TV?
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,585
    None that I'm aware of other than a familiar way to navigate
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    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
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,489
    Voice searching is usually going to be better with a standalone product. I've also found the standalone Fire TV products to be more stable with better WiFi reception than those built into one smart TV but not another. Audio is another area where a Fire TV product may be better for a user if sound is being output to a home theater directly from it compared to having to figure out how to get sound from the TV's innards out full range to a receiver. The Fire TV product may also have more up to date apps available to it.

    In most cases if someone is just watching programming through the built in Amazon app the standalone Fire TV products are redundant.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    My Vizio "smartcast" was slow and lame. No ability to add 3rd party software. I love Firestick, I have them all over the house now.
    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
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Emlyn wrote: »
    Voice searching is usually going to be better with a standalone product. I've also found the standalone Fire TV products to be more stable with better WiFi reception than those built into one smart TV but not another. Audio is another area where a Fire TV product may be better for a user if sound is being output to a home theater directly from it compared to having to figure out how to get sound from the TV's innards out full range to a receiver. The Fire TV product may also have more up to date apps available to it.

    In most cases if someone is just watching programming through the built in Amazon app the standalone Fire TV products are redundant.

    Basically this. If the tv has a stable, powerful built-in OS with the apps that you want and if sound is not a problem then I see no reason to add something else. This was the case with my 2017 samsung 4K and my TCL 8 series roku tv. But with my Hisense H8F (which has a really good budget picture), the OS sucks and the ARC sucks so having an external device is necessary for me...
    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
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,489
    I was surprised that although I have two Sony TVs with smart features the bigger and older set that is further away from the wifi router does not drop even 4K streaming while the smaller and newer one constantly drops 1080p signals. The newer set seems to have a newer Android based operating system. The Amazon Fire products have no problems with drop outs in either room.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chargerman426
    chargerman426 Posts: 419
    Smart TVs generally don't have as many apps as a full fledged stick/streaming box. Not a big deal if the streaming service you want is covered. But the more fringy services don't invest the development time into every single platform.
    If life had more tubes it would be a lot smoother.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    We have a 4k TV with the amazon app built in, but still have a 4k Firestick to access our Amazon Fire TV DVR (both for recorded and live programs).

    If we are just streaming something from amazon to the TV, we typically use the app built into the TV.

    Michael
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,830
    steveinaz wrote: »
    My Vizio "smartcast" was slow and lame. No ability to add 3rd party software. I love Firestick, I have them all over the house now.

    Damn, maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to ditch my FireStick? Hey @ken brydson , I think we need to talk.... LOL

    In fact both of my Toshibas with FireTV built in work just fine.
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter