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Streaming is gradually replacing traditional TV (especially for younger viewers). Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify and many other services offer around-the-clock entertainment. Let's take a closer look at what is likely the most popular piece of streaming hardware: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD. Compared to its somewhat sluggish predecessors, this device is said to deliver lag-free 4K and decent processing speeds at an attractive price point (usually $50, $25 on sale). Reason enough to order one and put its through its paces!
If you're unfamiliar with the idea of streaming: The stick is meant for those you wish to watch series, movies and other content from Amazon (Prime), Netflix, media libraries or other streaming services either on their TVs or computer displays. The device needs a rather beefy WiFi, with 25 Mbit/s for 4K Netflix content but only 15 Mbit/s for 4K content from Amazon (Full HD requires about a third of the bandwidth for each), as well as a halfway modern TV. There are no built-in facilities to record what you see or output audio to your dedicated surround system and ports for optical signals, as present in many Android TV boxes, are completely absent.
Just one day after my order, a small package arrives. It contains the usual: charger, short power cable, brief instructions, remote control, HDMI extension cord and, naturally, the stick itself. The design is fairly unimposing and the device looks like a thick, somewhat bulky USB relic from the past. Aside from the micro USB port for power and the HDMI output, it's black plastic all around. So what's the extension cord for? I get my answer as I soon as try to plug the stick into my TV: it's too bulky and won't fit into the rather small port. The extension does the trick, but now the whole contraption sadly dangles from the side of my TV.
Let's talk tech specs. After all, 4K demands a lot of processing power. The stick features a quad-core CPU with up to 1.7 GHz per core, 1.5 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space for apps and other media. Two antennas provide WiFi connectivity (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth (BT 4.2 and BLE) is also supported. Cramming this much technology into a small case of 108 mm x 30 mm x 14 mm that weighs just 53.6 g is an impressive feat in itself. Apparently, overheating is not an issue, as there are no fans or ventilation openings. The device needs an external power supply because USB ports alone can't supply the required voltage.
During first use, I quickly enter my WLAN key and run the inevitable software update. Naturally, the stick is a few versions behind the latest available software but, after 15 minutes, that issue is taken care of. This is an Amazon product so I enter my account credentials and confirm I wish to link the stick to my account (Why else would I enter my data?). Next, the stick wants to know model number and manufacturer of my TV to enable volume and power control. My model isn't listed so I have to scan through 17 frequencies to find a match. What a nuisance!
As far as speed goes, the difference to previous generations, including the venerable Fire TV Box, is clearly noticeable: No more sluggish menus or laggy framerates, unless the device is installing software or performing background updates. Boot times are short, a single button press instantly brings the stick to life. Voice input also works. Still, I prefer talking to family members over Alexa, which is why I only briefly check out Alexa Voice Remote and stick to buttons otherwise.
So far, my impressions have been generally positive. It's the software user interface that can't quite keep up with the hardware. Don't get me wrong, everything feels snappy but it feels slightly crowded and jumbled. Unless I select a specific category, apps and movies are listed together and, while I can of course rely on the usual navigation scheme (up, down, left, right, select, back), the implementation could have been less messy. Especially beginners will likely feel overwhelmed and have a hard time finding their series and movies. It's also (intentionally?) difficult to tell content that's included in my Prime subscription from pay-to-watch content. At least, I get a "warning" and confirmation prompt before I make a purchase.
Time to find out how the competition is doing on Amazon's device. The Netflix app is already pre-installed. I decide to add two additional music apps, a movie service and a sports channel. Media libraries, as provided by various TV networks, are supported through dedicated Play Store apps and work fine for the most part. It seems Amazon is no longer playing favors, as it did with Google's YouTube in the past, and now lists all apps and channels in the start menu, regardless of their creators. Kudos! I'll skip games and web surfing, since there are far better devices covering these use cases out there.
Now, let's talk about image and audio quality. The 4K display is jaw-dropping and runs at buttery smooth 60 fps. Reception is excellent and significantly better than with previous sticks. Even a wall and a 15-meter distance pose no problem. The number of 4K titles is still small but the stick plays all of them flawlessly. The audio is clean and stutter-free, another definitive improvement over previous generations. Naturally, the 720p and 1080p fallback for older TVs also works perfectly. The remote control is Bluetooth-based so there's no need to point it directly at the screen. The stick handles all supported video formats equally well. This includes Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR10+, HLG, H.265, H.264 and VP9. Supported audio formats include AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis and Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC). That will do for most users!
My conclusion is simple: If you're in the market for a plain and simple streaming device that outputs videos, TV content (via apps) and music to your TV set, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck with this one. Image and audio quality is excellent and the overall system feels snappy. Handling is okay and the software lineup is passable. Even though its an Amazon product, the platform appears to be open enough to third-party content. However, if you're looking to record streams, connect your premium HiFi equipment or individually customize your experience, look for an Android or Linux-based TV box instead. Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD does a lot but there are limits, both hardware and software-based. Amazon managed to come up with a reasonably priced solution that appeals to streaming newcomers and balances hard and software constraints surprisingly well. If you already own a Fire Stick or Fire TV, the question is whether better responsiveness, 4K content and support for Dolby Atmos are enough to warrant another purchase. The decision is yours!
What I would like to know: Do you already stream content and, if so, what hardware do you use?
Pics 1,2,4: Amazon.com, Inc.
We have a TCL TV, which has Roku built in. It's not the best, and hasn't been updated, but since the wife's the only one who watches TV (the boys and I only use our PCs in our caves), it fufills her needs.
Bonjour Sven,
Did really like your blog about this Fire TV 4K stick...
To answer to your question...
My first hardware to stream was an Apple TV.
I then bought an Amazon Fire TV stick (the first version). I used it specially to play Asphalt 8, a game with cars... and still use it almost only to play this game...
After buying a second Fire TV stick, I use this old version with my Sony 4K TV to watch Netflix as the colors seem better trough it than with the smart option of the Sony TV itself... The remote control can (if it falls on the ground...) be very easily be out of order and then your Fire TV stick does not answer anymore...
Later I bought an Amazon Fire TV 4K that I now use to play.
Works still very nicely for the moment...
Have also an X96 TV box, very interesting and many possibilities, but too complicated to use (with Kodi and the updates were difficult if possible...).
I looked at the market for a while and decided that I could drop the £80/month Sky service and pay that monthly fee once per year for Amazon Prime. The cheap price for the 4K popped up a week after I spent £50 on that and I dropped another £13 for the hardwired conversion to attach securely to my router and that was definitely money well spent.
I miss a few regular TV shows which are not available but honestly the huge library across AP and Netflix is enough to occupy my viewing time for literally years. All I need now is a new 4K TV to complement the content. This was the best TV decision I made in years and has saved me hundreds, seriously at least £800 in the first year which will pay for that new TV!
Where are you getting these for $25? (PLEASE!)
The stick was heavily discounted during Amazon’s Black Friday week. :\
Good article and review, just one thing: you have a crap TV and blame it on Amazon that you have to wait "17 minutes" for it to find & sync.
It took me 17 attempts, not 17 minutes.:)
Great review. What annoys me more and more about . releases such as Amazon Fire Stick and all the other streaming facilities is the total lack of appreciation that a large proportion of users, City based or rural but especially rural, have appalling and inconsistent internet bandwidth making these devices the most aggravating things to use. Amazon R&D, Google, Microsoft etc all have super fast connections and then they release their creations to the lesser mortals. I love your review but or me the internet connection will never be good enough.
Spot on! If you live in rural areas over here, you're lucky to have ordinary DSL. Without a beefy connection, all the grandiose promises ads make are no more than mere pipe dreams.
Great review! So much would love one of these, but our exchange rate in South Africa makes it financially impossible.
Currently I have all my entertainment and apps running from my PC to my tv via hdmi and I use my tv as my monitor.
I would like to streamline it further though, so everything is under one app.
Thanks for the review!
Hello, my name is Jerry Burton. I use the Fire stick for streaming a lot but I cut out a lot of other services and now only dream Netflix, some apps on the fire stick. With what I was paying for I was able to get a package from my internet provider that cost me about $15 more a month and no contract. I've an HD antenna that's not setup yet because I need someone to do due to a disability.
Hello Sven,
I think streaming services are a waste of money considering all of the Free to Air TV (FtATV) that is available. Secondly, subscribing to one particular service means that viewer may miss out on another new series that is shown on a different service. What then? Sign up to two or more services to get the two or three favourite programmes?
Do streaming services force ads on subscribers or are they ad-free?
The welter of ads that continually interrupt broadcasts really gets my blood boiling. There are few channels I watch sporadically but none of them has my favorite shows. Streams do have ads but they're far less disruptive and usually easy to click away.
Hi Sven,
A well-written report, and I use a VPN for TV viewing from Britain, Deutschland and other countries connected to the TV via HDMI.
In Australia we have ACMA ( The Australian Communications and Media Authority) who are intent on protecting the very poor quality, locally produced TV shows.
This stops Chromecast from streaming overseas media and Hulu, Amazon, Apple are unable to be accessed, along with other media streaming services outside Australia.
We are geo-blocked unless a VPN is used, again a VPN has to be chosen carefully as many are geo-blocked in many countries.
Express VPN, AUD$99.00 per year, based in the British Virgin Islands works perfectly without restrictions, and more information relating to legal non-restrictions which may interest you, with approval Sven is a link below.
https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/bvi-privacy-legislation/
I started streaming with my LG Smart TV Converter and Toshiba Blu-Ray DVD Player which also streamed back in 2011 and the Firestick in February of 2018. All work fine although the LG and Blu-ray are starting to get phased out for Netflix and Youtube. The Firestick as you mentioned does just about all Apps that I could ever want including TubiTv , Netflix, Prime and one of my new favorites Halloween which has great old B Horror movies! I also have the Crave TV stick for streaming .
As for recording streams I use Audials.
I have been using streaming devices since their inception years ago. I started off with a home-brewed "Home Theater" PC with a USB device capable of providing an Optical port for delivering Dolby Digital Audio for my surround sound equipment. Back in these days streaming was only in the likes of Netflix and few others and most streaming was done from a home based server like Plex (locally stored video). During the migration of my 'Theater PC' to smaller footprint designs, I have used a myriad of products from Vizio, Boxee, Apple TV, many Android based boxes, Roku and finally Amazon Sticks (both 1080p and 4K). My latest being the Amazon 4K sticks. Roku was the hardware of choice for a long time up until the point where they became software Nazis and began ousting certain developers citing they incited pirating. When they pulled several legitimate software developers and many turned against Roku in protest - I switched to a more liberal platform (Amazon FireTV) and I have stuck with it to this present day.
I agree 100% with your assessment that the original FireTV stick can be laggy in the GUI and has several shortcomings in the way of "ease of use". But their latest 4K Stick seems more responsive and offers a gamut of online smatterings to keep even demanding couch potatoes swathed in episodes. The only down side to the 4K is the lack of storage. The 8GB on the stick should be increased to 16GB. I find 8GB to get a little crammed once you have a diversified collection of streaming services and just a few other apps - like weather, surveillance and several other apps used on a more personal level.
PS - I've been an Ashampoo customer for many years now and love your software and commentaries. Keep up the good work.
Additionally for remote.You have to try really hard to find a tv brand not listed in fire stick,so just wondering in what museum ,or country Sven Krumrey found his tv brand.
Brand wasn't the issue but there were no specific models listed. I've had my TV für 3 years max, since I don't like to turn my four walls into a museum. :)
I have 4 amazon fire tv stick devices,one of them is 4k.
I'm completely satisfied with HD and don't see any sense to have a 4k version. I use them with amazon ethernet adapters and don't care about any week wifi anymore.
Before I've had 5,or 6 different roku versions and happily thrown them into garbage,after trying amazon tv stick.
ROKU doesn't allow to install 3rd party apps and some installed removes by its wish.On amazon tv sticks I've installed plenty of apps thru downloader app and they all work perfectly.
I have a roku 4k stick that I just purchased and it works perfect.