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 :)