Amazon Fire TV Stick

[notposting]

My delivery date has moved up from January 5th to December 24th.

 

[Kaido]

Can it mirror the display from any app from an iPhone or iPad like an Apple TV? I could not find a definite answer in any of the reviews.

Out of the box, Airplay is not supported AFAIK, but you can sideload a $5 app that does it:

http://www.amazon.com/x5434-x6C5D-Ai.../dp/B00LAT7QV6

I may give it a shot this weekend on mine...

 

[fr]

Thanks for the info.

 

[SAWYER]

This thing is one hell of a deal, XBMC runs good

 

[bbhaag]

Agreed. I installed Plex on my PC this morning and started loading my movies, tv shows, and music in it. Then I buckled and bought the Plex Firetv app for $1.99 from Amazon.
It exceeded my expectations. It plays mp4 files and mkv files in 1080p. I was able to play FLAC files no problem. Netflix and Prime stream in hd without issue.

I'm just blown away by how well it works for $19 and a $2 app.

 

[Ravynmagi]

My FireTV Stick arrived in the mail today.

First impressions...

Fire the location of the micro USB port on the adapter sucks. It's on the side, so it'll block any HDMI ports next to it. And my coax audio cable is next to the HDMI ports. So this adapter blocks one of my HDMI board and is wedge awkwardly under my coax audio cable, and I'm worried this might bend the micro USB port over time (but it'll probably be fine I hope). No idea why they didn't put this at the end of the stick like the Chromecast did.

The remote actually seems to be better quality than the remote that came with my $100 FireTV. My more expensive Fire TV remote (while thinner and made of metal) will sometimes double register clicks on the navigation pad. The cheaper remote clicks nicely and isn't double registering clicks. I like the feel of it better too, the other remote feels too thin really.

The FireTV Stick warns me I should use the included power adapter instead of plugging it into my TV. I was able to ignore that warning. After installing an update it seems the warning was more specific and it's saying the USB port on my TV is providing insufficient power. It comes with a 1A adapter, so I'm guessing standard 500mA isn't quite enough. Though it does seem to be working so far with the 500mA port on my TV.

Also it would not initially connect to my 5GHz wifi access point. So I used the 2.4GHz instead. Installed the update. After the update it was able to connect to the 5GHz AP.

Fire TV still forces me to sit through a LOOOONG tutorial video, which is currently playing on mute while I type out my first impressions.

I'll add my comparisons between this as the more expensive Fire TV. I'm guessing this will be a bit slower, but otherwise the same. We'll see. So far, the cheaper remote is much nicer though, haha.

 

[Ravynmagi]

So far the Fire TV Stick performance seems great for just watching Amazon TV and movies. I haven't tried games, probably won't either, because I don't play games on these devices anyway, so don't care.

But I was able to navigate through Amazon's crappy sluggish UI the same on both the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.

Unlike the Roku Stick, which people seem to say to avoid because it's so much slower, it seems like the FireTV Stick isn't plagued by performance issues. So despite the terrible location of the power port on the stick, seems like a great device if you don't mind the OS (I hate it in case you haven't noticed).

 

[ChronoReverse]

Any comments from anyone about Miracast performance?

 

[Ravynmagi]

Any comments from anyone about Miracast performance?

Miracast? I don't think this supports Miracast.

Edit: I probably should have Googled that before making the comment... Apparently it does. Cool. I'll see if I can test it. But so far my experience with Miracast has been dreadful.
http://www.umpcportal.com/2014/10/amazon-fire-tv-stick-does-miracast-too-for-just-39/

 

[ChronoReverse]

Edit: I probably should have Googled that before making the comment... Apparently it does. Cool. I'll see if I can test it. But so far my experience with Miracast has been dreadful.
http://www.umpcportal.com/2014/10/amazon-fire-tv-stick-does-miracast-too-for-just-39/

Same, that's why I was wondering if this unit is any good at it or if it's just useless no matter what.

 

[mcveigh]

Couldn't you use the HDMI extension cable that came with it so you don't lose access to your other ports?

 

[Ravynmagi]

Couldn't you use the HDMI extension cable that came with it so you don't lose access to your other ports?

Yes, that is correct. It came with an HDMI dongle, that is about 3 inches long and provides some room. So that will solve the problem. It slipped my mind for a moment that was in the box. Though I still think the power connection on the end would have been nice so I don't have to carry around a dongle.

Edit: PS. The accessories are quite generous. It comes with an HDMI dongle, micro USB cable (pretty long), a 1 amp USB power adapter, remote control, and two AAA batteries. This was a crazy steal at $20 and I'd say seems quite an amazing deal even at $40.

 

[Blanky]

I have mine up and running. Ui is snappy. Hulu ui is slow and sluggish but netflix isn't.

I have mine going on the dongle. Chromecast had a dongle also and aimed it extended range. I find this thing gets WORSE wifi performance than Chromecast; it is in a distant corner of the house and struggles more than Chromecast did even though it claims the signal is "very good". So it's signal strength detector sucks.

Remote is good. For $20 it was a great buy.

 

[EvilYoda]

I also got the email that my Fire TV stick would be coming on 12/24...I leave on the 26th so depending on when it actually ships it might be fun to have on the road with me.

 

[drbrock]

Got it mail this weekend. Like it so far. 100x better than chromecast. Going to load XBMC this weekend.

Only thing is that it keeps shutting off my Vizio TV. It makes no sense but it does. Drives me crazy. Also it gets incredibly hot. Going to try another TV when I get some free time.

 

[Kaido]

Got it mail this weekend. Like it so far. 100x better than chromecast. Going to load XBMC this weekend.

Only thing is that it keeps shutting off my Vizio TV. It makes no sense but it does. Drives me crazy. Also it gets incredibly hot. Going to try another TV when I get some free time.

Are you powering it off TV USB or via the wall A/C plug?

 

[Kaido]

Only thing is that it keeps shutting off my Vizio TV. It makes no sense but it does. Drives me crazy. Also it gets incredibly hot. Going to try another TV when I get some free time.

Ahah:

http://zatznotfunny.com/2014-11/amazon-fire-tv-stick-initial-thoughts/

When announced, there was some confusion as to whether or not the Fire TV Stick could be powered purely over USB without requiring a wall wart. And, having received my streamer, the answer remains somewhat fuzzy. Amazon highly recommends using the included adapter to “provide a reliable power source, allow fast wake up, and enable automatic updates.” Indeed, my first attempt at a software upgrade failed and, while I’m not sure which device to blame, my Vizio TV used for initial testing (and USB power) rebooted. A lot. And while the set has a history of flakey behavior, it’s been nothing but rock solid as a Chromecast host.

Plug that puppy into wall power!

 

[drbrock]

Ahah:

http://zatznotfunny.com/2014-11/amazon-fire-tv-stick-initial-thoughts/



Plug that puppy into wall power!

I have had it plugged into wall power since the get go. Don't know why it is causing me problems. I might have it check for updates again. See if it is fully updated and see what happens. I have an OLD Panny Plasma that is in my bedroom that I am going to test it on as well.

The Vizio is only 6 months old so I would think it would be ok. I did buy it from Wal Mart so it could be a POS.

Does anyone else have the stick get really hot? Doesn't burn me but it is getting to that point.

 

[Kaido]

I have had it plugged into wall power since the get go. Don't know why it is causing me problems. I might have it check for updates again. See if it is fully updated and see what happens. I have an OLD Panny Plasma that is in my bedroom that I am going to test it on as well.

The Vizio is only 6 months old so I would think it would be ok. I did buy it from Wal Mart so it could be a POS.

Does anyone else have the stick get really hot? Doesn't burn me but it is getting to that point.

Dangit, I knew that was too easy

Haven't checked the heat on mine since I have a DLP & it's in the back. But yeah, test it on your plasma & let us know how it works out. First-generation hardware...

 

[joutlaw]

The only problem I have had is WiFi performance. I have Unifi APs in my house, but can't get a good signal. My house is all brick and have techshield as a radiant barrier so it could be a factor. It also has to go through a brick fireplace to get the bedroom where it is located.

Instead, I will use this for traveling as it worked quite well. It doesn't support WiFi APs that require portal authentication though.

 

[cronos]

The only problem I have had is WiFi performance. I have Unifi APs in my house, but can't get a good signal. My house is all brick and have techshield as a radiant barrier so it could be a factor. It also has to go through a brick fireplace to get the bedroom where it is located.

Instead, I will use this for traveling as it worked quite well. It doesn't support WiFi APs that require portal authentication though.

Yes, that's my only problem as well. It doesn't happen too often but sometimes it just loses connection and if I was watching something, it just kicked me out and wouldn't do anything. A few seconds later it usually reconnects and everything is fine, but it's annoying.

I started to think I may need to dust up my old DDWRT WRT54G and put it next to the TV as a repeater.

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

I got my two last night. I fired one up in the kids' room, no hitches or glitches at all, but it's only about ten feet and one wall from the router.

I really can't tell much difference between it and my Fire TV. Everything seemed to work well.

 

[WelshBloke]

Agreed. I installed Plex on my PC this morning and started loading my movies, tv shows, and music in it. Then I buckled and bought the Plex Firetv app for $1.99 from Amazon.
It exceeded my expectations. It plays mp4 files and mkv files in 1080p. I was able to play FLAC files no problem. Netflix and Prime stream in hd without issue.

I'm just blown away by how well it works for $19 and a $2 app.

Plex on my freenas and the plex fire TV app have probably been the best tech thing that's happened to me in the last couple of years.

Just having easy access to all my home movies on the living room TV is fantastic.

(it has generated work in that I'm now ripping all my dvds to mkv :/ )

 

[Blanky]

Got mine in the mail.

This is my second failed attempt to use Plex, the first being earlier on Fire TV. I have a pretty old PC, but I just get awful video quality--even though I've tried various file formats, and the CPU use on my server is low enough that it doesn't appear to be transcoding (absolutely not pegged--even though I have it on the kill CPU setting). The CPU pegs to 100% for about 10 seconds after I load a video or fast forward, but then it drops down to near idle with occasional spikes.

So I decided screw it, and sideloaded XBMC, my first sideloading of anything ever, following some youtube video. That took all of five minutes. XBMC is running the same test videos at full resolution from a windows 8.1 PC's share.

I'm glad I got two at $19. I wish I'd bought 10-20 of them from bestbuy on black friday for $25, since they're selling for retail (or more) on ebay now, particularly if you've loaded XBMC on them.

XBMC is snappy, loads fast and fast forward is fast. Only tried MP4s so far, the same ones that I load to Apple TV.

I do find reception on the stick is not great, at most as good as Chrome cast was and possibly worse. it will say its signal is very good but it seems to buffer on hulu unless it's fairly close to the router.

Also, the UI on this is very quick but Hulu's UI is not. It lags and seems poorly optimized. Netflix' UI is fast. This isn't a deal killer. The device overall does not feel slow. For $20 it's a killer deal, and I think worth buying at $40.

 

[WelshBloke]

Got mine in the mail.

This is my second failed attempt to use Plex, the first being earlier on Fire TV. I have a pretty old PC, but I just get awful video quality--even though I've tried various file formats, and the CPU use on my server is low enough that it doesn't appear to be transcoding (absolutely not pegged--even though I have it on the kill CPU setting). The CPU pegs to 100% for about 10 seconds after I load a video or fast forward, but then it drops down to near idle with occasional spikes.

My servers running on an Asrock C2750D4I so its not got a very beefy CPU. Are you sure its not a network problem? You can also tell the plex server not to transcode the video stream.